35 lb. containers are one of the most common edible oil packaging sizes. Also known as jug-in-box containers or carboys, they’re ideal for small manufacturing plants and restaurants. Anyone using hands-on production or who has limited storage space will find that they’re an ideal size.

Many customers ask us about the best ways to dispense from this packaging. Each box has a screw-on lid (about 2” wide) that, once removed, reveals a hole you can pour out of.

But sometimes that can be a messy and awkward way to get the oil out, so many use some sort of attachment to dispense from.

Here’s our two favorite ways to dispense from these 35 lb. containers, depending on what you’re doing with the oil.

Earlier this week, we reviewed 7 Popular Industrial Manufacturing Blogs. But, since most of our customers are in the food manufacturing industry, I wanted to weigh-in with my favorite food and beverage manufacturing blogs.

These are the daily subscriptions I get delivered to my inbox every day, so that I can keep up to date on the industry.  I think you'll enjoy them as much as I do!

As a marketing manager, I’m always on the lookout for information and education that I think would be worthwhile to share with our manufacturing customers. I scour the web every day to be able to share information from experts that can make your manufacturing run smoother and even make our own manufacturing line better.

Today, I’ve pulled together the most popular industrial manufacturing blogs for you to peruse. As a manufacturer ourselves, these are the blogs that we know help us— and they can help you too.

Olive Pomace Oil is a much debated topic in today’s increasingly health-focused food industry. Is olive pomace oil good or is it bad?

Before you make any final decisions either way, you should look at both sides of the debate. Understanding the pros and cons of olive pomace oil will help you make a decision that’s right for your product.

As always, it’s also helpful to survey your target market to see if they have any strong feelings either way about this ingredient. It will affect your marketing as well as your procurement search process.

I’m going to start with the cons of olive pomace and and work our way to the pros.

When I was little, I remember grocery shopping with my mother. I always wanted the small bags of pre-packaged crackers, perfect for boxed lunches. But she taught me quickly – “See this little box? It’s $2.00 per ounce. See this big box? It’s $1.00 per ounce for the same exact thing.”

Surprise, surprise… We bought the big box.

Many of us have memories like this. And as adults, if we want to lower the cost of ingredients for our company, what’s the first thing that you think comes to mind? That’s right. We want to save money by switching to a larger packaging size.

Canola Oil is commonly used in food manufacturing. But did you know that there are 4 different kinds of canola oil available?

If you’re overseeing the procurement for your next manufactured food product, you’ll need to compare each type of canola oil to decide which is going to be the right fit.

This article will compare the two most common options-- expeller pressed canola oil vs. regular (often called ‘conventional’) canola oil. We’ll compare how they’re made, along with why you might want to choose one over the other.

Olive Pomace Oil is the lowest grade of olive oil. It is used by manufacturers across the US and Canada.

Here’s an overview of how it’s produced. This will help you understand how the oil is made and decide if it is the right ingredient for your product.

Are you sourcing organic soybean oil?

Many manufacturers are these days. With the trend towards healthy, non-GMO and organic foods, many mainstream food manufacturers are sourcing organic alternatives for new clean product lines. With soybean oil being one of the top edible oils used in the food manufacturing industry today, it’s no surprise that this organic alternative is growing in popularity – and fast.

It’s also an easy switch for many manufacturer to change to. Here’s the top 4 reasons food manufacturers are switching from conventional soybean oil to certified organic soybean oil.

Finding an easy way to dispense out of your industrial totes can be a challenge.  It's one of the #1 questions we get from manufacturers who are considering this new packaging size.

We've seen a whole variety of things that are used as pumps, from home-made to professional:  PVC piping to hoses to automatic pumps.  Some food manufacturers actually make the switch to totes, but still never quite find a dispensing attachment that they like.

Because of this, we built a dispenser that we knew would work great for our customers.  Luckily, we have a president who likes to "tinker"-- if you have a problem, he'll find a way to fix it!  

You know that when it comes to choosing bulk ingredient suppliers, getting the lowest price isn’t everything.

In the last 10 years, the procurement industry has focused more on getting value-- real value-- from their vendors and suppliers. Most would even list this as a top priority when choosing a new partner.

How do you define value? A valuable supplier is one that partners with you, rather than just trying to sell you something. They bring something to the table that helps you improve your own business.

When it comes to choosing an edible oil supplier, here’s the 4 most important traits we think every oil supplier needs to bring to the table to prove their own worth.

A few years ago, the owners at Centra Foods and I started going to food shows.

Lucky for me, I got to choose which shows to go to. Unlucky for me, I had no knowledge of food shows.

In typical Hannah fashion, I turned on my search skills, reached out to colleges, talked to customers and spoke with the show’s event leaders.

I ended up with about as much information as one person could compile. I had charts and comparisons, but most helpful was Rachel Zemser’s insight, a food consultant who reviewed these shows for people like me (and maybe you too). She spoke about the heart and soul of each event, which gave me a feeling of what it really felt like to attend. In the end, her insight helped me make the best decisions.

Food manufacturers across the country are switching from conventional oil ingredients to their non-GMO alternatives right now.

If your brand is making this same switch, how do you know which oil is right for you?

Well there’s a lot of different facets to that decision, including flavor, price, availability and consumer perceptions of quality. If you serve the natural foods market, your consumers are judging the quality of your end product, in part, by the quality of your ingredients.

The way to find out which oil to use is to talk to your target market and do some research. 

Are you looking for the right oil for your food production? We know that the features of an edible oil can make it the perfect fit or throw it out of the running in the blink of an eye.

The smoke point of an oil is always a key feature if you’re cooking, baking or frying your product.

The smoke point indicates the oil’s tolerance to heat. If an oil is heated beyond it’s smoke point, it will produce smoke (hence the name). Not only is this a fire hazard for your facility, it will create an off-flavor in the oil and make your products taste burned and smokey.  

Non-GMO Canola Oil is a common ingredient in food manufacturing, especially now as non-GMO products are becoming more and more popular.

If you’re in charge of purchasing for a food manufacturing company, you will probably end up at this question sooner or later in your non-GMO oil search:

How is non-GMO canola oil made?

Good question. Canola oil comes from the seeds of the canola plant. But it’s got to be more complex that just squeezing it out, right? Yes, the process is a little bit less intuitive than how, say, olive oil is made, so we’ll go through all the details.

Have you heard the term Expeller Pressed Canola Oil lately? Probably so. That’s because it’s a popular edible oil right now, as the food industry is leaning more and more towards healthy and natural ingredients.

Let’s first define expeller pressed canola oil, so you can decide if it’s right for your manufactured food product.