The rising cost of ingredients due to inflation and supply is deflating food and beverage manufacturers’ revenue, which has created movement in this year’s list.

Survey results show an increase in demand for products, but supply chain and labor issues are preventing food manufacturers from a corresponding increase in revenue.

A line not running at optimum efficiency and producing less than expected might only be second to unplanned downtime in terms of headaches faced in manufacturing—both of which can be caused by a weak link in the production line. We spoke to Craig Souser, president and CEO of JLS Automation, about overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), about maintenance best practices and strategies to use in order to keep a line operating at its fullest.

It only takes a few seconds after stepping into Vital Farms’ Egg Central Station (ECS) to realize that the company truly loves its egg-related puns. If there’s writing nearby, be it on a wall, memo or bulletin board, there’s a pun not far behind. They’re part of an ethos that starts from the top and flows down the company’s ranks to put a smile on someone’s face, even if just for a second. That idea of doing good extends beyond the facility walls to its other locations, the farmers who supply the eggs, the consumers who buy the product and, finally, to the planet itself. That visible commitment to the environment is why the addition at ECS was chosen as FOOD ENGINEERING’s 2023 Sustainable Plant of the Year.

Construction projects, like stories, tend to follow a regular, logical progression. Delivery systems vary, but they all typically start with a client’s need, selecting a project team, site visits, design meetings, groundbreaking and so on—but in the case of Hatfield North, the project began with the smokehouses.

April Fools' Day falls on a Saturday this year, so some companies are trying to get the most mileage out of their jokes by releasing them a day early.

Last November, the U.S. FDA announced that it had completed an evaluation of UPSIDE Foods’ cultured animal cell foods and had “no further questions at this time about the firm’s safety conclusion.” While the FDA pointed out that there were still other regulatory hurdles to overcome for cell-cultured foods could be brought to market, namely from the USDA and FSIS, the announcement was seen by many as an important step in adding another option to the alternative protein space—one of a number of trends involving alternative protein in the past year. 

There are many reasons for wanting to make a facility more sustainable. Arguably two of the biggest reasons are, one, appealing to consumers who care about purchasing from companies that align with their own values and, two, reducing operating costs.

A healthier lifestyle is among the many societal shifts caused by COVID. While there were definitely people focused on health prior to the pandemic, having to stay at home to cook and seeing what exactly was going into their meals day in and day out put a renewed focus on healthier living. This emphasis on such foods continues today, making the health food category extremely competitive.

Some years ago, the television show “Mythbusters” tested the “5-Second Rule”—a belief that food dropped on the floor can be safely picked up and eaten as long as it happens within five seconds. The team tested samples of wet pastrami and dry crackers by placing them on bacteria-infested floor tiles for two and six seconds, then did cultures to see how much bacteria formed compared to a control.