3rd

2nd

FIRST OUT

FIRST IN

S TO R AG E

C O NTENT
This publication provides a set of guidelines on good storage practices for food operators and food handlers.
To manage and reduce the risk of food-borne illnesses, a comprehensive and effective
food safety management system should be adopted.

INTRODUCTION
Why are Good Storage Practices Important?

PRINCIPLES OF GOOD STORAGE PRACTICES

Protection from Potential Contamination

Optimum Storage Conditions

Proper Segregation

10

Proper Product Identification and Traceability

12

Records and Maintenance

13

TRANSPORTATION OF FOOD
Protection from Potential Contamination

14

Optimum Storage Conditions

15

Loading/Unloading

18

Maintenance of Delivery Vehicle

19

INTERESTING FACTS

20

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SUMMARY

Tips on Good Storage Practices

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Introduction

WHY ARE GOOD STORAGE PRACTICES IMPORTANT?

Proper storage of food items under

appropriate conditions would preserve
its' quality and wholesomeness.

Establishing good storage practices

is essential to protect the food from
possible contamination.

Improper storage of food items allows

bacteria to grow and thrive, causing
food spoilage which leads to food
wastage and potential food poisoning.

Principles of Good Storage Practices

PROTECTION FROM POTENTIAL CONTAMINATION

Store the food in clean food grade storage
containers to prevent contamination by
foreign matter.

Food packaging materials should be

properly stored to prevent contamination by
foreign matters.

Raw Materials

Incoming raw materials should be received at

appropriate areas away from the movement
of finished products/ready-to-eat foods.
Finished Products

4
4

Principles of Good Storage Practices

FOOD STORAGE AREA

Food storage and packaging materials

area should be situated away from
toilets, dust, smoke, objectionable
odours and other contaminants.

Keep storage areas clean, not cluttered and

pest-free. All unused items and equipment
should be removed or segregated as they
might become potential breeding and
harbourage sites for pests.

Principles of Good Storage Practices

Optimum Storage Conditions

The food items received should be stored at

the designated areas under optimal storage
conditions with sufficient storage space.

Keep food storage rack or pallets in good

and sanitary conditions.

Store food items or ingredients off the floor and

away from the wall.

Principles of Good Storage Practices

Cooked food items which are

hot should be blast chilled
before storing into a chiller or
freezer.

Blast Chiller

OLIVE
OIL

OLIVE
OIL

OLIVE
OIL

OLIVE
OIL

OLIVE
OIL

OLIVE
OIL

OLIVE
OIL

OLIVE
OIL

Food items that require

ambient or cool storage should
be stored in an area that is
cool, dry, well-ventilated and
away from sunlight.
CHICKEN
BROTH

CHICKEN
BROTH

TUNA

TUNA

TUNA

TUNA

TUNA

TUNA

CHICKEN
BROTH

Principles of Good Storage Practices

Food spoilage micro-organisms multiply rapidly in food when stored at
temperature between 5C and 60C. This is known as the temperature danger
zone. Therefore, always keep cold food below 5C and hot food above 60C,
outside of the temperature danger zone.
Bacteria unable to survive

Temperature
Danger Zone

60C

Bacteria multiply rapidly

5C

Bacteria grow slowly

Maintain chilled and frozen food at 4C or below and -18C or below respectively.

Storage conditions may differ for some

food items upon opening the packaging.
These conditions will be indicated on the
packaging by the manufacturer.
For example, refrigerate after opening.

REFRIGERATE
AFTER
OPENING

ERATE
REFRIG
AFTER
NG
OPENI

Principles of Good Storage Practices

Recommended Shelf Life

Food Products

Storage Conditions

JANUARY

Chiller

Freezer

Raw Poultry & Poultry Products

SUN

Fresh
Poultry
MON

TUE

WED

Fresh Eggs

1 to THU
2 days

3 to 5 weeks

6 to 12 months
FRI
SAT

3Do not freeze4

Dairy Products

Fresh Milk
If Unopened

After Opening

12
19
26

13

Bacon

Raw Sausage

20

14
21

Use by date

10
11
Do not freeze

2 to 3 days

Do not freeze

Raw 15
(Non-Poultry)
16 Meat17

22

Fresh Beef, Veal, Lamb & Pork

7 days

1 month

1 to 2 days

1 to 2 months

23

3 to 5 days

Raw Fish & Seafood

Live Clams, Mussels, Crab,

27 and Oysters
28
Lobsters

Lean Fish (Cod, Sole, etc)

29

2 to 3 days

30

1 to 2 days

Fatty Fish (Mackerel, Salmon, etc) 1 to 2 days

18

6 to 12 months
24
25

2 to 3 months

31

6 months
2 to 3 months

Principles of Good Storage Practices

Proper Segregation
COOKED/RTE

RAW

Store raw and cooked/ready-to-eat

(RTE) food items in separate chillers or
freezers where possible.
Otherwise, there should be appropriate
segregation between cooked/RTE and
raw food, with the cooked/RTE food
being kept above the raw food at all
times.

Raw red meat, white meat and seafood should be properly

segregated from one another.

All expired, spoilt, damaged and rejected food items

should be sealed, labelled and segregated in a
designated area until they are disposed off appropriately.

10

Principles of Good Storage Practices

CLEANING STORE

Cleaning tools such as mops and brooms

are kept at a designated area away from
food storage and preparation areas.
Cleaning agents are clearly labelled and
stored away from food storage and
preparation areas to prevent chemical
contamination.

