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Last year saw a lot of advances in foodservice, as well as many challenges. As we tie the final bow on 2022, here's the RDT content that was the most popular. You voted with your views and here are the results.

In the past, some refrigeration systems were not environmentally friendly. Through years of innovations and efforts, this is changing. Now, commercial refrigeration can be more sustainable and better for the environment.

Upgrading commercial refrigeration technology can help restaurants save money even when that equipment comes with an investment. It only takes one failure for a restaurant or foodservice operation to lose a walk-in full of ingredients, or on the other side, a system could drain energy every day. Neither is ideal in the books.

One of the newest food crazes is chewable ice. Also known in the industry as nugget ice, this trend has plenty of people talking . . . and chewing! And that's great for foodservice businesses that can use chewable ice to make customers happy and help increase profits. 

As the holiday season approaches, more people are preparing to host friends and family for big meals. While holiday gatherings have been on hold for the past couple of years, consumers are ready to get back in action. 

Compared to other commercial spaces that are similar in size, quick service restaurants (QSRs) on average consume more energy per square foot than different types of commercial businesses. One main reason is the need to store foods and ingredients in walk-in coolers and freezers, a need that requires a significant amount of electricity. When refrigeration fails, it can be costly in different ways. Freezer burn, for example, can lead to food waste, leading to lost revenue.

Food quality is highly dependent on proper storage climates. Temperature and moisture levels must remain within an ideal range for food to stay fresh, delicious, and safe to eat. Overly-warm and moist conditions encourage the growth of microorganisms in food. And when an item becomes contaminated, it can also quickly spread to the food stored around it. On the other side of the coin, some foods can be destroyed by being kept in conditions that are too cold. The proper temperature and moisture levels are crucial to food storage.

Knowing how refrigeration works is crucial to finding the right solutions for your foodservice operation, and fortunately, the basics are easy to understand and quite interesting to learn. 

Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants, once thought beneficial for the environment, are now better understood to have a detrimental impact on the ozone. CARB’s California Senate Bill 1383 set the goal to reduce emissions from HFC refrigerants to 40 percent below 2013 levels by the year 2030. 

As with other industries, the foodservice sector is facing many unique challenges. In 2022, restaurants and other cold storage establishments must deal with many issues, making it harder to maintain one's bottom line, especially as utility bills continue to increase. Thankfully, technology can help foodservice operations mitigate these problems and make their locations more efficient.