Maintain Commercial Refrigeration Efficiency With Proper Food Storage

Maintain Commercial Refrigeration Efficiency With Proper Food Storage

One of the things that makes refrigeration units effective is that they keep cold temperatures in storage spaces. With proper cleaning and maintenance, they conveniently prevent bacteria, germs, and other microorganisms from penetrating food. They also simplify the storage and organization of products prior to use or sale.

If you are in the food service industry, it is imperative that your commercial refrigerator is always efficient. One way is to store your food properly. Here are some things you can do to maintain proper food storage.

Understanding Temperature Danger Zones

Food poisoning microorganisms grow and multiply rapidly in areas with temperatures between 5 and 60 degrees Celsius. High-risk foods such as raw and cooked meat, dairy products, eggs, and seafood can easily spoil immediately when exposed to such temperatures. To maintain food quality, you must keep your cold storage below 5°C.

chill any cooked food first

Some business owners allow hot food to be stored in the refrigerator. Unfortunately, doing so will only affect the performance of the cooling unit. It can also spoil other foods that come close to freshly cooked food. If you want to cool some cooked food, you must first divide them into smaller portions on shallow plates. This method helps cool cooked food by exposing it to room temperature. Once the food has stopped producing steam, you can now store them in the refrigeration unit.

Raw and cooked separately

Raw food hasn't been cooked yet, so there's still some bacteria in it. Once cooked, any bacteria they used to contain will hopefully be eliminated. Now, if you're thinking about storing raw and cooked food together, you might want to prevent that from happening. Storing them together will only allow bacteria from raw food to contaminate cooked food. The latter can be spoiled, which affects others. When storing raw food, it must be sealed or placed in a container. They must also be placed under cooked food.

Use the correct container set

The efficiency of your commercial refrigerator can also be improved once you use the correct set of food containers. Containers are crucial in food storage as they ensure that your food does not easily mix with other foods. They also prevent liquids from dripping and causing damage to other stored products. To choose one, you have to make sure they are non-toxic. They must also be clean and in pristine condition. Once you get these types of containers, you must use them to store raw foods, cooked foods, and any contents in open cans.