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When it comes to the storage and distribution of food products, maintaining the highest standards of safety, cleanliness, and efficiency is crucial. This is where food grade 3PL (third-party logistics) warehousing comes into play. A food grade warehouse is specifically designed to store food products in conditions that meet strict regulatory requirements, ensuring that your goods remain safe and compliant throughout the supply chain.

In this blog post, we will explore what food grade 3PL warehousing is, why it is essential, and the benefits it offers to businesses handling food and beverage products.

What is Food Grade 3PL Warehousing?

Food grade 3PL warehousing refers to third-party logistics providers who offer specialized storage and distribution services for food products. These facilities are equipped and maintained to meet food safety standards set by regulatory bodies such as the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and USDA (United States Department of Agriculture).

To be classified as a food grade warehouse, the facility must meet specific conditions, including:

• Cleanliness and Sanitation: Regular cleaning and sanitation practices to prevent contamination.
• Temperature Control: Refrigerated, frozen, or climate-controlled environments to maintain product integrity.
• Pest Control: Stringent pest management programs to prevent infestation.
• Traceability: Detailed tracking systems to monitor inventory and ensure proper handling.

Why is Food Grade Warehousing Important?

The storage of food products requires more than just space—it requires safety, compliance, and control. Here’s why food grade warehousing is so critical:

1. Regulatory Compliance

Food safety regulations are strict, and non-compliance can lead to fines, product recalls, and damage to a brand’s reputation. Food grade warehouses are equipped to ensure all storage and handling processes meet the necessary regulations, helping businesses avoid these risks.

2. Preventing Contamination

Contamination of food products is a serious issue that can result in foodborne illnesses and costly recalls. Food grade warehouses are designed to prevent contamination through stringent sanitation protocols, temperature control, and pest management.

3. Maintaining Product Quality

Certain food products require specific environmental conditions to remain fresh and safe for consumption. Food grade 3PL warehouses offer temperature-controlled storage options, ensuring that products like frozen foods, dairy, and perishables are stored at the right temperature to maintain their quality.

4. Traceability and Transparency

In the food industry, traceability is essential for product recalls, audits, and maintaining consumer trust. Food grade warehouses utilize advanced inventory management systems that offer complete transparency and tracking, from the moment the product arrives until it leaves the warehouse.

Benefits of Food Grade 3PL Warehousing

Choosing a 3PL provider with food grade warehousing capabilities can offer a variety of advantages for your business:

1. Expertise in Food Safety

Food grade 3PL providers specialize in handling food and beverage products. Their expertise ensures that your products are stored, handled, and distributed safely, reducing the risk of contamination or spoilage.

2. Cost-Effective Solutions

Outsourcing your food storage and distribution to a 3PL allows you to focus on your core business without investing in expensive infrastructure and compliance efforts. A 3PL provider with food grade warehousing can scale with your business needs, helping you manage peak seasons or expand to new markets without additional capital expenditures.

3. Temperature-Controlled Options

Whether you need frozen, refrigerated, or dry storage, food grade 3PL warehouses offer a range of temperature-controlled environments to suit the specific needs of your products. This versatility helps ensure that your perishable goods remain safe and fresh throughout the supply chain.

4. Improved Supply Chain Efficiency

A food grade 3PL warehouse is not just about storage—it’s also about distribution. These providers offer streamlined solutions for picking, packing, and shipping orders, ensuring that your products reach retailers, distributors, and consumers quickly and efficiently.

Conclusion

In the food and beverage industry, safety and quality are non-negotiable. Food grade 3PL warehousing plays a vital role in ensuring that your products are stored in optimal conditions, remain compliant with regulations, and are delivered safely to their final destination. Whether you’re a small startup or a large corporation, partnering with a food grade 3PL can help you streamline your supply chain, reduce costs, and ensure product integrity.

