Top refrigeration tips to enhance food safety

Refrigeration is critical for food safety, particularly in commercial foodservice businesses, where vast amounts of perishable foods travel through the storage, preparation and dining areas.

Following the right food safety tips and guidelines through appropriate commercial refrigeration and storage helps to minimise food waste. Adhering to these guidelines might feel tedious for some food businesses. However, it’s essential for public health and safety. Here are some important refrigeration tips to enhance food safety in your catering business.

Temperature control

Maintaining food freshness is top priority, which is why commercial freezers have extremely cold settings. These settings must be programmed and evaluated regularly to ensure ideal food storage conditions. You should set your commercial refrigerators to 7°C or lower to reduce bacteria growth and pollutant exposure for efficient functioning and good food preservation. Check the temperature setting regularly to verify the refrigerator is working correctly and the food kept within is still fresh.

Meanwhile, various foods have unique compositions and may require a certain temperature to keep them fresh. Investing in a smart control system that gathers and maintains real-time and past data on each cooling unit’s performance makes sense. The system control identifies mistakes and inconsistencies and notifies you about changes in storage conditions.

Regular maintenance and servicing

Think about the various perishable foods, such as vegetables and fruits, that require constant temperatures to maintain their freshness. How long do you think they will last before they start going bad without freezing? Supermarket refrigeration, air conditioning, heating and ventilation work best when combined. It’s common to see restaurants and food-related businesses put off freezer and refrigeration maintenance until they break down. Unfortunately, this could lead to several problems, including broken seals, split gaskets, dirty condensers and so on. These common issues risk food items going to waste and may contribute to increased utility costs.

Stock wisely

Overstocking is among the most prevalent mistakes in food handling and storage. This happens when there is an excess of new food items or when shelving units are not used appropriately across many units. This may cause the cooling equipment to strain harder to keep optimal temperature for all the supplies inside. In a worst-case scenario, not all items may be chilled to the same temperature, causing foods to lose freshness.

To avoid this, ensure that items are correctly stocked and distributed equally on shelving units. It’s also critical to guarantee that all your commercial refrigerators are properly cleaned and maintained to avert avoidable equipment failure.

Know when to dispose of food items

Freezers can inhibit bacteria growth. However, they can do only little to stop the spoiling process once food starts to go bad. Throwing out food may appear to be a waste, but understanding when to do so can help you, and your consumers, stay safe and healthy. The last thing you need is a spoiled food complaint. The dent in your business reputation can be catastrophic. While convenience store refrigeration, for instance, can preserve some food items for a few days, it would be best to dispose of them before they go bad. Food outside the fridge for two hours shouldn’t be consumed, even if it has gone back to the fridge. When in doubt, toss it.

Utilise airtight containers

Storing foodstuff in commercial freezers does not just involve stacking it on shelves. Additional steps must be taken to ensure that food lasts longer. Any contact with natural factors, especially moisture, can trigger food to deteriorate or accelerate the process, leading to more expensive waste. By wrapping them and keeping them in airtight containers, the air is kept out of the food, allowing it to stay fresher for longer. Using airtight containers for food storage keeps other pollutants out of the commercial kitchen, maintaining consistently high food quality.

Use a trustworthy commercial refrigerator

Ensuring food safety can be as simple as choosing the right commercial refrigerator. Commercial refrigeration, such as reach-in refrigerators and freezers in speciality food stores, supermarkets and convenience stores, are designed to minimise food deterioration and contamination. They boast cutting-edge chilling systems, smart temperature controls, and ergonomic storage.

They are great investments for supermarkets and convenience stores, ensuring food safety and outstanding quality on every plate.

The best commercial freezers come with sturdy façades and glass panels that provide excellent protection for items stored within while retaining the visibility required for high-volume operations.

Following the refrigeration tips above can help eliminate waste, guarantee the safety of your food supplies and help you maintain excellent customer service and loyalty. All you need to do is choose the ideal commercial refrigerator that provides excellent food storage while supporting your daily operations at optimal cost.