Recent increases in food prices not only hurt consumers, but as those involved in food manufacturing know all too well, it hurts you professionally, too.
Every day, it seems there is
another food product recall. There are condiments recalled for
potential contamination with botulism, meats that may contain Listeria
monocytogenes, candies that have undeclared allergens and snacks with
metal shavings.
With a 500 MHz Pentium MMX-compatible processor, Beckhoff’s modular, DIN rail-mounted CX1010 embedded PC offers CPU performance suitable for a range of automation and control applications.
Designed to keep workers connected to their environment without compromising protection, Howard Leight’s Clarity multiple-use earplugs block hazardous noise while allowing voice and signal frequencies to be heard.
Designed for use in fresh, frozen and dried fruit, vegetable, berry, nut, potato/potato strip, snack food, confection, coffee and seafood applications, Key Technology’s OPC-compliant network communication software is suitable for G6 optical sorters and automatic defect removal systems.
Available in Type 304 and Type 316 stainless steel, Rittal’s AE slope top enclosure is intended for use where sanitation concerns require frequent washdowns.
Intended for rotating equipment used in processing fish, meat, pork and poultry, MRC Marathon single-row, deep groove ball bearings provide corrosion resistance even in harsh conditions.
Suitable for mixing together products such as fillings and batters, Hinds-Bock’s automatic swirlers improve product appearance and quality when producing marbled or swirled cakes and sweet goods.
Readco Kurimoto’s RK 1 table top lab mixer comes ready to run. It has full touch screen operational control, with an optional lift table, barrel heater and material addition chute.
Offering accuracy and radial homogeneity, Ametek’s Jofra ITC dry block calibrators cover temperature ranges -23°C to 155°C, 33°C to 320°C and 33°C to 650°C.
Hardy’s HI 4050 general-purpose weight controller with Allen-Bradley remote I/O network communications eliminates the effects of surround vibration for stable weight display.
Agr’s PETWall Profiler material distribution measurement system provides comprehensive sidewall distribution data on a PET container at the time of production.
A polyester polymer designed to protect packaged food and beverages against ultraviolet rays, Invista’s Polyclear Protect PET 2201U has thermal stability for heat-set, hot-fit and pasteurized applications.
Suitable for pallet jack, pushcart, pedestrian and light-to-medium forklift use, Aleco’s single-ply PVC panel Optima ImpacDor features top-mounted gravity hinges for 180° swing capability; no bottom hinge allows full-width access without restricting traffic flow.
Tolomatic’s MXP rodless pneumatic actuators range in size from 35 to 2,583 lbf, with auxiliary carriers available for double their load capacities; six bore sizes and inch or metric versions are available for a variety of applications.
Seaquist’s Ultra pour spout features soft, round edges, a rib pattern on the outer wall, lower profile design, ergonomic finger recess and drain hole options for hot fill applications.
Nordson’s ProBlue Fulfill integrated melter and adhesive feed system maintains desired adhesive levels in the melter tank to reduce clogged adhesive nozzles and deliver consistent bonding.
Accu-Sort’s Fast Link software links data from real-time automatic identification devices with enterprise IT systems, removing the barrier of integrating auto ID devices by providing information that existing IT resources can utilize.
Designed for weighing and totalizing continuous flow rates of bulk solid materials up to 15,000 tons/hour, Schenck AccuRate’s BEMP single idler belt scale can be used with 18-in. or 60-in. wide CEMA idlers.
Designed to prevent punctures with no need for patches, soaker pads or bone discs, CMS Flavorseal bone guard shrink bags can be used with bone-in fresh, cooked or processed meats, as well as heavy rub or spiced products.
Loma’s X4 inspection system includes X-weigh software that can be integrated into existing X-ray systems, enabling the unit to weigh, reject and provide product reports, in addition to performing contaminant inspection/missing component functions.
Pepperl+Fuchs’ DeviceNet gateways in K20 housing styles are available in single- and dual-channel versions, and connect AS-Interface to upper-level controllers.
Providing 100% weight inspection of dough pieces after the rounder, Lock’s CK doughweigher has auto-zero technology to ensure dough build does not affect weight accuracy.
Designed for weigh-filling powdered coffee, milk, drink mixes and other products, Ishida’s model CCW-DP-210 weigher features steeply angled infeed and discharge chutes to maintain a constant flow of powders.
