If you've opened a small food business, learning how to ship your goods could open a lot of doors. Then, you wouldn't be stuck with only local customers. You might think shipping food across the country sounds impossible, but it's not. With the right shipping methods, someone a thousand miles away can still enjoy your work. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you're shipping food.
Maintaining
A Consistent Temperature
Above all,
you've got to keep temperatures consistent when you're shipping food. Otherwise,
it'll be ruined before it reaches its destination. Keeping cold items cool is
actually easier than keeping something warm. Before you ever ship something,
keep it stored somewhere safe. That way, it'll be at the proper temperature
once it's time to ship it.
Glass
Can Be A Great Packaging Item
Storing
your food in glass could be a great idea. Glass is relatively inert, and it's a
decent insulator. Nothing will penetrate the glass while it's in transit,
preserving your creations. Best of all, glass isn't all that expensive, either.
So, you can use it without having a large budget. Store your foods in their
glass containers after you've prepared them. Then, put the stored foods in your
staging area. They can wait there until you're ready to ship them.
Use
Dry Ice For Frozen Goods
Frozen foods should be kept frozen while
they're in transit. While this may sound tough, dry ice makes it pretty simple.
Put a layer of it at the bottom of your shipping container. Then, lay your food
on top of it. Before you close the container, put another layer of dry ice on
top. By sandwiching your food between these layers, it'll stay frozen for
several days. That's usually long enough for it to reach its destination.
Cold
Packs Keep Things Cold But Not Frozen
Sometimes,
you might have something you'd like to keep cold, but it doesn't need to be
frozen. If that's the case, use a cold pack instead of dry ice. These are great
at keeping things around the temperature of a refrigerator. Use the same
methods from above while packing your food.
Shipping
Speed Matters A Lot Whenever You're Shipping Food
The
quicker your food arrives, the more likely it'll still be good. So, you might
want to consider express shipping. Usually, express shipping will get your food
to its destination in 1 or 2 days. It might even be worth paying to have it
overnighted. That way, it'll spend the least amount of time in transit.
Insulation
Can Help Things Last A Lot Longer
If you
know it'll take a while to reach its destination, insulate your shipping
containers. You could even use an insulated box to store them in. Styrofoam
could be useful in this situation, too. Let's say you'd like to keep something
frozen. You should still use dry ice as we mentioned above. However, before
putting the dry ice down, apply a layer of styrofoam. Then, put the dry ice on
top of that. Do the same thing for the top of your shipping container as well.
Put down the uppermost layer of dry ice first. Then, before closing the box,
put down another layer of styrofoam. Something stored like this will stay
frozen for up to a week.
Avoid
Damage By Using Vibration-Dampening Materials
Finally,
you can always use some ht 800 silicone. Silicone foam tends to be a
great insulator, and it's good at protecting things while in motion. Silicone
foams dampen vibrations, preventing any damage. For the best results, apply
several layers of material to shield your food. Put a layer of silicone foam
beneath the styrofoam, and another one at the top of the box. If done properly,
there will be three layers of the protective material total.
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