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Plant of the Year

One week left to submit for the 2020 Food Engineering Plant of the Year award

Submissions due by Dec. 13

Casey Laughman

September 9, 2019

Submissions are now open for the 2020 Food Engineering Plant of the Year.

Gracyor perishables Cold Storage Facility

Graycor Construction to build high-capacity perishables distribution center for big-box retailer

Graycor broke ground on the Shafter, Calif., distribution center in October 2018.

September 6, 2019

Graycor Construction Co., Oak Brook Terrace, Ill., topped out on the construction of a 628,713-square-foot high-capacity perishable distribution center for a big-box retailer.

Automation

PLCs, PACs and IPCs: Skip the IIoT acronym and get on with business

PLCs, IPCs and PACs have always been networked, so what role does IIoT really play in the overall manufacturing environment?

Wayne Labs

September 5, 2019

In a Tech Update feature headlined “PLCs/PACs: Keys to the IIoT kingdom,” we looked at programmable controllers (PLCs), programmable automation controllers (PACs) and to some extent industrial PCs (IPCs), the latter of which can certainly be applied to most any level of control—e.g., discrete, PID, batch, etc. We considered new functionality in today’s controllers, internal operating systems, I/O capabilities, security and networking—both at the fieldbus/controls level (OT) and IT-side connections.

Food Safety

Herbal teas recalled for possible salmonella from fennel seed

Mountain Mel’s sold the tea on Amazon

Rose Shilling

August 30, 2019

Mountain Mel’s Essential Goods recalled three types of herbal tea for possible salmonella contamination. The products used fennel seed recalled by Mountain Rose Herbs in Oregon.

Industry News

Hershey to acquire ONE Brands

The acquisition extends the company's position as a snacking leader with the line of low-sugar, high-protein bars

Wayne Labs

August 29, 2019

The Hershey Company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ONE Brands, LLC, the maker of low-sugar, high-protein nutrition bars. The acquisition is expected to enable Hershey to provide a competitive offering in the nutrition bar category.

Food Safety

Nature’s One recalls soy drink mix after learning milk product added to flavoring

Label didn’t list milk; recall required even though testing didn’t detect the allergen

Rose Shilling

August 28, 2019

Nature’s One recalled PediaSmart Soy Vanilla Beverage Mix after learning in a routine vendor document review that milk or a milk derivative was added to the natural flavor, the company announced.

Cargill to open Innovation Lab at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The innovation lab provides Cargill with a pipeline of software engineering and data science students and graduates ready to modernize agricultural supply chains and food systems across the globe.

August 26, 2019

Cargill, Minneapolis, announced plans to open a new Cargill Innovation Lab at University of Illinois’ Research Park, Urbana-Champaign, Ill.

Texas Tech receives USDA grant to study effects of aging on beef

Researchers will use the rapid evaporative ionization mass spectrometry (REIMS) technology to identify compositional differences in beef. The goal is to predict beef sensory performance to determine the exact peak of beef aging.

August 23, 2019

Texas Tech University College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources (CASNR), Lubbock, Texas, received a $294,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service to study the effects of aging on beef.

Production optimization

Optimize scheduling systems based on real-world inputs

You plan your next production run for a holiday favorite, and then a huge, need-it-yesterday order comes in. Is there any solution to this problem?

Wayne Labs

August 21, 2019

You may have a scheduling module within your ERP system, and it’s good at what it does. But it’s not clairvoyant.

Smithfield Foods offers plant-based protein under Pure Farmland brand

Meat-alternative products to hit shelves in September

Sharon Spielman

August 21, 2019

Smithfield Foods, Inc. announces the launch of a plant-based protein portfolio under the company’s Pure Farmland brand.

On Demand Kelley Rodriguez, Editor in Chief of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, will be joined in this 60-minute webinar by industry experts to help unpack the latest research.

On Demand Driven by climate goals, business risk, client interest, and resilience considerations, food and beverage companies are increasingly turning their attention to decarbonizing their production processes.