With more than 5000 employees and the takeover of the Steggles brand, Baiada Steggles is now Australia’s leading poultry company. The company has recently upgraded the evisceration rooms at its Mareeba plant in Far North Queensland and at its largest production plant in Beresfield on the outskirts of Newcastle in NSW.

In the US state of Pennsylvania, Snyder’s of Hanover has begun construction on a solar farm that will include 15,000 panels spanning 10.5 hectares. The system is projected to produce 4.2 million kW hours of electricity per year, supplying approximately 27% of the company’s energy needs.

The latest in beer technology was flowing - and free falling - at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) where researchers have been using their new zero gravity research facility to test the effect of zero gravity on the carbonation and palatability of beer.

Dry bulk handling is en route to becoming a precision science with a level of control previously undreamt of, thanks to 20 years of research and development into digital non-contact torque monitoring.

They’re required to look great, feel good, to be light and nonetheless stable, and also possess a high recognition value into the bargain. We’re talking about PET beverage bottles. A successful design for a beer, water or soft-drinks bottle is always preceded by a process of exciting complexity.

A newly developed sensor film can be integrated into meat, seafood and poultry packaging where it will change colour if the product has spoiled. Consumers will be instantly be able to distinguish between fresh goods and their inedible counterparts.

Intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) have always had one clear advantage over steel drums - volume. An IBC on a pallet holds 1000 L, whereas in the same space, four steel drums only hold a total of 820 L. Now Schutz’s new KEB blow moulder and clean room facility are increasing the advantages offered by plastic-based IBCs.

Any packaging consultant would love the gift of prophesying but, sans that, there are some clear trends that have emerged in the packaging industry which warrant serious attention if participants in this very important sector of the market are to keep up with change.

For microbiologically demanding packaged goods such as foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals or cosmetics, hygienic packaging is vital to ensure that the goods maintain their quality. These packaging materials can be disinfected using a variety of methods. Compared with chemical and thermal processes, UV irradiation is an environmentally friendly and economical method.

The EFSA has published an updated guidance for the risk assessment of food and feed derived from GM plants.

Taste is still the major driver in food purchasing decisions in the US, but price is not far behind. Another insight, which may be relevent to the current junk food advertising to children controversy in Australia, is that while two-thirds of food purchase decision makers were interested in healthfulness, they claimed the higher prices of healthier options limited their selection.

It doesn’t matter if you are a one-man band or part of a huge multinational conglomerate - every food processor and manufacturer needs equipment, ingredients and resources. If you want to find out what’s hot in equipment and supplies for the food industry, visit foodpro 2011.

The Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology will be holding its annual convention alongside foodpro. The convention theme is Tackling Tomorrow Today - what can we be doing today, that will help solve some of the problems we foresee for the future?

Five leading food bugs have been reported by the US to cost $12.7 billion in annual economic loss.

A metagenomics study has discovered that every human being’s intestinal system consists of one of three types of gut microbiota, which in turn affects the intake of medicines and nutrients into the body.