The October 2014 issue of Food Engineering explores companies that have successfully grappled with "the new business reality" and are coming to terms with it being here to stay. Also, read about the work going on behind the scenes to keep FSMA on track.
According to multiple financial studies, China is on track to become the world’s largest economy, taking over the US’s number one slot for consumer spending.
If you’re in the seafood or juice industry, each of which fall under HACCP rules, FSMA’s HARPC (Hazard Analysis and Risk-based Preventive Controls) doesn’t apply to your business—and probably won’t in the future.
When Martin’s Family Fruit Farm decided to turn the fruit of its labor into a snack, Kevin Martin drove from Ontario to North Carolina with boxes of apples in the back of his truck.
Is there a way processors can ensure food safety management systems will meet the final FSMA regulations? There is no guarantee, but some programs will increase your odds.
Making consumers’ lives better. That is what UK-based Essentra Packaging set out to do when it developed Re:Close tape, a sealer aimed at maintaining product freshness.
Using cryogenics to cool flour in the mixing process allows this bakery to cut waste and boost quality.
October 7, 2014
Founded as a neighborhood bakery in 1943, Coles Quality Foods, Inc. of Grand Rapids, MI became synonymous with frozen garlic bread when it established the category in the 1970s.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and Chinese National Food Industry Association (CNFIA) signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a partnership that promises to bolster and intensify food safety efforts in the US and China.
The US Department of Commerce has issued a preliminary ruling, based on its preliminary findings that the Mexican government’s support of its sugar industry gives Mexican sugar imports an unfair advantage over US producers.
This year’s event will feature more than 1,800 exhibiting companies.
October 7, 2014
Come the first week of November 2014, more than 45,000 industry professionals will descend on McCormick Place in Chicago to take part in PACK EXPO International, an annual event showcasing the latest innovations and trends in the processing and packaging industries.
This craft brewer chose efficient state-of-the-art boilers that produce steam and hot water on demand, saving energy.
October 7, 2014
Two Roads Brewing Company of Stratford, CT makes an array of year-round and seasonal beers, including Road 2 Ruin, Workers Comp Saison, Igor’s Dream and No Limits Hefeweizen.
In a study released earlier this year by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), concerns were raised about a loophole in the Food Additives Amendment of 1958 for substances designated by food manufacturers as generally recognized as safe.
Competitive factors make the beverage category fascinating to watch, especially as iconic brands go head to head with smaller brands competing for a piece of the consumer’s dollar.
MIT-Lincoln Laboratory research into rapid screening for anthrax and other dangerous pathogens has found its way into the food industry to detect both airborne and surface pathogens.
The Schenck Process E-finity continuous, dense phase conveying system for fragile materials provides pressure monitoring and airflow corrections, allowing the system to operate under all conditions.
The Hapman Loss-in-Weight (LIW) Helix flexible screw conveyor batches material within +/- 1 lb. or less of set point, and features a fully automated dosing system equipped with programmable logic and system integration tie-in functionality.
FilterSense Model DP 20T and SP 20T pressure transmitters have a non-clogging design for mounting on the dirty side of a fabric filter bag house or cartridge-style dust collector.
Camfil APC Farr Gold Series cartridge dust and fume collectors have a filter access door that features a 50:1 compression leverage ratio and a 6.5 psi standard strength seal.
Eriez Model HD “High Deflection” vibratory feeders offer high deflection and low frequency for the handling of fine powders, leafy products and sticky candies.
Able to perform in demanding operating conditions up to 131°F, Atlas Copco GA 90+-160+ oil-injected rotary screw compressors include an IE3 motor, no-loss water separator drain and energy recovery module.
Engineered to run multiple package sizes and pack patterns, the A-B-C Model 206 case packer packs a variety of styles of cartons, cans and semi-rigid containers, as well as single- or multipacks, into RSC, HSC, HSC display cases or trays.
Kirk Key medium- and heavy-duty trapped key interlock systems ensure a predetermined safety sequence is followed each time hazardous equipment is accessed or operated.
The Inpro/Seal Smart CDR condition monitoring system provides instant feedback on how well the current diverter ring is doing in diverting shaft currents away from the bearings to ground.
Built to aid in transporting 5-gal. pails, the Lift’n Buddy Pail Partner lifter/transporter has a yoke that securely holds a plastic or metal pail just below its rigid collar.
Engineered for material lift in automation duty applications, the Wildeck fully integrated VRC system incorporates automated flush-mounted conveyors with a straddle or 4-post vertical reciprocating conveyor.
Available in 4-, 7- and 9-in. sizes, Rexroth IndraControl VR HMIs use a modern 16:9 format; the 7- and 9-in. versions have a capacitive screen, multi-touch option.
