Food storage can be difficult in a restaurant, especially when the climate isn’t in your favour, and most of the restaurant specialties involve red meat, seafood or poultry. To make things a bit easier, let’s discuss five easy tricks to help restaurants store their perishables and keep them fresh for longer.
Apply the FIFO Rule
The First In, First Out rule (FIFO) applies more in meat and fish storage than in the case of any other perishables. Always be sure to place both your cooked and uncooked meat or seafood in an order that puts the latest arrivals at the back. It should also be mandatory for the staff to first clear out the older food items in the front row before getting to the next one behind it.
All Meat Needs to be Sealed Inside Airtight Containers
Although you are keeping it in cold storage, that doesn’t mean you can keep meat of any kind without sealing it in an airtight container first. Technically you can do this, and some restaurants will ignore this rule, but it’s a recipe for food contamination and spoilage.
Raw Meat and Cooked Meat Should Not be Kept in Close Proximity
Once the meat is cooked, it’s chemically altered and it’s a bad idea to keep cooked and uncooked meat in close proximity to each other, as it can lead to bacterial contamination.
In general, raw meat and seafood should always be kept in the bottommost drawer/rack to prevent spilled juices from a leaky container getting into other food.
Use Ice Flakes to Keep Your Seafood Preserved for Long Periods of Time
Using ice flakes to preserve seafood is the most cost-efficient way to do so, not to mention that it is one of the most effective storage methods in general. To find an ice machine that can produce the amount of ice flakes you need on a regular basis, go through your options on Fridge Freezer Direct. Buy a model that can produce a little more than what you need right now, to save having to buy another one six months in the future.
Refreezing Raw Meat of Any Kind is a Bad Idea
Deep-freezing meat, fish and poultry is a decent way to preserve them for a longer period of time, though it may not always be ideal. However, once you have defrosted deep-frozen meat of any kind, never try to refreeze it. It just doesn’t work, so simply keep it in the freezer, as it will spoil within the next day at most either way.
Try to cook as much of the leftover, unused meat as you can, because that will add a few extra hours and maybe even a day of freshness to the food.
Spoiled food is a cost that will add up and eat into the restaurant’s profits significantly if you are not strict about implementing high storage standards. It’s neither hygienic, nor profitable to ignore proper storage, so take heed and make life easier for both your business and your customers!
