Do
- Chill grapes promptly after delivery; even a few hours in heat dries stems.
- Keep grapes in their ventilated punnets or bags to hold humidity without trapping water.
- Remove damaged, split or mouldy berries as soon as you see them.
- Wash just before serving, not before storage.
- Store grapes away from strong-smelling foods; they pick up odours.
- Rotate stock daily in display cabinets.
- Keep grapes in the middle of the cabinet where the temperature is steady, and check the cabinet with a thermometer: grapes are best held as cold as the unit can manage without freezing.
- For buffets and fruit platters, cut bunches into small clusters just before service and return untouched clusters to the fridge.
Avoid
- Do not store grapes wet.
- Do not leave grapes in sunlight on a shop counter.
- Do not crush bunches by stacking heavy items on them.
- Do not keep grapes next to the evaporator fan where berries can freeze.
In Indian conditions
India's main grape season runs through the hot months, with large supplies from Maharashtra and Karnataka. Fruit shops and supermarkets often display grapes at ambient, where they lose moisture fast in dry heat and stems turn brown within a day or two. A glass-door refrigerator keeps grapes cold while remaining visible to shoppers, and the closed door holds humidity better than an open display. Monsoon humidity increases mould risk in any grapes left at ambient. For juice bars and buffets, keep a small quantity at the station and the rest chilled. During power cuts, keep the cabinet closed; grapes tolerate a short outage better than berries or cut fruit.
General good practice for commercial kitchens and shops. Where your FSSAI licence conditions or food-safety plan set stricter limits, follow those.