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Unique Bottle Keeps Beer Cold in Hand

Coors Light's Stay Cold Glassware and Cold Wrap Bottles are now being rolled out across the country in bars and restaurants. The new glassware, says Coors, keeps beer colder, longer. The dual-paned glass helps insulate beer from the heat of the drinker's hand. Beer poured at 35 degrees F into a regular pint glass at room temperature will warm to more than 45 degrees F after the drinker holds the glass for 20 minutes. Beer poured into a Coors Light Stay Cold Glassware will rise to 38 degrees F after 20 minutes. Each hand-blown glass is actually two glasses in one, but with a layer of air between them, drastically reducing heat transfer from the sides and bottom of the glass.

Coors Light's second innovation, the Cold Wrap Bottle, has a 360-degree label with Outlast(R) technology to keep beer colder longer by helping to keep the heat of a drinker's hand away from the beer. Outlast(R) Thermocules(TM), the same high-tech insulator developed for space travel, actually reflects the heat from the hand, making the beer inside the bottle last longer.

Food Safety Leaders Honored

NSF International (NSF) announced the winners of its Third Annual Food Safety Leadership Awards. Hormel Foodservice will receive a food safety award for being the first national manufacturer in the sliced meat category to commercialize high-pressure processing.

Maple Leaf Foods will be honored for research. Using DNA traceability, the Canadian processor is developing a system that can be used to accurately and rapidly trace pork products from a consumer's plate back to the farm of origin.

NSF will also honor Sodexho, Inc. for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) program improvements such as electronic food safety communication, expanded food safety training, food safety zone support, expanded verification process, brand protection index measurement, custom electronic recordkeeping, product quality assurance and food security.

Animal ID timelines in place

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns released timelines and benchmarks for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), along with a plan for the initial integration of private and state animal tracking databases with NAIS.

The plan sets an aggressive timeline for ensuring full implementation of NAIS by 2009. Several important components have already been accomplished, including the development of premises registration systems in each state and the issuance of guidelines for the manufacture and distribution of animal identification numbers. More than 235,000 premises are already registered.

By early 2007, USDA expects to have the Animal Trace Processing System (commonly known as the metadata system) in place. It will allow state and federal animal health officials to query the NAIS and private databases during a disease investigation. The animal tracking databases will record and store animal movement tracking information for livestock that state and federal animal health officials will query for animals of interest in a disease investigation.

Dreyer's Takes Home the Trophy

Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream's Bakersfield, CA, plant was honored asFood Engineering's (FE) 2006 Plant of the Year in a special awards presentation at the Food Automation & Manufacturing Conference last month.View full story.

Sometimes It's Best to Have a Layer Above ERP

Food Engineering's 8th Annual Guide to Manufacturing and Control Software offers a listing of vendors and case studies, focusing on ERP and enterprise asset management.View full story.

Will You Integrate Me?

Systems integrators are waiting for manufacturers to become automation partners.View full story.

Sonic Mixing and Other Oddities of the New Age

As understanding of mixing/blending expands, new systems offer benefits to processors.View full story.

Not Your Run of the Mill Rice

NutraCea hopes the value and efficacy of stabilized rice bran derivatives will create a larger market for rice milling.View full story.

People, Plant & Industry News

Steuben Foodsis investing $18.7 million for an expansion in Elma, NY. The plan includes the construction of a new organic milk processing plant built in cooperation withHorizon Organic.

ConAgra FoodshiredKing Pouwas senior vice president, business transformation. His prior experience includes over 25 years atKellogg.

H.J. Heinz Co.'s acquisition of theHP Foods Grouphas received final clearance from the UK Competition Commission with no modifications, enabling Heinz to integrate brands such as HP, Lea & Perrins and Amoy into its operations.

Main Street Ingredients, a manufacturer and supplier of functional ingredients to the dairy, nutritional and food processing industries, opened a new 40,000-sq.-ft. R&D center in La Crosse, WI.

Cargill Meat Solutionscompleted the acquisition ofBeef Packers Inc.,Fresno Meat Co.,RPM Beef Inc.andKing-O-Meat Inc.Following the acquisition, the companies will be combined under the name Beef Packers, Inc.Derek Kennedy, who had been lead controller withCargill Meat Solutionsin Wichita, KS, has been named transaction leader. He will run the business withDennis Roth, who had been president of Beef Packers, Inc. and will now be general manager of the company.

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