Not storing meat the right way can have major consequences. At worst, a customer could end up with a debilitating bacterial infection or food poisoning, which can further tarnish the reputation of your business.
If not that, you’d still be wasting expensive ingredients, bucks, time and efforts spent purchasing and preparing the meat unnecessarily. Hence, storing meat the right way is sacrosanct; this becomes even more critical in summers. It’s important to abide by certain food safety guidelines to prevent harmful bacteria from amplifying and rendering foodborne illness. Our experts have delineated simple guidelines that can keep meat fresh and safe for longer.
Before storing:
You must make sure to buy meat and poultry at the last of the grocery shopping. Make sure to keep them separately to avoid cross-contamination, which may happen if the juices drip on the other.
Refrigeration is essential:
The flesh tends to spoil more rapidly than plants, and menacing bacteria can multiply endlessly if meat is not stored at the right temperature. Exposing the meat to oxygen and light can further make the fat in the tissue rancid. Poultry and seafood tend to develop a stink if not refrigerated correctly. The smell is also an indication of bacteria getting developed.
It’s essential to refrigerate all the perishable items including meat within 2 hours. You must refrigerate them within 1 hour if the temperature is higher than 32°C.
The Right Temperature:
While storing meat in warm temperatures is considered the most conducive to bacterial growth, however, the most dangerous zone is between 5 degrees Celsius to 60 degrees Celsius i.e. a degree higher than a conventional refrigerator. Our experts have meticulously engineered freezers that provide ambient temperature to safely store meat. Raw meat should be instantly frozen in Blast Freezer such as ELANPRO D10 that provides the right temperature i.e. <-20°C. Storing meat at the right temperature also ensures a longer shelf life.
Shock-Freeze the Meat:
If you wish to store meat for a longer duration of time such as for days, shock-freezing the meat is the right to go. Shock-freezing helps to ebb physical, biochemical, and microbiological changes affecting the quality of meat. During the blast-freezing process, most of the water content of the meat about 80 percent solidifies into pure ice crystals.
Benefits of shock-freeze:
→ Fresher and better quality meat: as it minimizes any chemical and physical changes in the quality of the meat, the meat tastes and looks as good as new
→ Ebbed input cost: you can buy meat in bulk for your business if you practice shock-freezing them
→ Faster food preparation: Shock-freezing helps speed up preparation time, you can easily defrost, cook and serve the meat to your customers
→ Less wastage: Up to 40% of food is wasted In a commercial kitchen. Shock-freezing helps reduce meat-related wastage.
→ Longer shelf life: Shock freezing the meat ensures no bacteria is formed, this can help preserve meat for up to 3 times longer.
Factors affecting shock-freeze:
Shock-freezing can be affected by a number of factors; Such as the product’s density, packaging, temperature, humidity, design of the freezer. At Elanpro, our freezers such as ELANPRO D10 are meticulously engineered keeping all these factors in mind, and are built to sustain. Elanpro freezers are embraced by some of the most renowned and prestigious names in the hospitality and FMCG sectors.
This summers, beat the heat and serve the freshest and juiciest meat by choosing Elanpro!
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