OK,  readers, what’s going on out there? I am very surprised to report four food and beverage quality issues that occurred on consumer purchases I made in the past six weeks.

Every process needs connectivity-the right “circulation system” to provide optimum hygiene, flexibility, fast changeovers and ease of maintenance at the lowest possible cost.

Flexibility and lean manufacturing are driving the growth of robotics, but mechanical motion still rules high-volume packaging.

Burst tests, leak detection and other package-integrity testing remain largely lab-based, manual processes, even as the machines that produce those packages accelerate their output capabilities.

Healthier eating trends are sometimes cited for declining sales of carbonated soft drinks, but at least one juice maker believes the key to increased sales requires effervescence.

The battle over green cred is pitting PLA-based plastic against conventional PET resins mixed with additives that cause the plastic to decompose when landfilled.

Modified atmosphere packaging has been a game-changer for many foods and beverages, though until now the technology was the domain of industrial users.

Calling it the firm’s biggest beverage introduction in a decade, Kraft Foods executives talked about their new MiO concentrated flavoring in the same breath as their power brands at February’s Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) conference, weeks before the tiny bottles began appearing on store shelves.

China has a hybrid economy, and its food sector also borrows the best approaches to both packaging and production.

Slip sliding away applies to both glass bottles and workers in many bottling departments because of the need to keep conveyor belts lubricated and containers upright while they twist, turn and accumulate.