When you are serving food to customers, whether it is in the form of luxurious restaurant meals or as a sandwich made up of deli meats, you want to observe proper food safety. Part of that is making sure that you properly stock your freezer. Here are some things to keep in mind when doing that.
Keep Your Food Raised
The first thing to pay attention to is the chance of contaminating any of your food. According to Restaurant Owner and Manager Magazine, you should stock your food anywhere between 6-12 inches off the floor. That will help prevent dirt and dust from getting on them. It will also make cleaning spills underneath your freezer easier.
Space Out Your Items
You want cold air to be able to circulate around the freezer properly and keep everything suitably frozen. If you have a lot of items bunched up together, that can create “hot spots” and that can create food safety issues. Certain food products cannot be above a certain temperature without going bad. Keeping your freezer cold will keep your food products preserved for longer.
Put Your Meat On the Lowest Shelves
If your frozen meat thaws prematurely and the container can’t hold it, it can contaminate other food products below it. Keeping the meat on the lowest level of your freezer will avoid this issue. Since you’re storing the meat at least six inches or more from the floor, you can easily clean up the spills.
Don’t Put Produce Near The Fans
If you put produce or any other food items close to the fan in your freezer, you risk damaging the food. Put the food in containers away from those vents and you should see it last for much longer. Keeping it away from the fan will also help your products avoid getting freezer burnt.
Label Your Shelves
It can be really easy to think that you have developed a perfect system and know exactly where everything is in the freezer. It may be a great system for you, but not for other people. Avoid possibly confusing people by labeling every shelf with what food product goes where. Then, anyone who needs something can simply go into the freezer, read the label and get what they want. That will save a lot of time and effort.
These are just some of the things that you can do to properly stock your freezer and also follow food safety. Contact ServSafe for more information on how to keep your food products safe!
