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REFRIGERATION

Glossary

FIFO

A stock rotation rule: the stock that arrived first is used or sold first, so older items do not get pushed to the back and forgotten until they spoil.

Also called: First In, First Out, Stock rotation

First In, First Out is the simplest way to stop waste in cold storage. When a new delivery arrives, it goes behind or below the existing stock, and staff always take from the front. Dated labels on prepared food and opened packs make it clear which item came in first.

Refrigeration layout can help or hinder FIFO. Shelves that are too deep, chest freezers without baskets, and overcrowded cabinets all make it easy for older stock to hide. Uprights with adjustable shelves, drawer units, gravity-fed bottle shelves and labelled baskets in chest freezers make rotation natural. Regular stock checks, usually at closing or before ordering, catch anything that has slipped through.

A bakery café in Pune receiving cream, butter and milk daily might label each crate with the delivery date and load new crates at the back of the reach-in. The pastry team always pulls from the front, and anything approaching its use-by date is flagged at the evening check.