Wayne Labs

Wayne Labs has more than 30 years of editorial experience in industrial automation. He served as senior technical editor for I&CS/Control Solutions magazine for 18 years where he covered software, control system hardware and sensors/transmitters. Labs ran his own consulting business and contributed feature articles to Electronic Design, Control, Control Design, Industrial Networking and Food Engineering magazines. Before joining Food Engineering, he served as a senior technical editor for Omega Engineering Inc. Labs also worked in wireless systems and served as a field engineer for GE’s Mobile Communications Division and as a systems engineer for Bucks County Emergency Services. In addition to writing technical feature articles, Wayne covers FE’s Engineering R&D section.

Senior Contributing Technical Editor

Field Reports

Loud sonic horn shatters boiler ash buildup at brewery

Not a high-fidelity horn, this air-operated device packs a 150 dB wallop of acoustic energy at an Alaskan brewery.

Wayne Labs

January 10, 2014

Alaskan Brewing Company is the first brewery opened in Juneau since Prohibition, and from its beginning in 1986, sought to make high-quality, craft-brewed beer that was cost efficient and environmentally responsible.

Field Reports

Steam boilers save time and money for ingredient processor

The equipment provides the exact pressure and temperature to run processing equipment while meeting NOx emission standards.

Wayne Labs

January 10, 2014

RFI Ingredients, a provider of custom extracts and nutritional supplements, touts its slogan “From Field to Formula.” RFI’s commitment to its slogan is seen in its sourcing of raw materials from its own sustainable farms and a global network of growers and other providers.

Food Safety

FSMA Update: Staying ahead of the curve

Comments are in for proposed Produce Safety Rule and Preventive Controls, but final rules have not been issued, leaving processors time to explore audit and certification alternatives.

Wayne Labs

January 10, 2014

FSMA is still a work in progress, and the final comment period could affect your operation.

Regulatory Watch

Light at the end of the tunnel for Farm Billl?

The House and Senate could agree on a version of the farm bill as early as January.

Wayne Labs

January 10, 2014

Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, says there is still a lot of work for lawyers to do, but it’s possible there could be a version of the Farm Bill the House and Senate could agree to sometime in January.

Regulatory Watch

Debate over trans fats continues

Several industry groups have requested more time to submit comments.

Wayne Labs

January 10, 2014

Food manufacturers want more time to comment on FDA’s early November preliminary determination that partially hydrogenated oils, the primary dietary source of artificial trans fat in processed foods, are not “generally recognized as safe” for use in food. FDA’s preliminary determination is based on available scientific evidence, and the agency has requested stakeholder comments by January 7, 2014.

Manufacturing News

Tomato waste project shows promise in replacing BPA coatings

A project to determine the suitability of tomato waste as a replacement for BPA can liners has been delayed.

Wayne Labs

January 10, 2014

The substitute material would be derived largely from tomato skin.

TECH FLASH

DHS software applied to poultry processing

What works for the Department of Homeland Security can be applied to control risks in the food industry.

Wayne Labs

December 16, 2013

FE asks an expert how Probabilistic Risk-Informed Analysis can be best applied to poultry processing applications.

Fabulous Food Plants

Automation keeps fruit fresh at Paramount Citrus

This 640,000-sq.-ft. citrus fruit processing/packaging facility is almost completely automated and has a roof of solar cells and a fuel cell system to supply energy to the plant and the grid.

Wayne Labs

December 5, 2013

The plant provides consumers fresh fruit consistent in size, color, quality and taste while scoring environmental points.

Tech Update

Tech Update: QA/QC Instrumentation

The need for speed, accuracy and ease of use places demands on equipment suppliers.

Wayne Labs

December 5, 2013

Test results should be accurate and simple to understand.

Manufacturing News

Practice makes perfect, especially when it comes to food safety

Employees need feedback on how well they're doing their jobs.

Wayne Labs

December 5, 2013

Procedures should be explained and performance evaluated according to an objective, predefined measurement system.

Join Lynn Dornblaser, Client Advisor at Mintel, and Alyse Thompson-Richards, Editor-in-Chief of FOOD ENGINEERING, as they break down the 2026 Top 100 Food and Beverage Companies and discuss the factors affecting this year’s rankings.