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Hot Food Buffets in Retail Showcases

Successful hot food buffets are visually appealing. Display lighting is critical because the wrong lighting can damage food and distort its appearance, creating unappetizing displays.

Promolux lamps emit a balanced spectrum and lower levels of ultraviolet light to provide true color definition and safely display beautiful, deliciously tempting home meal replacements.

Holding Time of Hot Food Buffets

Most buffet display case lighting shortens the holding time of hot buffet food to thirty minutes or less. While the heat produced by incandescent and halogen buffet display lamps is certainly a factor, the ultraviolet and visible spectrum radiation (particularly high levels of the yellow wavelengths) emitted by these lamps and by regular fluorescent lighting causes even more damage to hot buffet food. Radiation is absorbed by the food as heat which causes hot food displays to continue to cook, form a crust, and dry out.

Display lighting initiates chemical changes in food dyes and cures that can cause colors to fade. The nitrite cure in pepperoni and other processed meats is very unstable when exposed to high levels of UV and yellow wavelength radiation, and under normal merchandiser lighting the bright colors of these processed meats will become pale or even gray.

When items in the hot food buffet do not look fresh, customers will not be tempted by them, or will not return, yet maintaining freshness by continuously replacing light-damaged food with fresh food can soon become very costly. Retailers also lose money when buffet items that are sold by weight become dehydrated.

Promolux true full spectrum lamps reduce shrinkage in hot buffet displays because they emit much lower levels of ultraviolet radiation than most other supermarket display lamps. Prepared meals maintain their moisture and freshness under Promolux lamps, which emit lower levels of ultraviolet radiation and heat than other commercial lighting commonly found in food service outlets.

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Visual Appeal of Hot Food Buffets

Regular supermarket fluorescent lighting tends to be very strong in the yellow and green wavelengths of the visible spectrum, which can make gourmet entrées look old and unappealing, and can cause the bright colors of steamed vegetables to appear dull. Under regular fluorescent lamps, food that is naturally red such as strawberries and rare roast beef tend to look brownish, while food that is white such as steamed rice or potato salad can take on an unappetizing greenish tinge.

Natural colors remain true with Promolux high color definition lamps because they have a more balanced visible spectrum than other fluorescent lamps, including more of the red and blue wavelengths, and more moderate levels of the most damaging visible spectrum wavelengths, yellow and green.

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Promolux True Color Definition Lamps

Promolux balanced spectrum lamps emit lower levels of heat and ultraviolet radiation than regular supermarket fluorescent lamps, prolonging the shelf life of delicatessen foods. Compared to other fluorescent lighting, Promolux lamps emit 86% lower UV B radiation, a shorter wavelength that penetrates and causes heating, and 52% lower UV A radiation, a longer wavelength that tends to affect surfaces.

Because Promolux lamps are designed for true color definition, they have a more balanced visible spectrum than other fluorescent lamps. The yellow and green wavelengths that are predominant in regular fluorescent lighting are the most damaging wavelengths in the visible spectrum. Promolux lamps emit a more balanced range of wavelengths, including more of the red and blue wavelengths and more moderate levels of the yellow and green wavelengths, which results in greater sales through better eye appeal and increased consumer impulse shopping.