Cold chain: 6 habits to store fresh and frozen products safely
From delivery to service, a few simple habits protect the quality of your products and the safety of your guests.
In foodservice, the cold chain doesn't stop at delivery. It carries on in your cold rooms, your freezers and all the way to the pass. Here are six habits to build into your team's routine.
1. Check at delivery
Check product temperatures as soon as they arrive: chilled fresh products are generally kept between 0 and 4 °C, frozen products at −18 °C or below. A thawed parcel, damaged packaging or a date that is too short should be refused at delivery, not the next day.
2. Put away straight away
Frozen first, chilled next, dry goods last. A box left twenty minutes on a worktop is enough to break the cold chain.
3. First in, first out
Place new deliveries behind older stock and keep dates visible. This simple rule cuts waste and avoids serving products at the end of their life.
4. Let the air circulate
An overloaded cold room cools badly. Keep space between shelves and walls, close the doors and log temperatures every day.
5. Never refreeze a thawed product
Thaw in the fridge, never at room temperature, and use the product within the time shown on the pack. Once thawed, it doesn't go back in the freezer.
6. Label opened products
One tub, one label: contents and opening date. The whole team knows what needs to go first.
For your orders: find our Dairy products and Frozen foods ranges in the catalogue.
