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Commercial operations like shops and restaurants all need ice cream containers to store their products.

The type of packaging used is important, but so too is the question of what we do with it after ice cream has been served up to delighted customers.

We are becoming a more environment-conscious society, so much so that if you run a business which is not striving to be green, it could damage your reputation – even if your food is outstanding.

That is why it is important to know what you can do with your empty ice cream tubs.

Most ice cream containers are made from plastic. Again, this isn’t any old plastic but food-grade polypropylene ice cream containers. This is because ice cream is a perishable product and liable to lose its taste and texture if it is not stored at the correct temperature.

An ice cream container has to be the right kind of plastic for the kind of storage needed. And that’s that.

Another thing to be aware of is that not all plastics can be recycled. And this can vary from local authority to local authority, so you need to contact the council to find out the policy near you.

Back in 2018, a BBC report revealed that because recycling is a devolved issue and each council collects their recycling differently, there were 39 different sets of rules for what can be put in plastic recycling collections!

To make things easier, you can also look out for labels which tell you whether the packaging is likely to be collected.

There again, not all packaging has a recycling label, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fit for recycling.

If this sounds like a minefield, it’s not really as bad as it seems. Once you’ve cracked hat to do with your empty ice cream tubs you should be able to get into the routine of recycling them.

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Ice cream is one treat that most of us love but in order for it to retain its deliciousness it needs to be stored in the correct way and at the right temperature.

Any ice cream producer big or small who has spent time and energy creating the perfect flavour and consistency of their confection could see all their good work go to waste just by doing something as simple as using the wrong container.

In restaurants, ice cream parlours and supermarkets the optimum temperature at which ice cream should be stored is  0°F (-18°C) or colder and the temperature in the supermarket’s freezer case should not be above 10°F (-12°C). What this means is you need a container that can cope with these temperatures.

But which is best when it comes to ice cream containers for freezer? Is it glass or plastic? Here we list the pros and cons of both.

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Food packaging labels are something we take for granted even though we scrutinise them every day for information.

In spite of this familiarity, they are actually extremely important both for the consumer and the manufacturer.

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In the past food was seasonal; you bought it by weight from a butcher or grocer and you had a pretty good idea about its provenance and freshness.

Today we eat differently.

We want produce to be available year-round, the convenience of food that’s pre-cooked, and details of its nutritional value and how it should be prepared (and stored) printed on the packaging.

For these reasons, and more, we need different types of storage containers.

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As what we consume undergoes more processes, from importation through to transportation and modern cooking techniques, aspects like traceability, correct identification of ingredients, and dating and labelling stored goods are key when it comes to keeping every customer safe.

Here we explore those all-important rules and procedures that food businesses must adhere to by law.

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Ice cream is a delicious treat but within its lip-smacking yumminess can lurk hidden health hazards.

We tend to think that things like meats and shellfish are among the main culprits when it comes to food poisoning, but the truth is most foods can be a danger to health if they are not stored properly.

And ice cream is no different.

Something as easily done as leaving a tub out of the fridge for a while can have consequences. Ice cream melts easily when it’s at room temperature, and that means it can become a breeding ground for bacteria.

It’s tempting to put melted ice cream back into the fridge to freeze again, especially if you are working in a commercial kitchen and there are large quantities. However, trying to save money could have much a more serious outcome.

In fact, it’s not only at home or in a restaurant kitchen that ice cream can become contaminated.

Indeed, producers need to be aware that bacteria can develop in their product during the manufacturing process or when it is shipped to the stores.

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What are noble gases and why are said gases used in food packaging?

Noble gases are sometimes referred to as aerogens and they are a group if elements of the periodic table that share similar properties.

These gases are all odourless, colourless, monatomic gases with a very low chemical reactivity. They were discovered by Sir William Ramsay in 1898 when he found that helium was present in air even when it had been completely removed from a closed container. He discovered that this was a result of its solubility in liquid nitrogen and named the gas “noble.”

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With food wastage another problem for the planet the more we know about different types of food storage, the better it is both for us as individuals and as a society. Food storage is important because it increases the shelf life of a product. Most of the edibles you buy in a supermarket will give you instructions on how to store it, including the place and temperature at which it should be kept.

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