At Dynamic 3PL, we provide state-of-the-art food grade warehousing services, including temperature-controlled environments, FDA-compliant facilities, and advanced traceability systems. With our expertise, we help businesses maintain the highest standards of food safety while optimizing their logistics operations. Contact us today to learn more about how we can support your food and beverage warehousing needs!

In the world of logistics and transportation, LTL freight, or “Less-than-Truckload” shipping, is a commonly used term, but what exactly does it mean? Whether you’re a business looking to optimize your supply chain or a newcomer to shipping, understanding LTL freight can significantly improve your logistics efficiency. Let’s dive into what LTL freight is, how it works, and why it might be the right solution for your business.

What is LTL Freight?

LTL freight refers to the transportation of goods that do not require a full truckload. Rather than renting an entire truck, multiple shippers share space within a single truck, each paying for only the portion of the space their shipment occupies. This makes LTL shipping a cost-effective solution for businesses that have smaller shipments but still need to move freight across long distances.

How Does LTL Freight Work?

LTL shipments are typically consolidated with other goods going in the same general direction. Carriers pick up shipments from various shippers and transport them to a terminal where they are sorted and loaded onto trucks based on their final destination. This allows the transportation of smaller freight in a way that maximizes efficiency and minimizes cost for both the carrier and the shipper.

The LTL process usually involves:

1. Pick-Up: A carrier picks up freight from multiple businesses.
2. Terminal Sorting: Shipments are taken to a hub where they are sorted and consolidated with others headed in the same direction.
3. Linehaul: The freight is transported to another terminal closer to the destination.
4. Final Delivery: From the terminal, the goods are delivered to the final consignee.

Advantages of LTL Freight

1. Cost-Effective: Since you’re only paying for the space you use, LTL shipping is much more affordable than renting an entire truck.
2. Environmentally Friendly: By consolidating shipments, LTL reduces the number of trucks on the road, leading to fewer emissions and less fuel consumption.
3. Flexibility: LTL carriers offer a wide range of services, including liftgate service, inside delivery, and even residential delivery, providing flexibility for different shipping needs.
4. Tracking and Visibility: Most LTL carriers provide tracking systems that allow shippers to monitor their freight throughout the shipping process.

When to Use LTL Freight

LTL freight is ideal for shipments that:

• Weigh between 150 and 15,000 pounds
• Don’t require a full truckload
• Are not time-sensitive (since LTL may involve multiple stops)

For businesses shipping smaller quantities, LTL is a go-to solution to save costs and still ensure reliable delivery.

Conclusion

LTL freight is an efficient and cost-effective way to move smaller shipments across long distances. Whether you’re looking to reduce shipping costs, minimize your carbon footprint, or ship smaller loads, LTL is a practical option. Understanding how it works and when to use it can make a significant difference in your shipping strategy, helping your business operate smoothly and competitively.

At Dynamic 3PL, we specialize in LTL freight services that help businesses streamline their supply chains with cost-effective shipping solutions. Contact us today to learn more about how LTL freight can benefit your company!

When it comes to third-party logistics (3PL) warehousing, Illinois, particularly the Chicago metropolitan area, is a prime location for businesses seeking efficient and cost-effective fulfillment solutions. Here’s why Illinois stands out:

Central Location for Nationwide Reach

Illinois is conveniently located in the heart of the Midwest, providing unparalleled access to major markets across the United States. Chicago, often referred to as the transportation hub of America, is within a day’s drive of approximately one-third of the U.S. population. This central positioning ensures faster shipping times and reduced transportation costs, making it easier to meet the demands of customers from coast to coast.

Robust Transportation Infrastructure

Illinois boasts one of the most extensive transportation networks in the country. With major highways, railways, and access to the Great Lakes, businesses have multiple options for moving goods efficiently. Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport also plays a pivotal role in air freight, providing global reach for businesses that require expedited delivery. This infrastructure ensures that products move seamlessly through the supply chain, reducing delays and improving overall efficiency.

