If there is one thing that all businesses need to be in the catering industry, it is organised. Customers want quality food, and they want fast service. They do not want to wait around to be served, and they are also critical when it comes to what they are consuming. Therefore, if you want to make a positive name for your business, you have to be organised when it comes to cold storage.
In particular, something that is going to be very important is having an organised freezer space. This allows employees to find what they need quickly. Plus, it ensures that all items are stored correctly and kept in their best condition. Here are some useful tips on how businesses can organise their freezer space.
Ensure There is Space
One thing that many businesses are guilty of is packing in many items into the freezer. In other words, they pile them up and do not leave space in between all of the items. This is something you want to avoid doing at all costs. You need to make sure that the air inside the freezer is able to circulate. This is going to be what keeps things nice and cool. After all, this is essential for food safety and quality.
Therefore, make sure that every item has its own space. You want to stay away from the walls of the freezer too, leaving a gap. If you discover that you do not have enough space in your freezer, consider getting another one. For example, you can hire a freezer room in UK for all of your needs. This can be an affordable way to access more cold storage.
Label the Shelves
Remember that everything you are doing is to make items easier to find in the freezer. When employees know where items are, they can quickly locate and grab them. They do not have to waste time searching around and getting flustered. In particular, something that can help is labelling all of the shelves. This allows employees to see what they want at a glance.
Labelling the shelves also means that people will put things in the freezer in the right place. Everyone knows that items will have their space, whether they are looking for chicken or frozen vegetables. If something is out of stock, it will be obvious, and again, it will save time searching for something that is not there. Try to label the shelves in a logical way that will help everybody and that makes sense.
Meat Stays Low
Many people think that it does not matter where you store meat in the freezer. It is frozen, after all, right? Well, this is not completely true, and you do have to be careful where you store meat in a freezer. In particular, the meat is not going to be frozen to begin with, and there can be a spillage. The last thing you want is for there to be any juice from the meat that gets onto other food. This could lead to cross-contamination, which is the last thing you want.
Therefore, this is why it is best to keep meat on low shelves. This means that if there is any spillage, it is not going to fall on anything else, which is something that can happen on the top shelves. The low shelves are the best place and it can stop any problems that would reflect badly on your business. You do not want to take any unnecessary risks with food.
Organise in Date Order
We know that there are many foods you can freeze for months. But, this does not mean that the quality is going to be as good if you take it past this date. There is also the question of safety too. What can happen is that old products get pushed to the back of the freezer as you stock up on new items. Then, they end up being past their used-by date by the time you get around to using them. This is a waste of food and it costs you money.
To avoid this from happening, it is best to have a policy when you are organising the freezer. Namely, you want to organise the items in date order. This is not something that takes long if you do it when you are restocking. It makes sure that the first items in the freezer get used the first time around, keeping waste to a minimum.
