Cool Rooms and Food Safety in Australia

Cool Rooms for foods

When it comes to producing food as a commercial business, there are strict requirements for an uninterrupted cold chain from storage to serving. To maintain your compliance with Australian regulations, there are a few equipment options that can make the process easier.

In this article, the Cold-Rite team is looking at why it’s important to focus on maintaining temperatures for food safety.

Sticking to the Safe Zones for Food

In order to reduce the risk of contamination and bacterial growth on your stock, there are certain types of food that need to be kept below 5 degrees Celsius in a walk-in fridge. These high-risk foods can make people sick if they spend too much time in the ‘danger zone’ before being eaten. The danger zone is between 5 degrees Celsius and 60 degrees Celsius – this environment is perfect for bacteria to grow and rapidly multiply.

You can increase the lifespan of your food by freezing it. Keeping your stock frozen at -18 degrees Celsius prevents bacteria from multiplying and spoiling the food. When you are thawing food, it should be kept in a refrigerator that is kept at 5 degrees Celsius or lower until the food is ready to be prepared.

Tips for Improving Food Safety

Your fridges and freezers should have thermometers that allow you to check and record the internal temperatures, ensuring they are working properly to keep food out of the danger zone. While preparing food, it’s okay to keep it in the danger zone because food-poisoning bacteria need time to multiply to unsafe amounts.

Remember that freezing won’t get rid of bacteria already in the food, so avoid refreezing food that has been thawed previously. Keep raw and cooked food separate from each other and try to keep different kinds of meat stored in an organised way to avoid cross-contamination.

What Is Food Poisoning?

Food poisoning is an illness caused by consuming toxins from bacteria in food. Sickness may come from consuming the bacteria itself or from poisons created by the bacteria. The signs of food poisoning include vomiting, diarrhoea, nausea, abdominal cramps, and other flu-like symptoms. Food poisoning can cause long-term kidney failure and even fatality in extreme cases.

The Comprehensive List of High-Risk Foods

To help you keep track of which foods need constant refrigeration, we’ve put together a list of potentially hazardous food, including:

• Raw and cooked meat (especially poultry)
• Foods containing meat, such as casseroles, curries and lasagne
• Dairy products, such as milk, cheese, custard and cream
• Seafood and fish stock
• Cooked rice and pasta
• Food containing eggs
• Soybean products
• Food that contains these high-risk ingredients, such as sandwiches, rolls and pizza

Keep Your Customers Safe with High-Quality Equipment

Cases of food poisoning can drastically affect your business’s reputation and profit margin. Avoid these problems with high-quality cool rooms and industrial freezers from Cold-Rite in Sydney. Request a quick quote online today.

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Cold-Rite Refrigeration provides a full range of commercial and industrial refrigeration maintenance services. We have a fleet of mobile workshops available for breakdown, service or planned maintenance throughout the greater Sydney metropolitan area extending to the Blue Mountains, Central and South Coasts.