You may have noticed many coffee shops and coffee vendors leaving coffee creamers on the counter for long periods of time. But is this a safe thing to do? According to food safety experts at tastingtable.com, whether a coffee creamer requires constant refrigeration is less dependent on its dairy content and more on whether it is in a liquid or powdered format. For liquid coffee creamers (both dairy and non-dairy based), it’s usually NOT safe to leave them in room-temperature for longer than 2 hours. Bacteria can develop rapidly in liquid coffee creamers when they are stored in temperatures between 40 degrees and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. To avoid serving customers unsafe beverages, it’s best to keep liquid coffee creamers chilled on ice or stored in a cooler at all times. On the other hand, powdered coffee creamers (both dairy and non-dairy) are less sensitive to warmer temperatures and can be left on the counter for a few hours. Once opened, any non-dairy powder creamers can be safely stored at room temperature for at least a few weeks. The dairy-based powder creamers will likely require refrigeration to maintain freshness. If the label on the dairy-based powder creamer says “refrigerate after opening”, then it’s best to keep them stored in the cooler to prevent spoilage. All in all, it is not easy to say whether you should put the coffee creamer back into the fridge – it all depends on the format of the coffee creamer, and how long it’s been left on the counter! When in doubt, the best practise is to put the creamer back into the fridge. Customers may be slightly inconvenienced by not having a creamer on the counter, but at least you can be sure that no one will be consuming expired products at your premise.
Coolmate Rentals is a refrigeration rental business specializing in providing restaurants and food catering businesses with rental mobile coolers, freezers, and combo cooler and freezer units. Our fleet of walk-in coolers and walk-in freezers range from 6’ to 16’ in size to accommodate a broad range of commercial applications. You can use our units for the cold storage of milk, cream, ice-cream, coffee creamers, and other temperature sensitive ingredients. Since our units are in high demand throughout the year, we recommend that you book a trailer with us ahead of time to avoid any disappointments. Our cooler freezer units are available to rent on a daily, weekly, or monthly (and longer) basis, depending on your business needs. Contact us today to learn more, and we’ll help you find the right mobile refrigeration solution for your situation.