Temperature control efficacy of retail refrigeration equipment

Abstract

Abstract Temperature control of food products in retail food stores (food stores) is essential for food safety. The food business operator (FBO) must ensure that the product temperatures comply with food regulations. This study investigated the temperatures of products in 32 food stores and the relationship between the product temperature with the temperature of the refrigeration equipment (open front) and the temperature settings. The FBOs awareness of the equipment and product temperatures and the equipment temperature settings (temperature setpoint, alarm setpoint, timing for alarm to go off) were also investigated. The food stores represented four nationwide chain-store groups in Finland. The study included four categories of food products namely: fresh fish, minced meat, vacuum packed ready-to-eat processed fish and other ready-to-eat products, all of which are easily perishable products. Vacuum packed fish products and other ready-to-eat products are also sensitive to Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The temperatures of the products (n = 84) and refrigeration equipment (n = 86) were measured by a temperature data logger by the health inspector for 24 h. Temperature violations were observed in 50% of the products and 17.9% of the products exceeded the temperature limit by over 3 °C for more than 30 min. Products that were most often in noncompliance were fresh fish and vacuum packed processed fish products. Temperature violations were observed in food stores in all four chain-store groups and no significant difference between the chain-store groups was observed. The temperature of the equipment as measured by the refrigeration equipment's fixed thermometers differed significantly from the temperatures of the products. Moreover, no significant correlation was found between the equipment temperatures (fixed thermometer) and the products with the exception of minced meat. These results highlight, that the product temperature could not be reliably determined by the equipment's fixed thermometer. There was a lack of awareness of temperature settings in all chain-store groups. Only three stores (9.4%) were aware of all the settings of the inspected equipment. The results show that the FBOs own-check of equipment and product temperatures is not functioning correctly in food stores. This can have serious consequences for food safety. FBOs, equipment manufacturers, monitoring system providers and official food control authorities should take active measures to improve the situation.