Flour Bins

Flour bins are one the most popular storage bins in the pastry section of commercial kitchen.

Why?

They are many, many different types of flours bins to choose from. The main reason we have such a range is to offer you a choice. The need for this range is very much dependant on the following:

  1. The volumne of flour / product to be stored
  2. How many flour bins that need to be stored?
  3. Will the size of the flour bin be too big in the pastry section?
  4. Do you need these bins to be colour coded?
  5. Will you put new flour in on top of old flour?
  6. What size of bins do you need?

1.The volume of the flour / product to be stored

As you will agree every business order their flour differently. Some of them order by the bag and some by the pallet. It is important that whatever way that you order your flour, you have the right bins to help store, handle and rotate the flour product. The most popular size bag that wholesalers will deliver is the 25kg bag, some business because of manual handling, rotation and usage concerns, they would order 12.5kg bags or even sometimes 5kg bags.

How many flour bins that are needed and where to be stored?

As with every proper working kitchen, it is all about the work flow. How to move around your kitchen effectively so that you are more productive and not criss crossing back on yourself. This same thought process should apply in your pastry section so that staff have easy access to the flour in a quick and timely manner. So it is important to agree a centrally located area so that all staff can have quick access to the flour. This area is usually small or non existant. So it is important that the flour bin you choose is just right.

Do you need these bins to be coloured coded?

In every pastry section, there is a requirement for many different flours. These have to be easily identifyable to staff members who may have a sleepy head on them ( even then, they will make mistakes). The best way to identify different variety of flours is allocate a different colour to a particular flour. This will help the user to located which flour is which thus reducing stupid choice errors. The most important advantage of colour coded flour bins is the reduction of cross contamination problems especially with the use of allergens on your menu. This error usually happens when decanting new flour into a bin......... What was in that bin before? By colour coding this risk is greatly reduced. Please call Ollie on 087 2691014 for a full list of colours that are available.

Will I put new flour in on top of old flour?

Some people do and think "sure what's the harm in it?"

There is potential harm with the existance of flour mites, they won't bite or sting you but they do harbour fungal spores which can make people sick. The main reason flour mites occur is because of old and unused flour. The simplest way to prevent flour mites is to Rotate, don't overstock and good hygiene practices.

What size of bin do you need?

As mentioned there are many brothers in the family. These can be broken down by brands i.e Rubbermaid, Cambro or our own. The popular sizes that you could consider would be the 30kg Bin ( Dims: L600 x W355 x H675mm), 50kg Bin ( Dims:L600 x W455 x H675mm) or 70kg Bin ( Dims:L600 x W455 x H675mm).

If you require any further information please call Ollie on 087 2691014