A former staple of FOOD ENGINEERING is getting updated as an eNewsletter.

Plant of the Year entrants are automatically entered into the Sustainable Plant of the Year competition. All entries are due by December 29, 2023.

It only takes a few seconds after stepping into Vital Farms’ Egg Central Station (ECS) to realize that the company truly loves its egg-related puns. If there’s writing nearby, be it on a wall, memo or bulletin board, there’s a pun not far behind. They’re part of an ethos that starts from the top and flows down the company’s ranks to put a smile on someone’s face, even if just for a second. That idea of doing good extends beyond the facility walls to its other locations, the farmers who supply the eggs, the consumers who buy the product and, finally, to the planet itself. That visible commitment to the environment is why the addition at ECS was chosen as FOOD ENGINEERING’s 2023 Sustainable Plant of the Year.

Two expansion projects have earned this year’s honors, with the awards to be presented at the Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo in October.

Renovating a facility to increase its capacity, energy use and water consumption doesn’t sound like it would earn Food Engineering’s 2022 Sustainable Project of the Year, but that’s exactly what Kerry’s coatings and seasonings facility in Rome, Georgia, has done.

Global food manufacturer Kerry is the winner of our 2022 Sustainable Plant of the Year award for its $125 million breadcrumbs and coatings plant expansion in Rome, Georgia. 

Cuisine Solutions and Stellar earn Sustainable Plant of the Year for sous vide facility in San Antonio.

Keurig Dr Pepper’s 1.5-million-sq.-ft. production facility and distribution center in Allentown, Pa., has been named the 2021 Food Engineering Plant of the Year. Cuisine Solutions was named winner of the 2021 Sustainable Plant of the Year for its plant in San Antonio.

Submissions for the 2021 Food Engineering Plant of the Year award are now open.