April 2019 | Food Engineering

In the April issue of Food Engineering, we take an in-depth look at Valley Milk's milk powder processing plant in Turlock, Calif., which was selected as FE's 2019 Plant of the Year.

Plant of the Year

Plant of the Year 2019: Valley Milk's new facility aids vertical integration

Milk processor pushes the envelope at every opportunity, earns Food Engineering award

Casey Laughman

March 28, 2019

A collaboration among several dairy families and nutritionists in California's Central Valley led to the construction of a milk processing facility that exceeds expectations.

Food Safety

Food defense has become a critical aspect of food safety audits

Richard F. Stier

April 17, 2019

Food defense is now an integral element in almost all third-party audit schemes, in particular ones from the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).

Using incremental process control for largely manual processes

Wayne Labs

April 16, 2019

Some food and beverage plants are potentially well-suited to totally automated process control. Other applications may not be so easy to automate but can still benefit from incremental process control implementations.

Pest Control

A good pest control program can help protect the bottom line

Sharon Spielman

April 17, 2019

At food and beverage processing facilities, the presence of pests can threaten the health and safety of products, customers and employees. A pest problem also can affect a plant's reputation and its bottom line.

Dry Processing Technology

Reliable ribbon blenders help to spice up batch processing

Sharon Spielman

April 22, 2019

With the tagline "custom creation specialists," St. Louis-based McCarthy Spice and Blends Company works with a range of clients seeking quality spices for consistency in their recipes.

Engineering R&D

Spectroscopy monitors chemistry, surface-level foreign objects in real time

Wayne Labs

April 16, 2019

For the last five years, P&P Optica has delved into creating a high-end, hyperspectral imaging system that can operate in real time on lines for products such as meat and produce.

Valley Milk milk powder processing plant

Editor's Note

Adaptability and flexibility are critical components of project planning

Casey Laughman

April 15, 2019

Being able to adapt on the fly is great, but it's a lot easier to do when you've accounted for as many potential contingencies as possible.

Manufacturing News

Extending the applications of Blockchain in the food manufacturing industry

Wayne Labs

April 15, 2019

According to a new NIST report, blockchain technology is being used to provide not only tamper-resistant transmission of manufacturing data for making machine parts, but also perfect traceability of that data to all participants in the production process.

Regulatory Watch

Order membership change for National Honey Board

Sharon Spielman

April 19, 2019

A new final rule changes the National Honey Board importer-handler member and alternate to an importer member and alternate.

Regulatory Watch

Frozen mangos covered commodity per AMS rule

Sharon Spielman

April 19, 2019

A new final rule amends the AMS regulations regarding a fresh mango national research and promotion program to include frozen mangos as a covered commodity under the Mango Promotion, Research and Information Order.

Food Packaging

Recyclable meat trays offer display and sustainable packaging benefits

Rose Shilling

April 17, 2019

Kloeckner Pentaplast has new ideas for how meat companies can display products in stores and offer more sustainable packaging.

Food Packaging

Barrier blocks more air in plastic containers

Rose Shilling

April 17, 2019

Ring Container Technologies has a new barrier for plastic containers that it says keeps more oxygen away from food and uses less material than competitors.

Food Packaging

New single-serve tuna package has built-in fork

Rose Shilling

April 19, 2019

Chicken of the Sea's new flavored tuna comes in a single-serve, recyclable plastic cup with a foldable fork tucked under an outer lid.

Food Packaging

Salad dressing shrink sleeve labels offer tamper resistance

Rose Shilling

April 17, 2019

Briannas Fine Salad Dressings have new shrink-sleeve labels to improve tamper resistance and ease cleanup for the consumer.

Field Reports

Metal detection system helps Doughnut Peddler meet its quality goals

April 15, 2019

Doughnut Peddler had always wanted to invest in metal detection but needed a business justification for the investment. The company's rapid expansion provided the opportunity and the commercial case that it needed.

Field Reports

High-speed interleaving, stacking results in sanitary production

April 15, 2019

Despite ongoing production pressures on meat and poultry operations managers, making the effort to follow best practice sanitary standards can not only enhance food safety and production but also add value to products.

People & Industry News

People and Industry News: April 2019

April 19, 2019

Announcements about new hires, staff promotions, association news, awards, mergers and acquisitions.

Plant Openings

Plant Openings: April 2019

April 17, 2019

Announcements about new food and beverage plant construction projects, plant renovations and plant expansions.

