I’ve recently started doing fridge work and need help with what temp to keep fridge at. What should chilled meat be? Any help is appreciated thanks.
We run chilled meat at +1, but if you are unsure then ALWAYS contact your office for clarification. Customers where you load will also inform you what temp they require if you ask.
Edit to add, when running chilled it is advisable to set the fridge to constant run. This stops the temp fluctuations that occur with stop start running.
Whatever a) the consignor (the customer you are collecting it from) b) the paperwork or c) your Boss (office) tells you
NEVER GUESS OR TRY AND WORK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF!!!
0 for chilled, -25 for frozen usually covers most stuff. Really though you should be asking every time you do a collection if its not on the paperwork and its not somewhere you’ve collected before as some places want specific temperatures and some also want copies of the temp logs.
Lifted a loaded trailer was set at 3 nothing on paperwork
Remember that some fridges have two or even three temperature zones. Freeze the veg and thaw the ice cream and you are in trouble.
Always ask.
I don’t agree with keeping it on constant - set the required temperature(s) and let it do its thing.
Conor:
0 for chilled, -25 for frozen usually covers most stuff. Really though you should be asking every time you do a collection if its not on the paperwork and its not somewhere you’ve collected before as some places want specific temperatures and some also want copies of the temp logs.
I wouldn’t advise this for split loads, since assuming the front end is the frozen end, the low temperature will leech out into the chilled section to a certain extent (knackered old pulldown bulkheads) and you’ll risk seeing the chill load go down to some low minus figure that’ll freeze any milk you’ve got up against the bulkhead.
Milk should be +4.
It’s OK to run at +1 or +2 in the summer when heat leeching in through the walls from the hot outside will raise that a couple of degrees to the appropriate +4 overall.
If the current temperature is far enough away from the set temperature - the fridge will keep running continuous as well. No need to fumble around with settings you might not even have on some of the simpler fridge control panels. 
Meat/meat products should be transported at +1 ideally, but as previous posters have stated you should always double-check with the paperwork and office to cover your responsibility for the load.
Reef:
Whatever a) the consignor (the customer you are collecting it from) b) the paperwork or c) your Boss (office) tells youNEVER GUESS OR TRY AND WORK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF!!!
…unless you’re the only Britsh bod about, and you seriously feel like someone’s cocked it up large…Don’t be afraid to pipe up.
I’ve had no speke English warehouse staff come out and set my freezer wrong, even though I’d already set it -26/+4 to pick up oven chips, ice cream & yorkshire puds all at the front, and open produce boxes (mainly peppers, Tomatoes & Mushrooms) at the back… Dumbo thought he’d set the whole thing to -26 by altering C2 down from the +4 I’d set it to.
Part of being a “Professional” is to prevent not just yourself - but others - from making ■■■■-ups that will cost the company a fortune.
If our firms lose too much, we’re all eventually out of work after all. “That’s not my job” and “Couldn’t give a ■■■■ about the company” is not the correct response when confronted with a yard full of johnny foreigners.
Instead, try being on your ‘A’ game all the time, so when a yard calls your agency - you’ll get “Let’s have so and so, 'cos I don’t wanna lose another load this week”… 
Santa:
I don’t agree with keeping it on constant - set the required temperature(s) and let it do its thing.
In my experience a fridge set to stop/start will experience a temperature fluctuation of up to 5 degrees +/-. Whilst this generally isn’t a problem with frozen loads I’d argue that it could result in a rejected load if a customer expecting a chilled load asked for a temperature printout.
Leaving it on continuous keeps the chilled air blasting out onto the front pallets. If they are tender produce, this can ruin them.
Every customer has their own ideas about the ‘correct’ temperature. Ambient produce is usually at +4, but I had people who wanted it at +6 or +2.
One other thing. I was once sent out with a frozen load and then on to pick up fruit. In the hour between drop and load, the fridge went up to +10, but when I got back the load was ruined because the floor and walls were still sub zero. Not my mistake, but a more experienced driver would have told the planner - no can do.
Reef:
Whatever a) the consignor (the customer you are collecting it from) b) the paperwork or c) your Boss (office) tells youNEVER GUESS OR TRY AND WORK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF!!!
This^^^
Every day and twice on Sunday. 
buzz89:
Lifted a loaded trailer was set at 3 nothing on paperwork
buzz,
Doing the job in this way may lead to problems. 
You’ve no way of knowing whether the guy who loaded it simply started the fridge and left the temp at the last setting, or whether he set the temp correctly for the product to be carried.
Your boss might consider having a word with the sender to get them to write their temperature requirement on the paperwork in future.
I run our fridges on cycles( start stop ) so it uses next to no diesel so when I get back I haven’t got too waste 5/10 mins topping it up .
No idea whether it’s good or bad for the load,but 5/10 mins earlier home is good for me 
For us…
Bananas +14
Milk +2
Frozen -23
Flowers +6
Chilled food +2-4
As said,best not to assume it’s set right if your unsure,find out before you leave or you’ll be responsible for ruining £1000s of product.
We had a agency guy on our place that assumed the fridge was set as it should be so just turned it in after being loaded and drive to Harlow,turns out -25 is not the best temp to transport a full trailer of milk in plastic bottles!
Banana’s at +14
Normal chilled mixed load at +1.0 degrees, though collections from poultry factories specified zero degrees. I used to run constant in summer and stop/start in winter, though some trailers were locked on stop/start.
we deliver chilled, anything below 7c (max) - 1c is good
Frozen, anything below -15c which is a minimum.
buzz89:
I’ve recently started doing fridge work and need help with what temp to keep fridge at. What should chilled meat be? Any help is appreciated thanks.
Sounds obvious I know but don’t forget to check the belly tank for diesel.
the maoster:
Santa:
I don’t agree with keeping it on constant - set the required temperature(s) and let it do its thing.In my experience a fridge set to stop/start will experience a temperature fluctuation of up to 5 degrees +/-. Whilst this generally isn’t a problem with frozen loads I’d argue that it could result in a rejected load if a customer expecting a chilled load asked for a temperature printout.
I disagree. The box temperature will fluctuate, the thermostat is in the box chamber, the product will not vary by the same degree.
I’ve just seen what happens when temp control goes er, a bit wrong. Was due to work from middle east to Europe. Aircraft we were taking over came in from Kenya fully loaded with flowers that were due to stay on board for Europe. Got on board and crew looked pretty ■■■■■■ off after dealing with false main deck fire alarm. It came in with a serious fault. We weren’t going anywhere. One of the flow control valves had failed and the main deck temp was stuck at a sweltering temperature. It was quite dangerous as the deck was impossible to stand on due the temp from the main duct underneath. 60 tonnes of flowers were slightly wilted shall we say. Don’t think they were poinsettias so Christmas is safe for the old girls .
With fridge trailers on HGVs I always went from paperwork and backed up by asking, if disparity ask for it to be printed out/written down. Check fuel in tank/unit starts/ no alarm codes before hooking up to trailer