How to Correctly Store Food in Cold Storage - Cenza

How to Correctly Store Food in Cold Storage



Did you know that 40% of food-borne illnesses happen because of improper food storage? If you're running a business in which you're responsible for providing customers with food, spreading food-borne illnesses will quickly put you out of business.

It's a risk you can't take, which is why you have to know about storing food properly.

In the article below, you'll find tips on how to correctly store food in cold storage. These tips will be especially helpful if you're using a walk-in refrigerator for storing meat or produce. Continue reading to learn more about cold storage.

Don’t Put Hot Food Into Cold Storage

If you're using a refrigerator or freezer to store food that you've already cooked, you have to let the food cool down before you put it in cold storage.

Putting hot food out of the oven or off the stove top into cold storage is never a good idea because the hot food could heat the other foods around it. Before you know it, you could have ruined multiple food items in your refrigerator or freezer which could be the least of your issues. Follow the two-stage cooling method. Remember, the first phase starts when the food hit 135F. Prior to that, food can remain out to start to cool as long as the product is covered to protect it from any contaminants. Do not seal it as you want the heat to escape.

Don’t Fill Your Walk-in Refrigerator Too Much

Having a walk-in refrigerator is great, but the refrigerator system will only work if you have proper air circulation. You need to allow enough room in the walk-in refrigerator for the cold air to move freely around the room and keep the food cold.

While you may be tempted to put as much food in the refrigerator as you can fit, this approach can prevent your food from staying cold. Keep food 6" away from the walls and 6" off of the floor.

Organize Your Refrigerator Properly

You can set your walk-in refrigerator to the proper temperature all you want, but food can still spoil if your employees are opening the refrigerator too often.

The problem is, your employees do need to access the refrigerator regularly. You want to avoid keeping the refrigerator door open for too long, but you also want to organize your refrigerator properly.

If you have food in the refrigerator that employees need to access regularly, put it near the door. Food that needs to stay cold for a long time and doesn't need to be taken out should be near the back of the refrigerator.

Clean Your Refrigerator on a Regular Basis

It's important to keep your food cold, but it's also important to keep it free of contaminants. You don't want to put food in a dirty refrigerator because you never know what kind of contaminants could be in there. Make it a habit to clean your refrigerator regularly. With a lot of traffic comes a lot of debris.

Reviewing the Top Tips for Storing Food

The tips in this article should help you figure out how to go about storing food in a walk-in refrigerator. Now that you know how to store food properly, you can take the necessary steps to keep your food safe and uncontaminated.

If you're interested in learning more about best practices for storing food, reach out to the experts at Cenza, Inc.



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