Food Manufacturing Guest Contributors

  1. Food Defense: A U.S. Army Perspective 9/20/2017

    Back in 1997, a Veterinarian, Leslie Huck, showed me a checklist he was developing. It focused on intentional contamination and it made me think about how the military is always a target for acts of violence. This article illustrates the evolution of Food Defense and provides insight into what food manufacturers can do to build and improve their Food Defense plans.

  2. Progressing Cavity Pumps: Making The Most Difficult F&B Applications Simple 9/19/2017

    With the right system design, progressing cavity pumps can reduce cost, lower maintenance needs, and achieve better results in complex conveying applications within food and beverage production.

  3. High Pressure Process Validation: Keeping Foods And Beverages Safe 9/12/2017

    The success of HPP by many companies demonstrates it as an effective food safety measure that can mitigate risk for a variety of foods. HPP validation and verification are also major requirements of FSMA. According to the law, validation of HPP as a kill-step is required to make sure the HPP treatment is at a level of effectiveness to ensure food safety objectives.

  4. Supply Chain Transparency: Critical To Meeting Consumer Demands 9/7/2017

    Flash back to 2007 — two 20-somethings stop at a burger joint. They order and eat thinking only of taste and price. Imagine that scenario today, but with assistance from smartphones offering data on the establishment’s source of beef and other data. This column will explore how consumer demand for transparency is critical to remaining competitive.

  5. Would Your Food Safety Plans Survive In Court? 8/22/2017

    Believing your food safety processes are of the highest standard isn't enough. Can you be certain every employee made the best food safety decisions every time they faced one? Can you support this with data? If not, ask another question: “Do you want to sit in front of a jury relying on a belief your company produced food at the highest possible standards?”

  6. Considering In-House Food Pathogen Testing? Answer These 8 Questions 8/10/2017

    From time to time, we come across companies planning to incorporate a food microbiology lab for in-house testing. But, sometimes companies don’t understand the complexity associated with starting these labs. This article presents key questions companies should ask to help determine if an in-house food microbiology laboratory is appropriate.

  7. How Artificial Intelligence Can Help F&B Supply Chain Management 7/19/2017

    Supply Chain Management is a constant struggle. Between giving consumers insights, meeting their demands, keeping real-time inventory, and ensuring all products meet quality specifications, there is a lot of data to manage. That's where Artificial Intelligence (AI) can provide F&B companies with new supply chain insights to stay ahead of the curve.

  8. Avoiding Recalls Through Physical Hazard Prevention: Are You Doing Enough? 6/13/2017

    Preventing physical hazards in food continues to be challenging, and frequently, the reason for companies and/or regulatory agencies issuing recall notices. A brief review of the recalls viewable online at Recall.gov indicates that the number of recalls for physical hazards per month ranges from zero to eight involving USDA and FDA amenable products. This article will provide steps to help food companies keep physical contaminants out of food, as well detail the latest technologies helping to reduce physical contamination-related recalls.

  9. Whole Genome Sequencing Will Make Food Safer... Just Not Immediately 5/19/2017

    For years, there has been a buzz about how genome sequencing is revolutionizing food safety. It is definitely an incredible tool giving an immediate understanding of the genetic composition of microbial pathogens, including bacteria and viruses. However, there are still gaps needing filled regarding how pathogens produce disease and survive in foods. Genome sequencing brings us more tools to further characterize pathogens, but do not expect any other parts of food safety to be forgotten soon because of WGS.

  10. 9 Ways Technology Aids FSMS Implementation And Continuous Improvement 5/18/2017

    There are many aspects of resource allocation to consider when developing a food safety management system (FSMS) for a business and there are efficiencies to be gained in almost every area of an FSMS. Technology and software can provide your team with the tools to monitor production targets and deviations in real-time and more efficiently than visual inspection.