Tablet PCs, PDAs and even Kindles are replacing clipboards for manufacturers migrating to automated data collection systems for quality control, including HACCP checkpoints.

With chemical fumigants facing an uncertain future, a small group of scientists are investigating fresh approaches to insect management in stored grains.

Systems development can create strange bedfellows. Take, for example, the alliance between an Alabama road construction firm and food scientists addressing animal welfare issues.

Food-grade lubricants have come of age in performance, but the more compelling reason to make the switch from conventional lubricants is to meet regulatory demands. 

Genetically engineered grains are mainstream, but gene splicing in livestock remains experimental. A Boston area biotechnology firm hopes to change that and end its 18-year quest for commercial approval.

The Cornucopia Institute, a national organic industry watchdog group, has urged the members of USDA’s National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) to vote to preserve the integrity of organic food and farming at its meeting in Savannah, GA. The USDA meeting was planned for the end of November.

The USDA has granted A&B Ingredients approval for its CytoGuard antimicrobial as a Salmonella intervention agent in poultry products. Based on Lauric Arginate, a derivate of Lauric Acid, L-Arginine and Ethanol—all naturally occurring substances—CytoGuard LA is specifically designed for use in ready-to-eat (RTE) processed meat and poultry products.

Much more can be done if there is adequate funding

Deliberate acts of sabotage can be more difficult to detect and prevent than bacterial threats to food. Food manufacturers now are bolstering their defenses against security threats.

Generating data that can’t be used for improvements is useless.