Food storage tips for commercial refrigeration

As a franchise or independent business, it’s crucial to store all your ingredients safely. You’ll know all about this already, of course. At TEFCOLD, we supply the nation’s enterprises with a wide range of high-quality fridges. We’ve learned a few tips and tricks during our 40 years in the industry.

Read on to learn more about how you can best store some of the most common ingredients and how getting the right fridge makes all the difference.

1. Salads, fruit and veg

With some vegetables, chilling is essential. Putting them in the freezer means they’ll degrade and lose most of their nutrients and taste. These include (but aren’t limited to):

• Citrus fruits
• Bananas
• Pears
• Bell peppers
• Ginger
• Petits pois
• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Aubergines
• Potatoes
• Pumpkins

While each ingredient has an optimal temperature storage range, you need an average of about 8° C. This is a little higher than most fridges’ recommended settings. If you use fresh fruit and veg, it’s well worth investing in a separate unit. It could be as small or large as you need, but it will make all the difference in terms of taste and texture.

All your fresh ingredients must be used within a couple of days. You can get much closer to 0°C for most other fruits and vegetables while maintaining freshness.

2. Meat

As a food retailer, you’ll know the strict laws around storing chilled meat. Some might like the idea of meat fridges. These are great for animal product-heavy businesses like grills, BBQ caterers and carveries. However, meat fridges might not be so relevant for smaller shops.

If your stock comes frozen, it must be used once you’ve thawed it. When the meat freezes, the water particles crystallise, destroying many of the cells. As it becomes liquid again, the water carries tissue cells out. This becomes a breeding ground for bacteria. As always, take note of the use-by date and label all your incoming ingredients with the date you receive them.

A dedicated meat fridge will typically be around 3°C. At this temperature, you’re dramatically slowing any microbe growth without freezing the flesh, damaging it. This means you’ll maintain the freshness for much longer. However, it still needs to be cooked and served before a specific date - usually three or four days after you receive it.

3. Fish

When it comes to storing fish, there’s no realistic alternative to a fish fridge. These are dedicated to sorting and handling the batches of fish as they come in and get thawed. They’re also specifically to contain the inevitable smell that comes with this particular product.

The standard setting for fish fridges is 0°C or just above. Any warmer and the fish will start to degrade and stink even more. It’s also unsafe.

And that’s really the most essential tip for fish storage - never store it with anything else. The aroma permeates the air around it. Anything you keep with fish will smell and taste like fish - even after it’s been cooked. Of course, raw food, such as fruit or salad, will carry the scent worse than anything else.

If you do store fish in the same fridge as other produce (not recommended), it must be on the bottom shelf to avoid cross-contamination.

4. Dairy products and desserts

Dairy products and desserts should have their own individual fridge (unless it’s just the milk for your cup of tea). Like most refrigerator settings, the lower the temperature, the better - without risking any crystallisation from freezing.

You should store dairy products and desserts between 2°C and 4°C. At this temperature, the high-fat content of these foods won’t absorb odours or fuel any noticeable bacterial growth. This means everything stays fresh and ready to serve.

Get a fridge from TEFCOLD

TEFCOLD is one of the nation’s biggest suppliers of commercial fridges. If your retail business needs something specific, look no further. We have a vast range of options in stock and can offer bespoke customisations for your needs (including branding). With fast delivery options from our dedicated warehouses, we’ll have the right fridge for your franchise with you in no time.

Would you like more information about TEFCOLD and what we can do for you? Drop us an email at sales@tefcold.co.uk, and a member of our friendly team will get straight back to you. We can’t wait to help you on your journey towards consistent, high-quality, fresh food.