Storage of finished food product

Y.Bavaneethan.
Lecturer
Department of Food Technology
2/13/2020 Y.Bavaneethan 1

Storage
• Storage must be assessed based on the risks
associated with the safe storage of different food
products that require varying conditions.
• Those conditions include;
 controlling temperature
 preventing cross-contamination caused by other food and
non-food products
 preventing cross-contact with allergens
 preventing product tampering.
• Any of these, alone or in combination, can result in
products becoming hazardous to the consumer and
unsafe to eat.

Essential features of food Storage Areas
• The proper storage of pre-processed as well as post-processed foods is
a key factor in the shelf-life of the food.
• The essential features of any food storage areas are;
 fit for purpose (dry store, chill, frozen)
• provide proper temperatures and humidity for prolonging shelf
life.
 The separate area could be designated for different types of food.
(raw and finished food should be stored separately)
 able to provide protection from contamination/ infestation
 should be weatherproof
 able to keep out direct sunlight/ heat
 have suitable space and structural arrangement for providing
sufficient light and ventilation.
 easily cleanable.
 provide easy access to materials
 accessible for transport of food

Basic guidelines for food storage
Storage area should be cleaned and disinfected on regular basis.
Foods to be stored should be inspected for signs of damage, spoilage
or infestation before storage.
Wash items that need washing before storage. Cans need to be wiped
prior to use.
Frozen items should be solidly frozen before storage.
Rotation of stock should be done to ensure that older materials are
used up before fresh ones and finished products do not remain in
storage beyond their stated shelf life.
• FIFO (First In First Out)
• FMFU (First Manufactured First Used)
• LILO (Last In Last Out)

storage area should be separated from each other to avoid
cross contamination.
appropriate temperatures should be maintained depending
on the type of food.
Over crowding & over stocking of storage area not be
done.
• blocks air circulation making the food to spoil fast.
Raw materials should be properly stored before use in
preservation.
• Ripe fruits and vegetables should be kept in clean plastic crates in
a cool area
• Dry ingredients such as spices should be stored in dry well
ventilated areas.

Packaged products should be placed in cartons and packed
on pallets, (never directly on the floor).
• away from walls, to ensure effective placing of pest
control
Packages in storage should be checked periodically.
• to ensure that they are still intact and any spoilage
detected removed immediately and subsequently
sanitized.
Packaging material such as cans, jars, lids, cartons, should
also be kept in clean dry area (free from dust)
• the outer wrapping material not be removed until food
product ready for use.
All stored material should be labelled and dated

Assessment of Storage Conditions
01] Food Type
• Storage condition requirements can vary considerably
based on the type of food product.
• frozen, refrigerated and shelf stable (Dry product) – as
well as whether it is raw or ready-to eat.
• Additionally,
• the storage of allergens
• non-food products (cleaning chemicals, motor oils,
health and beauty aids)
• highly aromatic or volatile food product
• Each distributor must establish risk-based storage methods
for their range of products.
• to ensure that not become contaminated or unsafe.

02. Product Mix
• Normally store different products in separate
warehouses.
• several key items to consider when evaluating storage
for safety:
 Loading and unloading trailers safely to maintain
temperature control (where applicable)
 Storage based on pathogen and allergen concerns
(shell eggs, raw fish, and crustacean)
 especially around the safety of ready-to-eat foods
 Storage risks based on the specific product mix –
distributors knowledge

03. Safe Storage Continuity
• Storage safety program begins in purchasing, then flows
to receiving, storage and finally shipping.
• Why is this continuity important?
• If receives unsafe food there is no way they can
make the food safe.
• storage practices must be followed to ensure product
safety throughout the distribution center.

