How you can monitor the temperature of your meat this summer

As we enjoy the Summer months, we can expect warmer weather and, along with it, an increased need to safeguard perishable stock, ranging from salad right through to ice. But probably one of the most valuable areas within food requiring close temperature control is meat, with restaurants, retailers and butchers often having thousands of pounds worth in storage at any one point in time.

Refrigerators should be keeping meat between +1 to +5°C. This temperature will ensure the minimising of any bacterial growth. And, with meat storage time also differing, such as beef’s three to five-day fridge storage time opposing chicken’s one to two days, it’s significant that a keen eye is kept on temperature. If you’re freezing your meat it should be stored at -18°C or colder. There’s nothing worse than having a quantity of stock spoiling due to neglect.

From the Supplier to the Counter

Your suppliers must deliver all perishable foods in a refrigerated van to ensure they arrive at the right temperature. Try to check the food’s temperature immediately – it should be coming out at +8°C or colder for the chilled foods and no warmer than -12°C for frozen food. Asking the driver politely to note the temperatures on your delivery notes shows diligence and can also cover you if the food is delivered in an unacceptable state.

As summer arrives, the days become busier. 

As summer rolls around and the amount of people walking the high street undoubtedly increases, supermarkets and specialist meat retailers alike will notice the pace of their days change. Brits spent £3,521 billion on beef, lamb and pork alone last year, so with the demand for fresh over-the-counter meat still high, it’s important not to let that extra pressure keep you from monitoring the temperature of your meat.

As peak times roll around it’s easier to lose track of monitoring your product, and even with the most proactive and attentive team – it can be difficult not to place all emphasis on the customer and forget about temperatures within your window displays, or even your back-room storage. It’s vital that you’re measuring temperatures and are keeping a written record of the data.

Thermometer Technology

Every food premises that is preparing, handling or selling potentially hazardous foods should be using thermometers to monitor temperatures; these thermometers should be accurate to ±1 °C. Temperatures at the meat's centre can differ from the surface temperature, so do be aware of this.

Ensuring your thermometers are well sanitised, maintained and calibrated correctly can be the difference between the maintenance and spoilage of your meat. Having up to date thermometer technology has the benefit of keeping you one step ahead of any potential mishaps, and here at Klipspringer, we’d always advise in the investment.

Wireless Cloud Thermometers

We know that one moment of negligence could cause your business a significant loss of stock, and that’s why at Klipspringer we’ve developed our SenseAnywhere system. With the ability to wirelessly measure temperature, humidity and motion, it will immediately alert users when something’s not quite right. Our customers assure us of its value – take a look at Andrew’s Quality Butchers’ story to see how it helped his busy retail butcher avoid a very costly issue.

Klipspringer Temperature Monitoring Solutions

You can find out more about Klipspringer's range of temperature monitoring solutions here.

View our temperature monitoring solutions

Klipspringer's Updated 2020 Range

Our range of temperature monitoring solutions continues to grow and develop, with low-cost wireless data logging systems capable of monitoring product in freezers, chillers and cold stores. A set up time of around 5 minutes and peace of mind about your stock security forever after!