Going out to eat is one of life’s true pleasures. I love making a reservation at a special restaurant, scanning the menu for just the right entrée, and then sitting back in anticipation as a talented chef prepares the dish.

In the kitchen, the food prep team has a bit more going on. In addition to carefully cooking guests’ meals, they need to make sure all the ingredients are fresh and stored properly to meet health codes.

That’s why I’m glad there’s a simple label solution that can make a big difference for restaurateurs to help ensure food safety, reduce food waste and improve inventory efficiency.

Here today, gone tomorrow

At Labels & Specialty Products, we work closely with a lot of vendors to make sure we can offer our clients the latest innovations. A recent conversation about food rotation labels piqued my interest. It’s fascinating how something as simple as the proper labeling of food containers can positively impact a restaurant’s control over how ingredients are managed and improve the bottom line.

The key to the system is to use food rotation labels that dissolve in the dishwasher, leaving no paper or adhesive behind.

Just say no

Dissolvable food rotation labels eliminate a number of problems versus conventional labels or masking tape.

  1. No questions – The kitchen staff knows the label on the food container is current because it’s the only one.
  2. No food waste – It’s easier to rotate food containers on the shelf or in the cooler because dates and other critical information is up to date.
  3. No leftover labels on containers – The materials used to produce the dissolvable labels are water-soluble and are completely removed in the dishwasher, leaving behind no sticky residue.
  4. No container cross-contamination – If certain containers are only used for food products containing nuts, gluten or other food allergen ingredients, there’s are also food rotation film labels that withstand dishwasher conditions, but are easily removed and replaced when new ingredients are added.

Proper food rotation is vital for the restaurant business. The dissolvable labels are available in a variety of sizes and are pre-printed with spaces to mark what’s in the container, important date information and expiration dates.