Food safety codes require that foodservice businesses use commercial-grade shelving manufactured with materials to stop food absorption and food-borne bacterial growth. Long gone are the days of using wooden shelving for food storage in restaurants and commercial kitchens (and that’s a GOOD thing!).

Old Shelving Impacts Safety and Profits

Efficiently storing foods, ingredients, and supplies is essential to any foodservice operation. Strict organization practices and adherence to regulations are critical, especially when working with wet, dry, or refrigerated conditions.

It’s most common for these foodservice items to sit on commercial shelving of one type or another. Commercial shelving materials vary widely and include plastic, chrome, powder-coated steel, epoxy-coated steel, stainless steel, and more. While shelving made from most of these materials performs just fine for a while, the wear and tear of daily use takes its toll on many of them over a relatively short period. 

Foodservice operators have become accustomed to replacing their worn-out shelving roughly every three to five years, even though shelves should last at least ten from the date of shelving investment. The constant loading and unloading, food spills, and sliding heavy #10 cans across the surface daily take a damaging toll and contribute to unplanned replacement shelving expenses.  

Over time, epoxy-coated wire shelves peel, rust, and collect food build-up (if not wiped down regularly) and could lead to very unsanitary conditions if they come into direct contact with food since rust and flaking paint are physical contamination hazards to food.  

Some foodservice operators remove their shelving from walk-in coolers annually to hose it down for a good cleaning, which can be extraordinarily costly in labor. However, by hosing down shelving in this way, operators may be unwittingly setting up the potential for rusting in locations where the original finish of the shelving has worn away.  

When the local health inspector cites foodservice operators for their deteriorating shelving, they often replace the old shelving with more of the same type of shelving, and it’s only a matter of time before this vicious cycle repeats itself.

Time to Break the Cycle

While wire or epoxy-coated shelving may be somewhat less expensive initially, over time, as several replacements are necessary, this recurring expense will easily exceed the cost of investing in a rust-free product. Rust-free shelving that will remain reliable over time will eliminate unnecessary, inconvenient, and costly replacement. In addition to having shelving with outstanding long-term value, operators would be supporting best practices regarding food safety.

Introducing FERMOD® Shelving

From walk-ins to dry storage and every other shelving need, FERMOD® offers a non-corrosive and 100 percent rust-free shelving solution that holds up to the demands of any kitchen. FERMOD® shelving carries a LIFETIME warranty against rust or corrosion. Because the framework of FERMOD® shelving is composed of ultra-strong anodized aluminum, there is no iron content and, therefore, ZERO chance it will EVER rust. Ventilated heavy-duty surface mats allow for excellent air circulation and are easily removable, allowing for simple cleaning and SANITIZING in the dish machine.  

A unique upright system eliminates individual posts, making FERMOD® shelving extremely easy to assemble -- in fact, one person can easily set up an entire room of FERMOD® shelving by themselves without using ANY tools. And the open corner design of FERMOD® shelving allows for unobstructed corner areas, resulting in easy access to ALL stored products and maximum usable storage capacity.

Your Pace Reps contact can provide free shelving consultation, including measuring storage space, making space improvement recommendations, and providing shelving layout support.  

FERMOD® offers an efficient system for walk-ins and storage areas of any size that is easy to personalize, clean, and keep organized.  

Give us a call or drop us a note today, and we’ll be happy to assist in your next LONG-TERM shelving replacement!

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