Food Delivery and Storage Free

Transportation and Receiving Deliveries

The head chef has asked you to go collect a food delivery from the parking lot outside the restaurant.

You've never collected a delivery before, and are a little nervous.

*Now's the time to learn how to safely and efficiently accept a delivery... *

Sensory Checks When receiving deliveries, use your sense of sight, smell, taste and touch to check...

** Colour and smell of the food** Signs of deterioration on the food, such as strange colour or smell. For example, meat or poultry which doesn't smell fresh.

** Textures of the food** Particularly, food (such as produce, meat and seafood) which should be firm but actually feels soft.

** Signs of pests** Visible pests on packaging or flying around, or signs of pests such as gnawed packages or pest droppings.

Broken or damaged packaging Look out for broken, dented or leaking packaging, including broken seals or swollen or dented cans. Also check that the weight of the boxes is expected and matches the food contained within.

Mould and moisture There should be no mould on products, nor should they look like they are in any way, going bad. Look out for moisture stains on dry packaged goods.

Ice crystals on frozen foods Check for ice crystals on frozen foods, or thawed goods which should be frozen.

** Underneath layers of product** Look for any problems below the first layer of any fresh product.

** Expiry Dates** Check that the dates of the food are within expiry, and will not go off during the time the food is used for cooking.

Temperature checks

Labelling Checks

** Storage in the Coolroom** To ensure that the appropriate temperatures are maintained and food is stored safely, you should take the following steps for arranging and organising the coolroom...

Storage areas should be clean, dry, cool and well-lit. Foods should be protected from exposure to moisture and direct sunlight. Food should be stored off the floor, in shelves or cupboards.

Different sections of the storage area should be labelled, and food groups stored separately. Foods should be stored in a way that there is no risk of contamination with other physical, chemical or biological contaminants, including chemicals and cleaning equipment.

Packaged foods which have been opened, should be stored in clean, air-tight containers with fitted lids. It is important that dry goods like rice and flour be kept dry and in containers so that they do not become contaminated with mould or fungus.

Always check the lids to ensure the containers are sealed properly, and throw away containers which have scratches, cracks or other damage. These containers should then be properly labelled and dated.