Could these 4 innovations save you money?
The food industry—regardless of which sector—is becoming increasingly complex. Compliance issues are at the forefront when it comes to food safety, labeling, nutrition information and more.
The demands, often overwhelming, require a lot of legwork, leaving operators struggling to find time for everything else—from managing employees to maximizing profits. What if a large portion of the things on your to-do list could be solved with automated processes?
Automated processes decrease the sweat equity you have to invest, not to mention the repetition of paper logs and hand-labeling. Besides, tracking things like nutrition information, inventory as well as day-to-day tasks will lead to efficiency and a bigger bottom line.
Avery Dennison, a global leader in materials science and manufacturing, in May unveiled four food industry innovations at the National Restaurant Association’s 2018 Expo under its Freshmarx® brand.
- Freshmarx® Nutrition: After a long “grace period,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration implemented its policy requiring labeling ingredients, calorie counts, fats and carbohydrates (among other things) for all grab-and-go items. This application utilizes ESHA Genesis R&D Food Formulation Software that imports nutrition information for different ingredients and recipes, taking the guesswork out of food labeling.
- Freshmarx® Tablet System: Getting organized often causes as much strife as the compliance issues themselves. This system offers mobile printing by combining the Avery Dennison 9485™ portable printer with the Freshmarx® Prep software application on an iPad, ® allowing back-of-house staff to train employees, label food and rotate inventory, tracking everything on the spot.
Freshmarx® Food Donate and Waste: Over-ordering leads to waste and lower margins. This application utilizes a weigh scale – along with labeling and logging – so you can quantify how much food you really need. Seeing the cause-effect relationship between ordering and waste will help you streamline.- Freshmarx® Task Tracker™: Still using paper logs to monitor the temperatures inside coolers and kitchen tasks like cleaning and prep? The Task Tracker application offers a digital checklist that’s cloud based and stored digitally—a great way to compare performance over the short- and long-term.
One last word
Sure, automated processes can be daunting—and it requires a little time and expense on the front end. But staying current pays off exponentially over time. Don’t be the operator who steadfastly refuses technology; you’ll get left behind.
