Jar & Canning Labeling

Home Canning & Labeling Resources

canning tips & free label templates resources

Thousands of people can their own foods at home, and more people are getting involved in this form of food preservation all of the time. Canning is not something you should just jump right into though, there are some basics that need to be known to avoid problems with the food spoiling when not preserved properly. It is also very easy to get sick eating canned food if it is not canned the proper way.

We love to provide resources for our customers, and since home canning is so popular we figured a good resource on the topic would be helpful to many of you. In this post we cover some food preservation basics, as well as safety tips, and last but not least, links to some nice canning label templates.

The holiday seasons are a great time for giving, and giving friends and family some of your delicious homemade preserves can make a very nice gift.

Beginner Canning Resources

Home Canning FAQ – Here is an excellent resource for home canning beginners. This guide covers the most basic canning techniques and goes into some of the more complex techniques and tips.
A Beginners Guide to Canning – This is a great guide for beginners and it can give you a basic understanding about how canning works, the history of canning, and advice and directions for getting started.
Food in Jars – Canning 101 – Food in Jars is a popular site that is dedicated to providing reliable and relevant information about canning. The Canning 101 page on their site is a good one, and it covers a wide range of topics to answer your simple to tough questions.
National Center for Home Food Preservation – The NCHFP website is a very important resource that is loaded with all kinds of quality information related to home food preservation.
Complete Guide to Home Canning – Having a handy guide to reference when you are just getting started with canning can be a nice asset. Here is a complete guide to home canning created by the USDA.

Canning Safety

Keeping Your Family Safe – When it comes to home canning there are many important factors that you need to pay attention to. This article goes over some of these things so you ensure the health of you and your family.
Home Canning and Botulism – Botulism is a rare, but very dangerous disease that is caused by a bacteria called “Clostridium botulinum”. Improperly preserved canned goods can develop the spores that can cause botulism, so following proper canning procedures is important to prevent the disease.
Home Canning Safety Ti p s – Canning safety is extremely important since canned foods can become a breeding ground for germs if they are not preserved properly.
Safety First when Home Canning – This article gives a nice overview of home canning procedures and safety precautions. The more you learn about home canning safety, the safer all of your canned goods will be.

Canning Label Templates

Garden Therapy Free Printable Canning Labels – Garden Therapy has some nice canning label templates that work great with 2″ round labels that are meant for mason jar lids.
Canning Lid Label Designs – Here are some more nice free label downloads to help make your canning project be more organized. In addition to these canning labels, the site also has some excellent free Christmas label downloads.
Free Mason Jar Label Designs – Limeshot has another nice selection of canning labels for you to download, they also include instructions on how they use these styles of labels. If you prefer to avoid the glue you can purchase the blank labels to print them on.
Printable Jam Labels – This site has these awesome jam labels that you can download if jellies are what you plan on canning. Jams make great holiday gifts for friends and loved ones as well, so these labels can help you give a nice personalized, homemade gift.
Canning Labels – Here is a selection of high quality labels that will work perfect for any canning project that you are working on.

Prop 65 Warning Labels – Compliance Deadline

New California Prop 65 label requirements are now required on all products past a shelf life or created on or after August 30th 2018. There are some exemptions for smaller businesses and for products that are classified as being below the regulatory safe harbor levels of the listed chemicals!

New Label Requirements

Previous compliance allowed for the warning labels to list that the product “contains” the chemical that can expose you to a prop 65 chemical, but the new law will change the language to the product “can expose you to” a Proposition 65 chemical rather than saying “contains.” Also included:

The name of at least one listed chemical requiring the warning
The URL for OEHHA’s website www.P65Warnings.ca.gov
A triangular yellow warning symbol on most warnings

Here’s an example of what a new warning message might look like (via sourceintelligence):

When is a Prop 65 Warning Label Required?

Whenever a product contains a listed chemical, the warning must be present, unless the level of exposure is below the regulatory safe harbor level. Businesses with less than 10 employees in CA may be exempt. The requirement is for every type of product, not just chemical products, that contain any amount of the listed chemical above the safe harbor level.

When Must Products Comply With the Rules For “Clear And Reasonable Warnings?”

Prior to August 30, 2018, products can use either the new form of warning or the September 2008 regulations. After this date, new products must only use the new regulations. Consumer products manufactured before August 30, 2018, do not require the new warning, as long as it is labeled with a warning that is compliant with the 2008 regulations.