Designed for moderate-speed vertical shrink packaging, the Texwrap 914BVS continuous motion system wraps bottles, cans and jars directly from a filler while they stand upright.
Südpack Multipeel multilayer packaging films can be opened without a knife or scissors; they can be reclosed multiple times without product quality loss.
Able to support tray, pad or unsupported pack styles, the Standard-Knapp 298 Tritium tray shrink packer has a wrapping module that can be fully customized to follow the height and length of the final pack pattern; the module runs up to 120 trays/min. and offers multi-axis control.
PSI Polyflex transverse direction-orientated, heat-stable oriented polystyrene shrink label film shrinks less than 0.4% at 95°F for 24 hrs; it has a 3% machine direction growth.
Birko CL33 and FoamChlor 535 self-foaming, chlorinated alkaline produce cleaners are formulated for fresh-cut and produce packing facilities with light to moderate soil loading.
Designed for entry-level variable print applications, Norwood 53XLc and 25 XLi thermal transfer printers offer variable print performance on vertical and horizontal form/fill/seal packaging lines.
The primary component of an integrated, closed-loop intelligent cooling system, the Frigel Ecodry 3DK closed-loop liquid cooler provides clean water to industrial processes and eliminates chemical discharges and waterborne diseases such as Legionella.
Designed to continuously measure the moisture content of gases in hazardous area applications, the Kahn Easidew PRO XP explosion-/flame-proof moisture transmitter has a dewpoint measurement range of -166°F to 68°F, accurate to +/-1.8°F dewpoint.
The Eagle Pack 550 PRO X-ray inspection system is designed for mid- to large-sized bulk packaged food items such as cereals, rice, flour, sugar, potatoes, fruit and vegetables.
Capable of handling any size chicken, the Foodmate OPTI-LTD dark meat deboning system debones up to 100 skinless or skin-on whole legs, thighs and drumsticks per min.; it removes meat with low bone content left and leaves the pin bone on the leg.
Utilizing dynamically adjustable pallets, the Lista STAK System storage and handling system includes a captive lifting and handling device for the management of heavy loads.
Toray Plastics Torayfan CBS2 clear, high-oxygen- and moisture-barrier BOPP film is used as the inside sealant web for the packaging of bakery items, crisp salty snacks, cookies, crackers, granola, fruit and nut mixes, and confections.
Used with post-harvest fruits and vegetables, the BioSafe Sonic fresh produce treatment system works in conjunction with BioSafe activated peroxygen treatments.
SATO America CL4NX thermal barcode printers support new and legacy printing applications across an array of verticals including warehousing, supply chain logistics and manufacturing.
With a lifting capacity of up to 1,600kg and absorption of torque up to 4,000 Nm, the Konecranes ATL vertical lifter includes an XA crane system and telescopic lifting device combined with a customized gripping unit.
Automating the positioning, transfer and loading of sliced portions at high speeds, Multitec autoloading systems make the final correction to each row alignment just prior to packaging; adjacent portion lanes or subsequent rows can be overlapped to create variety packs, sandwich setups and other portion presentations.
A packaging format for the single-serve snack food market, the Ampac E-Z SnackPak flexible, tetrahedron-shaped pouch transforms into a serving tray upon opening.
Featuring a 304L stainless steel modular frame, the Rollstock RC-300 rotary chamber machine accepts a variety of chamber configurations (widths and lengths) and sealing profiles (single-, double- or custom-seal impressions).
The Oven Industries open-board temperature controller is designed with a proportional integral control algorithm to provide control to thermoelectric modules.
The Benko Protect-O-Gate Clear-Height mezzanine safety gate provides dual-gate fall protection for pallet-drop areas; it does not limit the height of the load being passed and allows the use of overhead cranes or lifts.
Developed for high-speed food production environments, Domino Printing Sciences BK652 fast-drying ink dries in less than half a second and is resistant to fade.
Suitable for processing oily and fatty foods, Trelleborg Alikler G2 nitrile rubber hose maintains pressure and flexibility over its -22°F to 212°F operating temperature range and is resistant to steam cleaning up to 266°F for approximately 30 min.
The Emerson System Plast multidirectional, roller-top conveyor belt aligns packages to any angle, diverts them, sorts to multiple lanes and rotates, combines and/or gaps them without any contact.
Engineered for networks that require higher data rates, Molex Plateau HS Dock+ connector system includes high-speed docking connectors enclosed in a gold-plated plastic housing; the fully shielded connectors achieve up to 25Gbps data rates and allow 4 levels of mating with a compliant pin for the printed circuit board interface.
Providing 90+ lumens/watt of illumination, the Shat-R-Shield LED high bay fixture replaces 400W HID lamps or 6-lamp T5 fixtures in locations such as warehouses, manufacturing facilities or storage areas.
