In the business sector Grab & Gowhere food and beverages must always be ready to be consumed immediately, the COLD CHAIN plays a crucial role. It not only guarantees product freshness and quality, but also ensures compliance with health regulations and customer satisfaction. Keeping the cold chain intact is essential to avoid shrinkage, reduce operating costs and deliver a seamless experience to consumers.
In this article, we present 10 key tips to ensure the correct preservation of refrigerated products in Grab & Go businesses. With a technical and practical approach, this content will help you to optimise your refrigeration processes, improve the sustainability of your business and maintain food quality.
1. Choose cooling equipment designed for 24/7
The selection of refrigeration equipment is the first step in securing the cold chain. In Grab & Go businesses, where constant replenishment and direct customer access to products are commonplace, you need high-performance technology designed to withstand continuous use.
Key recommendations:
- Invest in refrigerated display cabinets designed to work efficiently 24/7.
- Look for equipment with cooling systems that maintain constant temperaturesas the Coreco display cabinets. They offer precision, reliability and energy efficiency.
- Prioritise equipment that uses environmentally friendly refrigerant gases such as R290, which are not only sustainable, but also more energy efficient.
Inadequate or poor quality equipment can cause temperature fluctuations that affect product freshness, directly impacting customer satisfaction and operating costs.
2. Make sure you set the temperatures correctly
Storage temperature varies according to the type of product. A common mistake in Grab & Go businesses is not adjusting refrigerated display cabinets to suit the specific needs of the food. This can lead to loss of freshness or, worse, food safety issues.
Recommended temperatures depending on the type of product:
- Dairy and fresh produce: 0 to 4°C.
- Prepared salads and fruit: 2 to 5°C.
- Raw meat and fish: -1 to 2°C.
- Cold drinks: 4 to 8°C.
Ensure that fume cupboards are calibrated correctly and regularly check that temperatures are kept within the recommended ranges.
3. Establish a preventive maintenance plan
Refrigeration equipment must operate at 100% at all times. A technical failure not only interrupts the cold chain, but can also result in significant economic losses due to spoiled products. Therefore, it is vital to perform regular preventive maintenance.
Key actions for preventive maintenance:
- Clean condensers and filters at least once a month to avoid dirt build-up that can affect airflow.
- Check thermostats and sensors to ensure that temperatures are accurate.
- Check for possible ice build-up on evaporators and act quickly if detected.
- Hire a specialised technical service to carry out more in-depth periodic inspections.
Investing time and resources in preventive maintenance will prolong the life of your equipment and reduce unexpected incidents that can compromise food quality.
4. Avoid overloading of display cases
Although it can be tempting to maximise space in display cabinets, overloading refrigeration equipment is one of the most common mistakes in Grab & Go businesses. This blocks the flow of cold air inside the display cabinets, creating hot spots that compromise the quality of the products.
Good practice:
- Maintain a even distribution of the products in the showcases.
- Ensure that there is sufficient space between the products to allow for adequate cold air circulation.
- Avoid placing products against the inside walls of the display case, as this may block the cooling ducts.
The design of Coreco display cabinets allows for optimal airflow distribution, ensuring that products remain fresh even with high turnover.
5. Minimise exposure to heat during replenishment.
The timing of product replenishment is critical to the cold chain. Taking refrigerated food out of display cabinets for extended periods can break the thermal chain, affecting freshness and quality.
Practical advice:
- Plan replenishment schedules to be carried out during off-peak periods.
- Have new refrigerated products ready in a nearby cold store before restocking to minimise heat exposure time.
- It uses rapid and orderly replenishment methods to ensure preservation.
6. Train your team in cold chain management.
Your staff are a key part of maintaining the cold chain. A trained team not only understands the importance of proper temperatures, but also knows how to respond to equipment incidents or fluctuations.
Fundamental aspects of training:
- Correct handling of refrigerated and frozen products.
- Procedures for checking and recording fume cupboard temperatures.
- Protocols for action in the event of equipment failure or thermal fluctuations.
A well-trained team helps ensure food freshness and reinforces the business's commitment to quality.
7. Implement a continuous monitoring system
Temperature variations can occur at any time, even outside business hours. It is therefore important to have a continuous monitoring system to monitor temperatures in real time.
Recommendations:
- Use digital thermometers for regular checks during the day.
- Invest in IoT (Internet of Things) systems that allow you to monitor display case temperatures remotely and in real time.
- Set alarms that automatically notify you if temperatures go out of range.
These technological solutions are an investment that not only guarantees quality, but also prevents financial losses due to damaged products.
8. Optimise energy efficiency
Sustainability and energy savings are becoming increasingly important in the Horeca sector. In addition to guaranteeing the cold chain, efficient equipment helps to reduce operating costs.
What to look for in refrigeration equipment:
- Models with energy certifications A+ or higher.
- Systems using sustainable refrigerant gases, such as R290.
- Showcases with LED lighting, which consume less energy and generate less heat.
Coreco is committed to sustainability by offering equipment that combines high performance with energy efficiency, ensuring a lower environmental impact.
9. Design showcases with the customer in mind.
In Grab & Go shops, refrigerated display cabinets are accessible to the customer, which means that they can be opened several times a day. This creates an additional challenge to maintain the cold chain.
Practical solutions:
- Use display cases with self-closing glass doorsto minimise cold losses.
- Organise the most popular products in accessible positions to prevent customers from searching for a long time.
- Avoid placing refrigerated products in open display cases, especially if the business has a high volume of customers.
Coreco cabinets are designed to ensure thermal stability even in highly interactive environments.
10. Conduct regular audits
Internal audits are essential to identify potential process failures and ensure that the cold chain remains intact.
What to include in audits:
- Review of temperatures recorded in display cabinets and cold rooms.
- Inspection of the condition of refrigeration equipment.
- Verification of compliance with health regulations.
Audits not only avoid legal sanctions, but also reinforce customer confidence in the quality of your products.
The Cold Chain as the Key to Grab & Go Business Success
Maintaining the cold chain is not only a matter of quality, but also an essential pillar for the profitability and sustainability of Grab & Go businesses. With the right refrigeration equipment, such as the ones from Coreco GourmetBy applying these 10 tips, you can ensure that your products stay fresh, safe and appealing to the customer.
Ready to optimise the preservation of your products? Discover how Coreco equipment can make a difference to your Horeca business.
