Food Technical Data Sheet: the key to reducing costs

The food technical data sheet is essential in the management of restaurants and Food and Nutrition Units (UAN).

Firstly, because it ensures that meals are standardized. In this way, it is possible to have a clear view of the costs of each meal, which simplifies decision-making.

What's more, with this information, planning can be optimized. The result is a reduction in costs and the consequent maximization of profits.

What is a food technical data sheet?

A food factsheet is a document that details a product's information, such as: composition, nutritional value and storage instructions.

In this way, it helps food companies to adhere to quality standards in every preparation, which in turn contributes to more precise cost control and operational efficiency.

Essential information in a food technical sheet includes:

• Product name
• List of ingredients
• Nutritional information
• Portion size
• Energy value
• Allergen information
• Expiration date
• Storage instructions
• Manufacturer and contact information

By presenting this data clearly, the technical sheet becomes a strategic tool, allowing companies to increase efficiency and profitability.

Labeling of pre-processed foods

The labeling of pre-processed foods provides essential information to both consumers and authorities. Thus, we can say that some of the functions of this labeling include:

1. Inform the consumer: Labels help consumers make informed decisions about the food they eat, promoting food safety.
2. Comply with regulations: Labeling ensures that production plants follow food safety regulations, avoiding legal sanctions.
3. Inform about allergens: Information on allergens helps to prevent adverse reactions in consumers, ensuring safety for those with dietary restrictions.
4. Standardize products: Labeling guarantees product consistency, promoting customer loyalty.
5. Facilitate traceability: In the event of product problems, labeling makes it easier to identify and resolve process failures quickly.
6. Improve stock control: The labels inform about expiry dates and storage, helping to avoid waste.
7. Help with marketing and communication: Information about high-quality ingredients, product origins or special features can be highlighted to attract and inform customers.

In this way, these clarifications help to ensure that the food sold is safe, of high quality and complies with the regulations established by bodies such as ANVISA in Brazil.

Labeling legislation in Brazil

Since 2001, ANVISA has regulated the nutritional labeling of packaged foods in Brazil. As of October 9, 2022, the following came into force RDC 429/2020 and IN 75/2020, which aim to make nutritional information on labels more accessible.

In other words, we can say that these measures seek to provide greater clarity and help consumers make more informed food choices.

It's important to remember that in corporate restaurants, consumers often don't have direct access to the information on the labels.

However, to promote greater transparency and dissemination of this information, some strategies can be used, such as delivering printed materials or, using technology, this information can be accessed via QR Codes scanned by smartphones.

In short, the practice of detailed labeling, in addition to contributing to food safety, reinforces the trust and social responsibility of food companies. This ensures that consumer expectations regarding quality, safety and transparency are met.

Brazilian Table of Food Composition (TBCA)

A Brazilian Food Composition Table (TBCA) is essential for drawing up technical food sheets, as it allows for precise nutritional calculations. The latest version, 7.2, can be accessed via an app, making the work of nutritionists even easier.

In addition, the table provides regional food information, which helps to draw up a food profile that is more faithful to the particularities of each region. The information available includes:

• Registration of more than 5,400 foods;
• More than 3,800 different preparations, including gluten-free, lactose-free, vegan and vegetarian options;
• Identifying the amount of salt and sugar added to each preparation;
• Energy value and centesimal composition (lipid profile, proteins, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals).

In short, with TBCA, nutritionists can optimize menu planning, ensuring that food technical sheets are always up-to-date and in line with consumers' dietary needs.

Food preparation data sheet

The technical food preparation sheet details not only the ingredients, but also the preparation steps, the yield and the cost of the inputs. Thus, a food preparation sheet contains:

• Dish name: Revenue identification.
• Ingredients: List of all the ingredients needed, with their exact quantities.
• How to prepareStep-by-step preparation process, from start to finish.
• Necessary equipmentTools and utensils used in the preparation.
• Preparation timeTotal time to prepare the dish, including cooking time and other processes.
• IncomeQuantity of portions or volume produced by the recipe.
• Nutritional value: Information on nutrients and calories per serving, where necessary.
• Cost of ingredients: Breakdown of the cost of each ingredient, helping to calculate the total cost of the recipe.
• SubstitutesAlternative ingredients that can be used, if applicable.
• Storage methodsInstructions on how to properly store the dish or ingredients, if necessary.