More Highlights of the New Warning Label

Provides website warnings for online purchased products
Adds “tailored” warnings to provide detailed information for certain exposures, places and products
Shows warnings in other languages than English in some cases
Lists the roles and responsibilities of those providing the warnings

Where to Find More Details About Proposition 65 Warning Requirements

Proposition 65 and its regulations are posted at https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/law/proposition-65-law-and-regulations.

For a side-by-side comparison of the current and new warning regulations, see https://oehha.ca.gov/media/downloads/crnr/side-sidearticle6.pdf.

You can also contact the Proposition 65 Implementation Program office: (916) 445-6900 or email P65.Questions@oehha.ca.gov.

Effective Colors for Label Design

The Psychology of Color

The psychology of color plays an essential role in the way that products are viewed by consumers. What does this mean? Marketers need to take the time to understand the importance and impact of color when it comes to labeling and brand identity. A brands impact on consumers can be heavily swayed by color, font, and calls to action on a products labels.

There are other important elements to consider when you are choosing your label materials, and one of them is matching the colors used on the label to the actual package design. You do not want your label to clash with the packaging, so choosing the best colors that look good together is a factor.

Colors and Influence

Red

One of the boldest colors to use in your label design is red. It can help your product stand out when sitting next to competitors products. Red is associated with impulse buying, excitement, and warmth.

Blue

Blue is associated with trust and reliability, as well as feelings of calmness and security. This makes it another one of the more popular colors to be used in different types of design. Blue is also the color that is commonly preferred by men.

Orange

Orange is said to create feelings of warmth and vitality, and is also tied to excitement and adventure. It is an energetic color, which is why it invokes positive, warm emotions.

Green

These days green is often associated with the environment and eco-friendly products, and many people that energy conscious are attracted to the color. Green is also associated with feelings of good luck and tranquility. Green is thought to relieve stress and can create a calming effect for consumers.

White

White is another popular color because of its simplicity and it will match well with any other color. It represents purity, cleanliness, and simplicity.

Yellow

Yellow is the most attention grabbing color that there is, this is because it is the most visible color when used for design. It is associated with cheerful and warm emotions. It is important to not over use yellow in design, because too much of it can have a negative impact because it causes fatigue to the eyes.

Brown

Brown is another color that is often associated with natural products, and it can create feelings of comfort and security.

Other Factors to Remember

Actual Package Color (or product color if clear)

When choosing colors for your label printing you need to make sure that the colors you choose will be compatible with the actual package color. If the packaging that your brand is clear then you need to make sure that the label colors are compatible with the color of the actual product.

Fonts/Legibility

The font is another element that needs to be considered. It should be an easy to read font, and it should also be big enough so people are not straining their eyes to read it. Legibility is a very important factor in all different areas of design, because if people cannot read the product label, they most likely will not buy it.

Things to Know About Labeling Food Allergens

Millions of Americans are affected by food allergens—some severe and some minor. Many food allergens are not life-threatening, but others are. For this reason, congress made the decision to pass the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) in 2004, which requires businesses to label domestic and imported products that contain any protein derived from the eight most common food allergens.

The FALCPA requires that brands customize labels to include any of the eight common food allergens, including milk, fish, eggs, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, soybeans, and wheat. These eights foods in addition to any protein derived from them, are all considered “major food allergens” and should be labeled properly for the safety of your customers.

How to Label Food Allergens

If you sell a product that contains any of these eight food allergens, you are required by law to label them a certain way. Companies should customize labels to include the name of the actual ingredient (such as buttermilk or lecithin) in addition to its common allergen (milk or soy).

If your product contains milk products, you have a couple of different labeling options. You can either list the ingredients with the allergen next to it in parenthesis, or you can include a warning at the bottom of the list of ingredients. For example:

Lecithin (soy), whey (milk), casein (milk), flour (wheat)

Contains soy, milk, or wheat

Consumers May be Allergic to Other Ingredients

These days, there is a growing number of food intolerances and allergies that are not included under the FALCPA. Less common food allergens include red meat, avocados, sesame seeds, marshmallows (or gelatin sensitivity), corn, mango, dried fruit, or hot dogs.

The FDA does not regulate poultry, most meats, certain egg products, or most alcoholic beverages, so consumers must use their own discretion before eating or drinking an item; however, brands should do their best to inform their customers of any potential food allergens or worrisome ingredients.