Dry Processing Technology

Gericke Pulse-Flow PTA pneumatic conveying system

April 12, 2019

The Gericke Pulse-Flow PTA dense phase pneumatic conveying system features a feeding hopper, pressure vessel, pipeline, conveying and secondary air supply, and computer-driven touchscreen control system.

Dry Processing Technology

Material Transfer Lift & Seal container dumper

April 12, 2019

The Material Transfer Lift & Seal dumper discharges containers of food product into a hopper at 72 in. above floor level.

Dry Processing Technology

Sterling Systems & Controls custom bulk bag unloaders

The Leybold VARODRY oil-free, dry compressing screw vacuum pump handles dirt, particles and the outgassing of media and vapors.

New Plant Products

Tridimensional dicers

April 8, 2019

FAM Tridis 180 and Tridis 180P tridimensional dicers achieve capacities from 1,500 kg/hr. on 3-mm dices and up to 6 tons/hr. on 10-mm dices, depending on the type of product.

New Plant Products

Atlas Copco ZR 90-160 VSD+ rotary screw air compressor

April 5, 2019

The Atlas Copco ZR 90-160 VSD+ oil-free rotary screw air compressor is equipped with 2 permanent magnet motors that provide automatic variable synchronization of the independently driven air ends.

New Plant Products

Beckhoff Automation CX7000 embedded EtherCAT controller

April 5, 2019

The Beckhoff Automation CX7000 embedded EtherCAT controller features a single-core, 400 MHz ARM processor.

New Plant Products

Spray rust preventative

April 5, 2019

Ready to use, Cortec VpCI-329 D ES oil-based rust preventative can be applied from a handheld spray bottle.

New Plant Products

Suction vortex pumps

April 5, 2019

Vertiflo Series 1600 horizontal close-coupled end vortex pumps feature capacities to 1,600 gal./min., heads to 170 ft. TDH, a back pull-out construction and a fully recessed vortex impeller, with packing or a mechanical seal.

New Plant Products

NETZSCH NEMO BH sanitary pump

April 5, 2019

Appropriate for clean-in-place processes when provided with optional flushing connections, the NETZSCH NEMO BH sanitary pump meets 3-A Standard requirements for the food industry.

New Plant Products

Pump applications clutch

April 5, 2019

The Force Control Industries PosiClutch 200 Series PTO oil-shear clutch for high-volume pump applications mounts on a diesel engine with SAE 00 flywheel housing.

New Plant Products

Semi-open impeller pump

April 4, 2019

The ITT Goulds ICO i-FRAME pump is suitable for waste liquids and a range of food, beverage, and air and gas handling applications.

New Plant Products

PPM snack frying system

April 4, 2019

With adjustable cook times from 5 to 45 seconds and a frying wheel design, the PPM snack frying system compartmentalizes each extrusion or pellet to control frying.

New Plant Products

Klueberplus C2 PM2 Ultra Dry food-grade lubricant

April 4, 2019

Klueberplus C2 PM2 Ultra Dry food-grade lubricant for plastic conveyor belts has a dripless, dry formulation and a built-in cleaning agent that reduces the risk of bacterial growth.

New Plant Products

Food and beverage diaphragms

April 4, 2019

Wilden Pure-Fuse diaphragms for hygienic applications combine food-grade plastics and elastomers with a stainless steel core using no adhesives or nylon fabric.

New Plant Products

Abaque Series hose pumps

April 4, 2019

Available with FDA- and EC 1935/2004-certified hoses, Abaque Series peristaltic pumps are suitable for the production of food and beverages that require strict hygienic standards.

New Plant Products

Dryer/roaster from Heat and Control

April 3, 2019

The Heat and Control multizone, convection rotary dryer/roaster roasts nuts, seeds and protein snacks in a continuous, sanitary manner.

New Plant Products

Vacuum tray dryer

April 3, 2019

The Italvacuum Model E1S fixed-shelf vacuum tray dryer has a 40-cu.-ft. chamber volume and includes 9 heated/cooled shelves with 36 removable trays.

New Plant Products

BPH Series positive-displacement pump

April 3, 2019

Hydraulically operated, the HRS BPH Series reciprocating positive-displacement pump has a vertical inlet designed for products with larger-sized pieces, such as fruit mixtures.

New Plant Products

IO-Link system

April 3, 2019

Offering flexibility in factory automation, the Belden Lumberg Automation LioN-Power IO-Link system transmits diagnostic data from intelligent IO-Link sensors and actuators before a failure happens.

On Demand Kelley Rodriguez, Editor in Chief of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, will be joined in this 60-minute webinar by industry experts to help unpack the latest research.

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.