Statistics About the Food and Beverage Packaging Industry

Australia is one of the top generators of household waste in the world. Indeed, this country places among the top ten of OECD, or Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, countries when it comes to household waste productions. Interestingly enough, the food and beverage packaging industry helps to mitigate and lessen those numbers by a considerable degree. Indeed, packaging suppliers do their own part to help improve the health of the planet each and every day.

Waste In Australia -

In order to get a handle on the contributions that are made by the food packaging industry when it comes to waste in Australia, it helps to have a basic understanding of the numbers. Approximately 2.2 million tonnes of food waste is produced in this country each year. Were it not for food packaging suppliers, it would be considerably more. Each family in Australia generates about 400 kilograms of waste per year. These numbers definitely put Australia's role in waste production into perspective.

Why Reducing Waste Is Important -

Most people realise that reducing waste is an important way to help save the planet. Reducing the amount of organic waste that's found in waste streams is extremely critical, since doing so could reduce Australia's greenhouse emissions by up to three percent. Additionally, reducing the waste could help reduce the size of landfills around the country. Unquestionably, waste reduction is extremely important - and the Australian food and beverage packaging industries are doing as much as they can to help.

What Is Saved Through Recycling?

Recycling is a core part of the food packaging industry's philosophy. Considering all of the good that is accomplished by every household that recycles, it's plain to see why this industry places such an emphasis on it. For every household that actively recycles, enough energy is saved to run a 40-watt light globe for about 72 hours. Over 90 litres of water are saved per week through such efforts, and about 3.6 kilograms of solid waste are saved per week as well. Every little bit definitely helps, which is why food packaging suppliers make sure to do their own part.

How Packaging's Been Reduced -

As more and more emphasis is placed on waste reduction, the Australian food and beverage packaging industry have adapted numerous changes in order to help. For instance, the soft drink industry - that at one stage consumed approximately 453g of packaging in order to manufacture just one single litre of soft drink - has cut back considerably. Today, that industry only requires about 150 grams per litre of soft drink; that marks a 67% reduction, which isn't an inconsiderable sum. As more and more changes like that occur in the packaging industry, waste reduction should accelerate by a very large amount.

Advantages to Computers in the Food & Beverage Industry

Computers have revolutionized the food and beverage industry as they have nearly every other industry. Computers have had positive, measurable effects on the front end and back end of hospitality operations. Computers systems have improved employee performance, and food and beverage quality and consistency. Within the food and beverage industry there is no longer a question of should technology be used, but rather a question of which technology to use? In the food and beverage business, computers are here to stay.

In the hospitality industry, customer service is an absolute critical factor for success. Computers are helping in this area in several ways. In many restaurants, the wait staff can process various forms of payment at guest tables, which allows guest to leave directly from their table without the need to stop at a centralized checkout station. This has removed long unsightly lines, which annoy customers, and disrupt the flow of traffic in food and beverage businesses. This service is made possible by either small hand held computers which handle credit card transactions using wireless technology, or via remote point of sale systems that interact with a central computer system. This improves the customers dining experience, which should be the goal of any food service business.

A key management concern of any food and beverage business is the profit margin. In this vital area of business, computers have also proven to be an indispensable tool. Computer systems help manage the entire food service process from ordering the ingredients needed to produce menu items, to forecasting the amount of items to prepare for each dining period based on historical patterns. This helps to reduce wasted food, which is very expensive and comes out of the businesses profit. It also helps in preparing menu items before hand, which reduces customer wait time. Computer can also forecast with high accuracy rates the volume of business to be expected which allows managers to properly staff their business. This is vital because having too much staff on hand can consume unnecessary amounts of payroll, and not having enough staff on hand will cause customer service problems.

Computers are also being used in very innovative ways by some food and beverage businesses. For instance, Darden Restaurants that owns and operates the Red lobster and Olive Garden chains uses computers to help choose new building sites. This computer system uses a software program called the Darden Site Analyzer. The software gathers critical information needed to select a site, such as demographics, distance to other restaurants and customer information specific to the Darden business model. The program then analyzes the site and provides a series of reports to help Darden make the final decision. Darden plans to improve the software so that it can evaluate things such as whether a new Darden restaurant will negatively effect other Darden restaurants in the same area.