04. Storage Temperature Conditions
• Most distribution centers are faced with the challenges of
storing a mixture of products.
• that require different temperature conditions in order to
maintain food safety.
• This can be done safely in the same distribution center if
certain basic requirements are put in place.
• Different foods need different types of storage.
• There are basically two types of storage, dry and low
temperature.
• Based on storage temperature conditions,
• Frozen food storage
• Refrigerated foods storage
• Dry food storage
• Shelf stable food storage

4.1 Frozen Food Storage
• Frozen foods are;
• increasing the shelf life of products by inhibiting the growth of
both spoilage bacteria and harmful bacteria.
• When frozen food is allowed to warm up from <0° F,
• begins to thaw out and bacteria will begin to grow slowly.
• From a food safety perspective this is not a problem as long as
the food does not reach 41° F (5OC) or higher.
• However, thawing can affect food quality and result in an
unsatisfactory product for the customer or end-consumer.
• Frozen foods that thaw and are then re-frozen have noticeable
quality issues with the possible formation of ice crystals and
changes in mouth feel.
• Maintaining frozen food quality issue (up to ready to eat)
more than other storage methods.

4.2 Refrigerated Food Storage
Some foods requiring refrigeration do not necessarily need at <41°
F to maintain their food safety,
• acceptable temperature - “perishable” foods.
• most coolers should be set at 34-38° F.
• each facility should evaluate this temperature based on the
time
• Certain products require additional temperature consideration:
• Shell eggs and fish can legally be stored up to 45° F.
• Since this temperature is too warm for other “perishable”
products
• Other “perishable” foods need to be closer to 32° F to keep their
quality and to decrease the rate of bacterial growth.

• Fresh raw chicken is best stored at temperatures between 30-
34° F.
• Care must be taken to avoid the chicken temperature falling
below 27° F(-2.77OC),
• as this will prohibit it being sold as fresh chicken.
• Adding ice to fresh broccoli is also a common practice to
maintain quality.
broccoli pallets must not be stored over other pallets of
produce.
Melting ice can readily wash dirt - contamination.
• Icing products should be done in a cooler
 water from melting ice to easily drain.
 Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium harmful to
consumers.

• Other produce items do not require any refrigeration.
• bananas, potatoes, whole tomatoes.
• stored in dry storage areas at 55-65° F or even warmer.
• Allowing temperature sensitive and perishable products to go
outside of a certain temperature range is called temperature
abuse.
• Temperature abuse harmful to the consumers health.
• bacterial growth that can lead to toxin development.
• Staphylococcus, Clostridium perfringens, Bacillus cereus in raw
foods.
• This toxin formation is serious because these toxins cannot be
removed by cooking, frying, baking or heating the products.
• The toxins also cannot be detected by taste, odor or appearance

• Raw fish if temperature abused,
• can form scrombrotoxin and result in Scrombroid
(Histamine) poisoning.
• this is a chemical hazard - have extreme sensitivity.
• cannot be detected when preparing the fish
• cannot be removed when cooking the fish.
• For these reasons, it is essential that “perishable” products be
stored cold and protected against temperature abuse at all
times,
• receiving, storage and shipping.

4.3 Dry Storage
• Many items;
• canned goods, baking supplies, grains, and cereals.
The guidelines below should be followed:
• Keep dry storage areas clean with good ventilation
• to control humidity and prevent the growth of mold and
bacteria.
• Store dry foods at 50°F for maximum shelf life.
• However, 70°F (21OC) is adequate for dry storage of most
products.
• Place a thermometer on the wall in the dry storage area.
• Check the temperature of the storeroom daily.
• Store foods away from sources of heat and light, which
decrease shelf life.
• Store foods off the floor and away from walls to allow for
adequate air circulation.2/13/2020 Y.Bavaneethan 16

4.4 Shelf-Stable Foods
• Shelf-stable foods,
 due to their composition or type of packaging
 do not support the growth of harmful bacteria
 can be stored at ambient temperatures
• However, some of these products may require some
temperature control to prevent quality issues;
• chocolate products that may melt or bloom when exposed to
heat.
Bloom is caused by the cocoa butter in the chocolate rising
to the surface causing - “white” appearance.
store these temperature-controlled products in a
conditioned storage
• The challenges of storing all of these types of food products,
– frozen, refrigerated, dry and shelf-stable
–require 3 different temperature storage areas2/13/2020 Y.Bavaneethan 17

