Woolworths South Africa has begun rolling out its Essentials range of supermarket items, the first phase of a complete packaging overhaul being undertaken across all lines within the retailer’s portfolio of house brands. The mammoth task is being overseen by the company’s recently appointed Creative Director, Vince Frost.

As a means of making the planned transition to the new era of self-service in the fruit and vegetable aisles attractive for both young and old, Carrefour and the technology manufacturer Bizerba are currently installing around 1400 scales with optical article recognition and an intuitively operable touch screen in 200 hypermarkets. The aims are clear: weighing and labelling procedures should be quicker, sales and customer satisfaction should be higher and staff should be able to be used more flexibly for a larger range of tasks.

GS Italia has used its experience in the manufacture of food processing and packaging equipment for fresh, pasteurised and deep freeze food products to automate the production of fresh lasagne.

A US survey indicates that consumers, especially baby boomers, are changing their food purchasing habits. Fats, cholesterol and added sugars are being rejected and the move towards higher organic consumption is continuing.

The rate of increase in wheat yields has plateaued and there will not be sufficient wheat to feed the world's future population.

Many would say this is an ‘oxymoron’ because how can you manage pests without pest control? In today’s manufacturing world, particularly in the food processing industry, the management of pests has become a high priority. Consumers will not tolerate poor products let alone food that has an elusive insect in it, so how does this affect pest management for food manufacturers?

Visy Automation has developed a new-generation box ‘lidder’ machine founded on innovative drive technology from SEW-Eurodrive, delivering a powerful combination of speed, accuracy and throughput.

Two and a half decades since its launch, the Maggi 2 Minute Noodles product still dominates the instant noodles market in India. The Nestle brand's runaway success can be regarded as quite a feat, especially in a country where most packaged products struggle to make their presence felt.

Recycled paper and board used in food packaging materials (boxes, paper bags) often causes migration of mineral oil into food at levels that are claimed to be unacceptable, according to present toxicological assessments.

Resveratrol, an organic compound found in red wine, is claimed to have the ability to neutralise the toxic effects of proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease, according to research led by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Professor Peter M Tessier.

Kentaur manufactures breakfast cereals, both for its own brand and for major retailers such as Migros and Coop, Switzerland’s first- and second-largest retailers. To plan and install a complete new packing system for a wide variety of popped wheat cereals and corn flakes, Kentaur chose Ishida’s representative in Switzerland, Itech of Rotkreuz.

Wireless temperature sensors and ethernet-enabled gateways have allowed one of the world’s leading food production companies to automate its cooking processes.

A chlorophyll-based marker in animal feed that fluoresces under UV light may be used to identify contamination of meat, chicken and eggs.

As well as having anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, resveratrol also appears to suppress inflammation in humans, based on results from the first prospective human trial of the extract.

Cassava roots are usually inedible and unmarketable by two to four days after harvesting, severely affecting their effectiveness as a major third-world food source. Now, several genetic mechanisms have been identified which improve the shelf life of cassava roots.