ENSURING FOOD SAFETY THROUGH RECEIVING AND STORING

Everyone wants to transform his/her food business into a brand. It is a tiresome, time-consuming, and lengthy process. Many things have to be done for it. Proper food storage and receiving for food safety are one of those things. All food business owners, brand managers, and servers should consider it their responsibility.

It is because you have the responsibility of safeguarding your customers’ health. Put your wealth of resources to use to receive all food items safely. What is more important is the proper food storage you receive.

Only then will your career in this industry reach the next level. This is the easiest thing you can do to transform your food business startup into a brand. Do you need help on this front? Don’t worry! We’ve got your back! We are going to tell you things you will learn in some reputed food handler certification course in Canada.

We suggest you read the complete post. It is the guide you need to achieve this incredible feat constantly and consistently. You will learn the following:

  • The basics.
  • Range of strategies and insights.
  • Resilient and affordable food safety and management procedures.

As a result, the quality of your proper food storage and receiving practices will improve significantly. The most important thing is that you will see improvement in your career or business.

The Basics of Receiving And Storing Food With Safety:

The correct understanding of basics is extremely important. You will realise it once you understand the following:

  • What is food receiving?
  • Why is food receiving important?
  • Food receiving methods.
  • Food storage practices.
  • Personal Hygiene.
  • Time and Temperature Controls.
  • Proper Use of a Thermometer.
  • Allergies and Allergens.
  • Cooking and Cooling Foods.
  • Housekeeping and Sanitation.
  • Microbiology, growth of microorganisms, and related food health concerns.
  • HACCP.

What is Food Receiving:

This administrative function involves checking of the following:

  • Food quality.
  • Food quantity.
  • The quality and capacity of the storage area.
  • Scheduling of time to receive safe, sustainable, and contamination-free food.
  • The availability of staff to ensure safe food handling and receiving.
  • The quality of food packaging.
  • Price tag check.
  • Invoice receiving procedure.
  • Inspection against the purchase order and invoice.
  • Order acceptance and rejection.
  • Completion of receiving records.
  • Remove old stock to ensure storage for new food stock.
  • Submission of daily food receiving report.
  • Cleanliness and security in the receiving location.

In simple words, food receiving is a set of activities performed to ensure that the items received from the suppliers are those that you or your food manager ordered. Regular and flawless fulfilment of the responsibilities mentioned above signifies the value of safe food handling and receiving for food brands, managers, and servers. 

It Is Important For Various Reasons:

Take a look at the list of reasons below:

  • Constant, consistent, and efficient management of inventory.
  • Sustainable food safety.
  • Operational efficiency.
  • Smart stock rotation ensures efficient inventory management.
  • Expiration date check and strategic stock purchase.
  • Waste reduction is another big reason.
  • Elevation in the standards of proper food storage, safety, and receiving.
  • Operational streamlining.
  • Increase in customers’ confidence in your products and business practices.

Every food handler certification course focuses on it.

Food Receiving Methods:

A failure to implement proper food storage, safety, and receiving protocol leads to several consequences. Take a look at the consequences below:

  • Premature food spoilage.
  • Increased risk of food-borne health hazards caused by harmful pathogens.
  • More risk of environmental issues due to harmful viruses, germs, and bacteria.
  • Increased disposal cost.
  • Reduced shelf life of food items.
  • Dent to the bottom line of your food business.

A food handler certification course can teach you about these things in detail. These are the risks your business may have to face due to the following faulty food-receiving methods:

  • Failure to fulfil specifications.
  • If products shipped by weight are watered or iced.
  • Weighing in bulk.
  • Overcharging the invoice.
  • Overcounting or overweighting the shipping.
  • Storing goods straight into food storage areas.
  • Failure to deliver food items of proper quantity and quality.
  • Invoicing food items of high quality for food items of low quality you received.
  • Delivery of food items even when normal working hours have ended.

All these things are an important part of safe food handling practices for every food business, manager, and server. We suggest you implement the following list of food receiving methods: 

