With meat production on the rise—in fact tripling over the last four decades, according to the Worldwatch Institute—HPP (high-pressure processing) has proven itself not only to kill dangerous microbes, but also to extend shelf life by a factor of two to four times. Trouble is, with these merits, HPP meats tend to lose their color, which is a turnoff to some consumers.

When we think of IIoT, we often consider the roles it plays in fine tuning processes to peak efficiency, minimizing downtime through predictive or prescribed maintenance, or acquiring data and processing it to improve food quality and safety. But, we don’t always think of another role IIoT can play, and that is using its capabilities to produce unique products in a very small quantity and package and ship them to individual customers.

There are several factors to consider for optimizing the efficiency of a packaging line for liquids.

Smithfield Foods, Inc. has begun the construction of new biogas gathering systems in Missouri and Utah, which brings the company closer to delivering renewable natural gas (RNG) from hog manure.

Production engineers have two competing priorities throughout the year. One is to support the maintenance engineering department, and the other is to integrate new products into the plant and packaging line. This kind of segmented planning can be very confusing and often puts production engineers in a bind. How can they organize these competing tasks to achieve a more effective workflow?

Unless your facility is a USDA shop, then it most likely falls under FSMA regulations, which for the vast majority of processors is the law of the land. If you haven’t yet been visited by FDA for an audit, it is past time to get ready for that inevitable moment. I asked Ib Elandaloussi (CAL), Food and Consumer Products Group with Burns and McDonnell to talk briefly about designing facility solutions to meet FSMA rules.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is requesting information on a possible update to the Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout (LOTO)) standard. The Agency is interested in comments on the use of control circuit-type devices to isolate energy, as well as the evolving technology for robotics.

In-home testing (iHUT) traces its origins to the consumer packaged goods industries and the formation of the first marketing research departments during the 1920s and 1930s. With the end of World War II in 1945, the practice of in-home usage testing spread rapidly.

You try to be sustainable and not generate food waste. But at times, you can’t avoid the problem of having packaged food go bad before it gets out of your plant or the warehouse—or maybe it’s recalled for a labeling error, and it’s now expired. What to do? I asked Ray Hatch, CEO of Quest Resource Holding, who’s had extensive experience in food service industries and waste management to talk about the options, which, unfortunately, are not many.

Supermarkets of the near future will have their business models radically re-shaped by innovations instore, online, and in the food industry supply chain. These technologies will be deployed in the battle for customers but, more than this, can also benefit the planet.