Food Online's Top 10 Of February

By Sam Lewis

What was most important to our readers in February? Take a look back at last month by reviewing the 10 most-popular articles that appeared on Food Online.

1. PepsiCo’s Four Lenses Of Packaging Design
   Dennis Furniss, VP of Nutrition & Sport Design at PepsiCo, recently took some time to discuss with me the company’s philosophy on designing food and beverage packaging. In the discussion, Furniss stressed the importance of packaging in establishing brand identity, as well as e-commerce’s influence on packaging design.
    
2. Reducing Food Waste Requires Thinking Outside The Box
   According to USDA Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, nearly 133 billion pounds of food makes its way to the landfill each year in the U.S. Needless to say, this is an enormous amount of wasted food and it is creating major business, environmental, and social problems. Here, Meghan Stasz, Senior Director of Sustainability at the Grocery Manufacturers Association, answers my questions about what food manufacturers can do to reduce or eliminate food waste in both manufacturing facilities and in their supply chains.
    
3. How The Food Industry Is Evolving Toward A More Transparent Supply Chain
   With the food supply chain undergoing shifts of revolutionary proportions, the importance of industry collaboration around standards to enhance efficiency has become crystal clear. Consumers want to know more about their food and where it comes from, which represents a major opportunity for food manufacturers and their trading partners to implement traceability programs based on GS1 Standards — the most widely used supply chain standards in the world. To learn more about the current state of supply chain transparency, I recently spoke with Angela Fernandez, VP of retail grocery and foodservice at GS1 U.S.
    
4. Should Your Food Manufacturing Facility Use In-House Or Contract Lab Pathogen Testing?
   A food testing program is an important component of a comprehensive food safety and quality assurance program. In these programs, testing often serves among the verification steps that the preventive controls that have been implemented are effective. This includes verification of the raw material and finished product specifications, verification of the HACCP — and where applicable, the HARPC program — sanitation, surveillance, and at times, the investigation of problems.
   
   Testing is performed on a combination of organisms, some of which serve as indicators of the hygienic conditions or whether specific processing parameters are met. Others are more specific, such as foodborne pathogens that impact the public health and the safety of the food supply. To do this, food companies must decide whether to keep the testing In-House or contract it to an outside laboratory.
    
5. McCormick’s Packaging Innovation Philosophy: The Consumer Is King
   I recently spoke with Dr. Michael Okoroafor, VP of Global Packaging Innovation at McCormick, to discuss the packaging design and innovation process at the company. In his newly created role, Dr. Okoroafor is focused on optimizing the packaging design and development processes for food, herbs, and spices.
    
6. Small Growers Require Big Food Safety
   Small growers always have to fight to be viable businesses. They don’t get the bulk discounts that larger growers get on rents, supplies, chemicals, water, or even labor. If there is bad weather or bad market in any one season, they lose everything. And during the growing season — even if everything else goes well — they must wear all hats, all the time, and the work never stops. So, small growers are not left a lot of time to ponder, or even more importantly, implement food safety practices.
   
   To make that situation even more precarious, small growers often have trouble getting the kind of assistance with food safety they need: 1) guidance in food safety compliance, 2) database solutions, and 3) reliable third-party auditing.
    
7. Survey Finds Food Supply Chain Transparency Is Key To Consumer Trust
   Every year, millions of pounds of food are recalled due to health concerns, labeling issues, and contamination. Last year alone, over 18 million pounds of food were recalled. In fact, food recalls have nearly doubled in the U.S. since 2002, according to a report by reinsurance company Swiss Re. These recalls are in the news almost daily, making food safety top of mind for consumers, as well as for food manufacturers and retailers.
   
   To learn more about how consumers perceive the food they buy — and how food manufacturers can keep up with growing consumer expectations — Trace One recently surveyed consumers from nine countries in the Americas and in Europe. Among the many questions in the survey, respondents were asked about their trust in the quality and safety of the food they consume.
    
8. How Can Food Producers Overcome Packaging Migration Challenges?
   Brand owners have scarce information on food packaging’s chemical composition. However, they ultimately carry the risk of economic damage if the packaging turns out to be problematic.
    
9. Do You Have The Necessary Tools To Complete Your SQF Internal Audit?
   A food safety management system (FSMS) is a great tool for any company that wants to evaluate its food safety performance and provide assurance to customers about the safety of the food company’s food. SQF (Safe Quality Food) is an FSMS benchmarked to the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) food safety requirements. SQF integrates food safety and quality components into the standard and shares audit scores with customers directly on the SQFI website. This article aims to provide best practices regarding your SQF Level, the Scope of your product, and your Verification Schedule to successfully audit your SQF system.
    
10. What To Consider When Choosing Inline Coding And Printing Technologies For Packaging
    There are two main types of non-contact coder: Laser and ink jet. Inkjet printers work by depositing ink on the surface of the substrate. Laser coders work by removing ink from or affecting the surface of the substrate. Laser coders do not use ink or toner and should not be confused with desktop laser printers; they are a completely different technology.