When a food or beverage processor begins breaking down costs, sometimes startling facts are revealed. Here’s a case in point: Widmer Brothers Brewery (Portland, Ore.), founded in 1984 and part of the Craft Brew Alliance (CBA), had been using a liquid ring vacuum pump to bottle its beers, but realized the technology was consuming roughly 5,000 gallons of water per day.

Effective Oct. 9, 2018, the FDA has amended its food additive regulations to no longer allow for the use of a total of seven synthetic flavoring substances and flavor enhancers (adjuvants)—six due to health concerns, and one additional flavor that is being delisted because it’s no longer used by industry.

Kraft Heinz has launched a new venture capital fund to invest in emerging tech companies that are transforming the food industry. Kraft Heinz has committed up to $100 million to the fund, named Evolv Ventures, and has hired investor Bill Pescatello to lead the fund.

Tippmann Innovation of Fort Wayne, Ind. recently completed a cold-chain assessment for Wawa Inc., one of the nation’s leading convenience store chains. Over the last 60 years, Wawa has developed a reputation for the highest quality products in the country.

After two years of its five-year initiative to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Crown Holdings has exceeded one of its two targeted 2020 sustainability goals. In 2016, the packaging company announced plans to reduce energy consumption by 5 percent per billion standard units of production from 2015 levels by the end of 2020.

Boulder Botanical & Bioscience Laboratory, a pioneering cannabinoid company, has appointed Vic Nastasia to executive vice president of sales.

From seed production to farming to food processing, agriculture technology (AgTech) is fast becoming an answer to growing global food shortages. The city of Atlanta has decided to get an early start on finding solutions to future food shortages.