Display fridges are often seen in cafes, bakeries and delicatessens. They allow businesses to display their chilled foods to customers at a safe temperature. This means that your cold display cabinets will be under scrutiny by hungry customers. If your wares are kept in dirty, unkempt conditions, you’re likely to miss out on a sale. Or worse – you could be reported to the Food Standards Agency.
Why Display Fridges Require Regular Cleaning
Food that’s left out will accumulate bacteria, which poses a health risk. The purpose of a fridge is to slow down the rate at which the bacteria multiplies. Therefore, harmful bacteria will still exist in your display fridge, it will just take longer to be at a level where it could cause illness.
For this reason, it’s important to have a cleaning schedule. This schedule should include daily wipe-downs, weekly cleans and deep-cleans at least once per month.
We’re going to share our method for deep-cleaning your display fridge, but you can simplify this process to find the best way to suit your daily and weekly cleaning needs too.
How To Clean Display Fridges
Top Tip
There shouldn’t be any need to turn the fridge off for this process. Wear appropriate long-sleeved clothing and gloves while cleaning the display fridge, so you don’t get cold. You should also be mindful of any electrics coming into contact with water.
Step One: Remove & Check The Contents
To ensure that nothing in the fridge will be missed, you need to remove all the food that’s inside. Whilst you’re handling all your stock, this is a great time to double-check their use-by dates. Anything that’s expired or past its best should be disposed of now.
Any stock that you need to keep should be transferred to a suitable location. Leaving food out in warm temperatures could be unsafe, leading to a waste of stock.
Step Two: Remove Shelves & Displays
If you have any shelves or display items in the chiller, take them out so they can be cleaned thoroughly. If you have smaller displays, like cake stands, these could be cleaned by submerging them in hot, soapy water. Larger items like shelves should be wiped thoroughly with disinfectant. Be sure to pay extra attention to the edges or any hinges, as grime tends to accumulate here.
Leave these out to dry thoroughly once they’re cleaned.
Step Three: Wipe The Display Fridge Interior
Using a clean cloth and some soapy water, give the inside of the fridge a good wipe down. The bottom and edges are where you’re likely to find the most dirt, so make sure you’re regularly rinsing and replacing your cloth if necessary.
When all the muck has been removed, give the interior a final wipe down with a small amount of odour-free disinfectant.
Step Four: Wipe The Glass
To ensure there are no smears or imperfections on the glass, wipe it down with an appropriate glass cleaning product. You can also use white vinegar for a streak-free finish. Buff out with a microfibre cloth so that your display fridge is beautifully clear.
Don’t forget to give the outside glass this treatment as well!
Step Five: Set Up Your Display Fridge
Once the shelves, displays and chiller are completely dry, you can start to set up your products. Replace the shelves carefully, ensuring they’re secure when back in place. Because you’re now starting fresh, you can redesign how your food is displayed. You can be as creative as you like, and if any products were disposed of before you started cleaning you might need to think about how to fill the space.
Once everything is back in place, double-check that the glass is gleaming and that nothing is covering the condenser foils.
For Display Fridge & Chilled Cabinet Maintenance, Call Coolbest Refrigeration
Cleaning is only half the battle when it comes to chiller maintenance. If you need repairs to your fridges, no matter how urgent, call Coolbest Refrigeration. Our team have a wealth of experience with all makes and models of fridges and freezers, so we’re sure to be able to help.