How to Organize Your Walk in Cooler or Freezer
In order to maintain a hygienic establishment and cut down on wasted food, it's important for restaurant owners to ensure that their walk-in coolers and freezers are well organized. When this doesn't happen, cross-contamination can occur, older items can be pushed to the back (where they'll no doubt expire before they're used) and cooks can waste precious service time looking for the items that they need.
If you're having trouble keeping it clean in the cooler or freezer, follow these helpful organizing hints:
- Separate your items so that they are easy to locate. For example, health and sanitation require that poultry and raw meat be stored on lower shelves to avoid contamination with other foods. Another good idea is to separate raw and ready-to-eat foods so that employees can access them more quickly.
- Make sure that the person responsible for stocking the cooler and freezer rotates the stock so that older items are in front and newer items are in the back. This reduces waste as older ingredients will be used first, before they spoil.
- Train all of your staff on proper organization in the walk-ins, and ensure that everyone is following through with procedure.
Walk-in units are a big investment for any restaurant. Make sure you're making the most of yours by keeping it well organized and up-to-date on maintenance.