Computer systems have become a vital part of all aspects of the food and beverage industry, they help with purchasing decisions, inventory control, employee scheduling and training, and customer acquisition and retention. A leading indicator of this growing trend is the fact that many hospitality training programs now include computer and technology courses in the curriculum.

Each year innovators are creating more unique ways that technology can be used to enhance the overall commercial dining experience. Computers make out of home dining a more enjoyable experience for the consumer and a more profitable manageable experience for business managers and owners.

Are Plastic Food and Beverage Containers Safe?

During the film's graduation party in THE GRADUATE, Mr. McGuire pulls Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) aside to offer sage advice for his future. His future would be one word: "plastics."

Of course, we all know Mr. McGuire's advice and prognostication was correct. Plastics can only be made by man in his infinite wisdom, hence they are patentable. The profit in the manufacture of plastics has been huge. Plastics are everywhere. Plastic manufacturing now uses 4% of the world's oil production annually. Automobiles are now 9% plastic. It is of my special concern that more foods and beverages are being put into plastic containers. Plastics are ubiquitous now. They persist and accumulate in our society as their production exceeds their chemical degradation rate. Harmful chemicals from plastics are now commonly found in groundwater, waterways, and drinking water.

While standing out in the summer heat in Phoenix, Arizona in 1981, my girlfriend asked me what was causing the film to form on the inside of the windshield of her new Mazda 626. She said that she had to wipe it off every morning so she could see to drive to work. I didn't know then. I do now! It was phthalates, the chemical that was added to the plastic dash cover to soften it and prevent cracking. I'm sure by now most of the phthalate has evaporated into our atmosphere and the Mazda is in some junkyard with a cracked up dash.

Phthalates are EDC's (Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals.) They are chemicals found in recycle codes #1 through #6 plastics. Another EDC (Bisphenol A) is in recycle code #7 plastics. All of these types of plastic EDC's interfere with the function of sex hormones receptors. In THE GRADUATE Benjamin was quite a stud. I wonder if he's now taking one of the popular drugs to treat erectile dysfunction, a disorder that has become one of the many epidemics in our new plastic world.

In 2003 a group of Croatian scientists reported that phthalates in plastics dissolved in various solutions. They used a variety of plastic items, including plastic food containers. After 10 days of sitting in distilled water, an average of 55.4 mg/ of phthalates from each kilogram of plastic "migrated" into the water. To a lesser degree the phthalates from plastics dissolved into acetic acid 3% (44.4 mg/kg) and 10% ethyl alcohol (32.3 mg/kg).

The Croatian study shows what Benjamin would suspect, if he took chemistry in college: Water is the universal solvent; and it dissolves even the primarily fat soluble phthalates. The more that you filter water to remove other toxic solutes, the more aggressive water becomes in its power to reach osmolar equilibrium by dissolving its non-inert containers.

What is also obviously missing from the Croatians' controlled, static testing model are the temperature variations that the plastic bottled water product goes through to get from bottling point to the mouth of the consumer. Transport trucks probably reach a very high temperature in the non refrigerated cargo areas that carry PETE (recycle code #1 plastic) bottled water in the summer. Heat facilitates the dissolution of phthalates into the water. Then the bottles may be stored for a much longer time than 10 days prior to consumption. Furthermore, freezing the containers produces micro-fissures in the interior surface of the plastic bottle container as the water expands, exponentially exposing more solute surface area. Traumatic handling or any motion of the package will further enhance diffusion. Applying the laws of physics, all of these factors clearly by extrapolation will increase the water dissolution of the plastic containers.

