The simplest way to meet the requirements is to ensure that potentially hazardous food is received, stored, displayed or transported either very cold (5C or colder) or very hot (60C or hotter). Potentially hazardous food should also be cooled, reheated quickly and cooked as soon as possible.
If for some reason the user is unable to store, display or transport food at 5C or colder, or at 60C or hotter, or meet the cooling and reheating time and temperature requirements, one must be able to show that he or she has a safe alternative system in place.
The standard specifies the ways in which a food business can demonstrate to an enforcement officer that it is using a safe alternative system. You can use a food safety program, or follow recognised food industry guidelines, or use a system based on sound scientific evidence.
Therefore, it is crucial for these businesses to go beyond operating an effective cold storage facility, and further maintaining the temperature for their facility.
The design and construction of food premises must:
• be appropriate for activities for which premises are used;
• provide adequate space for the activities to be conducted on the food and for the fixtures, fittings and equipment used for those activities;
• permit the food premises to be effectively cleaned and, if necessary, sanitised; and
• to the extent that is practicable:
• exclude dirt, dust, fumes, smoke and other contaminants;
• not permit the entry of pests; and
• not provide harborage for pests.
The FDA guidelines outlines several measures to be taken in order to control cold store temperatures effectively:
• Minimise air temperature variation by reducing the number of door openings and traffic movement in and out of the cold storage facility
• Install necessary mechanisms to lower temperature as soon as they are increased
• Ensure defrost cycle systems are adequately designed to prevent any product heating up
• Install appropriate trigger alarms to ensure prompt corrective action
• Ensure damaged walls and door seals that could leak cold air out and allow hot ambient air in are promptly repaired
• Ensure optimum stacking patterns and floor layout to facilitate airflow
Most importantly, conduct regular checks of the facility including compressor, defrost cycle, thermostat, cooling tower equipment, walls and doors to ensure everything is in good working order.
Simplest Way to Maintain Cold Store Temperature
One of the key aspects of a cold storage facility is the main entry door by which the cool temperature is locked within the room. In addition, the door is potentially the simplest way to maintain cold store temperature as compared to complex cooling systems or monitoring tools.
Aside from taking appropriate measures such as minimising door openings or the traffic in and out of the facility, one can control the temperature of his or her cold storage facility more effectively with the right door.
Ideal Door for Temperature & Air Transfer Control
The ideal cold storage facility door should have the capability to seal a room properly to maintain the internal cool temperature. When it comes to freezer doorways where multiple openings per hour reduce effectiveness of insulated doors, yet necessitate exceptional air tightness; it is necessary to have a door with insulated and heated guides and frames to ensure the room is sealed properly when the door is closed.
It is also crucial for this door to have high speed operation to close as soon as traffic has entered or left the room. Slow-closing doors allow warm air ‘spikes’ to enter the cold storage facility and will adversely impact temperature stability, energy costs, and quality of the food stored.
Combining these two features is achieved in what is commonly known as a rapid roller door. It comes with a tight seal and high-speed mechanism to ensure quality is maintained without further maintenance costs. Suitably specified high speed doors will prevent air infiltration to cold store, freezer or temperature zoned facility to maintain and improve the shelf-life of stored products, ultimately, protecting business from costly temperature loss or gain.
Prime Freeze High Speed Doors by Gandhi Automations are a perfect solution where cold storage with negative temperatures to as low as – 20C is required. The curtain is made of reinforced PVC vinyl with heated side guides. Optionally a special and innovative insulated flexible curtain is also available. High Speed Freezer Doors are the solution when temperature control is critical and where forklift traffic is high.
Basics of Cold Storage Warehouse Dock Equipment
The need for safety, efficiency and detailed data collection are transforming modern docks from mere openings to critical components of an enterprise’s success.
Because the standards for performance and safety have changed dramatically in the last decade, basics is a relative term. In fact, it might take even less time than that for the descriptions of a modern dock. However, for every up-to-date dock, there are many, many more that fall short of these basics. Rather than negligence, this is due to the sheer number of docks in use and the rate at which
dock technologies have progressed.
From the traditional basic docks, now one can see push-button dock levelers, typically, bigger and with heavier capacities, which have increased by 15,000 to 22,000 tonnes weighing capacity. So, anyone who used to buy a lower capacity is now in the higher capacity range.
The overhead door—also push-button operated—is now usually bigger than the trailer, which is locked to the dock by a vehicle restraint as opposed to mere chocks or emergency brakes. In 1980s, the industry was in the infancy of getting the message of dock safety off the ground. Now, there’s no question whether there will be a restraint. Over the years, there has been a big evolution in size, shape and capacity, but also in terms of the equipment’s operation and level of complexity.
The modern dock includes interlocks, a series of mechanical and electronic safety measures that prevent anything but the optimal sequence of events. For example, to open the door, the vehicle restraint must first be positively engaged. To operate the leveler, the door must be open. A food, beverage or pharmaceutical company might design its sequence to minimise infiltration of air, dust or critters.
A facility in hot climates might choose this setup simply to conserve air conditioning. On the other hand, managers might like to leave doors open on occasion to get some fresh air, but interlocks will only allow this once after a physical barrier is engaged to prevent people or equipment from falling off the dock.
For those customers concerned with securing access to the back of the trailer, energy efficiency and sanitation, dock enclosures may be designed to prevent even a sliver of outdoor light from creeping in. Taking it one step further, the interlock sequence might also include a step where photos or videos are captured to verify security and product condition after transit.
Gandhi Automations manufactures loading bay solutions like dock levelers, dock shelters, sectional overhead doors. Dock equipment are designed and factory-made in state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. This dock equipment meet international safety standards like EN1398 for dock levelers and product is CE marked.
