One of the key elements you must address when entering the catering business is the correct food storage for your business.
If you’re a newbie to the food industry, or your comestible packaging solutions aren’t performing well, it’s time to explore the various types of food storage in a professional kitchen that you may require.
From selecting the perfect size to picking the best shape and material, navigating the many packaging options can be difficult.
Luckily, Venturepak has accumulated many years of invaluable experience in the packaging sector that can help steer you toward the right food containers for your storage needs.
So, whether you’re running a restaurant, have an outside catering business, or are providing ready meals to supermarkets, we’ll have your bases covered.
Types of food storage in a professional kitchen
You can break down commercial storage solutions into three separate categories.
Dry storage
This refers to the storing of foodstuffs which do not need a climate-controlled atmosphere and have a long shelf life. Think dried pulses, rice, dried pasta and canned produce.
Refrigerated storage
Refrigeration is for comestibles which need storing at a cool (but not freezing) temperature like butter, cheese, meats and batch cooked dishes.
Frozen storage
These can be items which have been opened or coked and then must be frozen to preserve them or items which need to be frozen from the outset such as ice cream.
As you can see, each category needs the correct food storage solutions.
Choosing the methods of food storage for your commercial enterprise is essential if you are to:
- Minimise food waste
- Ensure optimum food preservation
- Avoid cross contamination
- Hold food at the proper temperature
- Prevent harmful bacteria from occurring
Using the correct food storage is vital for any commercial food business and it is absolutely essential to choose the container that is most fit for purpose.
For example, you need to decide what the overall function of the container will be.
Will it be used for storage or for transporting foods? Or both?
You may be a company that provides external catering, in which case you will need the right kind of storage for transportation to ensure it arrives at its destination in the optimal condition.
Here we will look at types of food storage in restaurant kitchen or in a commercial food business…
Commercial food storage containers are available in a wide range of materials, sizes, styles and even colours.
They will also come complete with all kinds of handy and reassuring features, including tamper-evident lids.
What you will be looking for isn’t necessarily their gorgeous looks but rather their intrinsic properties such as affordability, quality maintenance, and durability.
For an outside catering business, or if you’re delivering birthday cakes or pre-prepared meals, you need food containers that are robust enough for travel, that are the perfect size so their contents aren’t moving about, and will help to ensure the contents remain airtight and bacteria free.
Material
For a food business you need to think about durability and whether a container works for the type of things you are storing.
Take ice cream. This needs to be stored in a container that can withstand low temperatures and one that is airtight so that the contents do not degrade.
While the ice cream you buy for domestic use is often available in a cardboard container, the best material for a professional kitchen is plastic.
This is because it is a material that is highly resistant to corrosion and will therefore prevent your ice cream or other foodstuff from degrading.
It can also boast Food Standards Agency approval, which means you can be assured that the contents are not tainted by unwanted chemicals.
Design
Design is important for a number of reasons.
For instance, if you’re providing individual portions of pre-prepared food then you need containers that are the correct size.
We have containers that have designed to meet all your needs.
To give your customers peace of mind, it’s also important to look for food storage containers with tamper-evident lids.
Not only are these reassuring lids airtight, but the tamper-evident design helps to give the end user confidence that the container hasn’t been tampered with.
Purpose
Types of food storage in restaurant kitchen require different types of food storage.
Take our candyfloss containers.
They’re expertly constructed from food grade polypropylene (PP) – a strong and robust material that’s perfect for protecting the contents during storage and transport.
And because they are transparent, they ensure the contents within can be easily viewed.
Or if you are planning to go into business selling ready meals then we would direct you towards our wholesale meal prep containers which will be the right size for your prepared foods and made of durable material that is both freezer safe and microwave safe.
Sustainability
Eco-friendly is very much on our minds as we face the challenges of climate change and while it’s inadvisable to use recycled plastics for food (because you don’t know whether they contain harmful residue from their previous incarnation) food safe plastic is an extremely good option as you can pop it into the dishwasher and use it over and over again.
Size
Size is everything in a commercial kitchen as it is likely that you need every inch of storage space in your cupboards, refrigerator and freezer.
This is why you need containers to the right size and ideally, stackable.
At Venturepak, for example, we offer a wide range of food container shapes and sizes to make utilising storage space effortless.
This includes five different sizes of rectangular containers (from 200-millitres to 1.2-litres) as well as 18 different square container sizes (125-millilitre and 5-litre containers) and a choice of two meal prep container sizes – 500-millilitres and 750-millilitres.
Regardless of the type of food you want to store (be it soup or salad!), having a wide range of container shapes and sizes is always a good idea.
Why choose Venturepak?
For knowledge, dedication and exceptional levels of customer service look no further when looking for methods of food storage.
From first contact to delivery of your order, we’re always on hand to provide expert advice and guidance, ensuring satisfaction with every sale.
Want to delve into types of food storage in a professional kitchen further?
Just tap the link below for more information.
https://www.venturepak.co.uk/best-commercial-food-storage-containers/