Fatty foods in plastic containers are even more problematic, as fats are absorbed differently and carry their phthalate solvents into our bodies more easily. Phthalates bio-accumulate because of their fat solubility. Phthalates concentrate in such fat organs in our bodies such as brains, prostates, testicles, ovaries, breasts and, unfortunately, breast milk. (The other popular food alternatives for infants are worse. Commercial baby formulas are loaded with the manmade phthalates.)

I think the worst example of food containment in plastic is milk. All milk except non-fat milk contains fat. Cow milk itself represents a major source of the fats ingested by the public, especially children. Cattle concentrate these chemicals by bioaccummulation because EDC's from plastics are ubiquitous in water and most animal food sources. Meat and dairy products are therefore a major contributor to this group of human food chain derived toxins, regardless of their containment. It is now irresponsible to add more phathalates to the products by putting the milk products in plastic containers that add MORE EDC's.

Cattle have intentially been "fattened up" by adding hormones AND unintentially "fattened up" more by the contamination of cattle food and water by EDC's. The combination of these chemicals passed on to the consumers in concentrated form in milk products will most likely exacerbate obesity in humans that consume them as well.

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How to Choose Food and Beverage Consultants For Your Restaurant

Your new restaurant has been well received by your customers. But now that the honeymoon period is over, sales have leveled off. Customers are coming in, but there is no increase in numbers. You find that handling the kitchen is still a nightmare. Food and labor costs are high and you are unable to streamline the business to make it operate in an effective manner. The worst part is that you know that business will pick up with some efficient marketing. But marketing is not your expertise in addition to the fact that you are working almost 70 hour weeks. So, even if you knew exactly how to go about marketing your restaurant, where are the resources- Does it sound like you need to look for food and beverage consultants-You bet.

Most businesspersons do not like the idea of hiring food development consultants for their restaurants. After all, the restaurant is their investment and they do not want to hand over the business to someone else. There is also concern about the expenses involved. When your business is running on thin margins, it is hard to invest in something that does not bring immediate returns. Nevertheless, there are advantages for you in investing in a goodfood consultant. The first and the most obvious is the measure of objectivity they bring. Most businesspersons find it difficult to be objective about their own business.

Many restaurant operators who are new to the food or hospitality business realize that running a restaurant is a lot more complicated than they thought. When owners begin to realize that they do not know enough about their business, hiring food development consultants becomes inevitable. At this point, owners need help from someone who has done it all before.

Food and beverage consultants can help you in the different areas of your restaurant business, including:

-Selection of site
-Development of brand, design and conceptualization
-Startup
-Project management
-Financial planning
-Recipe development and design
-Operations
-Assessment of profits
-Operating systems
-Staff training
-Accounting systems
-Kitchen management

How do you choose the right people in the food consulting business?

- First, identify your problems and define the role of the consultant. For instance, climbing food costs may be due to the lack of proper kitchen management, poor systems or even lack of trained staff. It could also be the result of your pricing strategy. If you believe that your pricing is wrong, you need your consultant to have experience evaluating your prices and comparing them with market prices. Some restaurant consultants may not have sufficient experience in kitchen systems and even if they have some, you need to find out whether they have the specific expertise that you need.

- At times, a restaurant owner is unable to identify their problems, even though they know that the business isn't running as well as it could. In this case, you need a restaurant/food consultant who has the expertise to undertake an operational assessment.

- You may opt to take the temporary services of a food consulting firm in order to expand your business or even branch out in a new way.

- Before you select the restaurant consultant, review their background thoroughly. It's not enough to find out about the jobs they have done. You also need to know how much time the consultant has actually spent in the industry. You can find this out through a personal interview.