In summary, Illinois offers a powerful combination of a central location and an exceptional transportation infrastructure, making it an ideal hub for 3PL warehousing and fulfillment. Businesses that choose an Illinois 3PL can benefit from faster delivery times, lower transportation costs, and efficient distribution to key markets across the nation. Whether you’re looking to expand your reach or optimize your logistics, 3PL in Illinois provide the strategic advantage your business needs.

The packaging of foods, beverages, and other goods comes with a wide range of challenges that manufacturers must overcome to ensure they’re putting quality products onto the market for the benefit of consumers. While every product carries its own packaging struggles, gummy products, in particular, pose a specific range of issues that can be difficult to work around, especially if you’re dedicated to packaging them in vitamin-styled bottles.

That said, the contract packaging and supply chain management experts at Dynamic 3PL are here to provide you with a list of critical keys your business can utilize to help ensure you use the most effective gummy bottling processes possible. Please continue to discover the secrets of these key bottling tips so you can learn how to start implementing them in your business’s packaging processes today. And consider reaching out if you’re currently thinking about the benefits of outsourced contract packaging services.

Related: The Importance of Cleanrooms in the food packaging industry

The Top Keys to an Effective Gummy Bottling Process

Golden Bears (known worldwide by the moniker “gummy bears”) were invented back in the early 1920s by German confectioner Hans Riegel. Since then, gummies have rapidly grown over the past century to become one of the most commonly copied candy treats, with variants branching out into a range of other industry categories, from health supplements to THC and CBD-infused edibles.

However, the issue with gummy products is that they can be challenging to package effectively, especially for manufacturers who put them in bottles. Thankfully, there are multiple ways to overcome these difficulties to make the gummy bottling process quicker and easier using different machines. If your business is struggling to bottle your gummy products effectively, consider implementing the following key strategies to make the process easier.

1. Declump Your Products (and Avoid Reclumping)

The stickiness and consistency of gummies make it easy for them to clump up and get stuck in their bottle packaging, especially at the top of the bottle during the packing process. To help prevent this, consider introducing some declumping screens and a conveyorized product feeding system. The constant movement and vibrations of the machines should help create a natural separation between the gummies. Additionally, freezing your gummies just before the bottling process can also be a great way to help prevent product clumping.

Related: The Psychology Behind Retail Displays

2. Keep Your Products Loose, Even While Weighting Them

When it comes to particularly sticky products like gummies, ensuring an accurate weight can be tricky. It’s recommended that businesses utilize a multi-head weigher with a spinning cone top to effectively feed the gummies into their bottles and fill them up evenly. It can also be helpful to tilt the feed pans of your machines downward to get some extra help from gravity during the packaging process. This tactic can help ensure a more consistent weight of your products and may also help avoid the issue of product clumping noted above, especially if you freeze the gummies before bottling them.

Are you currently searching for a new, top-quality supply chain management service to help streamline all of your packaging, warehousing, and transportation needs as your business grows in the market? Please don’t hesitate to contact our trusted industry professionals at Dynamic 3PL to learn what we can do for you.

3. Minimize the Contact Surface Area of All Contact Surfaces

One of the best ways to overcome the overly sticky nature of gummy products is to actively reduce the contact surface area of equipment by using dimpled surfaces in all of your machines. From your supply hopper and bucket elevator to your weighers and feeder pans, dimpled equipment surfaces will reduce overall contact between the gummies and their environment, making them less likely to stick to everything and clog up your valuable machines.

4. Utilize a Multi-Bottle Filling Approach When Packaging Your Gummies

One of the biggest challenges of bottling gummies is getting the bottles filled correctly. Vitamin-style bottles typically have a very narrow opening, meaning it doesn’t allow for all of the product to be dispensed into the bottle at a single time without jamming and spilling. Not only does this slow down the bottling process as a whole, but it can also result in a significant amount of wasted product and potentially cause issues for your expensive equipment. Because of this, the bottle filling process needs to be done slowly and neatly to avoid costly mistakes.

