The winners of the 2015 APPMA Industry Excellence Awards were announced to a crowd of 380 at the Crown Towers on 25 March. The biennial awards are designed to recognise innovative and outstanding packaging and processing solutions. [ + ]

The Australian Packaging and Processing Machinery Association (APPMA) has announced the finalists for the 2015 Best New Product Award.

Meat contains some important nutrients, but it's not essential for a healthy diet. Many people, especially men in Western countries are, on average, eating too much of it. Despite vested interests that wish to maintain this status quo, which prevails in most Western countries, there are very good reasons to curb your meat consumption. [ + ]

In a bid to reduce the amount of wastewater produced in food processing, Fraunhofer UMSICHT has launched the BioSuck project that uses vacuum technology to suction off non-edible waste. The captured waste can be recycled or converted into energy.

4000 kg of counterfeit strawberries and 275,000 litres of drinks were only part of the haul of fake and sub-standard food seized in a recent INTERPOL and Europol operation.

4000 kg of counterfeit strawberries and 275,000 litres of drinks were only part of the haul of fake and sub-standard food seized in a recent INTERPOL and Europol operation. [ + ]

Halal food certification in Australia has become a contentious issue. [ + ]

Can an industrial robot succeed at removing the breast fillet from a chicken and, at the same time, get more out of the raw materials? The answer now is yes! [ + ]

There are no manned forklift trucks driving about loading truck trailers with boxes of chips at PepsiCo's Broek op Langedijk site in the Netherlands. Instead, the recently installed Joloda loading system saves 30 minutes/load as it pushes 42 pallets of chips into an extra-long truck in one fully automated operation. [ + ]

Can an industrial robot succeed at removing the breast fillet from a chicken and, at the same time, get more out of the raw materials? The answer now is yes!

There are no manned forklift trucks driving about loading truck trailers with boxes of chips at PepsiCo's Broek op Langedijk site in the Netherlands. Instead, the recently installed Joloda loading system saves 30 minutes/load as it pushes 42 pallets of chips into an extra-long truck in one fully automated operation. The Flat Floor Trailerskate Dock flexible loading system, the result of close collaboration between the loading specialist Joloda, the food group PepsiCo, the logistics provider Kühne + Nagel and the truck manufacturer Heiwo, features sensor intelligence from SICK as standard.

Developed in collaboration with industry, GS1 Australia's SmartMedia is a multisector solution for managing and sharing up-to-date and authenticated images, multimedia files and other product-related digital assets and data with trading partners. It allows trading partners to access all digital assets in one location, saving time and money, and improving accuracy.

As part of AUSPACK's 30th anniversary celebrations, the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) and the APPMA have organised a whole week of events: Packaging and Processing Week 2015.

Developed in collaboration with industry, GS1 Australia's SmartMedia is a multisector solution for managing and sharing up-to-date and authenticated images, multimedia files and other product-related digital assets and data with trading partners. It allows trading partners to access all digital assets in one location, saving time and money, and improving accuracy. [ + ]

A new generation of lightweight robots could help Australian food manufacturers take advantage of the falling dollar. [ + ]