A 700-Gallon Quarter-Pounder? You’d Better Believe That Water Conservation is More Important Than Ever

Here’s a question most consumers don’t ponder when diving into their favorite greasy cheeseburger: How much water did it take to make this?

But Food & Beverage manufacturers know how crucial the answer is.

The importance of reducing water consumption grows daily as manufacturers strive to reduce waste and economize while still delivering a high-quality product.

The answer, according to the Sierra Club, is that the average cheeseburger requires 698.5 gallons to produce: 22 gallons for the bun, 4.5 gallons to grow the lettuce and tomato, 56 gallons to make one slice of cheese and 616 gallons, from start to finish, to make the patty.

How about that gallon of milk in the refrigerator? Would you believe 880 gallons of water?

With water running about $1.50 per 1,000 gallons, the financial motivation for conservation is acute, and that’s to say nothing of the burgeoning environmental necessity.

Haskell’s team of designers, engineers, integrators and constructors can address the optimal use of water from numerous points of view.

Inside the production facility, Clean-in-Place (CIP) systems account for the greatest water use, and Bob Price, Design Director of CPG Process Engineering at Seiberling, a Haskell Company, offers four suggestions for reducing consumption.