You wouldn’t order pizza from your dry cleaner or milk from a furniture maker, so why would you order all your produce and dairy from the same distributor for your business? Selecting food service companies in Pennsylvania involves segmenting your deliveries into categories and then choosing the best provider in each category. Refrigerated items are among the most vulnerable in transport, so read on to learn what to look for.
Challenges of Fresh Produce
Perishable food products, such as milk and cheese, or ones requiring particular packaging, such as whipped cream, require Pennsylvania food service companies that are used to dealing with these products. Mistakes in storing and securing items during the manufacturing and delivery process can cause costly delays when defective food must be thrown out or when it arrives late.
Check Temperatures
When dairy or produce products arrive, check the temperatures to make sure the food is fresh prior to accepting the delivery. Develop a strategy to handle this with different providers you are trying out for the first time as well as long-time vendors. When it becomes part of your routine, you improve overall quality and establish good protocol for food service companies for your Pennsylvania business.
Hold identical items together and place a thermometer between them, with the tip inserted so that you are measuring the product temperature and not the ambient air surrounding the product. Another option is using an infrared thermometer that is accurate, fast, and easy to use. An infrared thermometer lets you measure surface temperature without altering the packaging.
Ensure that your Pennsylvania food service companies keep up-to-date logs and adhere to any other government standards designed to ensure that your cream, milk, and whipped cream stay fresh and arrive safely at your doorstep. Refuse any produce that is not delivered at the right temperature.
Packaging
Some products require specialized packaging and consideration. Take whipped cream for example. Keeping canisters under pressure and at the right temperature plays a key role in the quality of the topping that ends up on someone’s beverage or dessert.
Find out if the food service companies that deliver your products use non-toxic products that secure their contents and travel well. Taking these simple steps can save you trouble with your clients and customers and help you decide whether your Pennsylvania food service companies are up to the task or need to be replaced.