A manually propelled electric lift, Jungheinrich’s HC 110b power lift stacker is intended for occasional light-duty stacking operations and the loading and unloading from trailers from ground height.
Gainco’s AccuFill quad-batching system for red meat provides high-speed collection and grouping of red meat items such as loose meats, finger meat and variety meats.
Intended for use with luncheon meats and sliced cheeses, Multivac’s reclosable thermoform packaging has a top web formed with a deep, angled recess that snaps into the bottom web to close the package tightly, helps maintain product freshness and prevents product from sliding downward when the package hangs vertically.
Food Safety and Inspection Service, which regulates meat, poultry and egg products, faces resource limitations that make it more difficult for the agency to ensure the safety of the food supply, according to a report by OMB Watch, a non-profit advocacy group that monitors the federal Office of Management and Budget.
Ross’s B-blenders blend materials up to 32 lbs. cu.ft. Available in 10-, 18- and 36-cu.-ft. working capacities, the ribbon blenders are constructed of stainless steel; exterior and interior surfaces are polished to an 80-grit finish.
Hygienically designed for use in packaging applications with open food, such as meat, dairy products and ready made meals, ABB’s FlexPicker IRB360 has a payload up to 3kg to handle heavier objects and accommodate the mass of the increasingly sophisticated grippers required in handling diverse products.
Capable of withstanding high wind loads and harsh conditions of food processing plants, washing stations and degreasing units, Goff’s HarshGuard roll-up door maintains a seal under gusts up to 70 mph on a 10’ x 12’ door and prevents the curtain from blowing out of its guides.
Capable of blending batches of ingredients in parts down to one per million with 100% uniformity in less than three minutes, Munson’s 700-TH-40-SS sanitary rotary batch mixer evacuates 100% of the batch and sanitizes with no tools.
Intended for small packaging applications, Rockwell’s Allen-Bradley Kinetix 2000 servo drives are available in low power ranges for end-users with power requirements ranging from 300 watts to 3 kW.
Schneider’s Web-enabled Ethernet communications card option for its compact Square D PowerLogic PM800 series power meters is designed to optimize the monitoring of electrical installations in industrial or critical power environments.
Intended for use in high-bandwidth and throughput applications, Siemens’ Scalance X300 compact, high-performance gigabit switches help migrate fast Ethernet to gigabit standards, providing the ability to integrate plant floor networks with enterprise networks.
UL-listed, Omron’s NE1A-EDR01 Ethernet/IP-DeviceNet routers allow the operating condition of a DeviceNet safety system to be configured and monitored from a general-purpose Ethernet device.
Designed for depositing fillings for stuffed sandwiches, multiple-layered products, stuffed seafood, appetizers and rolled or wrapped products, NuTEC’s C-frame filling and portioning depositor provides portion weight control and clean, accurate filling placement, up to 45,000 deposits/hour.
Suitable for applications in general-purpose environments, Mettler Toledo’s PBA330 weighing platform has a solid-frame construction that protects the cell from overloads and shocks up to 150% of the scale capacity.
Key Technology’s new Manta sorter features a two-meter wide scan area that increases throughput. Manta handles up to 60,000 pounds of processed vegetables or fruit per hour and offers high resolution scanning.
ProSoft’s MVI5-PDPMV1 Profibus DP master V1 module for ControlLogix can be connected over Ethernet via the 1756-ENBT EtherNet/IP module to configure the Profibus master module and network; upload and download files; and view network module diagnostics from a PC using the ProSoft Configuration Builder.
Designed for cooking operations such as conveyorized fryers or ovens, Wire Belt’s metal conveyor belt transfers product onto the cooling line without sweating, slipping, drooping, sagging or catching fire.
Constructed entirely of stainless steel, Macro Sensors’ metric HSE/HSER 750 DC-operated, 19-mm diameter position sensors are hermetically sealed and impervious to dirt, water, steam and other corrosive elements.
ConAgra Foods, Inc. acquired
Kennewick, WA-based Watts Brothers, a privately held vegetable
processing and agricultural company, to further grow and strengthen its
core potato business operating under the Lamb Weston brand. Lamb Weston
has annual sales of approximately $2 billion.
Whether a processor outsources procurement, manufacturing, product innovation, IT services or business processes, there’s no doubt that, if executed properly, outsourcing can save money and take the pressure off several business tasks.
