Dried pasta is packaged against breakage and moisture: long shapes snap in a loose bag, and a damp shelf softens them. The cheapest choice is a clear cello bag with a label; a kraft bag with a window looks handmade and protects better; a tuck box with a window stops breakage and stacks on a shelf. Fresh pasta is a different product: it's kept cold, in a tray with a film lid, and sold within days. Dried pasta from semolina or flour has an FDA standard; fresh pasta doesn't fall under it. In the example below, a Kansas pasta maker prices four options: 17 cents to 76 cents a package.
The short version
- Pack dried pasta against breakage and moisture.
- Clear cello bags are the cheapest.
- Kraft bags with a window protect better.
- Tuck boxes stop breakage and stack.
- Fresh pasta goes in a tray with a film lid, kept cold.
- Declare wheat and eggs.
- TaroStack puts the bag in each shape's cost. More below.
The options
| Option | Stops breakage | Shelf | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clear cello bag | No | Shelf-stable | Short shapes, markets |
| Kraft bag with window | Partly | Shelf-stable | Markets, shops |
| Tuck box with window | Yes | Shelf-stable | Grocers, long shapes |
| Fresh pasta tray with film | Yes | Refrigerated | Fresh pasta, ravioli |
Pasta is bagged only after it has dried right through; pasta bagged damp molds in the bag. How the drying works is in pasta production process.
The label
Dried pasta made from semolina, durum flour, farina or flour is a "macaroni product" under FDA's standard, with optional ingredients such as egg white or vegetables (21 CFR 139.110); the standard covers dried pasta, not fresh. The label lists ingredients (21 CFR 101.4), the name and place of business (21 CFR 101.5) and the net weight, and declares wheat and eggs (21 U.S.C. 343(w)). How the net weight is stated is in net weight labeling requirements. This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: four options for a pasta maker
Prairie Mill Pasta, the made-up pasta maker in Lawrence, Kansas, I use in these examples, packs about 500 packages a week of dried pasta for a grocer and markets, and fresh pasta and ravioli for its farmers market stand:
| Option | Parts | Per package | 500 a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clear cello bag | Bag 12¢, label | $0.17 | $87.30 |
| Kraft bag with window | Bag 45¢, label | $0.51 | $257.25 |
| Tuck box with window | Box 70¢, label | $0.77 | $382.50 |
| Fresh pasta tray with film | Tray 28¢, film 6¢, label | $0.40 | $199.80 |
The grocer asked for boxes for the fettuccine, which arrived broken in cello bags; rigatoni and other short shapes stay in kraft bags. Fresh pasta and ravioli go in trays to the market in a cooler. The year's numbers are in pasta business plan, and handing production to someone else in pasta co-packer.
Get the calculator
Download the pasta packaging calculator. Two sheets: components, each part of each option with its pack price, units, how many a package uses and waste; and compare, each option's cost per package and per week at your volume, with notes. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
A cost sheet doesn't know which batch of semolina is in which bag, or when the fresh trays run out of days. A grocer asking about one bag needs its batch.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each batch's lot, the packaging in its cost, and where every case went.
Each batch a lot. Each batch of pasta records the ingredient lots it used, gets its own lot and dates, and lot labels print for the packages.
Packaging in the recipe. The bags, boxes and trays are items in each shape's recipe, so every batch uses them up at the price you paid, and the count of what's left stays current.
Where it went. Each customer's order records the lots it got, so one recall report shows every customer a batch reached.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which batch is in a package | Written on it | The lot on its label |
| Bags, boxes and trays left | Counted when you run out | Used by every batch |
| Which shops got a batch | Invoices | One recall report |
Lots, batches, recipes and true cost are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.