Category: Foods

In many states, especially in the South, food production and manufacturing is one of the top industries driving the economy. The United States is a huge supplier of the world’s food and as such spends a lot of time shipping food from state to state or country to country. As better and faster methods of shipping have developed, better and more secure packaging options have also become available. Because food must be protected from physical, chemical, and biological contact, the shipping of food products requires special attention.

Most food packaging comes in specific standard packaging types. One of these is called aseptic processing. This type of packaging might be used to ship and store fruit juice, gravy, or liquid whole eggs. The goal of aseptic processing is to transport sterile foods in a sterile package that maintains the quality and sterility of the product. Plastic trays are another type of food packaging. This type of packaging is usually used to ship things like meat, poultry, and fish. You probably see them every time you go to the grocery store and walk past the meat section. The most common type of packaging is obviously a box. There are many different shapes and sizes from cereal boxes to boxes of soda to boxes of tissue. Cans are another very common type of packaging. Cans are great for food that will be stored for long periods of time because they are air tight and extremely protective. Flexible packaging, things like bagged salads and frozen vegetables, is another type of protective packaging.

Food packaging should have several important functions. First and the most basic, it should physically protect the food from damage as a result of shock, vibration, or temperature. It should also employ a method for containment, especially if the product has several different kinds of small items within the primary packaging. Food packaging should also offer some kind of barrier protection from dust, water vapor, oxygen, or whatever it is designed for. If the product is designed for a long shelf life, the barrier protection should ensure that the contents can be stored for that period of time while still retaining their freshness and safety. Something that also retains safety should be any of the security features of the package. Most food products are designed with some type of tamper resistant or tamper-evident feature to inform consumers when a product has been opened or tampered with.

The products that keep our food safe have been developed with careful research and trial and error. Thanks to these developments, you can rest assured that the food you bought at the store is safe and fresh.

Everyone loves looking at pictures. Whether they are photos of nature or wildlife, photos of family and friends, cooking experiences, or even pictures of fun events, people take pleasure in living vicariously through other individuals via these photographs. This has come to include the interest of seeing a delicious meal that another food enthusiast was able to sit down and enjoy. Over the previous few months, I have really begun to see the affect that Instagram has had on the food industry, whether it is home cooking, eating out or trying new restaurants, people’s photographs have proven to be a unique promotional tool for anything food related. Often times, I have had to make a mad dash towards the kitchen cupboards in order to satisfy my cravings after seeing one of these mouth-watering photographs. Chefs that are cooking from home or individuals that have visited a certain restaurant are able to snap quick photos from their phone and post them to social media resources like Instagram for the world to see. As a result, it can spark another’s interest in trying that recipe, visiting that food establishment or it may just simply activate that person’s hunger for any food.

I have been on Instagram for about one year now and during this period I have really enjoyed seeing the lives of friends and family through pictures and short videos. However, during this time frame, one trend that has really stood out to me was how proud these cuisine fanatics were about their food orders they put in or the meals that they had prepared. Eating is one hobby or activity that is going to be a part of everyone’s life and why not share your favorite recipes or cooking experiences with the social world? Any individual with access to the internet can snap photos of their appetizers, main dishes, desserts or even fancy beverages that they were able to consume, upload it to Instagram and within seconds, that tasty photo will be potentially visible to thousands of followers on some of the largest social media resources around the world. In addition to that, there are numerous different apps that will enhance these photos or even dozens of filters that will make the food and beverage item look even more mouth-watering. Even the most unappealing of food items can be made appealing through some of these fancy advancements in technology.

Another fun perk of using Instagram for meals is that this photo app also works with another app called Foursquare, which allows the user to share their location on a map with their followers. Individuals can “check-in” at certain food venues, buildings or other locations to let their friends know what they are up to. From this partnership, I see Instagram as being a unique marketing tool not only because restaurant goers and food consumption specialist are able to take appealing photos of their food and drinks, but they can also attach a location with that photo so if other interested parties want to experience that same menu item then they know right where to find it. Even if Instagram is not considered one of the most effective forms of media right now, I would recommend the free application to any chef, group or small business owner that is looking to promote any product or service.

Over the past year, this unique photo-related application has at times, proved to be sort of a motivator for me by seeing others accomplishments, it has helped me better engage in people’s lives that I do not see on a regular basis and it has even brought some awareness to me on certain things like local events or charity information. For example, I have found myself saying things like “well I didn’t know they served that food there”, or “wow that healthy meal plan has really paid off for that person” or maybe even “dang, I did not know that bar had that fun promotional there last weekend!” and by seeing photos of individual’s experiences in this situations, it has lead me to want to try new things, get more involved or not miss another similar event. Now is this going to be the feeling that everyone has who sees these photos? Not likely, but for being a free tool that anyone can use, why would groups and businesses not want to use Instagram as a marketing method? It definitely would not hurt the business or group at all!

Instagram can be a fun tool to utilize for any small business or non-profit that may not be looking to spend tons of money on marketing. For example, I began a kitchen related retail business recently with a blog, Twitter and Facebook page and as a fun marketing method I created a separate Instagram account from my personal account that was strictly for this ecommerce business. It allowed me to upload unique photos to all my other web sites as a way of interacting with my followers and visitors and my website has seen an increase in activity and engagement because of it. Now showing fancy photos of recipes that I prepared or menu items that indulged in will not necessarily sell products or make me a ton of money, but it can promote user engagement on all my pages and that is something that I want for my business.

