New refrigeration regulations developed by the Environmental Protection Agency are impacting a foodservice operator’s decision to repair or replace an existing piece of equipment. Last summer, the Environmental Protection Agency released rules that ban some refrigerants that the foodservice industry relies on most, including R404A, R507 and R134A. The rules, designed to limit the release of chemicals that contribute to global warming, will phase out these refrigerants over the next few years. Manufacturers will soon choose replacement refrigerants and adjust their product engineering to use these chemicals as safely and efficiently as possible.
These regulations don’t impact factories alone, however. Starting now, foodservice operators should take these rules into account when making refrigeration decisions, says Scott Hester, chief operating officer of Dallas-based Refrigerated Specialists, Inc., and past president of the Commercial Food Equipment Service Association.
Whenever a piece of equipment needs service, one obvious question arises: repair or replace? These regulations, Hester says, will influence this decision while also presenting operators with a third option: retrofit.
Owners of Refrigeration that use the banned refrigerants can expect to get hammered by the law of supply and demand, says Hester. As these refrigerants become less available, their price will almost certainly skyrocket. This has happened before, in the mid-1990s, R12 was banned due to its effect on the ozone layer. Prior to the ban, it cost about $0.75 a pound - cheap enough that Hester used to fill the tires on his dirt bike with it. Following the ban that price rose dramatically, eventually reaching as much as $90 per pound, he said.
Hester expects something similar to happen with R404 and the other banned refrigerants. That means operators simply looking to recharge their boxes could easily spend hundreds of dollars on refrigerants alone. Given that spike in price, the market will likely step in with R404 alternatives. These interim refrigerants, Hester said, are typically a cocktail of chemicals that behave like R404 and can be used in R404 Refrigerators. These alternatives may end up being cheaper than R404 so they may make sense for some operations, but they’ll almost certainly have drawbacks, added Hester. Because they’ll only approximate another refrigerant, interim refrigerants usually cause their boxes to operate less efficiently. This leads to higher electricity consumption, longer recovery times and shorter compressor lives, he said.
Given the added expense of repairing R404 Refrigerators and the potential pitfalls of interim refrigerants, many operators will decide to simply replace a malfunctioning unit. In these cases, Hester recommends operators seek a piece of equipment that uses one of the new refrigerants. Indeed, some manufacturers already make units that use these chemicals. Over the long term, a Refrigerator that uses the new refrigerants will be a much better investment than one that uses a banned refrigerant. “If you avoid the new refrigerants for some reason, you’re going to have the last generation of equipment...that has the old refrigerant,” Hester said. “They’re going to be the most expensive to keep ahold of. You won’t get the full lifecycle out of that last one. It’s going to end up getting prematurely retired because of ownership expenses at the tail end of the lifecycle.”
Then there’s the third option, retrofitting an old unit to operate on the new refrigerants when they become available. This is a relatively simple process, Hester said. A service agent will draw the old refrigerant out of the system and then replace it with the new refrigerant. In some cases, the agent will also have to change the type of oil used in the compressor. All told, this extra labor should add about ⅓ to the normal cost of adding refrigerant to a unit, he said.
Hester noted that retrofitting a unit, even if it’s in great shape, isn’t always the best option. While retrofitting makes economic sense for bigger, more expensive pieces of equipment like walk-ins and large reach-ins, the extra cost doesn’t add up for smaller refrigerators like undercounter units. In general, these pieces take extra time to service: Their smaller size mean components are harder to access and calibration takes longer. Combine the overall cost of retrofitting with the relatively low replacement cost, and the better deal will often be just buying a new refrigerator. For just a few hundred extra dollars, operators can get a brand new, fully-warrantied piece of equipment, he said.
The decision to repair, replace or retrofit refrigeration is one that practically every operator will need to make as the new EPA regulations take effect. These decisions will depend on an operator’s tolerance for risk and ability to make a capital expenditure. Come decision time, though, Hester encouraged operators to consider not just the next few weeks, but the next few years, adding that the need to replace often comes sooner than an operator thinks.
