Bulk Food Storage Containers – How to Safely Store Edible Products and Minimize Waste
Bulk Food Storage Containers – How to Safely Store Edible Products and Minimize Waste
You can never be too mindful of what you put in your body, and if you’re producing or selling food products, you can never be too careful of how you store your products. Proper storage of food and beverages will prevent contamination, early spoilage, and most importantly, protect you from wasting money on food that you can’t use.
At BASCO, we’ve been supplying the food and restaurant industries with FDA and USDA compliant containers for decades, and we’ve helped countless companies get the right products for their application. We take so much pride in being able to provide A+ customer service, because we want to see you succeed. In this article, we’ll take some of the knowledge that we’ve gathered over those decades and answer some of the most frequently asked questions that we’ve heard, so you can make an informed decision and get the bulk food storage containers that you need.
What is the best food storage container?
Now, that is a complicated question that we’ve been asked several times. The unfortunate answer is one that you’ve probably heard before: it depends on your specific application and scenario. The fortunate reality is that we’ve got such a wide range of food storage containers in stock, that it’s more than likely that we can provide the right container for your scenario.
We talked to some of our most experienced team members at BASCO, and got their expert input regarding food storage containers.
Food storage containers for manufacturers
Joe Joyce, our customer service rep with over 20 years of experience at BASCO, had this to say:
If you’re manufacturing food or beverage products, you likely require larger containers first and foremost. Containers like plastic 55 gallon drums are excellent for storing bulk amounts of liquids, semi-solids, and solid food products and byproducts. It’s super easy to store your ingredients as well as your final product in barrels, whether they’re plastic or steel drums. When it comes to containing mass amounts of product in a convenient container, drums and barrels are the most popular option – and for good reason. They’re often readily available, comparatively cheap, and compatible with a massive selection of accessories to make the job even easier.
When it comes to bulk liquid storage, IBC totes can’t be beat. In their bare essentials, IBC totes are large plastic cubes, surrounded by a steel cage with an attached, forkliftable pallet. A 6” fill cap makes them easy to fill, and a dispensing valve makes it simple to empty them. In food manufacturing, we’ve seen these used to store ingredients that are then dispensed into smaller containers, like buckets or barrels. IBCs work great as an all-rounder container, used both for long-term storage of ingredients as well as for mixing and dispensing final products.
Food storage for restaurants, grocery stores, cafeterias, and commercial spaces
We asked Chris Molinaro, our Inside Sales manager, for his input on what pails and buckets he would recommend for food storage, and this is what he told us:
Places like restaurants and cafeterias usually don’t have the space to store a bunch of 55 gallon drums, or 275 gallon IBCs, let alone the forklifts and hand trucks that it would take to move them around. When it comes to places with smaller storage spaces, convenience is king, so I’d have to recommend plastic buckets. I know for a fact that BASCO’s selection of food storage buckets is exhaustive, with options ranging from ¼ gallon up to 6 ½ gallons. Whenever I talk with a customer who’s looking for the best bucket for food storage, I usually recommend the 6 ½ gallon EZ STOR container. That pail specifically has a handle for easy carrying, a snap-on lid that makes it easy to access, and it’s square shaped to maximize shelf-space. Now, that’s specifically for storage, but if they want a pail that they can mix ingredients in, I’d usually recommend a more conventional 5 gallon RightPail. The RightPail is a bit better for mixing, since it’s circular and it doesn’t have corners for ingredients to stick to.
Frank Hranicka, our Inside Sales expert on small packaging, deals with restaurants and businesses looking for food storage options almost every day. We asked him for his opinion on containers for food storage, and he specifically pointed us towards our lineup of plastic bottles and jars. Here’s what he told us:
I’ve talked to a ton of different restaurants, and each one is a little different, but they all have a lot in common. One of those things that they have in common is that they almost all need plastic jars and bottles. If they’ve got a salad bar, they need containers for salad dressing. If they sell sandwiches, they need jars and bottles for sauces. I’ve even talked to ice cream shops that needed some large wide mouth jars for their sprinkles, cookie crumbles, and other toppings. We’ve also got these great things called Cubitainers, which are awesome for containing ingredients and liquids. Cubitainers are a flexible plastic cube, packaged inside of a cardboard box. They’ve got a dispensing nozzle poking out of the box, so I’ve seen people fill them with ingredients, stack them up on shelves, and then just dispense ingredients straight from the Cubitainer into a pail, which they can then mix their ingredients inside. I know that one vegetable shortening manufacturer in particular uses Cubitainers as their primary packaging, so if you’ve ever worked in a bakery or a pizza restaurant, you might’ve seen one before.
