Food Processing

Former FDA associate commissioner returns from a Shanghai conference with new respect for the changes going on.

In June I had a unique opportunity to attend and speak at a Global Food Safety Summit in Shanghai, China. One of the speakers was the associate commissioner at the Shanghai equivalent of our FDA, and some of the comments he made struck a chord with me.
The food safety laws in China have now been updated for the fourth time. The first laws in their current iterations were published in 1982, and then revised in 1996, 2009 and, most recently, just several weeks ago. The current version of the law will become a requirement on Oct. 1 this year.
I won’t go into details other than to say China is getting really serious about food safety. They have increased the number of items, or sections, in this new food safety law from 104 in the last…

As the trade landscape continues to evolve, food processing companies that import and export goods to and from Canada will encounter important changes. Developments in the mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) and proposed revisions to Canada’s nutritional labeling regulations will likely change the way importers, exporters and customs brokers conduct business.
Country of origin labeling
While the dispute over COOL has been a long-running process, recent developments indicate that U.S. businesses could feel the effects of Canada’s retaliation against COOL as early as September, if the U.S. does not repeal it.
On June 10, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to repeal COOL requirements for beef, pork and chicken, urging the…

A reader wonders which way is more hygienic for applying conveyor lubricant: brush or nozzle?

Q: Which is a more hygienic method of applying conveyor lubricant: by brush or by nozzle?
A. While I am unaware of any specific guidelines from FDA, USDA or the American Meat Institute regarding the application of conveyor lubricants, application via a controlled spray nozzle is much preferable over brush application. A spray nozzle with a properly sized, pre-orifice filter will ensure that only the lubricant will be deposited on the conveyor. Attention should be given to the proper alignment of the nozzle to ensure the spray hits the center on the conveyor and does not over-spray onto the floor, where it can create a safety hazard.
A brush’s materials of construction are susceptible to picking up, harboring and distributing foreign…

The first turkey farms ravaged by the recent bird flu is approaching time to restock, though most of the farms affected are weeks away from introducing new flocks.

One of the first turkey farms in Iowa where bird flu was discovered is quickly approaching the time at which the birds can be restocked, though most of the 77 farms affected are still weeks away from introducing new flocks, says the Iowa Department of Agriculture. Iowa is the country's leading egg producer.
The bird flu outbreak, which began in mid-April, killed 31.5 million chickens and turkeys in the state. An update by officials on the recovery progress indicates that all farms have been cleared of birds. Disposal of manure, compost and other waste continued at 18 farms.
The last reported case of bird flu was four weeks ago. All birds that died or were euthanized have been incinerated, buried or taken to landfills. After barns are…

The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on July 24 to ban state laws that force food companies to place labels on products featuring genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Passage of the hotly contested bill, called The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, is a victory for food and chemical manufacturers. The vote passed 275 to 150, with six of Minnesota's eight representatives voting against labeling requirements. Opponents of GMO labeling lost a court battle to stop state labeling laws before turning to congress.
The act would create a federal standard for the voluntary labeling of foods with GMO ingredients.
Vermont, Connecticut and Maine already passed mandatory labeling laws, but the bill's proponents have…

Our sixth annual Green Plant of the Year is now accepting votes for the 'greenest' food manufacturing plant in the United States. You can cast your vote below. The plant with the most votes wins, so share the love online and in social media.
The…

Living up to the hype will be difficult, but infrastructure construction is well under way for the Internet of Things.

As catch phrases go, the Internet of Things has a certain Buck Rogers ring to it. IoT already has trumped Big Data and network connectivity when it comes to capturing people’s imagination.
What's catapulting IoT above the level of hype are the…

A monthly round-up of food and beverage manufacturing equipment chosen by our editors.

Safety Gate Offers Workers Protection from Falls
The Mezzanine Clear Height Safety Gate is engineered to protect workers from falls on elevated mezzanine loading areas. In addition, it does not have load height restrictions so it can accommodate…

Trends in breakfast foods are more of the same: hand-held, portable, healthful choices. Yet in the rush of in a morning routine, nutrition is as important as convenience.