Storage Conditions Designed to Avoid
Cross-Contamination
• Cross-contamination is the transfer of harmful MOs from
one product to another.
• If the contaminated product is a ready-to-eat product,
• become unsafe to eat
• cause a foodborne illness
• Whether food products have the potential to contain
harmful bacteria that can transfer,
• leak or drip to other products,
• causing these other products to be contaminated.
• If contaminated products are ready-to-eat, they become
hazardous to the consumer.

• If contaminated products are also raw, they become more
contaminated with bacteria
• require a higher cooking temperature to kill the bacteria
• Frozen items,
• remain frozen condition - will not drip or leak.
• If frozen products are allowed to thaw,
• as condensation or leaking product could potentially
contaminate to other products.
• Safe storage practices require;
• All raw products (meat, poultry, fish, shell eggs) separate
from ready-to-eat and finished products.

• The integrity of the package,
• prevention against cross-contamination.
• Soft packages such as paper and plastic bags can leak due to
their nature or due to damage,
• these packages can become compromised by tears, moisture.
• pre-manufactured holes designed to let air escape.
• Iced down products such as poultry and other meat product
can produce drip water.
• Shell eggs can break if not stored carefully, transferring to
products below or nearby and contaminating them.

Storage Conditions Designed to Avoid
Contamination by Non-Food Products
• Possibilities of contamination of food products by the
unsafe storage of non-food products.
• Non-Food Products
• as non-food products,
• cleaning chemicals,
• retail pesticides, herbicides,, pharmaceutical products.
• Care should be taken to avoid any contact between these
non-edible products and food products.
• Non-food products should be segregated in storage slots a
minimum of 4 feet away from food products.

• According to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis
Network,
• adults and children have food allergies,
• Foods containing allergens require special storage
conditions.
• Cross-contact of products with allergens;
• can make non-allergen foods hazardous to the consumer.
• Contamination may not be noticeable to the consumer.
• consume a contaminated food could have an allergic
reaction,
• that severe as anaphylactic shock or even death.

• When deciding how to store allergens,
• needs to determine which products in its mix are allergens
• what type of package are they packaged.
• which products contain allergens
• need to be stored correctly - not contaminate with other
foods
• The WHO has identified eight major allergens that cause
90% of all food allergy reactions.
• Peanuts
• Tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc.)
• Fish
• Seafood (shrimp, lobster and crab)
• Wheat
• Soy
• Eggs
• Dairy products (milk, yogurt, etc.)

• If the product that contains an allergen is in a hard type
package (metal, cardboard),
• Low risk of cross contact with other food products.
• The highest-risk allergen products;
• avoid the fragile packaging
• products to leak, break or spill out and potentially
contaminate other products.
• When developing a program for the safe storage of
allergens,
• list of all allergens
• type of containers
• which allergens are packaged.

• Shell eggs;
• high risk because they are an allergen
• contain pathogenic bacteria.
• Shell eggs are fragile and can break at any time
• Liquid eggs;
• safe from harmful bacteria if pasteurized
• cannot be placed under shell eggs, only over shell eggs.
• could break and contaminate the liquid eggs with
pathogenic bacteria.
• Liquid milk cannot be allowed to drip down on the
non-milk products.
• how liquid milk products are stored with other non-dairy
products.

• Wheat flour and soy flour are generally packaged in paper
bags or sacks;
• allow the contents to come out of the package and
contaminate the surroundings.
• if the package gets damaged, then large quantities of these
allergens will be spread around.
• extra caution should be taken to avoid storing soy and
wheat flours
• Soy and wheat are different allergens so these products
cannot be stored over each other.
• Peanuts in string bags and tree nuts must be stored
separately and
• away from different types of nuts.
• Fresh fish and seafood must to be stored away from other
products.
• risk of leakage.

Storage of finished food product

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