Multi-bottle filling systems that utilize linear slides are usually a good solution. As scales drop the correct weight of gummies into their holding buckets, a conveyer belt moves the bottles into place below them. Once the bottles are in the right place, and the buckets are filled, the vibratory feed pans can easily meter the gummies into the bottles without causing an issue.

Related: 3 Food and beverage packaging trends to keep an eye on in 2021

5. Plan Ahead and Keep End Goals in Mind

All factors and characteristics of the gummy bottling process need to be carefully considered for everything to work effectively. Not only do the machines have to be considered, but also the nature of the gummies themselves. Are they oiled or sugar-coated? Are they sanded or unsanded? Are they frozen or unfrozen? How sticky are they? These characteristics can significantly impact their ability to flow through the bottling process and need to be taken into account. You’ll likely have to adjust specific components of your machinery to ensure they are as equipped as possible to handle your particular gummy product.

Final Thoughts and Considerations: What Dynamic 3PL Can do to Meet Your Gummy Bottling Needs

The qualified packaging experts here at Dynamic 3PL utilize a specialized eight head indexing system developed by Nvenia to package goods as part of their contract packaging services. Business who choose to outsource their product packaging needs to Dynamic 3PL can enjoy a wide range of vital benefits. These include reduced facilities overhead costs, a reduced operational headcount, on-demand expertise, and the top-quality assurance provided by our various SQF Certified and FDA registered facilities.

If you’d like to take advantage of all these vital benefits to help better ensure the success of your business, please consider contacting us today to learn more about our top-quality services. And for even more information about everything we can do for you in the fields of contract packaging, warehousing, transportation, and more, also consider reading through our range of expertly written educational articles.

Do you require the superior, trusted services of a supply chain management team to resolve all of your packaging, warehousing, and transportation challenges? Consider reaching out to us at Dynamic 3PL to learn about our range of specialty services and how they can help support your business today.

When it comes to developing the best possible packaging for any food or beverage product, there is a vast range of important considerations for businesses to remember. And these factors don’t change much when it comes to the packaging of protein drinks and other protein or nutrition-based goods. But what exactly are these considerations? And with so many to consider, which ones are the most important for both businesses and consumers?

The supply chain management experts here at Dynamic 3PL can help explain just that while also providing you with SQF (Standard Quality Food) certified warehousing options. We offer businesses access to safe, sanitary environments for food product handling, packaging, storage, and dispatching to simplify the transition of goods into the hands of eager consumers. Please continue reading to learn more about the considerations needed for quality protein drink packaging.

Related: 4 Trends in the food and beverage industry to watch in 2021

What Packaging Factors are the Most Important to Consider?

Businesses and consumers alike have a range of essential factors to consider when determining the best, most preferred types of packaging used to contain their products. While cost has always been and will always be one of the most critical considerations for businesses and product consumers alike, two other vital components come with protein drink labeling. One is the adherence to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations as required by United States law. The other is environmental sustainability and the promotion of positive social impacts, which have risen to be another top consideration over the past several decades.

FDA Packaging Rules and Regulations for Dietary Supplements

According to the FDA, protein drinks and powders are considered dietary supplements, which means they have specific labeling requirements for their packaging that businesses must adhere to for their products to be sold on the market. The majority of these regulations came about due to the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA) of 1967. The fundamental rules that businesses need to keep in mind when creating their packaging labels for protein drinks and other such supplements are:

Appropriate Labeling for General Dietary Supplements

The packaging labels of all dietary supplements must include specific information for the benefit of consumers. This includes any products containing vitamins, herbs, minerals, other botanicals, and amino acids intended to supplement a person’s diet.

Related: What it means to be a Food Grade warehouse

Identity Statements

Every packaging label must include the name of the supplement, whether it’s a common name or one specified by law. If a name does not exist for a product, its identity must appear in a clear description on the label.

