Follow professional food storage rules to prevent food-borne illness.
When it comes to saving money and preventing food-borne illnesses, your method of food storage is critical. Whether you are an average person organizing a home kitchen or a professional food service manager, there are rules about food storage that are absolutely essential to follow. Food should be handled the same exact way every time it comes into your kitchen, no matter who does the unpacking and storing. Does this Spark an idea?
FIFO, or First In, First Out
Follow the rule of FIFO, or First In, First Out, when storing all foods. This means that every time you store a food, it goes behind any similar foods in the kitchen or storage area, and the older samples are pulled to the front to be used first. Pull down the older containers, store the newer ones at the back of the shelf, then replace the older ones at the front of the storage area.
Label and Date
Create a labeling system for all foods in your kitchen. Use permanent markers, strips of masking tape and a pen or wax pencils. Write the date that you purchased the item and its expiration date on everything in your kitchen. Use the same system on all foods so that you can easily check dates at frequent intervals.
Cooked and Raw Foods
Store packaged raw meats and other raw foods on bottom shelves in refrigerators and walk-ins while keeping cooked foods on the upper shelves. Raw foods may drip juices, and having cooked food below them can contaminate the cooked food with the juices.
Thermometers
Keep a hanging dial thermometer in the refrigerator and freezer and check them on a daily basis. Your refrigerator should run at about 33 to 35 degrees F, and the freezer should be close to 0. If your refrigerator gets near or above 40 degrees F, or the freezer gets to over 30 degrees F, call a repair person to look at your unit.
Tags: your kitchen, cooked food, degrees freezer, every time, FIFO First