When Running A Restaurant: Six Essentials Tips to Manage Perishable Goods & Their Storage

Food safety is a critical part of running your restaurant operations. People often find it tricky to manage their perishables under the right storage conditions to ensure freshness and quality. Improper storage can lead to your goods getting spoiled way before their expiration dates and costing you extra expenses in reordering ingredients urgently.

To avoid such mishaps, here are some practical tips for managing perishables.

Implement a FIFO System

FIFO (First In First Out) is the best system to follow when it comes to your perishable goods. The term is as simple as it sounds. You store your items so that the ones bought or produced earlier are consumed first. This ensures minimal food wastage and allows you to store all your goods efficiently.

Your restaurant manager should train employees to track the expiration dates on your perishables and make sure only to use fresh ingredients.

Ensure Dark and Cool Storage Conditions

If you’re looking for ways to maximise your perishable goods’ storage life, keep your storage containers dark and cool. Investing in a carrier fridge service can help you achieve this.

Whether it’s dry goods or pre-made components of a particular dish, keeping your storage unit cool and away from direct sunlight will prevent the food from spoiling. Dark conditions slow down food degradation and preserve its quality to offer your customers fresh, delicious meals.

Pay Attention to Storage Temperatures

Your storage temperature settings should depend upon the kind of food you’re storing. The general temperature range should be between 10*C to 21*C. Moreover, your frozen goods should be at -17*C to prevent bacterial growth and food spoilage.

You should keep a precise track of your storage temperatures and install highly-sensitive thermometers paired with alarms. These work great to notify you when the temperature goes above the set limit.

Labelling is Essential

One of the fundamental rules of running an efficient kitchen is labelling your food. Every opened packet stored Tupperware or pre-cooked ingredients should be carefully marked with the name and production date. This helps cooks determine which ingredients are safe to use and what needs to be discarded.

Store-Based on Cooking Temperatures

Did you know the shelf you choose to store your food in should be based on the cooking temperature? Surprising, right?

An excellent rule to follow for storing your perishables is to keep the food with lower finishing temperatures at higher shelves. Ready-to-eat or pre-cooked meals should be placed on the top shelf while meats and cheeses go on the shelves below. Be sure to wrap your food tightly or store it in airtight containers to prevent cross-contamination.

Make it a rule to keep fish and shellfish on the third or fourth shelf. Below that, on the last few shelves, you can store your raw products like pork, ground meat, or whole eggs.

Keep Records of Food Waste

The final step is to keep well-maintained records of any food wastage. It would help if you emphasised the importance of recording any expired or spoiled products before they’re thrown out. This practice allows you to figure out which ingredients are going to waste and why.

Once you have valuable insights into your food waste, you can develop effective solutions to prevent it. Perhaps you’re ordering too much of a particular perishable good or not storing it properly in the carrier fridge. Whatever the reason may be, you can analyse it and prevent it from happening in the future through your food waste records.

At the End

Whether you run a fancy restaurant, a small burger joint, or even a hospital cafeteria, you will need to take certain measures to ensure the safe storage of your perishables. Not only do these tips make sure you serve fresh, healthy food, but they can also save you money in the long run.