Nutrition Labeling

Nutritional labels on supplement packaging, otherwise knowns as “Supplement Facts,” show the amount per serving and % daily value of vitamins, minerals, and other vital ingredients contained within the product.

Does your business require the expert services of a supply chain management team to help you overcome packaging, warehousing, and transportation struggles? Consider reaching out to our trusted professionals here at Dynamic 3PL today.

Net Quantity of Contents Labeling

In short, the net quantity of contents refers to the total amount of supplement contained within a package, which can be provided in measurements of ounces, grams, or pounds, depending on the preferences of the product manufacturer.

Ingredient Labeling

All of the ingredients contained in a protein drink or other health supplement are required to be listed on the nutrition label described above. Because of this, there is no need for businesses to include an ingredient label. However, if additional ingredients in the product are not listed in the “Supplement Facts” label, they’ll need to be written out separately.

New Dietary Ingredient Labeling

Any ingredients included in the product that were not marketed in the United States before October 15th, 1994, are classified by the FDA as “new dietary ingredients.” Any business that produces a new product containing any of these ingredients is required to notify the Food and Drug Administration at least 75 days prior to introducing and distributing the product on the open market.

Said notification must contain all information related to the business’s conclusion that the dietary ingredient is reasonably expected to be safe for consumers under the recommended conditions also provided on the product label.

Claims

Claims on the protein packaging label should display the level of nutrients contained in the product. For example, how many milligrams of specific vitamins and minerals are present in a single serving.

Related: 3 Food and beverage packaging trends to keep an eye on in 2021

Environmental Sustainability and The Use of Renewable Resources

Aside from costs and adhering to the above labeling regulations of the FDA, the third most significant factor companies need to consider when developing their packaging is environmental sustainability. An increasing number of consumers diligently check packaging labels to ensure products and brands dedicate themselves to providing environmentally sustainable goods and packaging for said goods before making a purchase. Said shift has resulted in a strong push by many companies towards using more renewable resources within countless industries.

For example, in the protein drink industry, companies like Premier Protein are now offering responsibly sourced packaging, including paper-made cartons from sustainably managed forests, that utilize re-sealable plant-based caps derived from sugarcane. Businesses that care about the environment (and care about their consumers who care about the environment) would do well to look into sustainable forms of product packaging if they have not already done so.

Final Considerations to Keep in Mind

Each of the above factors is a critical element of consideration for companies looking to produce adequate packaging for their protein drinks and other health supplement products. If you’d like more information about other essential elements of the product creation, handling, packaging, storing, and dispatching processes, please consider contacting the trusted industry professionals at Dynamic 3PL today to learn about their range of top-quality services. And don’t forget to explore their range of expertly written educational articles for even more information.

Are you struggling to locate an effective packaging, warehousing, and transportation services provider to overcome supply chain management struggles? Our trusted industry experts here at Dynamic 3PL are here to help ensure your customers and partners are left fully satisfied and ready to do more business.

The market has become highly oversaturated with products, leaving consumers with a near-infinite amount of choices to make regarding the goods they choose to buy. From clothes and furniture and especially food, people are not strapped for product choices. Because of this, brands need to ensure they’re providing the best quality goods to win out against competing players in their respective industries. But what’s a good way for businesses to stand out as superior, especially in the realm of food manufacturing and packaging?

One of the most optimal ways to establish your business’s quality in the food manufacturing industry is to take the steps required for SQF certification. But for those who don’t know what this type of certification is or what it involves, our experts here at Dynamic 3PL are ready to help. Please continue to find out everything your business needs to understand about this essential certification program.

Related: What it means to be a Food Grade warehouse

What is The SQF Program, and What Does it Mean to be SQF Certified?

The Safe Quality Food (SQF) Program is a credible, rigorous food quality and safety program recognized by many brand owners, retailers, and foodservice providers across the globe. The program is also recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), which has ensured it meets regulatory, industry, and consumer requirements at all levels and sectors of the food supply chain. From the farm fields to the shelves of grocery stores and the hands of eager consumers, SQF program certification ensures people receive safe, quality foods from reputable packagers and manufacturers that have minimized the potential for unsafe or contaminated products to reach the market.