The best way to start the day is with a healthy breakfast. But these days, convenience is king in the early part of the day. We're rushing around in the morning more, so everything in a breakfast meal -- if you can call it that any more -- needs to…

As consumer concern for healthy eating escalates, so does the interest in natural and artisanal foods. Artisans can keep traditions alive by going beyond the mass-produced norm with the best ingredients and old-world methods to create foods with flair.

No question, artisan foods are popular. From the increase in small, niche names in specialty shops to big, iconic brands on supermarket shelves and the surge of food prep-at-home delivery businesses, artisan food companies seem to be thriving. All…

The school lunch program needs government renewal; should it get tougher or more lax nutritional standards?

One of the battles brewing in Washington these days is a debate over reauthorization of the National School Lunch Program. The current incarnation, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA), which will expire on Sept. 30, attempted to force…

Trends in breakfast foods are more of the same: hand-held, portable, healthful choices. Yet in the rush of in a morning routine, nutrition is as important as convenience.

The best way to start the day is with a healthy breakfast. But these days, convenience is king in the early part of the day. We're rushing around in the morning more, so everything in a breakfast meal -- if you can call it that any more -- needs to…

The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on July 24 to ban state laws that force food companies to place labels on products featuring genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Passage of the hotly contested bill, called The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, is a victory for food and chemical manufacturers. The vote passed 275 to 150, with six of Minnesota's eight representatives voting against labeling requirements. Opponents of GMO labeling lost a court battle to stop state labeling laws before turning to congress.
The act would create a federal standard for the voluntary labeling of foods with GMO ingredients.
Vermont, Connecticut and Maine already passed mandatory labeling laws, but the bill's proponents have…

Mondelēz International, Inc., Deerfield, Ill., and D.E Master Blenders 1753 B.V. , Amsterdam, have completed their move to combine their respective coffee businesses, including Mondelēz International's coffee portfolio in France, to create Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE), which will become the world's leading pure-play coffee company with annual revenues of more than $5.5 billion.
Mondelez received a 44 percent interest in the new joint venture upon closing of the deal and approximately $4.2 billion. Acorn Holdings B.V., which owns D.E. Master Blenders 1753, will have a 56-ercent share in JDE.
Mondelez reports that the new company will be headquartered in the Netherlands and have market-leading positions in 18 countries globally, along with a…

The marketing textbook teaches us to follow the early buyers; but are they leaders or misleaders?

Does anyone besides me think the new product curve might be someone's imagination, at least as it pertains to food? I have mentioned this to brand managers in the past, but they all seem to think that their MBA marketing textbook is equivalent to the Bible or the Koran. It must be true because it says so in my textbook. Everett Rogers introduced the concept in 1962 and everyone followed suit.
Is it possible that this concept of innovators, early adopters, late adopters, etc., is really just nonsense? Is it possible that there is just a group of people who are first buyers and they bounce around from one category to another trying new things and giving the impression that the product will be a success. Could it be that no one really follows…

The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on July 24 to ban state laws that force food companies to place labels on products featuring genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Passage of the hotly contested bill, called The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, is a victory for food and chemical manufacturers. The vote passed 275 to 150, with six of Minnesota's eight representatives voting against labeling requirements. Opponents of GMO labeling lost a court battle to stop state labeling laws before turning to congress.
The act would create a federal standard for the voluntary labeling of foods with GMO ingredients.
Vermont, Connecticut and Maine already passed mandatory labeling laws, but the bill's proponents have…

The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on July 24 to ban state laws that force food companies to place labels on products featuring genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Passage of the hotly contested bill, called The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, is a victory for food and chemical manufacturers. The vote passed 275 to 150, with six of Minnesota's eight representatives voting against labeling requirements. Opponents of GMO labeling lost a court battle to stop state labeling laws before turning to congress.
The act would create a federal standard for the voluntary labeling of foods with GMO ingredients.
Vermont, Connecticut and Maine already passed mandatory labeling laws, but the bill's proponents have…

Unmanned aerial vehicles will be used to monitor suppliers, other forest land that needs to be protected.

