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Under NSF/ANSI Standard 7, there are several different restrictions that a refrigerator may have for its operation. The following is a list of the labels that NSF typically authorizes for these units, along with an explanation of the specific design and/or performance requirements for products carrying each label.
Packaged food is defined as bottled, canned, cartoned, securely bagged, or securely wrapped. While usually the inside of a refrigerator is defined as food zone, units intended for the storage of packaged food only would not have any food products actually in contact with interior surfaces. As a result, the interiors of these units are tested to ensure they meet the more lenient design and material standards for splash zone. A prewrapped sandwich would be acceptable to store in such a unit, but deli meat that will be continuously wrapped and unwrapped would not.
Foods that are nonpotentially hazardous do not need to be kept at any particular temperature. Therefore, these refrigerators are not performance tested and may not be able to keep potentially hazardous foods at safe temperatures.
A unit displaying such a label is a combination of 1 and 2 above. Soda or bottled water would be acceptable, as they do not require a minimum storage temperature. Milk would not.
