Food Safety Reform Bill Passes U.S. Senate Panel

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. Senate committee voted unanimously on Wednesday to increase government oversight of food safety but the first significant overhaul in 50 years may not happen until 2010.

Pressure to overhaul the food safety system has grown following several high-profile outbreaks involving lettuce, peppers, peanuts and spinach since 2006 that have sickened thousands and killed several.

However, the full Senate probably won’t vote on the bill until 2010 as Congress is currently mired in debate about overhauling the U.S. healthcare system, said Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

“I really, honestly, I just don’t see how we’ll get to it before Christmas,” Harkin said of the food safety bill.

The Senate bill would expand U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight of the food supply and shift its focus toward preventing, rather than reacting, to foodborne outbreaks. FDA would have the power to order recalls, increase inspection rates and require all facilities to have a food safety plan. Read the rest of this entry »

USDA Grant Money for Rural Energy Improvements

Government money is available to help your small business become more energy efficient.

The USDA is now offering a grant and loan program to improve energy efficiency in rural areas. The REAP/RES/EEI (Rural Energy for America Program Grants/ Renewable Energy Systems/ Energy Efficiency Improvement Program) Grants Program will provide funds to architectural producers and rural small businesses to purchase and install renewable energy systems and make energy efficient improvements.

The program is designed to assist farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses that are able to demonstrate financial need. Small businesses that are located in rural areas can also apply. Most rural projects that reduce energy use and result in savings for the agricultural producer or small business are eligible as energy efficient projects. These include projects such as retrofitting lighting or insulation, or purchasing or replacing equipment with more efficient units. One of the main requirements of the grant program is that the new equipment must be more energy efficient than the current equipment. An ‘energy audit’ will be performed comparing the energy usage of the old equipment to the new anticipated energy efficient equipment.

Walk-in coolers and freezers qualify for this grant program. Older walk-ins are not as efficient as new units built today. Some of the recent changes in the industry include the requirement to provide higher insulation r-values and refrigeration units with EC motors, which are much more energy efficient than older units. These upgrades will prove your new equipment to be more energy efficient, which will save you money on energy costs. Read the rest of this entry »

Convenience Store Efficiency

The following article, Cooler Control, from the Convenience Store Decisions magazine, discusses ways to increase your walk-in cooler’s efficiency and decrease operating costs.

Convenience store chains can slash operating costs by as much as 10% with sound maintenance and general improvements to its refrigeration systems.

Operators looking for greater energy efficiency should cast an eye on their coolers, where centralized controls, lighting adjustments, basic ongoing maintenance and employee training can save them money.

“Coolers are typically an opportunity for improvements in maintenance and operational practices,” said Jerry Lawson, national manager for Energy Star Small Business and Congregations Network, a division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington. “With all the different types of equipment in the c-store, coolers are a key piece of the energy equation, and they are typically the most expensive to run. With the right improvements, there is an energy efficiency dollar saving opportunity.”

Where to begin? Start with the obvious.
“Keeping them clean is the biggest thing,” Lawson said. “Coolers have to breathe. Keeping those coils clean allows them to breathe; they take the air in and expel air out.”

When taking care of monthly cooler cleaning, Lawson liked to pull off the back panel and take a cloth or other type of non-steel brush to it and clean it off, then vacuum or sweep the junk up off the floor. “That’s the biggest thing to keep them running efficiently.”

Matt Lauck, director of marketing for Retail Solutions in Kennesaw, Ga., a subsidiary of Emerson Electric, said that central facility management systems can be a major tool for achieving energy efficiency in coolers. Such systems give the operator the ability to optimize energy reduction by, among other things, tracking temperatures to make sure they stay within operational norms, which obviously also has implications for food safety. “Think of it as a programmable thermostat,” he said.

