Whether it involves the storage of fresh fruits and vegetables, food ingredients and additives, refrigerated or frozen meats and seafood, or finished packaged food ready for sale, food-grade warehousing plays a vital role in getting food from the producers to the consumers. Food-grade warehousing also plays a key role in the health and safety of our food supply. The best food warehouses maintain an AIB Superior food-grade rating.

Here are 17 facts you should know about food grade warehousing:

A food warehouse can be a food storage facility of any size, storing any amount of food for either long or short periods of time, for distribution in normal food channels. Food warehouses serve as a critical link in the food chain from the farmer to processor to distributor to retailer and ultimately to the consumer.

Like all businesses, the goal of the food warehouse is to generate profits for its owners and provide job opportunities for workers. It serves its customers by providing access to food in and out of season whether locally sourced or from other regional, national or international sources.

The most common types of food warehouses include: dry storage warehouses, cold or frozen storage warehouses, chilled or refrigerated storage warehouses.

Safe food warehousing is vital. It prevents economic losses for all members of the food channel, facilitates economic growth and trade, promotes health and well-being within the community at large and prevents the spread of food-borne illness and diseases.

Certification programs like that provided by AIB International play a crucial role in food safety auditing and education.

When touring a food warehouse during an on-site visit, you should pay attention to the grounds surrounding the building to make sure they are free of weeds, trash, standing water, rodent tracks and/or burrows.

The exterior of the warehouse building should be well-maintained and in good repair. There should be no obvious cracks or holes in walls. Openings for pipes or conduit entering the structure should be properly sealed to prevent entry of pests. Roofs should not leak.

Inside the warehouse building, floors, walls and ceilings should be smooth, clean and maintained in good repair. Windows and doors should close tightly to prevent entry of pests.

Frequent thorough cleaning plays a significant role in preventing cross contamination and maintaining sanitary conditions within the warehouse.

Typical equipment used in a food grade warehousing include forklifts, shelving, storage bins, pallets, refrigeration units (chillers), freezer units (freezers), temperature and humidity gauges. Equipment should be rust resistant, odor resistant and non-porous, so that it can be easily cleaned and sanitized.

Food items should be stored at the proper temperature and humidity in areas of the warehouse that are free from physical, chemical or microbiological hazards.

Food items should be stored and rotated on a first-in, first-out basis.

Thermometers should be present in all frozen storage, refrigerated storage and dry storage areas. On-site temperature logs should be maintained for these storage areas.

In general, all frozen food products should be stored at a temperature of 0 degrees F or lower.

Temperatures in chilled or refrigerated storage should be kept between 34 degrees F and 39 degrees F.

Temperatures in dry storage areas should be kept between 50 degrees F and 70 degrees F.

Hazardous chemicals needed for the operation of the warehouse, such as pesticides, cleaning agents, solvents, lubricants, etc. should be safely and securely stored with access limited to authorized, trained employees. These materials should be properly labeled and used in accordance with the manufacturers’ instructions regarding handling procedures, required protective ware, quantities for safe usage, etc.

All over the world, food standards agencies (such as the FSA in the UK) legislate that the plastics used in the production of food packaging must be much purer than those used in non-food packaging products. These compounds are collectively termed ‘food grade plastic’ and only those plastics used in pharmaceutical packaging have to meet more stringent standards.

So what constitutes food-grade plastic? One of the key criteria is that it must not contain any industrial dyes or recycled plastic that could be harmful to humans. However, this doesn’t preclude food-grade plastic from containing any recycled plastic at all and, because of this, there are detailed regulations concerning its use in food packaging. Since the majority of plastics, these days tend to be recycled in one way or another, the compound can be derived from a variety of sources, old wheely bins, dangerous chemical containers, etc and so this must be monitored carefully.

If any of the food that might be packaged in these plastic buckets contains high proportions of acid, alcohol, or certain fats, it’s very possible they could leach the plastic additives from the container back into the food. Consequently, there are guidelines regarding which plastic containers are approved for the specific kind of food they will be holding.

Food-grade plastic for food preparation

As well as the containment and transportation of food, there are other applications regarding when and where to use food-grade plastic. The preparation of foodstuffs needs also to be carried out in these kinds of containers. One particular cottage industry or hobby that relies on the use of plastic buckets is homebrew. Unfortunately, many may not know they can’t use any old buckets. The temperature that the beer reaches, combined with its alcohol content, can mean that the safety of the beer can be compromised should food-grade plastic buckets not be used.

One final point, often overlooked, is that a plastic container will cease to be food grade if any other type of items, such as chemicals or detergent, have since been stored in it. A food-grade plastic bucket that’s contained paint, or other similarly toxic contents, must only ever be used to hold non-food substances from that point on.

Whether you already own a restaurant or you’re thinking of getting into the restaurant business, you’re probably already well aware of how useful food grade plastic containers are in any restaurant’s commercial kitchen. However, you also need to think about the wealth of possibilities these containers offer once you step away from the kitchen and our into the restaurant’s actual dining and checkout areas.

If you’re considering how clear containers, such as food grade plastic containers, can help your restaurant, take the following three steps:

Step 1: Take a Look at Your Restaurant

Every kind of restaurant can use food grade plastic containers. Consider these possibilities:

Fast Food Restaurants: Even if the majority of your customers use the drive-through or simply order their meals and leave, food grade containers are great for holding and storing sandwich dressings, condiment packets, napkins, straws, and coffee stir sticks.

Buffet Restaurants: Food grade containers are essential for holding and storing the food you set out along your buffet.

Formal Restaurants: Even if your restaurant has a formal dining environment, you can still use plastic containers to hold items like silverware settings and extra napkins or clothes.

Specialty Restaurants: Many restaurants specialize in a certain kind of food item. Yogurt shops, for example, can use food grade plastic containers as yogurt topping dispensers, while ice cream shops can use them as ice cream topping dispensers. Even bagel shops can use clear plastic containers to organize, display, and store their various types of bagels.

Note that some specialty shops, like those that offer yogurt and bagels, sometimes also offer additional breakfast items like cereal. For these restaurants, cereal dispensers are extremely useful. They hold and display the available cereals, as well as allow restaurant owners to conveniently store them when the restaurant is closed.

Step 2: Consider the Additional Food Items You Offer

Depending on the kind of restaurant you run and its layout, additional food items might include:

  • Extra meal add-on items like bags of chips and candy bars.
  • Seasonings and spices like salt, pepper, sugar, and sweetener.
  • Packets of condiments like ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise.

Of course, your restaurant might also offer additional nonfood items that require plastic containers, such as:

  • Plastic or metal utensils.
  • Napkins or hand wipes.
  • Straws or coffee stirs.
  • Styrofoam, paper, or plastic drinking cups and lids.

Step 3: Don’t Forget Extras On the Way Out

If your restaurant is designed for customers to pay on their way out, plastic containers set on counter tops near your register are perfect for offering customers items like chewing gum, breath mints, toothpicks, and packets of hand wipes.

Some restaurants, like those located in popular tourist areas, even sell additional nonfood items like souvenirs, maps, and small toys bearing the restaurant’s name or logo. Additionally, there are restaurants that act as distributors for national product lines and these restaurants can use clear plastic containers to display these items near their checkout areas.