“I’d be inclined to say invest in the future....There’s a smart time to get off [a piece of equipment],” he said.
Showing posts with label Refrigerator. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Refrigerator. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Be Careful about Food Safety
Who’s the Culprit? Foodborne illness has occurred when you are sick
from eating food that has been contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites,
or fungi. Causes of the symptoms vary greatly, but it’s help to know that
misinformation exists via the customer route, the food service managers and
crew, and even the medical professionals (if they haven’t had much specific
training about foodborne illness).
The Best Investigators –In the food service industry, we never want to get a call from a customer with a foodborne illness claim. Prevention of such an incident is what food safety is all about. If the restaurant manager does get a call, you need to take it seriously and record the facts from the customer for further investigation. Many times the consumer does an incorrect self-diagnosis based upon the last meal that they ate at a restaurant – never from food out of their own refrigerator or from a meal eaten days before the illness symptoms show up. Health department professionals trained in food protection are the best source of helping to correctly diagnose a foodborne illness (contacted as soon as possible), provided the consumer has also contacted their doctor if they have acute symptoms.
The Common Foodborne Illness Myths:
1. Myth: Foodborne illness is caused by the last meal or food item eaten.
FACT: Foodborne illness can be caused by foods eaten a few hours to several days prior to your illness. A graphic point is that when symptoms show up, for example vomiting, you would throw up the last meal you ate, even though that is not the food that made you sick. In the case of the Hepatitis A virus, you may not have symptoms for up to 50 days. Can you remember what you ate for every meal up to a week ago, much less 50 days? It’s a tough task.
2. Myth: Foodborne illness is caused by eating foods from restaurants.
FACT: Bacteria and other pathogens (germs) can live and multiply in both the home and restaurant kitchens. Foodborne viruses are the very tiny hitchhikers that travel via fingertips and sometimes are airborne. Foods can be contaminated on counters, sinks, cutting boards, utensils, or via hands, resulting in a cause known as “cross-contamination”.
3. Myth: Foodborne illness is caused by food that has “gone bad”.
FACT: This is seldom the cause of foodborne illnesses. You CANNOT see, taste, or smell the food poisoning organisms in the food. Foodborne illness is usually caused by food becoming contaminated from the food preparers hands not being properly washed, incorrect time and temperature control, poor food handling practices, and unsafe preparation methods.
4. Myth: It must have been the mayonnaise that made me sick. It was not refrigerated.
FACT: Commercial mayonnaise and most bottled salad dressings are what we call “acidified foods”. They are safe at room temperature even after opening, although most restaurants and the manufacturer want them refrigerated to preserve the freshest flavor. Mayo and salad dressings have an acid level low enough that they do not support growth of microorganisms, unless they are heavily contaminated by a dirty utensil or mixed with other foods changing the acidity level of the mixture (such as in potato salad). Mayo all by itself and unrefrigerated is perfectly safe.
5. Myth: Foodborne illness is easily diagnosed.
FACT: In order to make an accurate diagnosis, the ill person must give a history of the symptoms and the foods eaten within the last three days. A stool specimen is the most telling clinical sample and should be collected from the victim for lab testing to identify the organism. Other samples to be collected might be emesis (vomit), the suspect foods from the restaurant or home kitchen, any leftover food from the suspect meal, and sterile swabs of equipment or food workers skin or nasal passage. These samples are now like a fingerprint and organisms can be matched to one another or to other victims in many cases. On a more positive note for food service, they can also be used to clear a restaurant of being the cause. Viral foodborne outbreaks, such as the #1 leading foodborne enemy, the “Norovirus”, are also tougher to diagnose than bacterial illnesses and have an incubation time of 24 to 48 hours before the victim has symptoms. Infection rate for Norovirus is high, but is sometimes not reported so continues to spread.
