Fresh products require a different approach than dry products. Fresh ingredients like meat and vegetables spoil quickly and cost you a lot of money if they end up in the trash. Dry products like rice and pasta are more stable, but can still lose value through pests or improper storage.
Fresh products: short shelf life, high value
Fresh ingredients often make up 60-70% of your food costs, but have a shelf life of only 2-7 days. This makes them risky to stock up on.
💡 Example:
You buy €200 worth of fresh fish on Monday:
- Tuesday: still 100% value (€200)
- Wednesday: still 80% value (€160)
- Thursday: still 50% value (€100)
- Friday: 0% value (€0)
Every day you don't sell it, you lose €40-60.
Key points for fresh products:
- Daily checks for appearance and smell
- FIFO principle: First In, First Out
- Temperature control (refrigeration 0-4°C)
- Small, frequent deliveries
- Flexible menu (daily specials for products that need to move)
Dry products: long shelf life, stable value
Dry products like rice, pasta, spices and canned food have a shelf life of months to years. The risk of spoilage is small, but other problems can occur.
💡 Example:
Your dry inventory of €1,500:
- Rice 25kg: €35 (lasts 2 years)
- Pasta 10kg: €25 (lasts 3 years)
- Spices: €200 (last 1-2 years)
- Canned tomatoes: €180 (last 5 years)
Value depreciation: 0-5% per year due to quality loss.
Key points for dry products:
- Protection against moisture and pests
- Check expiration dates (dry products also expire)
- Proper storage (dry, dark, room temperature)
- Larger purchases possible (bulk savings)
- Periodic inventory (monthly or quarterly)
⚠️ Watch out:
Dry products can also spoil due to moisture, pests or improper storage. Spices lose flavor after 6-12 months, even if they're technically still good.
Financial impact of poor inventory management
The difference in approach has direct consequences for your profit. Fresh products require daily attention, dry products require structural control.
💡 Example waste calculation:
Restaurant with €8,000 weekly purchases:
- Fresh products (70%): €5,600 - waste 8% = €448/week
- Dry products (30%): €2,400 - waste 2% = €48/week
Total waste: €496 per week = €25,792 per year
Cost control by product type:
- Fresh: Focus on fast turnover and daily specials
- Dry: Focus on bulk purchasing and proper storage
- Fresh: Daily inventory checks
- Dry: Monthly inventory
- Fresh: Small safety stock (1-2 days)
- Dry: Larger safety stock (1-3 months)
Practical organization in your kitchen
Good organization helps you manage both product types optimally without taking too much time.
Daily routine (10 minutes):
- Check fresh products for appearance and smell
- Note what needs to move today (daily special?)
- Check refrigeration temperatures
- Plan purchases for tomorrow
Weekly routine (30 minutes):
- Inventory all fresh stock
- Check dry inventory for pests
- Plan menu for next week based on inventory
- Calculate waste percentage
Monthly routine (2 hours):
- Complete count of dry inventory
- Check expiration dates on all products
- Analyze purchasing patterns and waste
- Optimize orders for next month
With a digital system like KitchenNmbrs, you can record these checks and automatically receive alerts for products that are about to expire.
How do you organize inventory management for both product types?
Physically separate fresh and dry storage
Make a clear distinction in your storage area. Fresh products in refrigerated spaces with daily access, dry products in a separate dry room that you access less frequently.
Set different check frequencies
Check and record fresh products daily. Check dry products weekly for pests and do a complete inventory monthly.
Calculate optimal inventory levels per type
For fresh products: maximum 3 days inventory. For dry products: 2-6 weeks inventory depending on delivery frequency and storage costs.
Implement FIFO for fresh products
Label all fresh products with receipt date. Always use what came in first. For dry products this is less critical but still recommended.
Monitor waste percentages separately
Keep track of what percentage of your fresh purchases you throw away versus dry products. Aim for <5% waste on fresh products and <1% on dry products.
✨ Pro tip
Take photos of your fresh products upon delivery. This way you can later prove to suppliers that products were already bad upon arrival, and you'll get credit notes instead of losses.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
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Frequently asked questions
How many days of fresh products can I safely stock?
For most fresh products, 2-3 days is the maximum. Fish and ground meat maximum 1-2 days, vegetables and meat 3-4 days. Longer becomes too risky for both quality and food safety.
What percentage of my inventory should be dry products?
In most restaurants, dry products make up 20-40% of total inventory value. Too much dry inventory means capital is tied up, too little means frequent expensive emergency deliveries.
How do I prevent pests in my dry inventory?
Store everything in sealed plastic or glass containers. Check weekly for holes in packaging. Keep the storage room clean and dry, and never place products directly on the floor.
What do I do with fresh products that are about to expire?
Make it a daily special with a discount, process it into a soup or sauce you can freeze, or sell it to staff at cost price. Throwing it away is always the worst option.
Can I bulk purchase dry products for better prices?
Yes, but calculate whether storage and capital costs offset the purchase discount. If you save €500 but tie up €1,000 extra capital for 6 months, it's not a good deal.
How often should I count my inventory value?
Fresh products weekly, dry products monthly. For your accounting and taxes, a complete monthly count of everything is sufficient, but you need it more frequently for your own management.
📚 Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- Warenwetbesluit Bereiding en behandeling van levensmiddelen (2024) — Official source
- WHO — Foodborne diseases estimates (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
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