Food Manufacturing Guest Contributors

91. Under Pressure: Novel Technologies Are Preserving Food & Extending Shelf Life 10/24/2016

    The key advantages of elevated pressures present an attractive and powerful tool to implement processing of food products and beverages at mild and ambient temperatures. However, many food processors don’t necessarily know that different types of pressure specifications and applications may lead to different microbial inactivation effects. In addition to well-known pressure homogenization and hydrostatic pressure processing, there are a few other pressure-based techniques that can be used for different categories of products in food preservation operations. Do you want to pasteurize or sterilize? Do you simply want to extend shelf life? What about added value? Here’s what you need to know about food preservation under elevated pressures.

92. FSMA Begins — Reactions And Support From GFSI Benchmarked Schemes 10/19/2016

    FSMA, for some, is now a regulatory compliance issue. For others, it comes into effect over the next couple of years. The intention of this article is to identify current responses GFSI and benchmarked schemes (BRC, FSSC 22000 and SQF) have put into place and to support companies in meeting the various requirements within the Food Safety Modernization Act.

93. Reimagining Product Packaging For The Needs Of A Transparent World 10/12/2016

    Product information transparency is top of mind among consumers. A recent survey from Label Insights reveals a whopping 94 percent of respondents are likely to be loyal to a brand offering complete product information. This confirms what many in the food industry have known to be true: consumer culture is driving forward an important revolution in the way brands communicate to their customers.

94. Metal Detection Systems: Still A Safe Bet For Food Manufacturers 9/26/2016

    Product inspection systems are most successful when they are designed with many support methods and principles. For years, Metal Detection Systems have provided safeguards against physical contamination. These systems grow more sophisticated each year, and, consequently, their ability to detect smaller metal contaminants becomes more refined.

95. SQF Edition 8: What To Expect 9/15/2016

    SQF has gone through many changes to keep up with industry standards and the benchmarking requirements of GFSI. When the eighth edition of SQF comes out next month, will you be ready for it?

96. Facing Food Waste Head On 9/9/2016

    The food manufacturing and processing industry has changed since I began my career 35 years ago, but the persistent problem of food waste has remained a constant challenge. The statistics are quite staggering. According to the USDA, an estimated 12.7 billion pounds of meat, poultry and fish are thrown out by consumers each year. Even before food can reach consumers, an estimated 2.7 billion pounds of meat, poultry and fish — valued at $8.8 billion, or about 5 percent of all such inventory — are thrown out by retailers each year. Food waste is an intimidating challenge and one that processors, retailers, and consumers all play a part in tackling.

97. How X-Ray Inspection Can Bolster Your Food Safety Program 9/1/2016

    Product inspection is a critical and indispensable part of responsible food production. If it isn’t already, it truly needs to be embedded in HACCP and prerequisite program(s) for food producers. Food contamination with foreign matter and/or impurities can have serious implications to food producers as they are the entities directly responsible for any issues posing health and safety risks to consumers. But, what are food makers doing to create and enable a robust food safety program? Oftentimes, they seek new technology and/or inspection equipment to support their written food safety and quality programs, such as X-Ray Inspection Systems.

98. When Does Food Spoilage Become A Food Safety Issue? A Conversation From IAFP 8/22/2016

    As part of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) annual meeting, a panel convened by Peter Taormina (Smithfield Foods) addressed the topic of food spoilage. The panelists were Doctors Melinda Hayman (GMA), Mickey Parish (FDA), William Shaw (USDA FSIS), and Ruth Petran (Ecolab).

99. Keeping Food Safe With Light-Based Technologies 8/18/2016

    In addition to improvement of food preservation operations, creating new functional properties, and dry sanitation, further development and commercialization of light technologies have much to offer for the sustainable development of industry. This article will briefly review the basics and sources of light technologies and present the pros and cons of the potential applications and available equipment.

100. Do You Have Management's Commitment To Food Safety? 8/15/2016

     So, you have a GFSI system in place and are being audited. You get your scores (minor non-conformances around 10 to 15). One of the non-conformance items continuing to come up is Management Commitment. What is it? What does it look like? How do you know you have it or need to make it better?