Jarred salsa goes in glass with a lid that seals, because it's filled hot and sold from a shelf. A 16-ounce mason jar is the everyday choice; a straight-sided jar with a lug lid looks more like a store brand; a shrink band over the lid shows a grocer's customers it hasn't been opened; and a full-color printed label replaces a plain one once the line is settled. Jarred salsa is an acidified food, so every jar also carries a code saying where, what and when it was packed. In the example below, a Tucson salsa maker prices four options: 95 cents to $1.11 a jar.
The short version
- Glass jars with sealing lids, filled hot.
- Mason jars are the everyday choice; straight-sided jars look like a store brand.
- Grocers want shrink bands.
- A printed label roll pays once the line is settled.
- Every jar carries the acidified food code: plant, product, date and period.
- Ingredients, net weight, name and address, allergens.
- TaroStack puts the jar, lid and label in each salsa's cost. More below.
The options
| Option | Tamper-evident | Looks | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 oz mason jar | No | Homemade | Markets |
| Straight-sided jar, lug lid | No | Store brand | Grocers |
| Mason jar with a shrink band | Yes | Homemade | Grocers |
| Mason jar, printed label | No | Branded | A settled line |
Jars are filled hot, capped and handled as the process authority's process calls for; the band goes on after the jars cool. Why the process matters is in process authority letter.
The label
A jar's label lists its ingredients in order by weight (21 CFR 101.4), the name and place of business (21 CFR 101.5) and the net quantity (21 CFR 101.105), and declares any major allergen (21 U.S.C. 343(w)). Every container of an acidified food also carries a permanent code for the plant, the product, and the year, day and period it was packed (21 CFR 114.80(b)), printed or stamped on the lid or label. How lot codes work is in lot number on food packaging. This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: four options for a salsa maker
Saguaro Salsa Co., the made-up salsa maker in Tucson, Arizona, I use in these examples, fills about 500 16-ounce jars a week for a market and grocers:
| Option | Parts | Per jar | 500 a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 oz mason jar | Jar and lid 90¢, label | $0.96 | $480.00 |
| Straight-sided jar, lug lid | Jar and lid $1.05, label | $1.11 | $555.75 |
| Mason jar with a shrink band | Jar and lid 90¢, band 3¢, label | $0.99 | $495.30 |
| Mason jar, printed label | Jar and lid 90¢, printed label 4¢ | $0.95 | $472.86 |
The market table gets plain mason jars; the grocers get the same jar with a shrink band, three cents more. The printed label costs less than a plain label once the 5,000 are bought, but that's ten weeks of every jar the business fills. The jar's price is in how to price salsa.
Get the calculator
Download the salsa packaging calculator. Two sheets: components, each part of each option with its pack price, units, how many a jar uses and waste; and compare, each option's cost per jar 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 is in which jar. When a grocer asks about one jar, the code on the lid has to lead back to the batch, its pH reading and its tomatoes.
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 salsa records the ingredient lots it used, gets its own lot and dates, and lot labels print for the packages.
Packaging in the recipe. The jars, lids, bands and labels are items in each salsa'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 |
| Jars, lids, bands and labels 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.