Walk-in Coolers Keep Food Safe

Answer 1

Food containers should be covered and labeled. Nothing should be dripping into/onto anything else. Cooked and ready-to-eat foods should be stored away from raw foods, but if space is a problem, they should at least be above raw foods. Raw beef should be stored above raw chicken (beef can be cooked to lower temperatures than chicken). All food should be on racks and not on the floor. The cooling unit should be functioning properly and should not leak or drip. The cooler floor, walls and racks should be cleaned at scheduled times or as needed. Spills should be promptly handled.

Answer 2

Walk in coolers are used in operations where perishable items must remain cold and fresh until use. In the food service industry, walk in coolers are used to store and hold perishable foods to keep them safe from pathogens that can cause foodborne illness. Walk in coolers come in various sizes, with some being spacious enough to hold large cuts of meat for aging. Food products stored in walk in coolers include cooked and ready to eat foods, eggs, raw meat and poultry.

Walk in coolers should be maintained at the proper temperature to keep food safe. The temperature should be a 41 degrees F or below. To keep the walk in cooler at this temperature, it should be set at about 37 degrees F.

It is important that a walk in cooler not be overloaded with food. Overloading reduces cold air circulation and raises the temperature inside of the cooler. This could result in food becoming warm enough that food borne pathogens such as bacteria could multiply to dangerous levels. Prior to placing foods in a walk in cooler, they should be cooled properly. Placing a large hot pot of food in the walk in not only raises the temperature inside of the appliance, the food inside of the pot may not cool down to a safe temperature quickly enough. Before storing just cooked food in a walk in, divide it into shallow containers such as 2-3 inch deep aluminum steam table pans. Allow to cool some before placing it inside of the cooler.

The shelves of walk in coolers should never be obstructed. Never use paper or foil to line the shelves, as this prevents cold air from circulating around the food. To maintain the proper temperature, keep the doors of walk in coolers closed as much as possible. Monitor whether the unit is working properly everyday by using a thermometer to take the air temperature inside the cooler.

To minimize the risk of cross-contamination when storing foods in a walk in cooler, store ready to eat food away from raw meat and poultry. Ideally, these items should be stored on the top shelf of the unit to prevent raw meat and poultry juices from coming in contact with ready to eat foods.