After investing in food cutting machinery you will want to keep it well maintained. A food industry cutter will last for years when you keep it clean and properly lubricated, but will deteriate quickly without it. Supplies for food cutting and slicing equipment are few, but a necessary part of any restaurant budget.

When you shop for supplies for food cutting and slicing equipment, consider the following:

1. Purchase food grade lubricants for moving parts on an industrial food cutter.

2. Use disposable cloths for cleaning food cutting machines.

3. Get anti-bacterial cleaning agents to disinfect and degrease food cutting and slicing equipment

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use food grade lubricants to keep food technology cutting equipment in top shape

Lubricant is an important supply to keep food cutting machinery running smoothly. A lubricant that is safe for use on food equipment is necessary to keep food from becoming tainted. Several types of food cutting machines benefit from lubrication including cutting meat equipment, shredders and grinders.

I recommend: Food Equipment International sells two brands of lubricant for food cutting and slicing equipment. Its lubricants are odorless, tasteless and safe to use on machinery that processes food. Total also carries food grade lubricants. Its spray lubricant works for any type of industrial food cutter.

Use food service wipers to clean a foodservice meat cutter

Cross contamination of food is always an issue in the restaurant business. Keeping food cutting machinery clean is key to minimizing it. Disposable cloths are a great way to lower this risk. Nonwoven food service wipers, designed specifically for the food service industry, are strong and durable like cloth, but are disposable.

I recommend: Food service wipers are for sale at Tork Cuisine. Choose from several wipers including those with Microban technology. Another company that sells food service wipers is Atlantic Mills. It has a variety of wipers to choose from with differing grades of quality.

Get an antibacterial sanitizer for cleaning food cutting and slicing equipment

It's important to use a commercial grade sanitizer when cleaning surfaces that come in contact with food. Commercial grade chemicals degrease cutters in addition to cleaning them. Many companies sell commercial grade sanitizers in bulk containers. Make sure you wipe equipment down with water after you clean it with chemicals.

I recommend: ReStockIt.com carries a variety of restaurant grade cleaning agents. Check out its stainless steel cleaning agents when you use meat cut machines that are stainless steel. The WEBtaurant Store is another company that carries restaurant cleaning agents. Its chemicals are appropriate for any surface that frequently comes in contact with food, including a food industry cutter.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Cleaners usually have a long shelf-life. To cut down costs on supplies for food cutting and slicing equipment, consider ordering your cleaner in bulk or large quantities, which may reduce shipping costs.

Restaurants and other food-based businesses which serve a high volume of food should invest in food cutting and slicing equipment. Food cutting machines and meat cutting equipment can help save money in labor, food cost and waste. Food cutting machines can do everything from slicing deli meats and cheeses to chopping vegetables and French fries.

When looking at different brands and styles of food cutting and slicing equipment, look for models that are easy to clean. This is important for food safety and reduces the risk of cross contamination.

There are several different types of food cutting machinery, including:

1. Pastry cutting equipment
2. Cheese shredders
3. Meat saws
4. Vegetable graters

Action Steps
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Use meat cut machines instead of buying pre-cut meats

The price of beef often fluctuates, especially for specialty cuts. Cut out the middleman and use meat cut machines. These industrial strength food cutters are designed for butcher shops and grocery stores. But, there is no reason why a restaurant with a specialty in beef couldn't use one to save money.

I recommend: Prima Supply sells meat cutting equipment, including meat saws, cutters and slicers. Compact Appliance offers used meat cutting machines at discount prices.

Trim labor costs with food cutting and slicing equipment

Why pay employees to stand around and chop vegetables for hours on end, when there are machines that can do the same thing in a fraction of the time? An industrial food cutter can chop vegetables in a blink of an eye, with just one employee overseeing operations. The same is true of a restaurant shredder, which shreds cheese in just a few minutes and save owners the expense of buying pre-shredded variety.

I recommend: Northern Tool & Equipment sells both manual and electric food slicers, ideal for breads, meats, fruits and vegetables. Berkel and Bettcher Industries, Inc. both have industrial food cutters that are easy to clean and have features such as adjustable thickness and whisper-quiet motors.

Control portions with food cutting machinery

Portion control is vital to any food business. Control the thickness of sliced meats with cutting meat equipment or other food cutting machines. They're easy to operate and clean and ensure that portions are all the same.

I recommend: Fante's Kitchen Wares Shop carries every kind of cooking tool imaginable. Food cutting equipment they carry include cheese graters, pastry cutters and wheel dough dividers. The Restaurant Source and Jeans Restaurant Supply also carry a large line of food cutting machinery.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Buy used meat cutting machines and save big. Manual machines (no electricity required) only need replacement blades now and then. They are a great item to pick up used.

In the restaurant business, it's important to figure the pricing and costs of food cutting and slicing equipment into your budget. Using an industrial food cutter can save both time and money for your restaurant. Food cutters eliminate the cost of purchasing pre-cut meat, cheese, fruits and vegetables and quickly prepare food, cutting down on preparation time in the kitchen.

There are specialty cutting machines available for virtually every type of food. Cutting meat equipment, cheese shredders, cubers and slicers and vegetable cutters are all pieces of equipment that help a commercial kitchen to run more smoothly.

1. Cut cheese and meat quickly with an industrial food cutter.

2. Prepare cheese quickly with specialty food cutting machinery.

3. Slice, dice and cut vegetables with food technology cutting equipment.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use an industrial food cutter for meats and cheeses

Use meat cut machines to slice meat and cheese in uniform pieces. Many food cutting machines are manual with gravity feeding. Meat cutting machines come with blade sizes from 9 to 14 inches in diameter. Prices on a food service meat cutter range from around $600 to $3,500 with the disparity due to different blade sizes and the power of the cutter.

I recommend: Big Tray sells manual food slicers with blades ranging from 9 to 14 inches. It offers discounted prices on most of its merchandise. Atlanta Fixture is a restaurant supply company that sells meat cutters and offers free shipping. It has a variety of food cutting and slicing equipment to choose from.

Get specialty food cutting machinery for cheese

The least expensive type of cheese cutter is a cheese wire, which costs between $1.50 to $26. Cheese graters are also an inexpensive option priced at around $4, while cheese slicing arms range from $60 to $130. Cheese cubers range from $130 to $215, and food processor cheese discs run from $100 to $270.

I recommend: Instawares offers several solutions for cheese cutting. A few of the items it sells for industrial cheese cutting are cheese wires, grating discs and cheese cubers. The WEBstaurant Store, a competitively priced vendor, also carries industrial cheese cutting Equipment.

Prepare veggies quickly with food technology cutting equipment

Vegetable preparation is time consuming when done manually. Speed up the process by taking advantage of veggie slicing equipment. Industrial vegetable cutters cost between $1500 and $3000. Other options include: spiral cutters for making french fries that range from $250 to $1000, lettuce choppers and food dicers which run from $500 to $600 and a durable mandolin costing around $80.

I recommend: Food Equipment International sells food industry cutter gadgets for vegetables. It has a wide variety of cutters for fruit and vegetables. Zesco Products carries heavy-duty commercial vegetable cutters and attachment discs. Discs are available to shred, slice, julienne, crinkle cut and more.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Save money by purchasing machines that do multiple tasks. Use meat cut machines and industrial vegetable cutters to cut and shred cheese.