Complete a Certification Program

To simplify things for your customers, you may also wish to take labeling one step further. Due to the rise in gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free diets, many companies are becoming certified so they can include seals on their product labels that show they are certified gluten-free, dairy-free, or soy-free. When you customize labels to include seals, you can save shoppers the hassle of reading each and every ingredient on your label.

Even though many customers will continue to read each and every ingredient to ensure that a product is safe for them to consume, seals can provide customers with peace of mind knowing that the product is completely free of food allergens or intolerances. Popular certification programs include Certified Gluten-Free, Gluten-Free Certification Program, Canadian Celiac Association, and Certified Vegan.

The Benefits Of Labeling Your Products As Gluten Free Or Vegan

Looking for a way to boost appeal and sales of your product? Proper research and labeling could help you do just that! If you have a gluten free or vegan products, it’s incredibly important and valuable that it is labeled as such.

In 2016, according to Google Trends there was a 90% boost in ‘vegan’ searches, and the gluten free market in the expected to be valued at 7.9 billion US dollars by 2020. With sales growth opportunities in these two industries as strong as they are, you’re missing out on a massive market if your products meet the requirements but aren’t being marketed to those audiences.

Not sure if your product makes the cut? You can find the definition of gluten free here, as well as information about vegan certification here, and determine if either of those match your product. Once you’ve determined qualification, simply incorporate the logo identifying your product as gluten free or vegan into your product labeling.

If you need help incorporating the identifiers into your labels, we’re always happy to help you at SheetLabels.com!

Celebrate National Peanut Month By Making Your Peanut Products Stand Out

Since peanuts are one of the eight most common food allergens in the U.S.—affecting more than three million U.S. residents—peanuts don’t always get a whole lot of praise. However, the National Peanut Board is trying to change all that during National Peanut Month. According to the National Peanut Board, peanuts are packed full of health benefits, including good fats, minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants. However, your peanut product needs to do more than simply provide consumers with health benefits—it needs to stand out on the shelves to get noticed, especially as almond, cashews, flax seeds and other nuts and seeds grow in popularity. Custom printed labels can help to give your peanut products the attention they deserve, and upgrading your labels during National Peanut Month is the perfect time to do so.

Display Your Product with High-Quality Custom Printed Labels

The secret to showcasing attractive, drool-worthy peanut products lies in the product label—and SheetLabels.com has plenty of high-end labeling solutions for food industries to choose from. View our large selection of food labels or jar labels, and don’t hesitate to contact us if you need assistance in finding the very best product label for your peanut product. As an example, take a look at the timeless style of Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter or Justin’s peanut, almond, or hazelnut butter. Any enticing peanut butter label allows the natural look of the peanut butter to shine through.

Whichever type of label style you choose, you need to make sure that your peanut butter product uses all temperature labels (for refrigeration). However, other peanut products that do not require refrigeration allow for more lenience.

Share Fun Facts

In addition to using attractive, high-quality product labels and catchy designs, sharing interesting facts about your product is a great way to grab the attention of your consumers. Consider sharing the following facts provided by the National Peanut Board:

· One twelve-ounce jar of peanut butter contains approximately 540 peanuts.

· Any product that goes by the name of peanut butter must contain at least 90 percent peanuts. For this reason, almond butter, cashew butter, or sesame butter are referred to as nut butters rather than peanut butter.

· On average, peanut farms are 100 acres.

· Two of our former U.S. presidents were peanut butter farmers, including Jimmy Carter and Thomas Jefferson.

If you really want to grab the attention of your consumers, we dare you to use your labels to share a recipe for the very best peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

Offer Instant Redeemable Coupons

Today’s shoppers love instant gratification, which is just one of the many benefits to using promotional labels or instant redeemable coupons. National Peanut Month is the perfect time to raise awareness about the health benefits of eating peanuts or peanut-containing products, especially when you use coupons or discounts to encourage customers to purchase your products. Use our Removable White Uncoated labels, which are inkjet, laser, and offset printer-friendly. Additionally, they can be printed as cut-to-size labels or sheet labels. Learn more about the benefits of using promotional labels here.

If you’re ready to place an order for custom printed labels, don’t hesitate to contact the team at SheetLabels.com for assistance. We look forward to working with you during National Peanut Month, and all year long.

