Every commercial cool room should be professionally constructed to provide reliable, energy efficient performance and the highest levels of safety. This includes food safety, management of hazardous materials and safety for staff using cold storage areas. A commercial cool room is subject to certain rules and regulations that you need to be aware of.
Cold-Rite is the team of coolroom builders Sydney businesses can trust to construct cold storage solutions above the BCA requirements and the health code, complying with the most stringent codes and standards. Below, we look at some of the health and safety requirements for cool rooms in Australia.
Keeping Food at a Specific Temperature
Reducing the risk of contamination and bacterial growth in your commercial cool room is best achieved with well-built, application-specific solutions. For example, certain types of food must be kept below 5°C as they are deemed high-risk and can cause food poisoning if bacteria are allowed to multiply to unsafe levels. The biggest concerns in the food industry include meat, poultry and seafood.
The danger zone is between 5°C and 60°C as this is the ideal environment for bacteria to grow and rapidly multiply. Above 37°C, bacteria can double every 20 minutes.
Controlling Humidity and Cooling Speed
Another common requirement in food industries as well as for medical, pharmaceutical, laboratory and other specific applications, is the ability to cool a product very quickly to a temperature that protects its integrity and makes it safe from microbial growth. A custom blast freezer or cooler is capable of cooling items to as low as -18 °C within 90 minutes. Some items, especially certain types of produce, may also require a humidity controlled cool room
Cold Storage Insulation
Cool room insulation improves temperature control, allowing for greater compliance. By trapping air in insulated panels in the flooring, ceiling and walls of the cool room, heat transfer is reduced. If the inside of the panelling becomes wet from condensation or humid air, however, then it will become ineffective. Seals around all panels must be waterproof enough to withstand cleaning using jet water. Cool room floors need layers of insulating materials that are thoroughly sealed against any water that might come from floor puddles or washing
Designing a Safe Cool Room
There are various aspects to designing coolrooms Sydney businesses can be sure are appropriately safe and compliant, including:
- Adequate lighting throughout the inside of the cool room
- Safely designed walkways and work areas
- Points for excess water to drain away
- Ceilings and floors designed with the appropriate load bearing capacities for what the cool room will be used for
- Safe provisions for hoisting and other mechanical equipment used to manage stock
- Ensuring internal pillars in large-scale cool rooms are appropriately spaced to avoid obstructing forklifts and other equipment
The best way of ensuring safety and compliance is to custom build your cool room. This ensures the cold storage solution meets the precise requirements of your business keeping in mind additional safety requirements relevant to the specific scope of your operations.
Custom Coolrooms Sydney Businesses Can Trust
At Cold-Rite, our technicians are the coolroom builders Sydney businesses can count on to custom build a solution that goes above and beyond Australian standards and compliance requirements
