Preventing contamination in dried goods

In the commercial kitchen, dried food is often a staple. From flour and wheat to dried pasta and rice, dried products require careful and considered storage and handling processes to avoid contamination in their potentially extended storage time.

Fildes Food Safety offers solutions ideal for protecting dried food from harm. From storage solutions to labelling and rotation assistance, our extensive catalogue is specifically designed to help food service businesses drive best practices in all food safety procedures. This helps to ensure that chefs and restaurant managers deliver high quality and consistent standards to customers.

The following tips and tricks, alongside quality product recommendations, provide an opportunity for kitchens to improve their dried food-related processes.

1. Safe food storage

Dried foods require specific conditions to prolong shelf-life and avoid contamination from pests and bacteria. The area where storage occurs should be dry, well-ventilated, and free from exposure to sunlight. Likewise, safe processes should be put into place to ensure the extermination of bugs commonly found in storage areas and in dried foods, such as weevils. While not harmful to humans, weevils can create a poor reputation for the restaurant serving meals. Storage solutions such as vacuum seal bags and food-safe, sealed tubs are a great place to start.

2. Continuous monitoring

Like more time-sensitive ingredients such as meat or dairy, dried products deserve continuous monitoring. Each day, the condition of the storage location should be assessed to ensure that it is free from contaminants and that each product is within its use-by date and free from damage. Any contaminated products should be discarded to avoid placing consumers at harm and the risk of spreading bacteria such as salmonella or E. coli.

3. Easy to understand labelling system

When storing large amounts of dried products, assessing which is required to be used first  can be challenging. A practical method of monitoring this is implementing a labelling system that accords with the First In, First Out principles. The Fildes Food Safety Shelf Life sticker can help kitchen staff quickly identify the item, its use-by date and date stored so that older items can be utilised first.

Browse Fildes Food Safety's extensive range of food-safe commercial kitchen supplies. With more than 1,600 product lines, be rewarded with free delivery Australia wide for orders over AUD $50.