FDA Rules & Regulations For Selling Handmade Goods

If you spend a great deal of time jarring and canning food products such as homemade jam, apple butter or jelly, you may be ready to take your jarred or canned goods business to the next level by selling them on Etsy or at farmer’s markets. However, FDA rules and regulations must be taken into consideration before you begin selling handmade goods, and there are some important things you need to know when creating your product’s customized labels. Below, we’ll discuss several important FDA rules and regulations for selling and labeling handmade goods online or at farmer’s markets.

What Handmade Goods Labels Must Include

Homemade or handmade products must meet FDA rules and regulations, but they must also meet state-specific Cottage Food Laws as well. Before you begin prepping your homemade items for selling to the public, get familiar with your state’s Cottage Food Laws to ensure that you’re able to sell homemade items publicly. Additionally, your state’s Cottage Food Laws will tell you where you’re allowed to sell your homemade items.

For example, the state of Minnesota allows homemade sellers to sell their products online, at farmer’s markets, at public events (such as fairs), and out of their homes. However, restaurants, roadside stands, and retail stores are all prohibited.

Next, you’ll need to get familiar with labeling requirements. All homemade food products must be labeled in accordance with the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, which requires the following:

· A full list of ingredients used (by largest amount used to the smallest)

· The quantity and weight of each ingredient

· The name and address of the product manufacturer and packager

If you’re selling your products online, we recommended including a full list of ingredients and any potential allergens (such as dairy, eggs, nuts, or wheat) on your product’s e-commerce page. You should also be sure to include a disclaimer if your home or packaging facility processes any common allergens, or if shared equipment is used. Additionally, we recommended displaying a larger printed ingredient list and allergen information when selling products at fairs or farmer’s markets.

If you’re new to jarring and canning, we recommend that you attend a home canning class if you plan to can and sell homemade goods to the public. The National Center on Home Food Preservation is another great resource for beginner sellers.

Where to Find Jar & Canning Customized Labels

The process of ordering your jarring and canning labels from SheetLabels.com is easy and hassle-free. Create high-quality printed or blank canning labels for any of your homemade goods and let SheetLabels.com take of everything so you don’t have to. We’ll custom print your message, logo, and more to help you create the best-looking labels around. Plus, our printed canning labels are available as sheets, rolls, or individually cut labels.

Alternately, our blank custom labels are available as sheet labels, which can easily be printed from the convenience of your home if you choose. Check out some of our recommended jam template designs for printing homemade jam labels at home.

Everything You Need To Know About Our Agricultural Labels

February is a busy month filled with Salt Awareness Week, National Heart Health Month, and National Burn Awareness Week. Plus, we can’t forget about Valentine’s Day on February 14! But did you know that February is also the month of National Agricultural Week? National Agricultural Week takes place from February 5 through 11, making it the perfect time to update your agriculture labels with high-quality cheese, dairy, and egg labels from SheetLabels.com.

When you need to print waterproof labels and temperature resistant labels for your high-end agricultural packing needs, SheetLabels.com can help. Below, learn more about our durable agriculture labels for your cheese, dairy, egg, or meat products.

Cheese Labels

Today’s shoppers are just as interested in non-dairy or lactose-free cheeses as they are cheeses made from real dairy, and our high-quality cheese labels are perfect for any of your cheese labelling needs. Whether you need printed or blank cheese labels, we have a variety of options for you. Our printed cheese labels are branded with your company name, logo, and product information, and are available as sheet labels, rolled labels, or cut-to-size labels.

Our blank cheese labels are another great option when you need to print waterproof labels. Choose from our SL111VS Vertical Slit labels; SL512 8.25” by 11” labels; SL105 1.75” by 0.5” labels; SL107 1.67” Circle labels; SLS09 3.333” circular labels; SLS02 5.8125” by .656” labels; SLS01 3.065” by 1.8375” Rounded Corner labels and our SLS04 4.625” labels. Any of these labels can also be purchased as printed labels.

Dairy Labels

Whether you need milk labels for cow, goat, almond, rice, coconut, hemp, soy milk, or any other dairy product—we have a huge selection dairy labels for you to choose from.

Our dairy labels are available as printed sheet labels, roll labels, cut-to-size labels, or blank sheet labels. Regardless of whether you need your labels ordered blank or printed, SheetLabels.com offers labels in a variety of shapes and sizes for any of your dairy product labeling needs.

After you select the label of your choice, you can choose a label material that best fits your product. For example, our SL100 2.625” by 1” Rounded Corner labels are available in materials such as White Uncoated, White Gloss, Vinyl Laser Weatherproof, Removable White Gloss, Brown Kraft, Fluorescent Red, Natural Cream, and as even more materials!

