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

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.

TECH FLASH

Cool energy waste in your refrigeration systems!

Energy audits can spot potential waste and provide short-term fixes, but a refrigeration energy management system can keep temperatures and costs cool.

Wayne Labs

November 25, 2013

A modular energy management system can keep a facility’s cooling costs under control.

Regulatory Watch

Farm Bill debate continues

At issue is the Dairy Market Stabilization Program, which is opposed by many dairy manufacturers.

Wayne Labs

November 14, 2013

At issue is the Dairy Market Stabilization Program, which is opposed by many dairy manufacturers.

Sustainable Plant of the Year

Plumrose Council Bluffs: Lean, mean and fully automated

Automating an entire raw meat cooking and packaging plant saves water, cuts energy usage and gets the product perfect the first time—without rework.

Wayne Labs

November 8, 2013

The facility was not only constructed with sustainability in mind, but sustainability can be found everywhere you look.

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.

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.