The food preparation sheet is essential for standardizing production processes, which allows companies to reduce costs, avoid waste and increase profitability.

Although creating and maintaining these records may seem like a challenge, technological tools make this task easier, ensuring quality and efficiency in food management.

Therefore, the technical food preparation sheet not only standardizes, but also raises the quality of meal production processes. With the help of technology, this practice becomes much simpler and more effective.

How does the technical food preparation sheet contribute to the standardization and control of food production?

Imagine a restaurant kitchen that uses incomplete technical preparation sheets, with incorrect ingredient quantities and yields. In this situation, the menu planning and cost analysis can quickly become misaligned with real needs. Consequently, this will result in significant financial and nutritional imbalances.

Therefore, for menu planning to work, it is essential to have a good cost management that the food preparation sheet is followed. This will ensure that the meals meet requirements such as cost, nutritional value and quality. It is also a way of ensuring that the restaurant's production capacity is respected.

What are the advantages of using the food preparation data sheet?

The technical food preparation sheet not only standardizes recipes, but also allows strict control of ingredients and costs. Thus, by integrating it into an efficient management system, restaurants gain several benefits, such as:

• Reducing costs: Precise control of inputs avoids waste.
• Increased turnover: Efficient management contributes to profitability.
• Excellent service: Standardized processes ensure consistent quality.
• Customer loyalty: Regularity breeds confidence.

In addition, a management system will optimize the shopping list, control spending and provide more efficient stock management, ensuring that all resources are aligned with operational needs.

Although part of this process still depends on manual labor, adopting a ERP management system for collective feeding can significantly reduce errors in the short term.

What is a Food and Nutrition Unit (FNU)?

The acronym UAN refers to Food and Nutrition Units, which are responsible for providing collective meals in various locations, such as industries, schools and hospitals. In these units, the technical food preparation sheet is essential to ensure the standardization of meals and the quality of production. Consequently, its use helps to optimize costs and guarantee operational efficiency.

Food technical sheet: standardization of meals served

Each UAN has its own characteristics that influence the standard of meals served:

• Number and profile of diners;
• Contractual rules;
• Consumers' eating habits and preferences;
• Physical structure and equipment;
• Human and material resources.

The management of these units requires an active dynamic, since there are many ingredients involved and production must be fast, as well as ensuring agility and quality. On the other hand, operational problems, such as inadequate execution of tasks by employees, can cause variations in production, compromising the quality of the final product.

Food factsheets as production quality strategies

The technical food preparation sheet is a valuable tool for nutritionists, as it allows for effective management of inputs and detailed planning. With it, you can:

• Planning menus based on the estimated number of diners;
• Sizing up the volume of purchases;
• Calculate the costs of the preparations;
• Control spending;
• Increase the yield of preparations;
• Adjusting the costs involved in producing meals;
• Save time in the production process.

That's why using the right management system is essential. With the right system, you can automate processes, ensure data accuracy and make it easier to update technical sheets. This not only improves operational efficiency, but also provides a clear and accessible view of costs and revenue performance.

In this way, nutritionists and managers can make more informed decisions, optimizing the quality of meals and promoting the economic sustainability of Food and Nutrition Units.

Menu planning and its importance

As you can see, menu planning is crucial. This is because it ensures that the meals meet prerequisites such as cost, nutritional characteristics and hygienic and sanitary quality, all adapted to the production capacity of the corporate restaurant.

Finally, it should be emphasized once again that having automated processes that facilitate the standardization of collective meal production not only optimizes menu planning, but also improves the daily work of the nutritionist and employees.

We've prepared an e-book on the subject; click here and download it for free.

