Seafood Safety by the Case

Equipment manufacturers are making product integrity a major aspect of their design and R&D efforts.

In terms of food safety, the seafood department is the area of today’s supermarket that presents the most potential hazards, and seafood case suppliers are constantly striving to make their products as safe as possible while maintaining maximum display capabilities.

“As in all supermarket departments, high product temperatures and lack of case sanitation are important issues to consider, but due to the exceedingly delicate nature and greater perishability of seafood, they are of paramount importance in the seafood department,” says Rod Stephens, marketing director at Southern CaseArts, in Bessemer, Ala. “The smallest amount of ‘fishy smell’ can immediately equate to poor product quality in a customer’s mind.”

Southern CaseArts offers six catalog seafood cases, and Stephens notes the company has designed many custom seafood cases. Its models are typically chosen by customers for their quality and design, specifically in regard to their visual merchandising capabilities, ease of use and trusted temperature control.

“Our cases are designed to not only optimally display food so that sales are increased,” Stephens says, “but to do so with a very efficient refrigeration system which provides uniform product temperatures that meet or exceed NSF [National Science Foundation] and health code requirements. We also build the case so that it is easier to clean, design in steep-angle slopes to allow ice melt to drain away quickly and offer optional flash systems that help systematize case cleaning.”

All of the company’s seafood display case models are designed with product temperature as a core priority, followed by design and efficiency. “Our application of technologies that implement innovative proprietary refrigeration techniques and that use pioneering cleaning systems all contribute to ensuring the product safety and integrity,” Stephens says.

Stephens feels that, along with efficiency, the key to future seafood cases will be to balance science and art, and that this is where design is of the utmost importance. “Anyone can have a big, clunky box that can hold products at an exact temperature and do so with extreme efficiency,” he says, “but the problem is that those boxes don’t sell food — they simply store it. They limit customer access and greatly decrease visibility.”

Stores need fresh food merchandisers, not refrigerators, Stephens asserts. “Retailers are in the visual merchandising business, and it is essential that their cases actively sell their product, not just act as cold storage,” he says. “The case needs to display the product in such a way that it not only attracts customers, but impulses them to buy, and to do so while maintaining proper temperatures at the required efficiency.”

Market Atmosphere

Chris Seeber, who oversees food integrity at Hussmann Corp., in Bridgeton, Mo., says his company offers at least 15 refrigerated merchandisers for service and self-service fresh, frozen and packaged seafood displays, and that the most popular model is the DSF family, which gives shoppers an “open-air” fish market feel, and whose small footprint and open top allow retailers to add their own merchandising flair.

“We believe that food quality is closely tied to maintaining the proper temperature throughout the supply chain,” he says. “Hussmann display cases consistently meet optimal temperature ranges, and all our products have thermostats and thermometers to easily gauge the temperature within the refrigerated zone. Some of our curved and straight-glass service merchandisers are available with a humidified refrigeration system to help with product integrity.”

Additionally, to maximize cleanability, Hussmann display cases are available with removable stainless-steel interior walls, ice pans and fan plenums.

According to Seeber, Hussmann’s current solutions aim to maintain proper temperature and provide accessibility inside the case for easy cleaning. He adds that the company is collaborating closely with the seafood industry to gain a better understanding of its issues and needs.

In terms of food safety in the seafood cases of the future, he says: “We expect to see continued emphasis on efficiently improving cleanliness in the case, providing an odor-free environment, and controlling spoilage organisms and pathogens to maintain the quality of fresh seafood inside the refrigerated case. We will also be working with the seafood industry regarding traceability throughout the seafood supply chain.”

At Kysor/Warren, in Stone Mountain, Ga., Case Production Manager Michael Lehtinen says that in terms of food safety, product temperature is paramount and that the more precisely temperature is maintained, the safer the product will be.

“When developing new products, Kysor/Warren places product simulators strategically throughout the display area to ensure that products will maintain safe temperatures,” says Lehtinen. “These sensors are also monitored continuously, a much more precise method than periodic temperature measurements.”

Lehtinen anticipates seeing more use of conductive cooling, and that the combination of cooling the product with the surrounding air and placing it on a cooled surface will result in more exact product temperature. In addition, he believes that changes in defrost technology will reduce defrost time, leading to a more consistent temperature over time.

Safety and Quality

Margie Proctor, marketing and design specialist at Hillphoenix, in Conyers, Ga., says her company offers about 14 service and self-service cases specifically designed for merchandising seafood.

“There are several factors in regards to food safety that impact the seafood department, including initial product quality, case and product temperatures, case cleaning, and cross-contamination,” she notes.

As to product quality, Proctor says the best practice for it is to establish a checklist for quality standards and inspect product to those standards when receiving fresh seafood.

“Many of our customers prefer to keep their fresh seafood merchandised in a display case between 35 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit,” she says. “It is a good practice to daily check and chart temperatures of all refrigerated equipment to ensure they are operating at proper temperature. Fresh seafood is highly perishable, so it is important to maintain product temperatures and not exceed load limit lines in refrigerated cases, to extend the shelf life of the product. When it comes to protecting customers from foodborne illness, one of the most effective tools is a thermometer.”

Cross-contamination presents food safety issues when handling and merchandising products in a display case, according to Proctor. In terms of handling, it’s important to ensure that prep areas, utensils, cutting boards and hands are properly washed and sanitized after contact with the products. It’s also crucial to ensure that cooked and raw seafood products are separated to prevent cross-contamination.

“Cleaning and sanitizing seafood display cases daily will not only keep your seafood department smelling fresh,” Proctor says,”but will help prevent cross-contamination and bacteria growth. Refrigeration slows down bacteria growth; it doesn’t stop it. Hillphoenix offers flush systems in our service seafood merchandisers, for ease of cleaning.”

Thus it would seem that equipment manufacturers are literally on the case when it comes to helping grocery retailers ensure seafood safety.

“High product temperatures and lack of case sanitation are important issues to consider, but due to the exceedingly delicate nature and greater perishability of seafood, they are of paramount importance in the seafood department.”
—Rod Stephens, Southern CaseArts