Perishable food temperatures in retail stores

The temperature of four categories of foods (frozen foods, cured meats, refrigerated dairy products and produce) were measured in 28 retail stores in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick (Canada) during the winter and summer seasons. The objective of this study was to determine the extent of temperature abuse occurring in retail stores in Canada. The overall mean temperatures, during the winter and summer surveys respectively, for all four categories of foods were: frozen foods, -13.4 degrees C and -11.5 degrees C; cured meats, 4.1 degrees C and 3.9 degrees C; refrigerated dairy products, 4.7 degrees C and 4.4 degrees C; fresh fruits and vegetables, 7.6 degrees C and 8.4 degrees C. The two categories of perishable foods showing the greatest temperature abuse at the retail level were frozen foods and fresh fruits and vegetables. The temperature of food products varied as a function of their position in the display cabinets. For all food products tested, samples at the front of the display cabinets were significantly warmer than those at the back. For some products, the temperature also varied as a function of its vertical position in the display case (top, middle, bottom). Fresh fruits and vegetables were the only product that showed a significant difference in temperature along the left-centre-right axis of the display case.