Food Engineering

AI, Sustainability and Health: Top Food Industry Trends in 2026

Last year was an eventful year for the food manufacturing industry, and FOOD ENGINEERING expects many of the major themes to carry over into 2026.

Alyse Thompson-Richards

January 20, 2026

Last year was an eventful year for the food manufacturing industry, and FOOD ENGINEERING expects many of the major themes to carry over into 2026.

Is Listeria Monocytogenes Slipping Through Your Door?

It’s one thing to keep a 175-lb. hell-bent individual out of your plant, but blocking this invisible microbial enemy from sneaking in can be a real challenge

Wayne Labs

January 15, 2026

Listeria Monocytogenes (Lm) is difficult enough to keep out of a food plant, but once it gets in, the real challenge begins — as it can take up residence in “secret” places that welcome and protect it. Fortunately, processors don’t have to go it alone.

Sous Vide Offers Brand Flexibility While Enhancing Taste

Sous vide cooking offers precise time and temperature control, and now companies are scaling this technology to help brands and institutions deliver on limited-time offerings. Taste wins with sous vide, and companies are employing new pasteurization techniques to retain flavor and expand into food segments, such as pet food, protein and overall clean label eating.

Grant Gerke

January 27, 2026

Sous vide cooking offers precise time and temperature control, and now companies are scaling this technology to help brands and institutions deliver on limited-time offerings. Taste wins with sous vide, and companies are employing new pasteurization techniques to retain flavor and expand into food segments, such as pet food, protein and overall clean label eating.

Why Prefabrication Delivers for Food Processing Facility Design and Construction

Chase Radue

December 1, 2025

By combining the strength and resilience of concrete with the precision of controlled manufacturing, precast offers a durable, sanitary and schedule-efficient system uniquely suited to the modern food industry.

Turning Process Loss into Performance Gains: Waste Reduction Strategies for Food Manufacturers

Andrew Johnston

December 9, 2025

Manufacturers that are shifting their views and approaches to waste reduction — seeing it as a critical driver of performance — are also seeing the greatest gains despite a shaky economic outlook.

How Much is Food Manufacturing Downtime Costing You?

A recent study by ABB reveals just how much unplanned downtime costs, but implementing a modernization strategy can help.

Alyse Thompson-Richards

January 20, 2026

A recent study by ABB reveals just how much unplanned downtime costs, but implementing a modernization strategy can help.

AI

FDA Expands Agentic AI Capabilities

December 3, 2025

The agency says agentic AI deployment will enable its staff to further advance the use of AI to assist with more complex tasks, such as meeting management, pre-market reviews, review validation, post-market surveillance, inspections and compliance and administrative functions.