The Importance of Refrigeration Safety
Proper commercial refrigeration ensures that perishable goods sold or served to customers are at their best state. Perishable food should not be housing illness-causing microorganisms or exposed to harmful chemicals. Thus, there are standards that food and consumer goods businesses must follow.
Such guidelines consider the shelflife of perishable foods and the type of refrigerators, freezers, or cooling storages. For instance, milk and dairy products are best stored in walk-in refrigerators with the temperature set at 2-7 °C. Any lower temperature can freeze the foods, while a higher temperature can cause them to spoil.
Commercial Refrigeration Safety Guidelines
For your guidance, here are the commercial refrigeration safety standards set for food and manufacturing businesses in Australia:
Storage Practices
- Store raw meat separate from other unpacked foods. This practice will prevent meat juice from contaminating ready-to-eat products.
- Use containers and packagings are safe for food.
- Keep refrigeration and food storage areas clean (plus dry if storing fruits and vegetables) and free of bugs and chemicals. For some expert cleaning tips, read how to clean your commercial refrigerator.
- Make sure perishable goods are stored at 5°C or lower.
Length of Storage
- Foods with eggs (especially raw eggs) should not be kept for more than 24 hours.
- Do not keep unpacked, ready-to-eat foods longer than five days.
- Follow the manufacturer’s storage instructions in the packaging when handling packed products and frozen foods.
Food Refrigeration Tips
- Check commercial refrigerators and freezers regularly for maintenance issues. Contact your contractor for spotted problems. Here are some maintenance tips for commercial fridges that might come in handy.
- Check freezer, cooler, or refrigerator temperatures regularly to ensure foods and products do not freeze or spoil. It helps to use a secondary thermometer as a double checker for the refrigerator thermostat.
- Do not overstock refrigerators, so that cold air can circulate.
- Regularly inspect products for “Use by” dates. Follow the “first in, first out” rule.
- Read the “Use by” date of packed foods before using or putting them out for sale.
- Do not leave refrigerator doors open for too long. Avoid opening them frequently also.
- Follow the manufacturer’s storage instructions in the packaging when handling packed or boxed frozen foods.
- Educate staff members on food refrigeration and storage guidelines and the proper use of your commercial refrigerator or freezer model.
Talk to Commercial Fridge Rentals Today
Is your trusty old refrigerator on its way out? Is it no longer capable of giving you the cold shoulder? Call us at Commercial Fridge Rentals, and let’s discuss renting another one. Renting a refrigerator removes the burden of maintenance and allows you to upgrade your equipment more often.