Are you hiring a cold room or fridge trailer after an emergency situation? This is going to be one way to preserve the food and drinks that you already have and this type of hire can save you money. But, have you thought about how to organise this space?
In an emergency, a lot of business owners are not thinking clearly. A lot can be happening, whether there has been a major power cut during a large event or a pipe has burst and the kitchen is flooded. Either way, there are a lot of business owners that are spoiling their own produce because they are not taking the time to organise their emergency cold room and fridge trailer. So, here are some tips on how to avoid this from happening.
Allow Space
A lot of businesses are in a hurry to store all of their food and beverages in the trailer. Unfortunately, they do not think about how they are organising the inside. Of course, all of the inside of the trailer is a fridge and it is nice and cold for preserving produce. But, you have to remember to leave space between all of the food in the fridge. This is something that you have to do in your own refrigerator at home too. What is the reason for this? It is all down to letting air circulate inside the fridge and this is what keeps all of your food cool. So, ensure that every product of food in the fridge has its own space so that it can stay at the desired temperature and so that it does not spoil.
Keep Warm Produce Away
Any food that has just been cooked should be allowed to cool before it enters the fridge. Again, this is a rule for an ordinary fridge but you may forget when there has been an emergency. It is important to remember that a fridge trailer works hard to maintain the right temperature that is set. When you introduce warm food into the mix, this can affect the temperature inside and may cause problems later on.
Meats on the bottom
One of the most important rules of any fridge is to use the lowest shelf for meat. The same goes for arranging a fridge trailer or cold room. The purpose of this one is so that you do not contaminate other food that is in there. There is a lot of juice and marinade that can come off meat and if this drips onto other food, it can spoil. In particular, it can make guests sick, which is the last thing you want. It does not matter what type of meat it is or whether it is poultry or seafood, anything raw like that should be on the bottom.
Dairy in the Middle
If you have a lot of dairy food, such as yoghurt, milk or eggs, it should good in the middle of the fridge. There have been studies that have revealed that this is the part of the fridge that is able to keep a consistent temperature. So, since these foods can easily spoil with temperature changes, it makes sense to put them there.
Remember First in, First Out
There is a popular rule in many food service kitchens that is called first in, first out. This can be shortened to FIFO. This is a rule that states that if something is put in the fridge first, this should be the first thing that is used. For instance, if you purchase meat on Wednesday, this should be used before the meat bought on Saturday. The idea is that there is no waste and it saves you wasting money on food that spoils. So, when you are packing your fridge, remember to arrange the food like this for efficiency.
Pre-Cut Fruits When They Will Be Used
If you are a business that is serving food to guests, you may try to save time by pre-cutting the fruits you are going to use. A lot of businesses do this for vegetables too. But, you should note that this is going to shorten the life of fruit and vegetables. In other words, it is not going to stay fresh for as long. It is recommended that you keep them whole and store them in the fridge. This is going to mean they last longer and you can simply cut them up when they are ready to use.
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