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Don’t fear the door: Shoppers will reach in for freshness

By Published On: December 31, 2021

By Kelly Sayko
Hillphoenix Case Division Product Manager

Packaged meat is one of the highest-revenue foods in the supermarket, but it’s also one of the most susceptible to spoiling. The typical shelf life a cut of steak is four days. Ground beef typically can stay on the shelf only two days before it turns from bright red to dark red or brown, and shoppers feel it is no longer fresh. But add doors to a refrigerated meat case, and everything changes.

The Hillphoenix AMS Group conducted a study in which identical eight-foot cases with the same operating performance were set up in the company laboratory. One case was retrofitted with glass doors. Our testers fully stocked both cases with packaged meat and waited to see what would happen.

The result: The closed case extended the shelf life of steak by three days and of ground beef by one day. What’s more, the refrigeration load on the case with doors was 80% lower, and its energy consumption was 71% lower than the open case.

Adding doors to cases kept the packaged meat at an appropriate, consistent temperature that preserved its color and greatly extended its salability. Ultimately, shoppers are more likely to choose red, moist meat in a closed case than discolored steak displayed in an open case.

The bottom line is that the shelf-life extension gained by adding doors to packaged meat cases mitigates any perceived risks that shoppers might not open the door. They’ll reach in for freshness.

Download “Case Study of Adding Glass Doors to Multi-Deck Meat Case” for more information on the benefits of closed meat cases.