A pouch location device 18 for a beverage or food preparation machine (Fig 1), and in particular to a device for enabling a soft porch containing beverage or food ingredients to be accurately located in a bar code reader. The pouch location device comprises a slot (17, Fig 4a) for receiving at least an end 35 of a flexible pouch 31 the slot having a substantially transparent window 30 at the top, a spring biased platen 33 at the base, an entry aperture (17, Fig 4a) at one end and an end wall 34 at the opposing end. The platen defines the lower lip of the entry aperture and is angled to taper the slot towards the end wall. The platen may be a leaf spring or helically sprung cantilever which is located below a hinged plate. A position sensor may be used to determine whether a pouch is located correctly within the slot. An image sensor (37, Fig 3c) may also be used to read a machine readable code on the pouch. There may also be a lighting source in the vicinity of the window.
