3 Tips To Help You Organize Your Commercial Refrigerator
Access to a commercial refrigerator is essential when it comes to the convenience and safety of your restaurant's kitchen. With so many people using the products contained within a commercial refrigerator, having a comprehensive organizational system is the best way to reduce food waste caused by spoilage.
Here are three tips you can use to help get your restaurant's fridge organized in the future.
1. Store meat on the bottom shelf.
You should make it a point to store meat products on the lowest shelves in your commercial refrigerator. The potential for cross-contamination is high when other food products are stored below meats.
Juices or marinades from the meat could leak out onto the foods below, requiring you to toss them at added cost to your restaurant. When meat products are on the lowest shelf, any spills or leaks contaminate only the floor of your commercial refrigerator, and can easily be cleaned up without compromising the quality of any other food in the fridge.
2. Leave space between items on the shelf.
Many of the food products served in your restaurant must be kept at constant cold temperature prior to preparation in order to ensure freshness and flavor. While you might be tempted to pack as many things into your commercial refrigerator as possible, leaving a little space between each item is imperative when it comes to maintaining the right temperature.
Space around food items gives the cool air within your restaurant's fridge room to circulate. Exposing as many surfaces of a product to this cool air as possible will help to keep the internal temperature of the product low, ensuring quality in the future.
3. Use the FIFO method for stocking your fridge.
The way you stock your commercial refrigerator can play a critical role in reducing the amount of food that is wasted on a daily basis. To ensure that food products are used before their expiration date, it's best to employ the First-In/First-Out (or FIFO) method for stocking. This method requires employees to place newer items at the back of the shelf so that older products are used first.
Taking the time to properly organize your commercial refrigeration unit will allow you to eliminate waste from your restaurant's kitchen. Storing meat on the bottom shelf, allowing space between items for proper air circulation, and stocking according to the FIFO method are simple techniques that will produce great results when organizing your restaurant's refrigerator in the future.
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