Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/414972
44 FEDA News & Views Foster Frable Food Display Cases: Looking Toward the Future By Foster Frable Jr., Clevenger Frable LaVallee fosterf@cfldesign.com D isplay cases have become an important factor in the food- service equipment business over the last few years. Here are six important reasons to give serious consideration to this future trend: • The popularity of self-service/grab-and-go food delivery. • The desire for customers to see a wide variety of prod- uct offerings and make their own selections. • Transition in the channel from mostly store fixture and retail grocery manufacturers and distributors to foodser- vice equipment manufacturers and equipment dealers. • The evolution from all-purpose bakery or refrigerated display cases to highly specialized and niche cases often designed for just one product—examples range from the little display coolers for energy drink cans to air-curtain display cases that display greens in a vertical salad bar. • Broad availability of attractive designer European dis- play cases that many consider to be "works of art." • Strong interest in the visual appearance of display cases by architects and interior designers who view them as part of the overall décor. First things first, it's important to convey to your customers that display cases are designed to hold food at a safe tempera- ture, not chill it. Canned or bottled beverages in a display case can take hours to reach a 40- to 50-degree serving temperature. Water and soda products that are stored in an ambient stor- age area should be pre-chilled in a separate upright or walk-in refrigerator before being placed in a display case. Some spe- cialty cases offer a "turbo" refrigeration system and special coil to help pre-chill products, but these are the exception and not available on most models. The shape and design of display cases has changed. Square or slanted glass is replacing curved glass in upscale outlets. The new shapes provide a "jewelry box" appearance and designers love it. Curved glass has a tendency to reflect any store lighting that is above the case. Optional non-glare glass is available for most case sizes but typically adds unnecessary cost. Curved glass can also have minor waves within the glass that can dis- tort the view of the food inside the case. The lighting source for cases is moving toward 100 percent LED, which offers a better direct beam of light than fluores- cent lighting. Although fluorescent lighting does illuminate, it doesn't produce a beam or focus of light. The positioning of the LED fixture is critical to the success of the food dis- play. Hussmann introduced an LED sliding light fixture at the Food Marketing Institute's retail show. It offers the flexibility to strategically beam light on a specific spot. For the highest impact on merchandising food, the actual color of the lighting is important, depending on the food product being displayed. The most common is white lighting, with choices of warm tones and cool tones, but there are other options. Color charts, showing the effect that light has on maintaining proper food temperature, are available from most case manufacturers. Shelving options typically include glass, wire, or stainless/ painted metal. Glass is becoming more popular because wire or painted shelves tend to rust or stain in a refrigerated case. Glass shelves offer the best visual and also subtly communi- cate a higher level of quality. A solid end panel is recommended if the location of a dis- play case is next to a solid wall or partition, and the interior panel should have a mirror, which offers a noticeable differ- ence on food presentation inside the case. The rear doors of a case should have a partially transparent mirror at the back, so customers cannot see through the door but the server will have some ability to see inside the case. If several cases are needed, the fluid look of multiple cases in an uninterrupted line-up has become popular. Cases are available in straight Options to Consider When the Environment is a Factor Most refrigerated display cases are designed to operate in an environment with an ambient temperature of 75° F with 55 percent relative humidity. In situations where the environment may not be ideal, consider the options below. • Insulated glass in lieu of non-insulated glass • Air chase, or air sweep, allowing warm air to flow or discharge up front face of the glass. This is similar to the defroster for the windshield of a car. • -Glass with embedded heater wires—similar to a rear-window defroster in a car. This option is not available on all sizes and shapes of glass. • -Glass perimeters with embedded heater wires. • -A combination of insulated glass with heater wires around perimeter of glass combined with an air chase/sweep. This gives the best value solution to adverse conditions, such as display cases located near an outside door in places like Miami or New Orleans. Note: It still doesn't guarantee lack of condensation in un-conditioned environments.