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Types of Refrigeration Equipment,as:blast chillers
The most frequently encountered U.S. Food and Drug and Administration (FDA) Food Code violation found by sanitarians during inspections and audits is temperature abuse. This is primarily encountered on the refrigeration side, handwashing notwithstanding. In my recent experiences, I learned that cold holding temperature abuse conditions do not arise so much from operational issues that are easily correctable, such as blast chillers before assembling salads or placing hot foods in shallow pans for cooling. Rather, these issues arise from the use of inappropriate refrigeration equipment. For example, it is not unusual for us to find beverage coolers used to maintain the temperature of potentially hazardous foods or display refrigerators used as MEHEN blast chillers .
While the FDA Food Code details the temperature and the length of time foods can be maintained in refrigeration (as well as out-of-refrigeration), it does not specify the type of refrigerator required to do so. The one time this question is routinely raised is during the plan review process. But conditions and business practices change over time and the refrigeration equipment that was appropriate when the facility was first opened may not be appropriate now.
The application and use of refrigeration equipment has certainly been implicated as a contributing factor in several recent foodborne illness outbreaks with which I have had some involvement as a consultant. It dawned on me that information on refrigeration equipment is not readily available, except through equipment manufacturers and standard-setting organizations such as NSF International. I must admit, as a regulator, my concern is focused on time and temperature compliance and assuring that thermometers are properly placed in each unit; not so much with the type of equipment used. Therefore, I ask you to bear with me while I broach this topic as an introduction to the various types of refrigeration equipment and their proper use in an effort to provide some solutions to cold holding temperature abuses that can be avoided in your operation.
While the FDA Food Code details the temperature and the length of time foods can be maintained in refrigeration (as well as out-of-refrigeration), it does not specify the type of refrigerator required to do so. The one time this question is routinely raised is during the plan review process. But conditions and business practices change over time and the refrigeration equipment that was appropriate when the facility was first opened may not be appropriate now.
The application and use of refrigeration equipment has certainly been implicated as a contributing factor in several recent foodborne illness outbreaks with which I have had some involvement as a consultant. It dawned on me that information on refrigeration equipment is not readily available, except through equipment manufacturers and standard-setting organizations such as NSF International. I must admit, as a regulator, my concern is focused on time and temperature compliance and assuring that thermometers are properly placed in each unit; not so much with the type of equipment used. Therefore, I ask you to bear with me while I broach this topic as an introduction to the various types of refrigeration equipment and their proper use in an effort to provide some solutions to cold holding temperature abuses that can be avoided in your operation.