The importance of optimizing COGS

If you've made it this far, now is the time to tell you that optimizing the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) will also be fundamental in this cost reduction process. This is because the COGS directly impacts the profit margin and the final cost passed on to the customer.

In a nutshell, the calculation of COGS involves adding the initial stock of inputs to the purchases for the period and then subtracting the final stock.

CMV = Opening stock + Shopping in Período - Closing stock

In this way, COGS allows you to better understand the costs involved in operating your business, so you can set more appropriate prices and maximize profits.

If you'd like to delve deeper into this topic, check out our blog on how to calculate, reduce costs and profit from calculating the CMV!

How the technical food preparation sheet contributes to the calculation of COGS

To calculate the COGS, you need to know precisely the ingredients and quantities used in each dish. Therefore, the technical sheet provides this detailed information, allowing the manager to calculate costs much more accurately. What's more:

•  The technical sheet helps cost control, by comparing the planned values with the actual ones. This makes it possible to identify possible deviations, such as waste or variations in purchase prices, facilitating corrective action.
• Based on the calculated COGS, establishments can define adequate prices for their products, taking into account both direct costs and the desired profit margin.
• Finally, the technical food preparation sheet also ensures that each dish is prepared in a consistent manner, with the right ingredients. same quality and taste, This is an important factor in customer satisfaction and maintaining the restaurant's reputation.

To keep this process organized and efficient, it is essential to have a catering management system. These systems offer indicators and reports that provide a clear and strategic view of the cost management and contracts, enabling quick and assertive decision-making.

Corporate restaurant and catering system

Adopting a catering management system increases the productive, commercial and financial efficiency of catering companies. In addition, the technology simplifies strategic decision-making, allowing quick access to detailed reports on meals.

Here's a chat we had with Pedro Suassuna, managing partner of Cozzi, a Teknisa client:

Nowadays, companies are investing in technological solutions not only to improve product quality control, but also to guarantee mobility in the production monitoring process, as well as making it possible to manage processes in real time.

In this way, we can safely say that these tools not only optimize operations, but also contribute to reducing costs and improving the quality of the services provided.

The role of software in standardizing production processes

The lack of standardization in food production processes can result in financial crises for companies. When the quantity of inputs in a recipe varies, cost control becomes challenging, jeopardizing purchasing forecasts.

In this context, meal management software helps to correct problems quickly and efficiently, guaranteeing the quality and safety of products and, consequently, helping to reduce operating costs.

The use of specialized systems and applications

The use of specialized systems and applications, such as the TecFood, In addition, the use of a food technical data sheet simplifies both the creation and maintenance of food technical data sheets, allowing for more accurate pricing of dishes and facilitating order and stock control. In addition, these tools are essential for identifying consumption patterns and minimizing waste, which results in more efficient and profitable management for the business.

The preparation and application of technical food sheets are fundamental in the management of food establishments, providing essential information for strategic decisions and ensuring the quality and profitability of establishments.

Therefore, easy access for managers to detailed information about food products is crucial to maintaining control over the quality of meals. Without the standardization of procedures, such as the use of food technical data sheets, corporate restaurants and Food and Nutrition Units (FNU) can lose control of the quality of the final product.

Conclusion

The constant economic changes have led food companies to seek continuous improvements in their internal processes in order to ensure profitability. These changes are also aimed at increasing production efficiency and guaranteeing food safety in restaurants. In this context, the use of food technical data sheets should be considered a fundamental strategic tool for optimizing production, and making communal meals healthier, safer and more profitable.

Therefore, in order to achieve good results, it is essential to technical food preparation sheets describe in detail all the requirements involved in producing the dishes or food products. In addition, they must include functional and technical aspects of each item, which facilitates all stages of the production process, guaranteeing quality, standardization and correct pricing.

So, if your company wants to optimize process management and ensure competitiveness, it's essential to adopt a management system for collective meal production, such as Teknisa's TecFood software. This is because it will help to control and improve processes, providing more organized, efficient and profitable management.

Contact us for more information on how we can help transform your production line and raise the quality of the services you provide.