30 Apr 2007


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Choose the best refrigeration equipment: Talking Retail's how to guide

Food Hygiene Regulations make clean, new equipment of utmost importance. We set out pointers to get the most from your refrigeration section.

The Food Hygiene Regulations apply to every shop. It is the retailer's responsibility to ensure that all goods are stored and displayed at the correct temperature. The refrigeration equipment therefore needs to be able to maintain the required temperature and it may be necessary to buy some new equipment.

Unless equipment was made in the last few years, it is unlikely to perform to the regulations. Older equipment is usually difficult to modify due to incorrect sizing of compressors and air flows and lack of defrost facility.

In addition older equipment is likely to contain CFC refrigerants which were phased out of the UK in 1994. It is therefore a factor to bear in mind when buying second-hand equipment.

Considerations
Care should be taken when considering what size of equipment to buy. It is not always necessary to fill the space available, such as buying a 6ft cabinet because there is a 6ft gap or bare wall.

Look at it from a business view - what costs do you need to cover when buying new equipment?

Purchase price
Interest on loan charges etc.
Running costs
Maintenance costs

If this calculation is done for a 5 year period, the total divided by 260 will give the weekly profit required.

A smaller cabinet may be better, particularly if stock is concentrated on faster selling premium lines. For example drinks which do not have to be stored cold, could be limited to a maximum of one or two days' stock turnover. In any case drinks are probably best displayed in a glass fronted case.

Chilled display cabinets MUST run colder than the minimum requirement for the core temperature of certain foods and that is 5 °C.

Any purchaser should see a written or printed statement of what air temperatures any piece of equipment runs at and it must be below 5 °C and preferably in the range of 0 °C to 2 °C.

If it does not, don't even consider it!

Remember to keep a daily check on your refrigeration equipment.Regular temperature testing of the food will tell you that your equipment is working within the law.

How to Control Running Costs
New refrigeration equipment is likely to have higher running costs but you can control these. Ventilation is one of the most important factors. Heat given off by equipment can build up particularly at night when premises are closed. There are two ways of overcoming this:

Cabinets can be positioned against an outer wall with grills behind the unit to allow the hot air to escape.
Install a suitably sized ventilation fan controlled by a thermostat. This will ensure a gentle passage of air throughout the shop to the benefit of all concerned. This should be sized to achieve six complete air changes per hour - advice should be obtained from your local contractor. Avoid excessive draughts across the front of the refrigerated display cabinets - this can affect air flows within them and consequently running costs.

Always remember that service checks save money in the long run and maintenance contracts are best.

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