The promotional photo options are endless and that is why I would really recommend including this resource in one’s marketing plan. Business owners like myself can snap and upload pictures of basically anything associated with their business, such as people having a great time using their products, the reactions of individuals tasting new foods, specials or discounts that are being offered for a period of time, or just photos of all the different menu items or product lines that managers and owners want to promote more. In my opinion, Instagram has not become as utilized of a free marketing tool as Facebook and Twitter, but I do think it could eventually reach that point, especially with the ease at which these users can integrate their Instagram with these other major social media sites. From all of this, restaurants and bars can promote their menu options through their visitors at no cost as long as those hungry patrons enjoyed their meal.

The diet that we feed on in daily life greatly affects the biological functions of our body. Height increase is one of the biological phenomena that are controlled directly by external factors like foods that we take in. Nutrients that the body absorbs from different foods stimulate the function of the gland that mainly secretes the growth hormone. Nutritional deficiency in the foods results in a decrease in the secretion of the growth hormone from the gland. The nutritional component of your family diet is to be checked as early as possible. So make a list of foods to increase height so that your child does not suffer from improper height growth.

Foods to increase height vary in degree of nutritional richness. Carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins and fiber are the essential nutrients of healthy foods. Researches reveal that vitamin A, protein, calcium and zinc are the most influential as height increasing food elements. A balanced diet with the requisite amount of nutrient and calorie is a support for good health and proper height growth.

Vitamin A works for proper growth other than immune system, reproductive organs and eye development. Sufficient intake of foods to increase height that are rich in vitamin A ensures an increase in physical height. But over consumption of this essential nutrient may go reserve to cause detrimental effects like headache, bone pain, vomiting, and appetite loss and growth obstruction. Oranges, papayas, carrots, mines, sweet potatoes, yolk, salmon, fish cod, fresh figs, tomatoes and broccoli are the vitamin A rich foods to increase height.

Vitamin D is a most important height increasing nutritional component. It enriches the bones with calcium as well as phosphorus and strengthens the bones to absorb calcium from the foods. The proper growth of bones is a driving factor for height increase. A must have in the foods to increase height, vitamin D is mainly found in liver, fish, egg yolk and the ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Deficiency of vitamin D results in bone deformation, fragile bones and cramps that in turn, hinder the natural growth process.

Some biological mechanisms like blood circulation, nerve transmission, fluid regulation and muscle contraction have indirect impact on height increase. Sufficient intake of minerals like calcium and zinc boosts these biological functions in order to increase height. Foods that are rich in calcium are the foods to increase height like milk, salmon, dry shrimp, soya, cabbage, broccoli and dairy products. Moreover, there are specific height medicines that provide the height-boosting properties of healthy foods.

A Food borne illness is any illness caused by consuming foods or beverages contaminated with disease-causing microorganisms, hazardous chemicals or physical hazards. A food borne disease outbreak is when two or more people have the same illness after eating the same food. The food service industry regularly experiences tremendous financial losses due to food borne illness. Such losses can be significantly reduced, however, through knowledge and education.

Food borne illness and outbreaks are associated with such behaviors as poor personal hygiene, time and temperature abuse and cross contamination. These topics will be discussed in a later section. A food handler must report to their employer if they are diagnosed with,exposed to or exhibiting symptoms from Norovirus, hepatitis A virus, Salmonella typhi, Shigella spp. or shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli.

When a food handler becomes ill, proper precautions must be taken. To ensurethe safety of the consumers, the manager of the establishment will either restrict or exclude the ill food handler. Restriction is when a food handler(who does not serve highly susceptible populations) is allowed to work in the food establishment but is not allowed to perform tasks that would cause contamination of food or utensils. Exclusion is when a food handler is not permitted to work in a food establishment until they provide a written release from the proper authority.

The employer shall restrict food handlers that have been diagnosed with the following diseases: sore throat with fever, lesions containing pus, an infected wound, or discharges from the eyes, nose and mouth. Employees exhibiting these symptoms must report them to their employer.The employer shall exclude food handlers that have been diagnosed with the following diseases: Norovirus, hepatitis A virus, Salmonella typhi, Shigella spp. or shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli. Employees exhibiting these symptoms must report them to their employer.

There are additional requirements for contacting ready-to-eat foods with bare hands. Food handlers may contact ready-to-eat food with their bare hands if documentation is kept, that the food handler has signed, stating that they have received training on hand washing and additional control measures and that the establishment requires that employees must utilize two or more safeguards. These safeguards include double hand washing, nail brushes, hand sanitizer (antiseptics) after hand washing, incentive program or other approved control measures. These safeguards, however, are in addition to proper hand washing.

Documentation must be maintained at the food establishment that corrective actions are taken when any of the food borne illness, good hygienic practices or bare hand contact of ready-to-eat rules are not followed. In Texas it is best to be aware of these protocols by obtaining your Texas Food Handlers Certification and Food Handler Permit Texas.