Egg Labels

Eggs are delicate products that require durable, sturdy packaging. And the same goes for egg labels! Our durable egg labels are available as printed labels or blank labels. Our blank labels are available as sheets and our printed labels are available as sheets, rolled, or cut-to-size labels.

Choose from a variety of shapes, sizes, and materials to accompany your egg products. Available egg labels include our SL111VS labels, SL512, SL105, SL107, SLS09, SLS02, and SLS01 labels.

Print Waterproof Labels Today

When you’re ready to print waterproof and temperature resistant agriculture labels you can count on, look no further than SheetLabels.com. Our quick turnaround time, unmatched quality, and dedication to serving our clients make us some of the best labeling experts in the business.

If you have any questions about our products or materials, don’t hesitate to contact us to learn more. We’re looking forward to working with you!

Success With Product Packaging As A Startup

As a startup business there are quite a few things that you really need to hit a homerun with. You already know that you have a good idea, but now you need to think of ways to get the brand seen and heard. In order for your startup to be a success you and your team need to find ways to stand out from the crowd.

A products branding and packaging should be considered very early on because they are extremely important and can literally make or break your startup. Starting early gives you the chance to try out different versions of your packaging and labels. It also allows you the time you need to observe how people will react, if the packaging catches the hurried consumer’s eyes, and if your package is memorable.

Brainstorming

The face of a product is the package, which is one of the determining factors that will come into play with sales. Some things that you should always remember when brainstorming ideas is that your product package should indicate the brands image and personality, it must be informative and precise, and the labels should show consumers the ease of use so they recognize how it can improve their lives. The brainstorming process is the perfect time to ask friends and family what they think your package should look like. This will give you some additional ideas from people who will be looking at it from a different angle than your team is.

A question to ask your team is how can you create a unique box opening experience?

Being different stands out and has been the key to many successful brands. How can you turn the most basic act of opening a package into a full and exciting experience? You could consider adding some extra surprise goodies in the package, or turning the box into a fun puzzle for them to open. Coming up with these ideas to stand out can give your startup a big boost when it is time to start selling.

Brainstorming ideas for your packaging can be one of the most trying times of a new startup. There are numerous things that need to be considered, including colors, fonts, layout, and the information presented. The color pallete that you decide on should be easy on the eyes and should be colors that invoke good feelings (psychological properties of colors).

The package should tell consumers what they should expect and why the product is the best option to make their life better. You need to make sure to not overdo the package or label, a surefire way to turn people away is having too much information which can make it difficult to read.

Market Research

Presentation is everything, so initial research after you have a few ideas can help you refine these thoughts. Look at some products that you would consider competition and see what stands out. What colors are they using? Is their message clear and simple? How do they tell the consumer why the product is significant?

Identifying all of these traits with a competitor’s product will facilitate you to make tweaks to your initial ideas. After determining what your toughest competition is doing, you can come up with ways to make your package even better. If you notice some key information about a similar product that your competitor is not telling people about on their labels make sure that you make it a prominent point of yours.

Package Design Mock-ups

Mock-ups of your package can be an indispensable tool for deciding on the final boxed product. When the product is first seen by the customers, the general impression should be a psychological fulfillment and a solution where your product is the answer. The mock-ups of your favorite ideas can give you a chance to test the package out on actual consumers. A good way to test these packaging mock-ups out is to set up a table at local trade shows, farmers markets, and craft fairs, etc. This will give you better insight into what package design best resonates with buyers.

This is also a good chance to do some A/B testing on your package mock-ups. This works best by placing the product out for display with the different packaging and label sizes all right next to each other. Doing this you can see if one design is selling much better than the others, and this can help you decide on the final end product packaging. If one design is resonating more with the majority of consumers you will have an easy conclusion to reach.

Selling

After you have spent the time coming up with the ideas, created the design, and did some testing with mock-ups you will know how the product should be packaged. Now it is time to make the store shelf your product billboard. Consumer purchases are heavily swayed by packaging so when you get the package on the shelves people will give it a try if it truly stands out and conveys ease of use.

Don’t expect the product to fly off the shelves immediately, but it will start selling if it stands out. Once it starts selling and people like it, they will spread the word for you. They will tell their acquaintances and family, who in turn will continue passing around the news. This is how a brand grows and becomes a success.