Choosing Scales for the Food Service Industry — What to Consider

What’s the one thing that markets, delis, and shops have in common? All three of these entities rely on scales for their day-to-day operations. They allow you to verify shipment weights, manage inventory, and sell food based on weight. Your food industry business may need one or several types to operate. Selecting the right model for your establishment requires you to know the variants you can choose from.

Different Types of Scales in the Food Service Industry

They come in different sizes and shapes. You may need a scale on the loading dock or one in the kitchen. When you’re dealing with consumers, such as in a deli or supermarket, it’s often best to have a digital scale so that the consumer can see the weight and price easily.

You’ll have to choose from a variety of different food service scales, including:

• Digital portion scales. These are designed for speed and accuracy and are very easy to read. They suit for lower weight purchases but can go up to a dozen pounds or higher. This is what you would want to use in a sandwich shop, pizzeria, restaurant kitchen.
• Mechanical portion control scales. Mechanical scales are less popular than their electric counterparts, but they are cheaper in price and more portable. These models are a great addition to concession stands or snack bars.
• Legal for trade scales. These are the most accurate on the market. This scale will conduct a variety of accuracy tests to ensure that the weight is as close to accurate as possible using today’s technologies.
• Receiving scales. These will weigh your produce, poultry, beef, and other meats when received. They ensure the accuracy of your inventory. The receiving scales are close to the ground, highly accurate, and designed to simplify adding items to inventory on your computer system.

You’ll also find a variety of specialized scales that are available. Professional food scales that are specialized for:

• Bakery
• Pizza
• Hanging scales

The weighing instruments that you choose will have an impact on your business’s operations. Commercial kitchen scales are going to help you with inventory and proper pricing for your customers.

It’s just as easy to miscalculate and undercharge using a commercial kitchen scale as it is to overcharge your customers. In either case, you’re either losing money or risking your reputation by losing clients and overcharging them.

What to Consider When Buying a Commercial Food Scale

The food industry demands a high-quality professional food scale. When you’re dealing with the following three, you’ll need to choose the right unit for your customers:

• Supermarkets
• Deli
• Markets

Large food scales may be used for bulk purchases, or you can have much smaller ones for items sold in smaller quantities.

If you know what type of scaling you need, the next step will be knowing how to select the right model which meets your business needs. A few of the many things that you do want to consider are:

Weighing Capacity

If you’re going to cater to small events, you may need a scale that can weigh hundreds of pounds of food. But low capacity scales, which are much easier to carry around, are a great idea for supermarkets or delis.

Cleaning

A commercial weight scale needs to be easy to clean. Some of them are stainless steel and come with an easy-to-remove pan. You’ll also find models that have sealed keypads that prevent spills from impacting the item’s usability.

Display

Commercial weighing instruments should add to the transparency to your business. Consumers want to know your pricing upfront, and a scale’s display should make it as easy as possible to view pricing. Weight scales for food must have large numbers for easy readability.

Portability

Scales can be massive and difficult to move or can be small and highly portable. A portable scale is one of the most desirable items and will allow you the freedom to use them in multiple areas of the kitchen or when helping customers.

The weighing instruments allow for honest pricing and inventory tracking. When you select a scale for your business, keep the points outlined above in mind. It’s likely that when your business grows, you’ll need different types to measure everything from produce and meat to inventory that just arrived.

Source: https://mcdonaldpaper.com/blog/how-to-select-professional-food-scales