Many businesses that serve edible goods know the importance of owning a high-quality commercial refrigerator or cooler. However, they sometimes need to remember how to store the food in them and what to pay attention to. Having a health hazard because of lousy food safety and storage habits can put the business in danger and is vital for the customers’ health.
Suppose a customer knows that the restaurant or supermarket needs to pay attention to food safety and storage. In that case, they will prefer not to buy or eat anything from that business, and reasonably, they will choose their health over anything. Due to this, companies must pay attention to how they store food and how to store them correctly.
Why is Safe Storage of Food Important?
Safe food storage is a vital topic, as any wrong procedure regarding how a business stores food can result in a deadly situation both for the customer and the business. For businesses, being shunned as a business that needs to take care of simple precautions like making sure your food is safe to eat or has not gone wrong will be deadly for them. The customers’ health will be at risk if they eat or purchase products that have not been stored properly.
Businesses should pay more attention to and look after the health of their customers as the health of the customers has to be the priority of the businesses that serve food. Due to these reasons, companies must pay close attention to food safety and storage and change their habits if necessary.
Storage Basics
Some essential yet simple storage basics can help businesses figure out what might be the issue or what they have been missing that can be right in front of their eyes. Some of the simple yet crucial basics of food safety and storage are paying attention to how your commercial freezer operates and how the product is recommended to be stored. These are stated below:
- Check storage directions on labels
- Do not refreeze previously thawed food
- Storage foods in Airtight Containers
- Do not overfill
- Check the temperature frequently
1. Check Storage Directions on Labels
One of the first things to do when storing an edible product is to check and follow the storage direction labels as closely as possible to prevent the product from going bad before the time it should. For instance, some products should be stored in commercial coolers or freezers, while some should be stored in commercial refrigerators. This depends on the product’s consistency, ingredients, and estimated shelf life.
If you store a product that is recommended to be stored in a commercial freezer or cooler in a commercial refrigerator, the product has a high chance of going bad pretty fast. Vice versa will also result in similar results. Due to this, for efficient food safety and storage, it is crucial to check and follow the storage directions of products.
2. Do Not Refreeze Previously Thawed Food
The following crucial food safety and storage basics are not to refreeze thawed foods. Thawing refers to the process of defrosting. So, thawed food refers to food that is defrosted. An important detail about thawed foods is that they should never be refrozen again after defrosting. This is because the freezing process removes some moisture in the food, and the food’s quality decreases after thawing.
Since every thawing process decreases the quality, there may be better options than refreezing and using the food later if the product has gone wrong after the first thawing. Due to this, it is recommended to think twice before refreezing thawed food.
3. Store Foods in Airtight Containers
Preventing contact with air is one of the simplest yet essential tips for storage. This is because the air tends to carry lots of germs and dust, which can contaminate the food. This can cause problems with food safety as contaminated food tends to go bad faster than uncontaminated food.
The contamination will sometimes reach other foods in the commercial refrigerator if the food is not kept in separate containers, which could worsen the issue. Due to this, to prevent any problems with food safety and storage, it is recommended to store food in airtight containers.
4. Do Not Over-Fill
Another crucial food safety and storage tip is to fill the commercial cooler, freezer, and refrigerator evenly. The reason behind this tip is that an excessive amount of products stored can cause problems with the functioning of the commercial freezer.
Overfilling tends to cause hot and cold spots within some parts of the commercial refrigerator, cooler, and freezer that relate to malfunctioning. This malfunction will cause some products to be stored with no issue, while the rest will go wrong as they might be in the hot spot of the commercial freezer. Overfilling should be avoided to have no problem with food safety, storage issues, and device malfunctioning.
5. Check the Temperature Frequently
A commercial cooler to operate at the right temperature is critical for the device and increases the shelf life of the products stored. There are recommended temperatures for each commercial device, and checking if the device works at the right temperature is highly recommended.