Read the full article from Convenience Store Decisions

Defrost termination fan delay control

The defrost termination/fan delay control is a temperature-activated, single pole-double throw switch controlled with a remote sensing bulb (Fig. 1). The control can be an adjustable type. One example of the installation of an adjustable defrost termination/fan delay control is on a walk-in freezer’s evaporator (Fig. 2).

fig. 1

The control is wired into the refrigeration circuit. The control’s remote sensing bulb is located high on the evaporator where the frost is likely to clear last. The function of this temperature-activated switch is to terminate defrost when the evaporator coil has been defrosted, and to delay the evaporator fans from coming on immediately after defrost.

fig. 2

Defrost time clocks can be programmed for certain defrost duration periods. This is a time duration set at the time clock in minute increments. For example, a defrost time clock on a freezer could be programmed to defrost every six hours (four times daily), and have defrost durations of 40 minutes. However, there will be times throughout the year where the coil does not need the entire 40 minutes. These times could be from low usage of the freezer where the door openings are minimal, or when the humidity is low and not much frost accumulates on the coil. This is where the defrost termination part of the control comes into play.

Read the full article to learn how the defrost termination & fan delay systems work

Department of Energy Meeting

The Department of Energy (DOE) has begun the first step in developing a standardized testing procedure for energy efficiency requirements in walk-in coolers and freezers. On February 4, 2009, the Department of Energy held a public meeting to discuss the proposed standardized testing process. In the Energy Independence and Securities Act of 2007 (EISA), it states there must be a performance-based standard for walk-in coolers and freezers in place by January 1, 2012. This requirement was one of the main topics presented at the meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to familiarize interested parties with the approach and analytical tools that DOE anticipates using in the future. DOE proposed a preliminary document describing their plans for regulating energy efficiency in walk-ins. The meeting provided an opportunity for feedback and comments on the Framework Document.

Ellis Craig (Owner) and Luke Craig (VP of Operations) represented U.S. Cooler by attending the meeting in Washington, D.C. at the beginning of February. The meeting represented just the beginning steps of arriving at a standardized testing method for the walk-in cooler and freezer industry.

There Needs to be a Walk-In Cooler and Freezer Certification Program

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) warns that the new walk-in cooler and freezer law could hurt manufacturers. The problem with the new law is that there is no enforcement mechanism built in, so a non-compliant company can manufacture walk-ins using their same old inferior panels and methods and beat compliant manufactures on price.

To address this issue, AHRI is launching an initiative to educate distributors, installers, and equipment owners about the new standard and its requirements. The association has developed a simple checklist that installers and equipment owners can use to make sure the walk-in cooler or freezer being specified or installed complies with federal law. The checklist is available at www.ahrinet.org/ARI/util/showdoc.aspx?doc=1202.

In addition to customer education, manufacturers believe the solution is the development of a certification program for walk-in coolers and freezers that would clearly identify those units that have been independently tested to verify they achieve a federally established minimum performance rating.

AHRI said the federal government is working with industry to develop a testing methodology for this equipment by 2010. In addition, a final rule is expected to be adopted in January 2012 that will establish a performance-based standard.

The full article can be found here.

Don’t let this happen to your cooler

KNOXVILLE (WATE) — Knox County health inspectors were forced to temporarily close a North Knoxville deli this week over a walk-in cooler that was way too warm.

When the inspector found the walk-in refrigerator at 60 degrees and not working properly, she ordered a lot of food thrown away including ham, turkey, meatballs, pepperoni, bacon, eggs, and cheese.

Nearly 100 pounds of food were ordered thrown away because they weren’t safe to eat. Garelli’s was closed until the refrigerator was repaired.

Plus, the inspector found a roach crawling on the kitchen floor. Garelli’s pest control company was ordered to pay a visit.

Maybe the roach was attracted to the moldy grapes, celery and rotten tomatoes the inspector found in the refrigerator.

Mold was also found in the ice machine and water was leaking onto the kitchen floor.

Garelli’s is open again.

Make sure your walk-in has insulation that will retain it’s r-value well over time. And always make sure your refrigeration unit is functioning properly. Find the whole wate.com article here.

Ebay items listed 1/20/09

This is the full list of US Cooler Ebay Items.

These are the current items U.S. Cooler is selling on Ebay.

New Blog

Walk-in set-up video

This will be U.S. Cooler’s new blog.