Summer is finally on the horizon, and that means the wonderful BBQ season is almost upon us.

If you own a butcher shop, it’s good news because more customers are coming your way. But then again, while good for business, busier days and more traffic might make it a little harder to keep your store clean.

As you strive to show customers your commitment to providing quality meat without compromising hygiene, here are three tips on how to keep your butcher shop as clean as possible.

1. Store meats separately

Raw and cooked meats (like smoked, cold and deli meats) should be stored separately. If that is not possible, you can consider cooked meats on upper shelves, while raw meats are placed closer to the floor. This is to ensure juices that spill from raw meats will drip onto the floor instead of contaminating other food products.

Also, package meat in airtight containers and always do so under refrigerated conditions, to keep your meat fresh.

2. Clean and clean some more

Bacteria can spread over the surface of plastic as well as wooden butcher boards. But when raw meat comes into contact with the woo

d, bacteria and germs can make their way into the pores where they will survive. A quick way to solve this problem is to clean the block with a spray solution of bleach and water, before giving it a thorough wiping with a towel.

Storage areas should be cleaned on a weekly basis, while counter tops and equipment should be cleaned more often during operation hours.

Food service floors, too, have to be washed every day, because liquids from food and bacteria can fall into the grout between tiles, making it a breeding ground for germs.

Another tip is to regularly enlist a professional cleaner to thoroughly clean every corner of the butcher store.

3. Use the right tools and equipment

Getting good quality tools and equipment that are robust and easy to clean will help greatly in keeping your butchery hygienic.

The Royston Size 12 Meat Mincer is an automatic meat mincer with a full stainless steel construction, allowing you to create fresh mince.

Use the Royston 15kg Sausage Fille to combine your unique ingredients and create your own signature style of sausages. The full stainless steel construction means that this unit is food-safe.

Showcase your meat while keeping them fresh in the Michel Refrigeration 2000mm Deli Display. The unit features a lift up glass and sliding plastic doors to make cleaning easier than ever.

The Titan Multipurpose Plastic Mat Shelving Units have a large load capacity of 250kg per shelf and are extreme temperature resistant, making them a perfect fit for cool rooms or freezer rooms. The plastic mats are fully removable and dishwasher safe, and are also fungi proofed for added food safety.

At Hospitality World Direct, we carry a wide range of butcher shop products, tools and equipment that can help you up your shop’s hygiene as well as efficiency. Contact us today to find out more about our solutions.