Drones, very much in the news lately, are being employed in a new cold war – the war on deforestation and non-sustainable palm oil.
Cargill Inc., in an April update to its palm oil sustainability report, notes it is prepared to launch drone aircraft in Malaysia, the world's second-biggest grower of oil palms. "Our project with unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) is moving into the operational phase. A Cargill team is set to start flight training in Malaysia. They will soon graduate as certified UAV pilots.
"With the UAVs, we are pushing the envelope in sustainability," the report continues. "They will help us map and monitor valuable pieces of forest land that need to be protected, and improve land and water use, so that we can grow more…

As the trade landscape continues to evolve, food processing companies that import and export goods to and from Canada will encounter important changes. Developments in the mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) and proposed revisions to Canada’s nutritional labeling regulations will likely change the way importers, exporters and customs brokers conduct business.
Country of origin labeling
While the dispute over COOL has been a long-running process, recent developments indicate that U.S. businesses could feel the effects of Canada’s retaliation against COOL as early as September, if the U.S. does not repeal it.
On June 10, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to repeal COOL requirements for beef, pork and chicken, urging the…

More work needs to be done to attract millennials to your food and your plants.

I think our cover nicely illustrates an issue all food and beverage companies already are dealing with that’s only going to get worse: the attraction of good, young talent in an age when pure technology is hotter. Maybe what it doesn’t show is the attendant problem that millennials – and that’s the age group we’re talking about – have probably the lowest perception of the food and beverage industry than any previous generation.
These problems are interconnected. As much, if not more, effort should be expended at solving the second issue as the first – if only because these millennials also are the next great demographic of consumers, and with each tick of the clock they are growing larger than the baby boomer generation.

The acquisition is expected to boost 2015 sales to more than $500 million.

Memphis-based Monogram Foods has completed the acquisition of Golden County Foods, a Plover, Wis., manufacturer of frozen appetizers that entered into Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in May.
The bankruptcy court accepted Monogram’s bid of $37.2 million for Golden County’s assets, which include two facilities in Plover.
Founded in 1991 and owned by GCF Holdings II, the maker of cheese-based appetizers and snacks continued operating after its May 18 bankruptcy filing. Golden County had annual sales of about $100 million.
Monogram CEO Karl Schledwitz announced the hiring of 50 more workers in Plover, which would boost staffing to 600. Monogram employees 2,000 workers in five states. The acquisition is expected to boost 2015 sales to…

Sales of organic food and non-food products in the U.S. grew 11.3 percent in 2014 over the previous year, totaling $39.1 billion, according to the latest survey from the Organic Trade Assn. (OTA).
Despite the industry struggling with tight supplies of organic ingredients, organic food sales grew 11 percent in 2014, to $35.9 billion, while organic non-food sales, at $3.2 billion, jumped almost 14 percent for the biggest annual increase in six years.
The majority of American households in all regions of the country now make organic a part of their supermarket and retail purchases – from 68 to almost 80 percent of households in southern states, to nearly 90 percent on the West Coast and in New England, according to OTA.
OTA’s Organic…

Mars Chocolate North America says it will invest an additional $100-million in its Topeka, Kan., facility, breaking ground on a 90,000-sq.-ft. facility there.

Mars Chocolate North America disclosed on July 16 that it will invest an additional $100-million in its Topeka, Kan., facility, breaking ground on a state-of-the-art, 90,000-sq.-ft. facility there. As part of the expansion, Mars will create 70 new, full-time, permanent, high-wage manufacturing jobs.
The move comes just more than a year after the New Jersey-based company opened its $270-million plant south of the city. "For over a century, Mars has been committed to making our products in the markets where we sell them," states Tracey Massey, president of Mars Chocolate North America. "We are grateful for the warm welcome and continued support we have received from Topeka and the state of Kansas, and we are pleased to further invest in the…

Trends in breakfast foods are more of the same: hand-held, portable, healthful choices. Yet in the rush of in a morning routine, nutrition is as important as convenience.

The best way to start the day is with a healthy breakfast. But these days, convenience is king in the early part of the day. We're rushing around in the morning more, so everything in a breakfast meal -- if you can call it that any more -- needs to…

Our 44th annual R&D Survey indicates a year of regulatory challenges but less emphasis on cost control.