Home food storage and canning
Glass Jars for Pantry Organization and Glass Jars for Home Canning
Our sister company, The Jar Store, has an entire category for pantry organization, featuring some really gorgeous and unique glass jars that are made specifically for home storage. Gemma Pruden, our customer liaison for Jar Store, has dedicated a ton of time to helping customers get the right jars for their homes, and she had plenty of good advice regarding home food storage. Here’s Gemma’s sage advice:
People that I’ve spoken to regarding food storage for their homes often have much different priorities than those who are storing food in commercial spaces. People at restaurants and factories are usually concerned with efficiency and profitability, whereas people who are looking for the best option for their home are more concerned with aesthetic and beauty. The fact is, people don’t want a big ugly plastic pail sitting in their kitchen cabinet (and they usually don’t need a container that big anyway). When it comes to storing things like leftovers, fruits & vegetables, spices, and even candies and cookies, I always recommend Jar Store’s Pantry Organization section. It can be hard to recommend a specific jar for someone’s kitchen, as it all comes down to taste, but there’s such a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and styles available on Jar Store, that everyone can usually browse around a bit and find something that works for them. One of my favorites for countertop storage is the Montana Jar with the Acacia Lid.
Another thing that people ask me about is home canning. Canning your own fruits and vegetables at home can be an excellent way to prolong their shelf-life, and it’s a super fun afternoon project, too! If you want to properly can your food, you need a two-piece lid, and Jar Store has options for 32 oz jars with two-piece lids, as well as 16 oz and 8 oz varieties.
There are a few main things about glass jars that I usually tell our customers.
- Pure glass is perfectly safe for food contact; you really can’t go wrong.
- Glass is one of the very few materials that is 100% recyclable, so they’re perfect for use around the house if you want to “stay green”.
- Shop to your taste! Get the jars that really call your name and accentuate the aesthetic that you’re going for. Pick out that funky pumpkin jar if you want to, treat yourself!
If you’ve got any questions about glass jars on JarStore.com, you can reach out to Gemma directly at info@jarstore.com, and she’ll get back to you with some expert knowledge!
Miscellaneous food storage questions that we’ve received in the past
We’ve spoken with the experts for their recommendations, but if they didn’t answer your exact question, maybe we can help you out below!
What is the safest food storage container?
When you’re storing food, your best bet is to get an FDA compliant container. If a container is FDA compliant, that just means that the Food and Drug Administration has approved that container’s material for contact with edible products, like food, beverages, or even pharmaceuticals. BASCO’s website allows you to filter products and only view FDA compliant containers, so you can shop with the confidence that you’re getting the safest food storage container.
Can food storage containers be recycled?
Recyclability depends on the material that the container is composed of, but for most plastics, the answer is yes. To recycle your plastic food storage containers, wash them out as best you can to remove any residue or left-over food products, and drop them off at your local recycling facility. When it comes to glass, you’re in even better luck. As Gemma mentioned above, glass is 100% recyclable. Since glass is impermeable, food and beverage products won’t contaminate the material in any way. This allows you to clean out the container even more easily, and retain the confidence that your container isn’t going to waste.
You can even “upcycle” your glass jars and use them for fun projects, Jar Store has tons of great crafts and DIY ideas in the Idea Center!
Did we still fail to answer your food storage question?
We hope that this article was exhaustive, and answered any question that you may have about containers for storing food and beverages, but if you’re still not sure which container or material is right for you, please reach out! Our expert customer service and sales staff are available Monday through Friday during regular business hours, and they’re more than prepared to answer any questions that you may have, no-matter how specific your industry may be.