6. Myth: All foodborne illnesses are the same
FACT: Foodborne illness is caused by many different organisms. For example, “Salmonella” has approximately 2000 identified types. The organism determines how long it takes for illness to occur, signs, symptoms and duration of the illness. The illness can vary from mild flu-like symptoms to very serious illness or even death if the victim is a high risk individual (children, elderly, pregnant women, people who are immune compromised or on certain medications).
The Best Investigators –In the food service industry, we never want to get a call from a customer with a foodborne illness claim. Prevention of such an incident is what food safety is all about. If the restaurant manager does get a call, you need to take it seriously and record the facts from the customer for further investigation. Many times the consumer does an incorrect self-diagnosis based upon the last meal that they ate at a restaurant – never from food out of their own refrigerator or from a meal eaten days before the illness symptoms show up. Health department professionals trained in food protection are the best source of helping to correctly diagnose a foodborne illness (contacted as soon as possible), provided the consumer has also contacted their doctor if they have acute symptoms.
The Common Foodborne Illness Myths:
1. Myth: Foodborne illness is caused by the last meal or food item eaten.
FACT: Foodborne illness can be caused by foods eaten a few hours to several days prior to your illness. A graphic point is that when symptoms show up, for example vomiting, you would throw up the last meal you ate, even though that is not the food that made you sick. In the case of the Hepatitis A virus, you may not have symptoms for up to 50 days. Can you remember what you ate for every meal up to a week ago, much less 50 days? It’s a tough task.
2. Myth: Foodborne illness is caused by eating foods from restaurants.
FACT: Bacteria and other pathogens (germs) can live and multiply in both the home and restaurant kitchens. Foodborne viruses are the very tiny hitchhikers that travel via fingertips and sometimes are airborne. Foods can be contaminated on counters, sinks, cutting boards, utensils, or via hands, resulting in a cause known as “cross-contamination”.
3. Myth: Foodborne illness is caused by food that has “gone bad”.
FACT: This is seldom the cause of foodborne illnesses. You CANNOT see, taste, or smell the food poisoning organisms in the food. Foodborne illness is usually caused by food becoming contaminated from the food preparers hands not being properly washed, incorrect time and temperature control, poor food handling practices, and unsafe preparation methods.
4. Myth: It must have been the mayonnaise that made me sick. It was not refrigerated.
FACT: Commercial mayonnaise and most bottled salad dressings are what we call “acidified foods”. They are safe at room temperature even after opening, although most restaurants and the manufacturer want them refrigerated to preserve the freshest flavor. Mayo and salad dressings have an acid level low enough that they do not support growth of microorganisms, unless they are heavily contaminated by a dirty utensil or mixed with other foods changing the acidity level of the mixture (such as in potato salad). Mayo all by itself and unrefrigerated is perfectly safe.
5. Myth: Foodborne illness is easily diagnosed.
FACT: In order to make an accurate diagnosis, the ill person must give a history of the symptoms and the foods eaten within the last three days. A stool specimen is the most telling clinical sample and should be collected from the victim for lab testing to identify the organism. Other samples to be collected might be emesis (vomit), the suspect foods from the restaurant or home kitchen, any leftover food from the suspect meal, and sterile swabs of equipment or food workers skin or nasal passage. These samples are now like a fingerprint and organisms can be matched to one another or to other victims in many cases. On a more positive note for food service, they can also be used to clear a restaurant of being the cause. Viral foodborne outbreaks, such as the #1 leading foodborne enemy, the “Norovirus”, are also tougher to diagnose than bacterial illnesses and have an incubation time of 24 to 48 hours before the victim has symptoms. Infection rate for Norovirus is high, but is sometimes not reported so continues to spread.
6. Myth: All foodborne illnesses are the same
FACT: Foodborne illness is caused by many different organisms. For example, “Salmonella” has approximately 2000 identified types. The organism determines how long it takes for illness to occur, signs, symptoms and duration of the illness. The illness can vary from mild flu-like symptoms to very serious illness or even death if the victim is a high risk individual (children, elderly, pregnant women, people who are immune compromised or on certain medications).
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