Sometimes we worry that we write too much about genetically engineered ingredients (GMOs) and regulatory issues, especially for you folks in product development. But the two subjects seem to be coming up a lot lately, with the latter concern…

General Mills plans to introduce a gluten-free version of Lucky Charms later this summer

With sales of gluten-free foods doubling in the past four years to more than $23 billion from $11.5 billion (according to Nielsen), General Mills, Minneapolis, wants in on the action to boost slumping cereal sales. It plans to produce a gluten-free version of Lucky Charms later this summer. The news about the "Magically Delicious" but gluten-free marshmallow-spiked cereal is only a part of the company's extensive $712-million capital investment in its food-manufacturing business, which also includes adding gluten-free versions to five of its Cheerios varieties some time this summer.
Last month, the company announced that it will remove artificial flavors and colors from the remaining 40 percent of its cereals that still contain…

Instead of a renaissance of two venerable firms, this will be a race to the bottom (line).

I was sad enough back in early 2013 when I heard about two investment firms taking Heinz Co. private. Now I’m distraught that Heinz is merging with Kraft. Or, as I recently said to a coworker: taking Kraft down with it.
Let’s face it: This merger is not about creating exciting new products, funding the R&D needed to get into novel growth categories or even about rejuvenating old but solid brands and products. It’s not about investing in and nurturing up-and-coming companies that have the Next Big Thing.
It’s about subtraction by addition: seeing how many plants can be shut down, how many people laid off and how many brands sold off to make the investors even richer than they are. And most of those investors are from Brazil, not…

This year's list of the top food and beverage companies has been altered mostly by domestic buying.

Whereas 2013 saw several U.S. firms undertake acquisitions across the globe – and one mega deal that made a U.S. firm owned by the Chinese – part of last year and the first half of 2014 seem to be playing out as a time of renewed interest in…

With 322 total mergers and acquisitions recorded in 2010, the food and beverage industry is seeing the highest M&A figure since 2008, and about even with the 2005 figure.

The year 2010 began and ended with blockbuster deals.
Kraft Foods Inc. engineered the two biggest mergers and acquisitions of 2010: acquiring Cadbury Plc (in a drama that played out through most of 2009), then helping to pay for that $19.4 billion purchase by selling its pizza business to Nestle SA for $3.7 billion. Both those sales closed in January of 2010.
February saw suddenly acquisitive Diamond Foods get chip maker Kettle Foods, and Sunsweet acquire Herbal Water, maker of Ayala’s Herbal Water.
Last summer, Snyder’s of Hanover Inc. merged with Lance Inc. Seneca Foods Corp. bought Unilink LLC and Lebanon Valley Cold Storage LP, both makers of frozen fruits and vegetables.
In the fall, Ralcorp Holdings bought American Italian Pasta…

The Food Processing Top 100 list of food and beverage manufacturers is now available in an interactive format.

Starting this year, the Food Processing Top 100 list of food and beverage manufacturers will be available as an interactive, fully-sortable grid on http://www.foodprocessing.com/top100.
All 100 company names, rankings, food sales and company sales will be sortable in ascending or descending order. The sorting function is controlled by clicking the up or down arrow as shown in the image below.
Another added benefit to the interactive list is the introduction of individual profiles for each of the top 100 companies. Each profile contains information such as address, websites, brands or products, executives and much more. You can access the individual company profiles by clicking on the company name in the grid.

The 2008 top 100 food and beverage processing companies in the U.S. and Canada are profiled in this annual feature. Find company contact information, major brands, key executives and main product areas.

The 2007 top 100 food and beverage processing companies in the U.S. and Canada are profiled in this annual feature. Find company contact information, major brands, key executives and main product areas.

Small companies, big impressions

How Jones Soda, Wawa Dairy and Hirzel Canning outmaneuver the giants in their categories

"We do a lot of taste testing. Some of it right in the stores, but we also do professionally done tests with our ad agency," Over continues. "For example, they told us to get rid of the snap-on cap on our plastic milk bottles."

