Domestic Food Safety Risks: A Two-Year Assessment of Refrigerator Hygiene and Egg Contamination

<b>Background:</b> Domestic refrigeration and egg handling are key factors in ensuring household food safety. Inadequate temperature control and poor hygiene in refrigerators can promote the survival and growth of foodborne pathogens. This study aimed to (i) characterize refrigerator temperature profiles and surface microbial contamination and (ii) screen eggs and egg-storage areas for the presence of <i>Salmonella</i> spp. and <i>Campylobacter</i> spp. <b>Methods:</b> Fifty domestic refrigerators were monitored twice in 2024 and 2025 in Porto, Portugal. The temperatures were continuously logged on the lowest shelf, which was swabbed for microbiological analysis. Surface hygiene was evaluated using total viable counts (TVC), <i>Enterobacteriaceae</i>, and <i>Escherichia coli</i> enumerated following ISO methods. Detection of pathogens <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i>, <i>Salmonella</i> spp., and <i>Campylobacter</i> spp. was performed using real-time PCR. Eggs (<i>n</i> = 92 in 2024; <i>n</i> = 88 in 2025), and domestic egg storage areas (total <i>n</i> = 76) were screened for <i>Salmonella</i> and <i>Campylobacter</i>. <b>Results:</b> The mean refrigerator temperatures were 6.0 ± 0.5 °C in 2024 and 6.1 ± 0.5 °C in 2025; 44% and 50% of the units, respectively, exceeded the recommended 6 °C threshold. In 2025, 31 (62%) and 33 (66%) refrigerators showed higher TVC and <i>Enterobacteriaceae</i> counts compared to 2024, whereas <i>E. coli</i> was only detected sporadically. <i>L. monocytogenes</i>, <i>Salmonella</i> spp., or <i>Campylobacter</i> spp. were not recovered from the refrigerator surfaces. Likewise, <i>Salmonella</i> and <i>Campylobacter</i> were not detected in any of the eggs or egg-storage sites. Indicator microorganism’s counts were not associated with the mean temperature. <b>Conclusions:</b> The absence of correlation between ΔT and Δ microbial counts suggests that behaviour-driven hygiene factors, rather than the relatively small year-to-year temperature differences observed, are more influential in determining household bioburden. Maintaining refrigerator temperatures ≤ 6 °C together with simple hygiene practices remains essential for reducing household food safety risks.