Food businesses that use temporary and mobile food premises have similar requirements and standards as that of restaurants, office canteens, cafes, eateries and other establishments. After all, there’s always the concern about ensuring food safety for the health of their customers.
The risks of food poisoning or contamination are always there especially for businesses handling kebabs, salads and other unpackaged potentially hazardous foods. Aside from contamination and improper preparation, we also have to think about proper storage and refrigeration. It’s particularly the case in temporary and mobile food premises wherein there are no permanent facilities for refrigeration and storage.
Ensuring food safety in temporary and mobile food premises
Because of the temporary nature of these food businesses, there’s the challenge of balancing practicality with risk management. But one thing remains the same, it’s focusing on the ultimate goal which is ensuring food safety.
Whether the food is handled and prepared on-site or off-site, the entire process should be hygienic and in line with preventing contamination and microbial growth. For instance, temperature control is important in controlling microbial growth. This is the case in selling or serving cold food at a catered event wherein the food must be cooled down to 5℃. This is to prevent the thriving of foodborne pathogens (sufficiently cool temperatures are effective in controlling microbial growth and enzymatic activities).
If the foods are prepared off-site, there’s the concern about its proper and safe transport. After all, the food will be “stored” while being transported. It’s important that tight temperature control is also observed during this step. It’s also vital that the transport vehicle is clean to prevent contamination or incurrence of undesirable odours.
Potentially hazardous foods should be transported under tight temperature control. Huge deviations for extended periods of time can promote microbial growth and food degradation. Even if the spoilage is local (just one container with salad), it can compromise the entire delivery.
As a result, many food businesses (whether operating in permanent, temporary or mobile premises) contact us here at COOLTRANS for tight temperature control when it comes to refrigerated transport. We’ve been specialising in this kind of business since 1997. With 15+ NSW Food Safe vehicles ranging from 1-pallet vans to 8-pallet trucks, we have the capabilities to handle urgent, regular, small and large consignments. Contact us today if you require more information about our refrigerated delivery services.