Wawa also has used its clout as a large retailer to gather intelligence on, and sometimes within, Coca-Cola, Pepsico and Snapple. "We began benchmarking them about a year and a half ago. We wanted to learn to think like them, to think like a beverage company not a dairy or a C-store chain. Coke and Pepsi even have allowed us in to see their operations , our C-store component is a very big customer for them -- and we've changed some practices as a result."

Don't follow every trend

Despite the trends toward lower calories and fat, Wawa determined from its C-store customers there was a market for a decadent milk drink. "So last year we introduced Double-Dutch Chocolate in 4 percent milkfat. It may fly in the face of low-fat and low-carb diets, but people love it," says Over.

Following instincts and some leads also led to a diet green tea, an "awesome lemonade, 12 percent juice," says Over, and an Arnold Palmer-inspired lemonade-tea combo.

There have been a lot of extra-base hits for Wawa. But there have been some strikeouts, too. Despite the nutraceutical connections, an oolong tea never caught on with consumers. Neither did a raspberry lemonade.

"In the case of the oolong tea, we even outsourced the production of that one rather than commit any internal resources," says Over. "But generally speaking, we're not afraid to give just about anything a try. It only costs us labels."

Wawa also is not afraid to spend money. "When we went to a decanter style for quarts and half gallons, we could have put on a simple, inexpensive label. But we really wanted to take advantage of the billboard possibilities, so we developed an expensive but vivid label and wrapped it all around the bottle," Over continues. "We could have bought a typical labeling machine, instead we bought one that was 15 times more expensive than a roll-fed machine -- $750,000 for one machine. That may sound crazy, but we look at it as an investment in our product and our brand. And it's paying off."

Similarly, the dairy installed a sophisticated Swisslog AS/RS in late 2000. It's four stories high, has 16 cranes, three miles of conveyors, four servers with redundancy and can handle 82,000 cases. It keeps product at 38 degrees. "We gained almost 4 percent in accuracy. We're now up to 99.98 percent dock audited accuracy.

"Just because you're small, just because you're in the dairy industry, doesn't mean you shouldn't take risks," he concludes.

'We need to take risks and move quickly'

Jones Soda creates a pop culture around unusual flavors, retro bottles and an emotional connection with its young consumers.

Turkey and gravy-flavored soda? A web site that greets you with "Time flies like the wind. Fruit flies like bananas" (sent in by a customer). An energy drink called WhoopAss.

No, this is not your father's beverage company. And if you don't get it, well, that's OK. For every potential buyer this irreverent, in-your-face approach turns off, it also ingratiates Jones Soda to probably more than one new customer of a certain demographic.

"We own the 14-24-year-old demographic," says Peter van Stolk, founder and still CEO of the 17-year-old (isn't that appropriate?) company. He throws at that niche everything he thinks they might be interested in, from athletic heroes culled from the ranks of skateboarders and freestyle bicyclists to blog areas on the Jones web site to unusual flavors in sometimes short runs.

"We don't have the budgets our competitors do, so we need to take risks and move quickly," van Stolk says.

Case in point: Pepsico three months back announced it was coming out in late summer with a mid-calorie cola, in partial response to America's trimming of carbohydrates. A few weeks later, Coke said it would follow suit. Jones didn't say anything; it just quickly formulated and launched a half-calorie, half-carbohydrate watermelon soda.

"The world doesn't need another soda," van Stolk reportedly said when he founded the company. What he meant, he says, is that Coke and Pepsi do a fine job of producing good-tasting products that slake the world's thirst. "People sometimes need more than a soft drink. They want an emotional connection to a product.

"The quality of the product is, of course, a very important component," he continues. "But it's only one, and some companies focus too much on the product. There's also packaging. But what I see as most important is the emotional connection. I want all our customers to get excited by our product, to feel like it partly belongs to them."

That explains the company name. "Why Jones? Because I couldn't get Smith," van Stolk says. He's not being facetious. "I figured that with a common name like Smith, at least all the Smiths in the world would try it and feel that emotional connection." He was satisfied when his trademark lawyers came back with Jones, learning only after the selection the various vernacular meanings of the word. "All of which work in our favor," he adds.