Acquiring the certification involves a range of complicated steps, which take a good deal of perseverance to complete successfully. These steps include implementing the SQF code, training an SQF practitioner, writing an SQF program for the business to follow, passing an internal audit, passing an on-site certification, and much more. Companies will also be inspected every year to ensure they’re keeping up with certification standards. Despite the complicated certification process, manufacturers are highly encouraged to undergo each step from start to finish, as they’ll receive several significant benefits for their efforts.

Related: Five Core Functions of the Food Safety Modernization Act

The Top Benefits of SQF Certification for Food Manufacturers

A wide range of retailers want and sometimes even require their business partners to be SQF-certified (no business or brand wants to be connected to a product withdrawal or recall, after all). However, there are several other benefits for certified businesses. Some of these primary advantages include:

• A higher level of guaranteed customer assurance, strength, overall business security, and enhanced trust in the eyes of consumers.
• Worldwide recognition align with thousands of other reputable companies and businesses that have also achieved SQF certification.
• New partnership opportunities between businesses looking to do work with SQF-certified corporations.

Receiving this certification is not only beneficial in many cases, but it may also be essential for businesses wanting to stay afloat in the market, let alone find financial success. That said, you have likely realized by now that it’s hard to receive the certification, and not all food manufacturers and packagers may be up to the complicated task. As a result, you’ll likely find the most benefit when choosing to partner with an already SQL-certified warehousing, packaging, and distribution business like Dynamic 3PL.

Is your business or company struggling to overcome the various supply chain management struggles currently plaguing the world of packaging, warehousing, and transportation? Contact our experts at Dynamic 3PL today to learn how we can help.

Why You Should Rely on Dynamic 3PL for Your SQF Needs

Our SQF certified warehouses and FDA-registered facilities are dedicated to providing our various partners and clients with a sanitary and safe environment for the handling, packaging, storing, and distribution of all sorts of quality food products. Not only do we believe in adhering to SQF standards, we believe in exceeding them wherever possible to ensure that the food products we handle are stored and packaged safely and diligently. We commit ourselves to quality control, clean facilities, and strong production oversight at every stage of our procedures to offer customers full confidence in the products we handle for them.

Like all other industries, the food industry, in particular, thrives on trust and customer satisfaction, and we are completely dedicated to impressing our customers with diligent attention and care for their products. You deserve solutions that are cost-effective, consistent, and that breed total consumer satisfaction. Some of the primary advantages of utilizing our certified SQF services include:

• Enhanced confidence in food safety and quality
• An enhanced marketing and brand image
• Increased brand value
• A platform based on consistent improvement with a dedication towards advancement
• An improved level of process management and risk awareness
• Reduced amounts of waste for a less harmful environmental impact and reduced costs
• Seamless process management at every step
• Proof of due diligence
• Responsible manufacturing processes
• Compliance with all regulatory requirements

To us at Dynamic 3PL, SQF is more than a qualification. It’s an integral part of our business’s culture and how we manage our business as a whole. SQF provides a fundamental framework for our efforts to continuously improve documentation, training, communication, and much more to increase effectiveness and efficiency. Additionally, we have taken the initiative to meet and exceed the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) requirements while also utilizing the same Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) management system many of our customers use.

Related: 5 Reasons Food Companies Fire Their 3PL

If you want to find out even more about our range of stellar services and find additional information on the various benefits we can provide for your food manufacturing business, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Dynamic 3PL today. And to learn more, please also consider exploring our range of expertly written educational articles.

Do you require the quality services of trusted supply chain management experts to ensure your goods are packaged, warehoused, and transported correctly and on time? Reach out to the industry professionals at Dynamic 3PL today to learn about everything we can do for your business.