September 2020 | Food Engineering

2020 Top 100

The 2020 Top 100 Food and Beverage Companies

Top 5 largest food and beverage companies stay the same

August 21, 2020

Although the top 5 companies stayed the same, there was extensive movement throughout Food Engineering’s 2020 list of the Top 100 food and beverage companies.

Pet Food

Pet food e-commerce boom has major influence on manufacturers' operations

Online shoppers' preferences lead to faster product development and more direct-to-consumer shipping of dog and cat food

Rose Shilling

August 14, 2020

Skyrocketing online shopping for pet food is changing significant parts of how manufacturers operate.

Food Safety

How processors are adapting to FSMA in its early years

What food and beverage manufacturers need to know to stay in compliance

Sharon Spielman

August 31, 2020

Food manufacturing businesses must comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)—the biggest food safety reform in seven decades, which affects the way our foods are grown, harvested and processed.

Tech Update

How robots help processors navigate the COVID-19 pandemic

Whether team members are out sick with coronavirus or your plant needs some help with social distancing, robots can pick up the slack

Wayne Labs

August 21, 2020

Robots and cobots can help when your food or beverage has workers out sick with COVID-19 or needs to implement social distancing.

Editor's Note

A strange year has processors trying to figure out what comes next

Casey Laughman

August 26, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has kicked food and beverage production into overdrive. A lot of us are feeling more worn out than ever.

Manufacturing News

Two beverage giants choose cloud partners

Long-term cloud technology contracts pair PepsiCo with Microsoft and Keurig Dr Pepper with Google Cloud

Wayne Labs

August 11, 2020

PepsiCo and Keurig Dr Pepper have signed long-term cloud contracts with Microsoft and Google Cloud respectively to improve their data operations and have a more agile IT infrastructure.

Regulatory Watch

FDA seeks treatments for pre-harvest agriculture water

Companies can follow the agency’s testing protocol to find out if products inactivate pathogens

Sharon Spielman

August 12, 2020

The FDA has announced a new protocol for the development and registration of antimicrobial treatments for pre-harvest agricultural water, developed through a collaboration with the EPA.

Packaging

Can you recycle a greasy pizza box?

Despite what you may have heard, WestRock and Domino’s say don’t trash that stained corrugated box

Rose Shilling

July 28, 2020

Domino’s and WestRock are encouraging people to toss their empty pizza boxes in the recycling even if they have some grease on them, challenging warnings that only clean boxes can be made into new products.

Packaging

Packaging insert extends avocado shelf life

Mission Produce avocados stay fresh about three days longer with Avolast technology

Rose Shilling

August 10, 2020

A new quarter-sized packaging insert is keeping Mission Produce Inc. avocados fresh longer.

Packaging

An alternative to paper-based nut canisters

Packaging company introduces a plastic snack container that’s easier to recycle

Rose Shilling

August 10, 2020

The maker of Fisher nuts wanted recyclable snack canisters to replace paper-based, multi-material cans that often end up in the trash and are rising in cost.

Field Reports

Organic produce packer tightens security to reduce risk

4Earth Farms enhanced plant security to restrict entry to only authorized personnel

August 13, 2020

4Earth Farms added access controls at all doors and access points, along with security cameras for surveillance.

Engineering R&D

New desiccant technology uses ceramic material

Loose beads are no longer required for compressed air systems

Wayne Labs

August 14, 2020

Atlas Copco has recently come up with a more durable and effective ceramic desiccant material called Cerades.

People & Industry News

People and Industry News: September 2020

Wayne Labs

August 11, 2020

People and industry news in food and beverage manufacturing for September 2020.

Plant Openings

Plant Openings & Expansions: September 2020

Wayne Labs

August 11, 2020

Plant openings and expansions in food and beverage manufacturing for September 2020

New Plant Products

Pneumatic products from RS Components

August 28, 2020

Digital pneumatics product hub offers a range of pneumatic components and tools from Festo, SMC, IMI Nordgren, Legris and RS Pro.

New Plant Products

Robot with batteryless encoder

August 28, 2020

Models LS3-B and LS20-B SCARA robots include batteryless encoder, a lower cable duct profile suitable for hard-to-reach work cell layouts, built-in camera cable for vision system setup, and top-of-arm layout for enhanced usability.

New Plant Products

Little David LDLA-500-V2 label application system

August 28, 2020

The next version of the Little David LDLA-500-V2 apply-only labeler includes a larger color touchscreen, a faster CPU module, an open web path, improved touchscreen response, easier and simpler screen replacement, and ALP and LCIJ systems.

New Plant Products

Brushless DC gearmotors

August 28, 2020

Brushless DC gearmotors align with automated guide vehicle (AGV) and autonomous mobile robot (AMR) applications.

New Plant Products

WLAN logistics computers

August 28, 2020

Depending on the WLAN coverage and application, these touchscreen computers can be equipped with integrated or external antennas to adapt to the respective infrastructure.

New Plant Products

Hydraulic-class electric actuator

August 26, 2020

Designed for hydraulic cylinder replacement, RSX128 actuator is rated up to 50,000 pounds of force (222.4 kN).

New Plant Products

Robots for small parts

August 26, 2020

SG-series SCARA robots enable extremely fast and precise operation for small part processing.

New Plant Products

Refrigerated dryer line

August 26, 2020

TF series, with four models from 550-1130 scfm, integrates the company’s SECOPACK LS latent heat thermal storage system that delivers consistent dew point control and energy efficiency under varying load conditions.

New Plant Products

Mixing and pumping skid system

August 26, 2020

Model VSL-400 design is a custom conical vessel on a movable skid with a progressive cavity pump rated for 10-30 gallons/min.

New Plant Products

Industrial motors

August 26, 2020

Above NEMA NXR 7100 motors have an internal cooling loop that circulates air inside the motor, moving heat from the rotor to the frame, where an external fan blows air over the frame to remove the heat.

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.