Food and Beverage Manufacturing Top Stories

RSS

There are so many aspects to consider during the site selection process that it is important for companies to keep their employees and visitors in mind.

According to a June 1 statement from the USDA, the White House was aware of a ransomware attack against JBS, which has affected the company’s operations, including its facilities in the United States. The USDA is continuing to work closely with the White House, Department of Homeland Security, JBS USA and others to monitor this situation closely and offer help and assistance to mitigate any potential supply or price issues.

This month, we cover dry processing equipment including conveying systems and material handling solutions.

KLN Family Brands wasn’t looking for just another plant when it partnered with CRB for a new facility.

Construction of new food and beverage plants continues to see a strong upward trend despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Graphic Packaging International, a fiber-based packaging provider, launches ProducePack™ Punnet, a paperboard alternative to plastic punnet trays for fresh fruit and vegetables. Trays are fully recyclable and reduces plastic by up to 100% depending on application.

Purina and nonprofit RedRover expand Purple Leash Project efforts to help ensure 25% of domestic violence shelters are pet-friendly by 2025. May is National Pet Month and Purina is offering specially marked packaging for several of its products in support of the Purple Leash Project.

Increasing production speed while keeping rejects low and quality consistent—and maintaining food safety—is the goal of every food and beverage processor. Today, many food processors look toward automation to provide the solutions needed to attain the necessary throughput to be competitive.

T. Marzetti is expanding its Horse Cave, Kentucky, processing facility by an extra 184,500 square feet after a recent groundbreaking ceremony. The facility manufactures salad dressings, sauces and other foods for retail and foodservice markets. The expansion will provide additional manufacturing space and include new equipment to increase dressing and sauce production, new processing kitchens, and several packaging lines to meet growing customer demand. The expansion is expected to be complete in the summer of 2022 and will create over 200 jobs for the region.

We in the trade press have been extolling the virtues of automation for a long time, and you’re probably sick of hearing us ramble on about it. Nevertheless, if there were any other reason to take a hard look at implementing automation—at least partially—in your facility, it would be now. COVID-19 has certainly created some practical problems: Short-staff due to people at home sick with coronavirus, social distancing impossible on cutting/protein lines, changeover time killing production output…and the list goes on.