Personal items should not be

brought into the food storage and
preparation areas. Store personal
items at the allocated staff lockers
or areas.

11

Principles of Good Storage Practices

PROPER PRODUCT IDENTIFICATION AND

TRACEABILITY
Food items should be rotated based on 'First In First Out' (FIFO) or 'First Expire First
Out' (FEFO) and adequate records should be kept to monitor the stock movement.

EXPIRY
EXPIRY

1/2015

1/0
DATE: 3

2/2014

1/1
DATE: 3

Proper labelling allows proper stock rotation and is also useful for traceability
purposes in the event of a food recall.
EXPIRY DATE:
28/02/2015

Examples of date-marking on food products are:

USE BY
SELL BY
EXPIRY DATE
BEST BEFORE
PACKED ON
PACKED ON:
01/01/2014

12

Principles of Good Storage Practices

Records and Maintenance

Where possible, use a calibrated thermometer

to measure the temperature of the chiller and
freezer to ensure the temperature readings are
accurate.

Maintain freezer regularly to prevent the

formation of ice crystals on the ceiling, walls
and floor of freezer as well as on food.
Engage regular maintenance service for both
chiller and freezer to ensure that they are in
good working condition.

13

TEMPERATURE

Monitor and record the temperature readings

of chiller and freezer regularly to ensure that
the storage temperature does not fluctuate too
much from the set temperature as it might
affect the shelf-life of the food product.

TIME

Transportation of Food

Protection from Potential Contamination

Delivery vehicles should have covered storage cabins to prevent physical
contamination from the environment.

Delivery vehicles should have covered storage

compartments
totoprevent
physical
contamination
from
Use only designated
vehicles
deliver food.
The same
vehicle should
not be used
environment.
to deliver the
non-food
items.
Chilled food products should be maintained at 4C or
below and with a core temperature not exceeding 7C.

14

Transportation of Food

Optimum Storage Conditions

General
Hot catered meals should be
kept above 60C in insulated
hot boxes or bags. These
meals should be delivered at
the time when they are
60C
supposed to be consumed.

Chilled food products should

be maintained at 4C or
7C below and with a core
4C temperature not exceeding
7C.

-12C Frozen food products should

-18C be maintained at -18C or
below and with a core
temperature not exceeding
-12C.

15

Transportation of Food

Chilled/Frozen Food
Pre-cool the refrigerated vehicle to the set temperature before loading.
Do not exceed the storage capacity to ensure good cold air circulation to all corners
of the cabin.
Monitor and record the temperature readings of the cabin to ensure the conditions
are appropriate for the storage of the food items.

RUN/STOP

MODE

UP

SET

DOWN

16

Transportation of Food

RUN/STOP

MODE

UP

SET

DOWN

Load/Unload the chilled and frozen food products as quickly as possible to

minimise fluctuation in temperature of the products and the storage cabin.

17

Transportation of Food

Loading/Unloading
Arrange the food products in a safe manner, so that they do not topple during
transportation.
Do not place food trays or containers directly on the floor of the cabin.
Handle the food products with care to minimize any damage to the food product and
packaging.

BEEF
STEW

BEEF
STEW

BEEF
STEW

BEEF
STEW

BEEF
STEW

18

Transportation of Food

MAINTENANCE of delivery vehicle

Inspect, clean and sanitize the vehicle everyday. A general cleaning after each
delivery is recommended to ensure that the vehicle is maintained in a sanitary and
hygienic condition at all times for the transportation of food.
Ensure that the vehicle is routinely serviced and is in good working condition.
Refrigerated vehicles should be fitted with temperature recording devices.

19

Interesting Facts

Do you know?
Use food grade plastic containers to prevent the transfer of
any chemicals onto food.

A simple in-house method to check the accuracy of the food

thermometer can be done by verifying the upper limit (100C)
using boiling water and the lower limit (0C) using ice.

20

Summary

tips on
Good storage practiceS
Cover and store food products or ingredients off the floor and away from
the wall.
Consider the following when storing food:
a) Manufacturers instruction on packaging labels.
b) State of the product packaging (e.g. opened or intact).
c) Established norms for the storage of the particular food products.

PROTECT.

Contain and cover food adequately with appropriate packaging material.

Food packaging materials should also be properly stored.

CLEAN.

Keep storage areas clean, pest-free and free from unused items.
Inspect, clean and sanitise the vehicle at the end of each day's operation.

Chilled/Frozen food
a) Maintain the temperature of chilled food at 4C or below
and with a core temperature not exceeding 7C.
b) Maintain the temperature of frozen food at -18C or below
and with a core temperature not exceeding -12C.
Hot Catered Meals
c) Transport hot catered meals in insulated boxes or bags,
so that the food is kept at above 60C.

21

TEMPERATURE.

Summary

Store non-conforming food items, cleaning agents, cleaning tools and

personal items at designated areas, segregated from food storage and
preparation areas.

SEGREGATE.

Store raw and cooked/RTE food items:

Either
a) in separate chillers or freezers;
OR
b) in the same chillers or freezer with an appropriate segregation between
cooked/RTE and raw food. Cooked/RTE food should be kept above raw
food at all times.

RECORDS &
MAINTENANCE.

Monitor and record storage temperature of chillers or freezers regularly.

Maintain cold rooms and refrigerated vehicles in good working
conditions.
Keep storage racks or pallets in good conditions.

Use proper stock rotation system through FIFO or FEFO system.

INVENTORY
MANAGEMENT.

22

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