Articles
Pinguin sorts out its efficiency with Manta 2000 series
Investing in three Manta 2000 series sorters for processing spinach and green beans has helped Belgian company Pinguin reduce its yield loss to less than 2%, enabling the company to more efficiently handle the 6- to 8-week Belgian spinach harvest. [ + ]
With a pinch of salt: reducing salt in processed foods
The unholy trinity of bad-for-you food ingredients has traditionally consisted of MSG, trans fats and sugar. Recently, however, a fourth nutrition sin has been added to the mix: salt. As World Salt Awareness Week draws to a close, we look at some of the issues behind the movement and what industry players have been doing to reduce salt in processed food products. [ + ]
Fairytale ending for compostable packaging film
Innovia Films’ compostable cellulose-based material, NatureFlex, has been selected by Miss Muffet & Co, to wrap its range of fairytale- and nursery rhyme-inspired premium confectionery. [ + ]
Gutter oil: out of the sewer and into the frying pan
Restaurant patrons in China face stomach-turning odds of a 1 in 10 chance that their dinner has been cooked in ‘gutter oil’ - used cooking oil that’s dredged from gutters and sewers, reprocessed and sold back to restaurants to be used as cooking oil again. It’s ‘purified’ with chemicals, bleached to change its colour and contains carcinogens PAH and aflatoxin. [ + ]
Krones line is a sparkling success for Bodega Jaume Serra
Major cava producer Bodega Jaume Serra has installed a Krones line that maximises output. [ + ]
Communicating food safety crises
Companies faced with food tampering need to make sure they remain sensitive to their customers’ cultural views before trying to assign blame when responding, according to a new study. [ + ]
Processing and bottling Pulpy orange juice
In 2010, Coca-Cola’s chunky fruit juice Pulpy was on sale in 14 different nations; by 2011 it was already being produced and sold on 25 national markets. Beverages featuring fruit chunks are regarded as the paramount drivers for future global growth in the fruit juice segment. [ + ]
Prozess: generating “bankable process improvements” for manufacturers
A joint initiative of a German engineering firm and Australia’s largest industrial automation and control systems integration company is generating returns on investment for manufacturers in months, rather than years. [ + ]
Australia and New Zealand on display
Anuga FoodTec is the premier international food processing equipment and technology exhibition. At this year's event, four Australian/New Zealand companies, Heat and Control, Gold Peg International, Cavitus and GEA Avapak, will show the international food processing community their wares. [ + ]
Reaping the rewards - the 45th annual AIFST convention
The Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology Incorporated is hosting the 45th Annual Convention in Adelaide in July. The theme of the Convention is ‘Reaping the rewards’. [ + ]
The 19 best new products and technologies for food processors
The International FoodTec Awards celebrate the best new products, technologies, services, equipment and ideas that will improve the quality, safety and efficiency of the food industry. In 2012, nine companies have been awarded Gold and 10 Silver. [ + ]
Megatrends in the beverage industry
Naturalness, functional value, enjoyment and convenience are still the prime drivers regulating consumer beverage purchase behaviour. But in the beverage processing plants operators are also focusing on minimising their environmental footprints and maximising their efficiency. [ + ]
Test tube hamburgers
Instead of paddock to plate, your hamburger could soon be making a journey from the test tube. Two scientists outlined their research into meat substitutes grown in the lab at the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) annual meeting on 19 February, revealing new possibilities for more sustainable meat production to feed the world’s growing population. [ + ]
Label applicator system keeps the brew flowing at CUB Yatala
A strategic alliance partner of GS1 Australia, insignia has helped CUB ensure logistics labelling is accurate at CUB’s Yatala brewery in Queensland. [ + ]
Processing and filling technology for liquid-food beverages
BIG (Bottling Investment Group), the production firm of The Coca-Cola Company, has gained a foothold in Malaysia with a greenfield facility serving as a showcase for bottlers in the entire region. The plant was designed to meet the needs of Coca-Cola’s move into the liquid-food beverage market. The plant has a number of sustainability features and innovations including the twin-flow filler in monobloc design from Krones, with separate pre-dosing of pulp and subsequent filling of juice on a PET hotfill line. [ + ]