  • Your delivery area must be clean, dry, and perfectly lit.
  • Your food delivery/storage area must be pest-free.
  • Don’t accept the delivery if the delivery vehicle is unhygienic and unclean.
  • See if there is any sign of pests in the food items received.
  • Try to identify if the food items ever touched each other during the transit process.
  • Use a calibrated thermometer to verify time and temperature controls for foods compliance.
  • Invoicing food items of high quality for food items of low quality you received.
  • Refrigerated food items must be delivered at
  • Deliver frozen food items must be delivered at 0°F or below.
  • See if you can find any signs of deterioration.
  • Proper food storage and packaging matter packing must be intact and functional without any tears or leakage.
  • Every food item must be labelled according to the federal and provincial government standards in Canada.
  • Double-check the expiry date of every food item.
  • Maintain security in the food receiving area.
  • Food item receivers should not be responsible for purchasing food items.
  • Schedule timings (hours) for proper food storage and food receiving.
  • Ensure the availability of adequate equipment and facilities to ensure safe food handling by your team in the receiving area.
  • Ensure the availability of advanced and safe equipment and facilities to help your team check the quality and quantity of food items received from suppliers.
  • Products marked as received should be moved from receiving to storage.
  • All delivery and sales team members should be kept out of the proper food storage area of your business.

Your food brand must follow all standard food receiving practices determined by the federal and provincial governments in Canada. 

There is something that you cannot underestimate. It is the value of your proper food storage practices. Value to practices relevant to the storage of food items before and after receiving makes the world of difference. You need to understand it as soon as possible.

What is Food Storage?

It is the process of keeping raw and finished products safe systematically in containers for some time under regulated conditions. Food business owners and brands save their foods and products in dry, refrigerated, and frozen conditions. It is important for many reasons. 

The Value of Food Storage For Safe Food Handling:

The process of food storage comes after the process of receiving food from the supplier. It plays an important role in food safety. For example: 

  • Value to this aspect is essential to preserve the quality of nutritional value of food items received/purchased.
  • The chances of food spillage prevention burst the roof.
  • It is one of the best ways to prevent food-borne illnesses and harmful bacteria.
  • The chances of cross-contamination of food items are reduced.
  • Safe food handling practices implemented to ensure food storage helps maintain the texture, flavor, and nutritional value of food items.
  • You get a chance to save a lot of money that goes into buying food items. It is because you know the art of storing food safely for a long period.

Safe Food Storage Practices:

Apply these practices to ensure effective food storage. You need to follow some food storage practices. The implementation of these storage practices will grow your business to the next level. Your career as a food handler will also climb the success ladder. Take a look below:

  • Value the application of time and temperature controls for food to keep food items fresh for a long period.
  • Take special care of high-risk food items like raw & cooked meat, dairy products, eggs, small goods, seafood, cooked rice, pasta, prepared salads, prepared fruit salads, ready-to-eat foods.
  • Store hot and cold foods separate.
  • Keep frozen foods cold using insulated cooler bags or ice-packs.
  • Freeze chilled foods immediately in a refrigerator.
  • Never refrigerate hot foods immediately. Wait for the steam from hot foods to stop.
  • Store raw foods separately from cooked foods.
  • Don’t refreeze thawed food.
  • Choose tightly lid, non-toxic, clean and air tight containers for proper food storage.
  • Keep your food storage location, pantry and refrigerator clean and organised.
  • Learn the time to throw food items.
  • Label and date all your food items.
  • Implement the FIFO (FIrst In, First Out) rule.
  • Store foods properly in shelves, refrigerators and bags.

Personal Hygiene:

Personal hygiene is of the utmost importance to ensure food safety. The implementation of relevant practices ensures several things. The list includes but is not limited to the following:

Cleanliness of the entire staff of food manufacturing, production, packaging units, kitchens, hotels, eateries, schools, daycares, and motels. 

Their health remains good. As a result, the food they touch, cook, store, handle or serve to customers is free of germs, viruses, pathogens, chemicals, harmful bacteria and contaminants. 

The food they  touch, cook, store, handle or serve to customers is safe for consumption. 

There is no health hazard associated with the food. 

The business of food brands, hotels, eateries, and motels boards the growth flight. 

The career of a food handler climbs the success ladder. 

Improvement in your reputation among your customers and target audience. 

The prevention of food-borne illnesses among employees and customers becomes a cakewalk. 

Legal compliance with relevant federal and provincial regulations gets easy. 

The morale of your entire staff reaches the next level as they work in a safe and healthy environment. 

Business growth, contribution to the wellness of communities, cost savings and customer satisfaction are some more reasons for food brands, food business owners and industry professionals to value personal hygiene so much.

  • Time and Temperature Controls
  • Proper Use of a Thermometer
  • Allergies and Allergens
  • Cooking and Cooling Foods
  • Housekeeping and Sanitation
  • Microbiology, growth of microorganisms, and related food health concerns
  • HACCP

The implementation of these food storage practices will help you ensure food safety for your customers. It will add value to the reputation of your business. Your business will be in the good books of your customers.

Food managers and servers can use safe food handling practices to climb the growth ladder in their careers.