To explore business into this widely expanding industry, www.made-from-india.com gives you trade directory of Food & Beverage product , Indian Food & Beverage supplier & manufacturers, Food & Beverages exporters, Food & Beverage Traders, Food & Beverage Distributors, food manufacturers in India, Food & Beverage Factories, Food & Beverage Producers, wholesalers. Manufacturers and suppliers of bottles & cans of beverages. A large number of products like: alcohol, beverages, bread & biscuits, frozen food, saffron, snacks, spices & seasonings etc. are included under the category of Food & Beverages in the exclusive directory of www.made-from-india.com

Three Ways to Save Money on Beverages

Having food is the necessity of human being and taking various kinds of beverages is today’s fashion, more than the necessity. This gives food & Beverage industry a high level of market segment, a variety of products, and a number of companies. Food and Beverage Industry represents fresh, frozen, chilled, and long shelf-life food and beverage products. These are manufactured and distributed, imported and marketed to consumers, retailers, catering services and other manufacturers too. This industry has become a centre point of attracting revenue in many different countries. Indian made food and beverage is famous into the entire world.

I'm a coffee drinker, and my wife and kids drink lots of juice and soda. Juts stopping at the convenience store because one of the kids is thirsty can easily cost us ten dollars as everyone always wants a drink. We decided that was a waste of money, and there were better ways to spend our hard earned cash. Here's what we do to save money on beverages.

First, coffee. I'll still grab the occasional cup at the coffee shop, but usually only if I want a place to hang out for a while. I don't mind spending the two to three dollars if I'm meeting someone there, taking a break and relaxing, or working on the laptop in the shop. If however I just want coffee and not a place to hang out, I make coffee in the office. It's far les expensive, the coffee is just as good if not better, and it's more convenient.

In the family car we always carry soda and bottles of water now. If someone just needs a drink we always have one handy, even if not cold. The kids don't mind much, and on all longer trips we bring cold drinks and fill the car cooler.

We also bought each child a water bottle from the local discount shop and wrote their names on them. The kids love to fill and drink from their bottles.

Now, none of this is difficult or requires much planning, but the money adds up. We figure we'll save at least a thousand dollars a year, and spend the money on something everyone can enjoy!

Alkaline Food and Ph Balance - Making the Right Choices for a Balanced Diet

Energetic people who cycle, run, hike, play tennis, golf, build muscle up, or do any physical activity and want to perform at peak levels of fitness, have a choice to make. It's a choice many never consider, but one of the most important choices for overall health and fitness. It stares you right in the face every time you eat, drink or consume anything. The choice to consider is whether or not a food or beverage is going to help you maintain proper ph balance, or is it going to throw that delicate balance off and leave you vulnerable to health problems.

In order to maintain suitable ph balance, nutritionists suggest 80% of dietary intake should be alkaline and 20% acidic. What exactly does that mean? I'll explain. The alkalinity or acidic properties of a food or beverage come into play when your body burns them for fuel. Consuming too many acidic foods, drugs, tobacco, sodas, cocktails, and coffee cause the Ph level of the blood to become overly acidic, therefore, out of balance. It's kind of like a swimming pool that has an overly acidic Ph level, it's out balance, and as any pool owner knows, that can cause problems.

Here is a short list of foods that are acidic when the body burns them for fuel:

· White flour, refined sugars

· Dairy products

· Meat, fish

· Peanut butter

· Chocolate

· Nuts (not all of them, but most).

· Plums, prunes and cranberries (surprising, but true, even some healthy fruits and vegetables can form an acid ash, especially over- cooked vegetables)

Here are some good choices for alkaline food to help maintain proper ph balance:

· Almonds, Apples, Avocados

· Bananas, Beans, Brazil nuts

· Broccoli, Cantaloupe, Carrots

Most people have this alkaline/acid ratio upside down, which means the body has to find a sure source of calcium in order to correct the acid/alkaline imbalance. A human being's blood Ph level is meant to stay at 7.4, so the body is constantly working to maintain that level, no matter what you consume. Your body is naturally engineered to sustain that delicate Ph balance at all costs, because if it goes too far off, cells begin to die. If you are forcing your body to work harder in order to preserve that Ph level, how hard can it work for you when you are doing physical activities? If the body has to neutralize more acid that it is designed for, where do you think it finds a readily available supply of something alkaline to do that? Our bones. Yes, when the consumption of alkaline food and drinks is insufficient to do the job, then the body has to pull calcium from bones in order to neutralize excess acid in the bloodstream.

