Storage Food Service Equipment

Storage Equipment

The first principle to storage is to know what, where, when it is needed by the user. Food service operations store raw or cooked ingredients for different length of time and at different temperature to pre-serve their wholesomeness till required for preparation and service.

Storage helps to minimize material handling and helps to maintain compact-ness in work section by limiting the vol-ume stored.

The food items purchased should be stored properly in first sequence to avoid food spoilage, pilferage and labour. Products piled without any log-ical arrangements may be subject to loss in addition to posing safety hazards. It is advisable to set limits on the number of persons who have access to storage areas. 

Storage areas should have easy access from the ­receiving area and from the prepara-tion and production area. Storage areas should be clean, well ventilated and dry with adequate space for a smooth flow of work.

1.  Types of Storage

In any type of food service operation three different storages are essential.

1.     Dry storage

2.     Refrigerated storage

3.     Frozen storage

1. Dry Storage

Foods normally stored in dry storage include rice, dhal, flour, sugar, spices and canned foods. Normal room temperature for dry storage area should range from 100 to 210C. Care should be taken to see that there is enough air circulation with ade-quate ventilation and desired humidity. The food products should not be affected in any way by being exposed to direct sunlight near fire places, drainage or other utility pipes. Storage areas should be kept clean by following regular cleaning schedules.

i Shelving Units

Shelving units are used to store various dry goods prior to use.

Different types of shelving units are as follows

·        6 feet tall stainless steel wire shelving units.

·        Corner shelves

·        Overhead shelves

·        Shelves designed to hold canned goods

ii Speed Rack

It is made of metals and have slots into which food handlers have slide sheeting pans. Heights of shelves can be adjusted depending on the need.

2. Refrigerated Storage

A refrigerated storage is a storage space planned and maintained at a temperature between 0oC and 40C. It can be in the form of a complete room (walk in cooler) or a cabinet which is free standing or fixed in the wall.

Refrigerator storage is used for storing raw and cooked food. Care should be taken that there are no leakages from the contain-ers in which these items are placed. 

It is not advisable to store hot items in refrigerated storage as it may take a long time for them to reach the cold temperature.

In order to store the perishable foods in the cold temperature in food service operation there are three types of refrigerators available namely,

·        Walk-in refrigerator

·        Reach-in refrigerator

·        Roll-in refrigerator

3. Frozen Storage

The most perishable foods like milk and milk products, cakes, meat and fish are placed under frozen storage. Many items are readily available in the market in the frozen form making it important for a food service operation to have adequate frozen storage. Freezer space is also needed to store large quantities of item purchased.