Ten things you shouldn’t put in a commercial refrigerator

As anyone who works in the food industry knows, storing food at the right temperature is critically important. It helps preserve your ingredients’ quality and nutritional value and prevent spoilage. In turn, this reduces the risk of making your customers ill by serving food that’s gone off but also helps prevent food waste, which can save your business money in the long run. 

It’s a legal requirement for all businesses in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland to store cold food at 8°C or below. Food Standards Agency guidelines set a temperature ‘danger zone’ of between 8°C and 63°C, which means that food is safest when it is either frozen, chilled below 8°C, or heated above 63°C.

Leaving food in the temperature danger zone for too long increases the risk of it developing harmful bacteria, which can cause illness to anyone who consumes or handles it. While the optimum chilled temperatures to store food at vary from ingredient to ingredient, maintaining a holding temperature range between -2°C and +2°C should be sufficient for most common food types.

At these temperatures, raw meat, poultry, fish and seafood should stay fresh and safe to eat for up to two days and up to four days when cooked. Dairy products vary. Skimmed milk, for example, lasts longer than whole milk. It’s also worth noting that fat in dairy products can absorb strong odours from other ingredients in your commercial refrigerator, which can affect the taste. And fresh fruit and veg can last anything up to five days before it starts to spoil, although cold storing certain fruits and vegetables can prevent them from ripening naturally (see below). It goes without saying that you should always be sure your chilled food is safe to eat before serving.

Labelling your ingredients with their refrigerated date and use-by date will help you keep on top of this. However, because there are so many variables that can cause your food to spoil prematurely, even when chilled, then it’s worth carrying out the following checks:

• Sight – Does the food look right? Does it have the same colour as usual? Is anything visible on the surface? If your ingredients have started to discolour, or there are signs of mould or bacteria, you should dispose of them.
• Smell – Your nostrils can be your best friend when checking how fresh your food is. Many ingredients, including fresh meat and poultry, fish and some fruits and vegetables, have little to no odour when fresh. So, if they give off an unusual or unpleasant smell, it’s a sign they have gone off and are not safe to serve.
• Texture – Like sight, texture can be extremely important when determining whether food is fresh or not. If your ingredients are softer – or harder – to the touch than usual, it can signify that they have started to go off. Even if it looks OK on the outside and smells OK too, if it doesn’t feel right to touch, there may be something wrong.

While the above tests will give you a good idea of whether your ingredients have started to spoil, food safety should always be your number one priority, so if in doubt, be safe and throw it out.

Ingredients you shouldn’t store in your commercial refrigerator

While most fresh foods are safe to keep in your commercial refrigerator until their use-by date, certain ingredients are better stored in a cool, dark and dry environment – like a storage drawer or pantry – rather than a fridge. Here are ten things you shouldn’t put in a commercial refrigerator:

Avocados – Like many fruits (yes, they are a fruit!), chilling avocados in the fridge will slow the ripening process. So, they should be stored in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight until they are ready to eat (give them a quick squeeze, they should be soft but not squishy). Once ripened, they will store in the fridge for a couple of days before going off.

Bananas – Bananas are grown in tropical climates and need heat and sunshine to ripen. The chilled air in your commercial refrigerator will inhibit the enzymes that enable this process, even after taking them out. So, you should keep bananas somewhere warm and dry until they’re ready to eat – they should be yellow and soft rather than green and firm. 

Bread – Although it seems logical that keeping bread cool will prevent it from going stale quickly, the opposite is true. Refrigeration hardens the starch in the bread, while moisture provides an ideal breeding ground for bacteria. So, the best place to store opened bread is in an airtight container.

Coffee beans – Storing coffee beans in a cool, dry place helps preserve their distinctive flavour profile. However, when stored in a commercial refrigerator, the moisture can start to break their delicate oils down and cause the beans to spoil.

Fresh herbs – The cold can damage many fresh herbs and affect their delicate flavour, so they are best eaten as soon as possible after they’re cut. However, if this isn’t possible, keeping the stems in cool water can help preserve their flavour a little longer.

Honey – Honey is best stored at room temperature, away from direct sunlight. Its flavour can mature over time if stored in optimum conditions. However, storing honey in the fridge can cause it to harden as its natural sugars start to crystalise.

Melons – Although you can store melons in the fridge, research has found that those stored at room temperature contain significantly more nutrients and antioxidants than chilled ones.

Onions – Onions need air to stay fresh, so storing them in the fridge will see them dry out and spoil in no time. The same goes for garlic, with the added complication that its pungent odour can contaminate your other chilled ingredients.

Potatoes – Chilled air can break down the complex starchy structure of most common potato varieties and completely ruin their texture.

Tomatoes – Like bananas and avocados, tomatoes won’t ripen properly in the cold. However, once ripe, they will stay fresh in the fridge for a few days.

How can TEFCOLD help?

If you work in hospitality, catering, foodservice or food and drink retail, keeping your fresh ingredients in optimum condition with reliable commercial refrigeration is essential. That’s where TEFCOLD can help. As market leaders in the UK, we offer a wide range of refrigerated storage, preparation and display solutions to suit your operations and budget.

Our products are backed by an exceptional delivery team, customer service and aftersales support, with your satisfaction our number one priority. To learn more about how we can solve your refrigeration challenges, call us on 01332 850090 or email sales@tefcold.co.uk. We’d love to hear from you.