A Continuing Story

Hello! I’m Michael Costa, the new editor-in-chief at FOOD ENGINEERING. I’m thrilled to take over the reins of this storied brand (now in our 95th year) and hopefully meet you at upcoming tradeshows, events, plant tours and more, so I can get a first-hand look at how you and your company contribute to this thriving, multi-faceted and ever-evolving industry.

My background is in food and beverage, but down the supply chain in foodservice, where I worked in a commercial kitchen, and was the editor of a B2B magazine aimed at those working in the volume foodservice industry. For the past two years, I was the editor-in-chief of FOOD ENGINEERING ’s sister publication, Refrigerated & Frozen Foods—which, if you’re a subscriber to FOOD ENGINEERING , you also receive R&FF.

At R&FF, the focus is on cold foods production and the supply chain that stores and delivers those temperature-controlled goods to their destinations. FOOD ENGINEERING is another step deeper into the processing and manufacturing of all foods, not just cold ones, and in this issue, we’ll take a closer look at one of the fastest-growing segments in the food industry: pet food.

Our cover story goes inside the new Petsource by Scoular plant in Nebraska, where state-of-the-art processing equipment—including freeze-dry chambers for ingredients—help the company meet specific formula demands from customers.

Speaking of pet food ingredients, we also check in with industry experts about how the use of upcycled and “ugly” (i.e., aesthetically blemished) produce and animal organs can help fight food waste by incorporating those items into pet food formulas.

As usual, there’s a lot more in this issue of FOOD ENGINEERING beyond pet food processing to help your operations stay ahead in these challenging times. If there’s a specific topic you’d like us to explore further for a future issue or podcast, feel free to reach out to me at costam@bnpmedia.com.

KEYWORDS: food and beverage industry pet food processing

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Michael Costa is the Former Editor-in-Chief of Food Engineering, and the former Editor-in-Chief of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods. Previously, he was Editorial Director of Hotel F&B magazine for 12 years, covering the business of food and beverage in lodging, including restaurants, bars, catering and more, for readers working in hotels, casinos and cruise ships. During his time at Hotel F&B, he guided the publication to six FOLIO: magazine Eddie awards. Before joining Hotel F&B in 2007, Michael attended culinary school at the Illinois Institute of Art while working in the kitchen and in F&B purchasing at the 1,218-room Sheraton Grand Chicago. Prior to that, he worked for six years in TV news as a reporter at network affiliates around the country. Michael is a journalism graduate of Columbia College in Chicago.