Based on a technology that performs time-of-flight measurement using pulses from infrared LEDs, the Leddar M16 multi-element sensing module can be integrated into any detection and ranging system.
The Allpax protection system features compression-molded, temperature- and moisture-resistant polymer tray liners that are placed on aluminum or stainless steel retort tray bottoms or used as slip sheets between trays; a grommet system snaps liner sections onto the tray.
Configured for UV germicidal irradiation measurement applications in the food and bottled beverage industry, the ILT1000 light meter, monitor and data logger comes complete with NIST-traceable, ISO 17025-accredited calibrations.
Positioned at the end of a production line, the ALPMA MultiSAN fold wrapping unit packages portioned cheeses of all shapes, sizes and consistencies; the packaging material can be defined individually for each type of cheese.
A pressure calibration system, the Ashcroft 1305D series portable deadweight tester includes a low- and high-range piston assembly, weight set, hydraulic (oil) test pump, metal carrying cases, tools and other accessories.
Used in high-purity hot/cold food and beverage applications, AdvantaPure APFOS stainless steel overbraided PTFE hose has an inert core that meets FDA 21 CFR 177.1550 and ISO 10993 Sections 5, 6, 10 and 11; it offers low permeability, nonflammability and a low coefficient of friction.
Interroll 113i, 138i, 165i and 217i asynchronous drum motors comply with the USDA guidelines for the sanitary design and fabrication of dairy processing equipment.
Parker Hannifin zero-nitrogen generators transform standard compressed air into a regulated supply of 99.9995% pure nitrogen with <0.1 ppm hydrocarbons.
Legrand, Pass & Seymour rubber and watertight plugs and connectors are designed for highly corrosive and wet industrial locations, such as food and beverage processing, water and wastewater, warehousing and refrigeration facilities.
Ensuring the compatibility between devices and vendors, the Watlow EZ-ZONE RM multi-loop temperature controller with EtherCAT provides a single unified Bus; seamless communications; predefined device parameter profiles; and fault detection.
Encased in a stainless steel, IP65-certified housing, the Perten DA 7250 SD NIR food analyzer analyzes all types of foods and ingredients at-line in 6 seconds, often without sample preparation.
The SPECTRAL EVOLUTION LF-Series NIR spectrometer includes a fixed fiber optic SMA-905 connection and a single TE-cooled InGaAs photodiode array optical system.
Detectamet Steri-99.9 blue disinfectant wipes are effective against a range of bacteria and viruses including C. diff, MRSA, E. coli, Salmonella, Legionella and Listeria.
The Moore Industries THZ WirelessHART temperature solution transmits critical temperature and HART diagnostic information to a WirelessHART gateway when power is not readily available; it prevents the loss of readings by monitoring the battery voltage and setting a HART alarm bit when it nears critical levels.
The Gerhard Schubert TLM vision system features a 3-D scanner that is positioned over a packaging line conveyor belt to determine the 3-dimensional data of products.
Meeting UL98, CSA and NEMA KS-1 standards for demanding service-entrance and motor-load applications, ABB 600V and 200kA-rated safety switches offer touch-safe, visible blades and fully enclosed operating mechanisms.
Designed with linear array technology, the Banner LE550 non-contact laser sensor features an intuitive 2-line, 8-character display and a visible Class II laser beam.
The METTLER TOLEDO CI-Vision Mosaic vision inspection system employs 6 cameras to inspect labels on round containers without prior orientation on the production line; the system automatically verifies each label is complete, correctly applied and matches the product inside the package.
Manufactured for nut and dried fruit processors, the Key Cayman BioPrint chute-fed digital sorter combines broad-spectrum hyperspectral imaging hardware with intelligent software and algorithms to recognize the unique biological characteristics of objects; the chute feeds product in a monolayer with a consistent trajectory to the hyperspectral camera and ejection valves.
Engineered for new users of automation technology, the Microscan AutoVISION 3.0 machine vision suite includes a simplified intuitive software interface.
The TOMRA Nimbus free-fall sorter detects the biometric characteristics of objects it scans and compares them to features in its stored database to determine whether they should be accepted or rejected.
Cognex DS1000 series 3-D laser displacement sensors come bundled with the Cognex VC5 vision controller, which controls up to 4 3-D sensors and factory floor communications.
The Frick ECOSS stainless steel evaporative condenser eliminates the white rust and corrosion that can result from changes in water treatment chemistry.
Made of PE material, Allplastik Blitzbinder releasable, multi-purpose cable ties feature a filler that allows small fragments to be traced with metal detectors.
Engineered for processes that cannot accommodate a conventional jacket, Ross Model VSL-50 portable 50-gal. agitated vessels include a silicone heating blanket.