In the case of a malfunction, getting a check-up and keeping the interior of the commercial refrigerator, cooler, or freezer clean will make establishing food safety and storage tips easier. A nicely working commercial cooler, freezer, or refrigerator means you will not have to deal with unexpected breakdowns and potential problems with food stored going bad.
Food safety and storage are crucial for businesses serving food and customers to protect their health. Having a health hazard due to a product that is not stored correctly will not only make the business look bad but also can be deadly for the customers, depending on the severity of it. The tips on food safety and storage will help businesses prevent these problems from occurring and protect the health and livelihood of their customers.
How To Choose The Best Cooler for Food Safety and Storage?
Choosing a commercial refrigerator, freezer, or cooler for storing food requires the buyers to understand which type of food can be stored in which way and make a purchase according to their knowledge. Choosing a commercial freezer, refrigerator, or cooler for food safety and storage can save the business money.
There are many details to focus on when choosing a cooler for food safety and storage, including the type of food that is going to be stored in those commercial coolers, the business type to determine the needs of the business, and the energy efficiency to decrease the costs as these devices are working all and every day. These are:
- Types of foods
- Types of the business
- Energy efficiency
1. Types of Foods
Understanding how you want to store the foods sold or served is the first thing to understand before choosing a cooler for food safety and storage. Determine how you want or have to store the food, as some foods can be stored by freezing them, and some can just be stored by refrigeration. Understanding what type of food will be stored also determines the necessary commercial cooler, refrigerator, or freezer.
For example, frozen foods or ice creams must be stored in commercial freezers or coolers. In contrast, cheeses, beverages, and yogurt should be stored in commercial refrigerators. By making this simple distinction, choosing a commercial cooler for food safety and storage makes it easier to prevent making the wrong purchase. Due to that, determining the type of foods that require storing and how they will be stored is necessary.
2. Types of the Businesses
Different types of businesses will require different amounts, sizes, and types of freezers, depending on their overall needs. This difference manifests itself in many ways. However, it is evident in choosing a commercial refrigerator, freezer, or cooler, as even the advertisements of those devices differ depending on the business type.
Even though they all need coolers for food safety and storage, their needs differ, making the devices’ expectations vary accordingly. For instance, restaurants will need different types of commercial coolers compared to supermarkets, even though the purpose of the freezers is still for food safety and storage purposes.
Restaurants need not only big commercial refrigerators, but they are also not on display if they do not store beverages. At the same time, in supermarkets, the products are displayed in commercial coolers, refrigerators, or freezers, depending on the type of product stored within. Due to that, understanding the needs of the types of businesses is crucial for choosing a cooler for storing food.
3. Energy Efficiency
Choosing an energy-efficient commercial cooler for food storage and safety will help the business and the environment. Even though this aspect does not directly affect food storage, it is still necessary to keep it in mind while choosing a commercial cooler, freezer, or refrigerator. They, however, work better than other types of commercial coolers, refrigerators, and freezers. Since they tend to constantly work to prevent the foods stored in them from going bad, energy efficiency will help decrease environmental effects.
Getting an energy-efficient freezer may seem unreasonable for food safety and storage, as all types of commercial coolers can be used to store food, and their energy efficiency seemingly has little impact on that aspect. However, investing in an energy-efficient commercial cooler for storing food will allow you to use it for years as it tends to be more durable due to not using too much energy. Still, it will also help the environment and the business.
Depending on their needs, businesses need different commercial refrigerators, freezers, or coolers. Due to this, there is no one type of cooler for storing food. Choosing the best cooler for storing food is a simple task if the needs of the business and the purpose of the commercial cooler, freezer, or refrigerator are determined beforehand. Manufacturers like Greencooler aim to provide businesses with commercial and custom-made freezers, refrigerators, and coolers that are durable, long-lasting, and meet the needs of the companies.
You can read our previous article from http://greencooler.international/what-is-the-difference-between-fridge-and-refrigerator/.