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REFRIGERATION

Food storage

How to store flavoured milk and cold coffee

Flavoured milk, milkshakes, cold coffee and similar dairy drinks are popular in Indian cafés, dairy parlours and retail. They come in two broad types. Pasteurised chilled drinks must be kept at 0 to +4 °C from delivery to sale. UHT drinks in tetra packs or sterilised bottles are shelf-stable until opened, but sell better chilled and, once opened, need refrigeration like fresh milk. Café-made shakes and cold coffee are perishable dairy drinks and should be made to order or batched in small amounts and chilled.

  • Chilled0 to +4 °C

Do

  • Check the label: keep pasteurised products chilled from receipt, and UHT products in a cool, dry place until they are chilled for sale.
  • Load glass-door coolers from the back and rotate stock by date.
  • Make shakes and cold coffee to order where possible; if batching, chill immediately and use quickly.
  • Clean blenders and dispensers thoroughly at the end of each day.
  • Keep milk for shakes in an undercounter fridge beside the counter.
  • Use food-grade ice.
  • Label café batches of cold coffee base or shake mix with the time made, and use them within the limit your food-safety plan sets.

Avoid

  • Do not put pasteurised drinks on ambient shelves.
  • Do not keep café-made cold coffee in an open jug at room temperature.
  • Do not mix old and new batches.
  • Do not sell swollen or damaged packs.
  • Do not store opened UHT packs at room temperature behind the counter.

In Indian conditions

Dairy parlours and cafés in India sell large volumes of cold drinks in summer. Pasteurised flavoured milk is often mistaken for UHT and left on ambient shelves; train staff to read labels and keep the two on clearly separate shelves. Glass-door coolers in non-AC shops work hard in summer; avoid overloading them and keep them out of direct sun. Cafés making cold coffee should keep milk, decoction and ice cream for shakes in an undercounter fridge or freezer at the counter. During power cuts, chilled dairy drinks warm quickly; prioritise them and check temperatures before sale.

General good practice for commercial kitchens and shops. Where your FSSAI licence conditions or food-safety plan set stricter limits, follow those.