How I Use the Chilled Storage and Display Template with Customers in Pilla

Certain types of foods, especially high protein and high moisture foods provide perfect growth conditions for micro-organisms, both pathogenic and spoilage types. These foods can be both ready to eat and raw, bacteria will not distinguish between the two.

Low temperatures 1-5°c will, in most cases slow bacterial growth down considerably, bacteria will, however, still multiply, but very slowly.

One or two bacteria, known as psychrotrophs can multiply at normal rates even at very low temperatures in a refrigerated unit e.g. Listeria monocytogenes and clostridium botulinum.

Strict temperature control of refrigerated units must be maintained at all times to keep the risk level as low as possible.

Temperature control and monitoring of refrigerated units is critical to food safety.

Chilled display units present extra hazards when they can be accessed by the general public e.g. Salad bars and display units for sandwiches etc.

Staff must follow the safety points laid out below in order to achieve a consistent level of safety.

Food types that must be stored chilled

• Cooked meats and fish, meat and fish products
• Cooked poultry and poultry products
• Cooked or prepared products containing eggs or dairy products
• Any of the above that are raw
• Prepared salads and dressings
• Soft cheeses and mould-ripened cheeses
• Smoked and cured fish
• Shellfish
• Raw scombroid fish such as tuna, mackerel and sardines
• Sandwiches containing any of the above products
• Opened products that are hermetically sealed
• Low acidity desserts and cream products
• Fresh and partly cooked pasta and dough products
• Smoked and cured meats that are capable of supporting bacterial growth
• Any other food capable of supporting bacterial growth

Safety points

Chilled storage temperature

It is a legal requirement to store high risk foods below 8°c, however, the target storage temperature should always be below 5°c. There will be instances where the unit temperature rises above 5°c, this should be the exception, not the rule. A temperature of 8°c is the critical limit, any breach of this limit is when corrective actions must be implemented to bring the temperature back to a safe limit as quickly as possible. Food that has been above 8°c for longer than 4 hours must be discarded.

• Fridge unit temperatures must be monitored and temperatures recorded a minimum of twice per day, once per shift

Separation

• Raw and high-risk foods must always be separated from each other at all times, preferably in separate fridges
• If this is not possible, then raw foods should be stored below high-risk products to avoid drip contamination
• Raw foods defrosting in a fridge must always be contained within an outer tray or receptacle to catch drips and avoid further contamination of fridge and other products

4-hour rule

• Cold food may be kept above 8°c to accommodate certain practicalities for a period of up to 4 hours. Only one such period of display is allowed, no matter how short. Food which remains at the end of service period should be discarded

Use by dates

• Ensure use by dates are checked regularly and foods are used in rotation
• Food which has exceeded its use by date must be removed from sale and discarded
• Opened and cooked foods must be labelled correctly to avoid problems
• Foods that are displaying signs of spoilage or decay, even if use by date has not been reached, must also be discarded

High risk and batch cooked foods

• High risk and batch cooked foods must be labelled correctly and only kept for a period of three days including the day of production e.g. Prepared on Tuesday, must be used before end of last shift on Thursday
• Foods that have been frozen, must first undergo full defrosting, then must be used within 24 hours once defrosted

Overloading

• Refrigerated units must not be overloaded, air flow must be allowed to move around the back and sides of the inside of the unit and in between foods
• Overloading can cause temperature fluctuations in the foods which can increase risk of bacterial multiplication

Equipment condition

• Refrigerated units must be maintained in good condition and kept clean and disinfected to avoid problems
• Condensers, vents and door seals should be inspected weekly to check the condition and the cleanliness of the unit so that it can work efficiently. Blocked condensers and vents can cause the unit to overheat if not checked and cleaned regularly

Covering food

• Foods that are stored or displayed in refrigerated units must be covered adequately to prevent the risk of physical, allergenic and microbiological contamination
• Using cloths or tea towels to cover food is unacceptable and must be avoided
• Food grade storage containers or food grade food wrappings only, must be used
• Display type refrigerated equipment must provide screening and or sneeze guards to protect stock

Refrigerated food storage wells

• All the above rules will also apply to refrigerated food storage wells
• Food must not be left in food storage wells overnight
• Food storage wells must be cleaned and disinfected at the end of service each day
• In between afternoon and evening service periods the ice must be refilled to ensure maintenance of acceptable temperatures
• Food service wells temperature monitoring must be done every 4 hours, as temperatures can increase over time, refill food wells with fresh ice when necessary if temperatures have risen

Fridge breakdowns

If there is a power failure, a fridge breakdown or a door has been left open for a long period, the food must be checked to ensure that it is still below 8°c.

• Check the food temperature rather than the temperature reading on the fridge
• Follow the breakdown procedure below

Fridge breakdown procedure

If the refrigerated unit breaks down, check the following and take the appropriate actions, record this in the corrective actions log in the kitchen records.

• Move the food to an alternative fridge. If you are unsure how long the fridge has been faulty e.g. If the unit has broken down through the night, then discard all of the food and record as waste
• Any high-risk food that has been stored above 8°c for longer than a 4-hour period must be discarded
• Food found to be below 8°c can be moved to an alternative fridge
• Fresh fish must be stored below 3°c at all times, if found above this temperature it must be discarded

Corrective actions

• If the air temperature of the fridge is higher than 5°c, retake the temperature in an hour, if it is still above 5°c, then take the temperature of the food with a clean and sanitised probe thermometer
• Transfer all high-risk food that is above 8°c to another refrigeration unit. If you do not have access or space in an alternative refrigeration unit you must use it within 4 hours of being exposed to a temperature above 8°c. Food must be discarded if the food has been exposed to a temperature above 8°c for more than 4 hours
• Any food between 6-8°c should be monitored closely, the food temperature should be taken hourly to ensure that the temperature does not exceed 8°c
• Call an engineer to repair the unit
• Re-organise the storage space or arrange for alternative or extra storage space to be made available if refrigerated units are overloaded
• Ready to eat foods that may have been cross contaminated should be discarded
• If staff do not follow the above safety points retrain them and increase supervision until competency can be shown

Record keeping

• Keep records of refrigerated unit temperatures
• Keep records of refrigerated food storage well temperatures
• The core temperature of high-risk food should be recorded once per week in the kitchen records
• Record any contraventions of the above safety points and record all corrective actions taken
• Record any training or retraining undertaken