To explore business into this widely expanding industry, www.made-from-india.com gives you trade directory of Food & Beverage product , Indian Food & Beverage supplier & manufacturers, Food & Beverages exporters, Food & Beverage Traders, Food & Beverage Distributors, food manufacturers in India, Food & Beverage Factories, Food & Beverage Producers, wholesalers. Manufacturers and suppliers of bottles & cans of beverages. A large number of products like: alcohol, beverages, bread & biscuits, frozen food, saffron, snacks, spices & seasonings etc. are included under the category of Food & Beverages in the exclusive directory of www.made-from-india.com

It is a nutrition fact that too many acid forming foods and beverages such as meat, coffee, alcohol, sugar, dairy, and refined flour products can cause a body's Ph balance to be too acidic. This can lead to all sorts of health problems, not the least of which is bone weakness. A calcium supplement may help. However, if the calcium is not from a whole food source, the body does not absorb it as efficiently due to the lack of live enzymes, but more about that in a future article. The best whole food sources for calcium are broccoli, green leafy vegetables, and other alkaline foods.

Bag Sealers Are an Easy Way to Preserve Your Food and Beverages

The packaging industry has some of the most complex equipment that some feel it involves rocket science. Machines have to be extremely precise when filling bottles that only have a half inch opening or making sure no to fill a bag so much that it bursts.

It is common at the last stage of this complicated process that we find the products bundled together in plastic or boxes. This makes it easy to ship bulk quantities to local buyers or buyers around the world. Most packaging companies prefer to ship their products bundled together using plastic rather than in boxes because they are much lighter and take up less space.

There are many types of bag or plastic sealers that are used for different purposes. To understand which type of bag sealer is best for a specific function listed below are 7 different categories these seals fall into.

Standard Bag Sealers. These types of bag sealers are for sealing pre-made, open mouth heat sealable bags. Once the product is dispensed into the plastic bag the open end of the bag is pressed with a heated clamp that melts the plastic together sealing the contents inside. These standard sealers may seal up to 500 bags per minute depending on the size.

Industrial Sealers. This is used for applications that require more sealing power and/or higher speeds than normal. Found in many large packaging companies these plastic sealers are perfect when mass producing bagged products. For example, Kraft's Macaroni and Cheese that we find in every grocery store.

Validatable Bag Sealers. These machines are perfect for packaging medical or pharmaceutical products. These machines make it simple to change out parts of the machine to accommodate for different size bags that are continually interchanged.

Semi-Automatic Sealers. If you want to have multiple people loading your sealer or if you need to automatically load your sealer, these sealers are perfect for the job.

Portable Sealers. If you need a portable sealer, or a low production sealer that may be used occasionally the portable bag sealers are perfect. These machines are small weighing on average about 15 lbs.

Hot Air Sealers. If the product you are packaging is extremely dusty and air borne and is pillow shaped a hot air sealer is the right machine. For example bags filled with seed or dirt is commonly sealed in this manner. The bag is sealed in an upright position where the top of the bag is guided through the hot air sealer.

Vacuum Sealers. This machine is used to create an air tight package which is best for preserving products. These types of bag sealers have been made available for household usage to keep meats and perishables fresh longer.

Competitive advantage is important in this industry due to the large selection of bag sealers. Some bag sealers may even be good for multiple purposes so once you understand the intention of the bag sealer, find out which fits your needs.

www.made-from-india.com gives you trade directory of Food & Beverage product , Indian Food & Beverage supplier & manufacturers, Food & Beverages exporters, Food & Beverage Traders, Food & Beverage Distributors, food manufacturers in India, Food & Beverage Factories, Food & Beverage Producers, wholesalers. Manufacturers and suppliers of bottles & cans of beverages. A large number of products like: alcohol, beverages, bread & biscuits, frozen food, saffron, snacks, spices & seasonings etc. are included under the category of Food & Beverages in the exclusive directory of www.made-from-india.com