Food businesses spend a lot of their profits to buy food ingredients and you will be throwing out your investment when it spoils. Food products are a critical asset of a food business so you need to make sure that you take good care of the products. If you are throwing away food regularly then you need to do some assessment and figure the reason behind the food waste. Food waste is not to help the profitability of the food business.
Here are a few storage tips that will help you in reducing food waste.
FIFO Rule:
It is important to keep an eye in the food so that you know how much food you invest in and how much you are using. The food businesses often invest in large bulks of food products because they need a lot of food to serve the customers. But they can sometimes order more than they need or order more even if there is still some left in the refrigerator. Adopting the first in first out rule is effective as it makes sure that there are no old food products rotting in a corner of refrigerators.
Always Take Inventory:
To avoid food waste you need to check the inventory. Taking inventory is a time-consuming activity but it is something that you should never ignore. Regularly checking the inventory is an effective way of avoiding food waste. Make sure that you assign people to do a regular inventory. There are apps that can help in improving the efficiency of the inventory management. You should also record the amount of food you are buying and the amount you are throwing away. It will help in making the right orders so that you can satisfy the food requirements of the business and avoid over-ordering.
Controlling the Temperature:
Temperature is a key factor in safe food storage and if the storage temperature is not right it will increase the food waste. Whether you are using an upright refrigerator, chest freezer or modular cold rooms you need to keep a close eye on the temperature setting of the appliances. Make sure that you regularly check the temperature settings and functionality of the thermostats so that you can store the food at an ideal temperature.
Store Food in Designated Areas:
The food businesses have to invest in a lot of food products so that they can fulfill the needs of the business. When there are too many food products in the refrigerators it is easy to lose them and if you are putting everything on the same shelves then you are also risking cross-contamination. You should assign different areas to different food products so that you can keep the products separate. It will also make it easier to keep track of the inventory and make sure that you do not have to throw away most of the inventory.
Avoid Food Waste by Being Organized:
Keeping food storage organized is essential for avoiding food waste. When everything is organized it makes sure that all products are in clear view. It is easy to lose track of inventory when the shelves are cluttered.
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