Michael Costa

Current supply chain woes have made nearly every aspect of processing an ongoing guessing game, from forecasting ingredient availability to ensuring finished foods arrive at their destinations on time. One way to help make sense of the situation is to invest in track-and-trace technology that can monitor every step of a product’s journey.

A few weeks ago, I was invited by Meat from Europe—an organization promoting European Union meat products within the EU and abroad—and the Union of Producers and Employers of Meat Industry (UPEMI) to visit Poland and two of its meat processing facilities: one dedicated to beef, the other primarily pork. 

A new year and new opportunities are in motion for the industry, after a (sometimes) bumpy but successful 2021.

At a glance, it might seem that most conveyors are doing their job as long as they shuttle items from one point to another. However, a number of other elements must be present for a conveyor to be efficient and productive in a food-processing environment, like hygienic design, cleanability, versatility, updated technology and more.

Food processors are facing the same challenges today no matter where they are on a map. 

Walk into nearly any grocery store in the U.S., and you’ll find dozens of products from Goya Foods. The company is America’s largest Hispanic-owned food brand—founded in 1936—and for many shoppers also one of the most recognizable.

We are all observing the continued rise of plant-based foods and alternative proteins in the marketplace, but what’s driving demand from a consumer standpoint, and how are processors positioned to handle that increasing demand?

Hello! I’m Michael Costa, the new editor-in-chief at FOOD ENGINEERING.

Plant-based foods are ubiquitous in the market today, and at the core of that category is plant-based meats. 

At this time last year, we at Refrigerated & Frozen Foods (the sister publication of Food Engineering) decided to put our annual Foodservice Distributor of the Year Award on hold. The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated unprecedented shutdowns in foodservice—restaurants, hotels, schools, caterers, stadiums, and other volume venues—leaving behind thousands of shuttered businesses. To put it lightly, there was very little to celebrate in foodservice last year.