Food Engineering articles from April 2002

Food Engineering archives from April 2002

Food safety buck stops here. (Editor's Note).
April 1, 2002... BACK IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS, I USED TO wonder what all the security fuss was about when visiting a corporate office or plant. You know the drill: they make you stop your car at the gates and allow you access only after speaking to the security...

Calendar 2002. (Manufacturing News).
April 1, 2002... April 17-18 ASTM Committee F02 on Flexible Barrier Materials, Hilton Pittsburgh, PA, American Society for Testing and Materials. (610) 832-9686. 22-23 Consumer-Pack 2002, Packaging That Speaks, Fairmont Scottsdale Princess,...

Packaging machinery automation guidelines under review. (Manufacturing News).
April 1, 2002... The Packaging Machinery workgroup of the Open Modular Architecture Controls (OMAC) user group released version 1.1 of the Guidelines for Packaging Machinery Automation. "The document is a `work in process' and should be downloaded and reviewed...

Study validates ozone as surface sanitizer. (Manufacturing News).
April 1, 2002... Air Liquide Corp., Houston, TX, has conducted a study benchmarking ozone against Environmental Protection Agency standards for surface sanitation. "Ozone meets all acceptance criteria for a 99.999 percent reduction in viable organisms within...

Ask the expert. (Air Products).
April 1, 2002... Q How can I improve factory output of a mix of frozen products? A A 20 to 30 percent improvement may be hiding in production inefficiencies. Start by measuring downtime and the relative loading of your equipment components and its...

Multivac. (Industry & People).
April 1, 2002... Kansas City, MO-based manufacturer of packaging solutions, Multivac, is expanding its North American headquarters. Scheduled to open in September, the $4 million facility is expected to improve the company's customer service capability by...

Danaher Corporation. (Industry & People).
April 1, 2002... Danaher Corporation recently acquired Marconi Data Systems Inc. formerly known as Videojet Systems International, Inc. Effective immediately, the Videojet name has been changed to Videojet Technologies, Inc. The company manufactures digital...

Schneider Electric. (Industry & People).
April 1, 2002... Paris-based Schneider Electric promoted Amelia A. Huntington to senior vice president for Strategic Global Business Development at the company's North American Division in Palatine, IL. Jim Sandelin will succeed Huntington as vice president of...

The World Batch Forum. (Industry & People).
April 1, 2002... The World Batch Forum promoted Harry Gianakis to chairman and Maurice Wilkins to vice-chairman. The announcements were made after the death of Tom Fisher in December while he was still in office. World Batch Forum is a nonprofit professional...

M.G. Newell Corporation. (Industry & People).
April 1, 2002... M.G. Newell Corporation named James B. Webb vice president and general manager of its Tampa division. Headquartered in Greensboro, N.C., Newell provides stainless steel equipment, engineering designs and installation services to the sanitary...

Robert Reiser & Company. (Industry & People).
April 1, 2002... Robert Reiser & Company of Canton, MA, purchased the Germany-based Vemag Maschinenbau GmbH, maker of continuous vacuum stuffers. The companies will focus on new equipment for automatically linking, cutting, and hanging natural casing sausage...

Electron beam food research facility dedicated at Texas A&M. (Manufacturing News).
April 1, 2002... SureBeam Corp., producers of the electron beam technology that removes bacteria from food, dedicated a new research facility to Texas A&M University. "The electron beam process has the potential to revolutionize the level of safety we can...

New health care liabilities for manufacturers? (Manufacturing News).
April 1, 2002... The National Association of Manufacturers warns, "a final deal may be imminent" between the Bush Administration and Senate Democrats to pass patients bill of rights legislation. The industry group says the legislation would expose manufacturers...

Risk management comes to packaging: food and beverage manufacturers reevaluate the security of products and plants. (Food Packaging).
April 1, 2002... IN AN AGE WHEN AMERICANS HAVE BEEN forced to reconsider the risks of everyday life, finding a rational plan for delivering safe and secure foods to end users is shaping up as a bigger challenge than formulating the next trendy menu item. ...

Retortable carton awaits American debut. (Food Packaging).
April 1, 2002... As if metal cans and flexible pouches weren't options enough, now food processors can use cartons in retort processing. European food manufacturers already are using Tetra Pak Inc.'s Recart packaging, and the packaging system is about to debut...

Cider house rules with shrink sleeve. (Food Packaging).
April 1, 2002... YOUNG AMERICANS ARE DEVELOPING a taste for hard cider, and the makers of K Cider are betting that upscale packaging can make their brand the under-30 crowd's cider of choice. To help it get onto retail shelves, this English import from...

Mustard crust, be gone! (Food Packaging).
April 1, 2002... RECKITT BENCKISER INC. HOPES A NEW FLIP-TIP CAP DESIGN FOR BOTTLES OF ITS French's mustard line, along with bigger bottles, will kick start product sales. The cap draws unused mustard back into the bottle to prevent product build-up. Dried...

The food security challenge to plant systems. (Food Safety).
April 1, 2002... EVERYONE IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY REALIZES that if a terrorist wants to impact a large number of people, the water and food supplies are ideal vectors. The Grocery Manufacturers of America launched "ProjectVigilance" to assist the industry in...

Veneman questions GAO report on BSE. (Regulatory Watch).
April 1, 2002... USDA IS TAKING ISSUE WITH A GAO REPORT calling for greater federal efforts to prevent bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) from entering the United States and infecting U.S. cattle. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said her agency, along...

Vigilance raised on bioterrorism, food safety. (Regulatory Watch).
April 1, 2002... Joseph Levitt, director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said his agency will continue to emphasize food safety, food additives, dietary supplements and food biotechnology. In a letter to the FDA food community, Levitt also...

Courts still testing limits of ADA. (Regulatory Watch).
April 1, 2002... The U.S. Supreme Court is considering yet another case involving the Americans with Disabilities Act that could have employers on the defensive. The justices have heard arguments in the case of an oil refinery worker who sued his bosses after...

Failure to communicate.
April 1, 2002... In an appearance before Congress, USDA's Office of Inspector General has rapped the agency for not effectively communicating. Specifically, USDA was sited for shortcomings in its efforts to block meat imports from countries where foot and mouth...

2002 Food Plant Construction Survey.
April 1, 2002... New projects integrate food safety measures and focus on flexibility If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times over the past few years: If you want to survive, stay flexible. In an era of economic uncertainty where food...

2002 Construction Survey.
April 1, 2002... Plant Primary Company Location Product A A & R Wholesale Anaheim, CA Food distribution ...

Compassionate capitalists: the owners of Just Desserts hope to leverage a new $12 million bakery into a major share of the super-premium cake business.
April 1, 2002... WHEN THE AGE OF AQUARIUS ENDED, THE ERA OF ENTERPRISE BEGAN FOR GAIL HORVATH AND ELLIOT HOFFMAN. The husband and wife were part of San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury scene in the early 1970s when a friend suggested Elliot start supplying his...

New frontiers in thermal processing: refined control and new applications for heat can be as effective as high-tech solutions for food preparation challenges. (Technology Update).
April 1, 2002... Thermal processing traces its roots to man's mastery of fire a million years ago, so it lacks the glamour of more avantgarde food preparation methods. But process engineers continue to refine old and develop new applications for heat. ...

Why don't more food companies make the "Best Of" IT lists? (Information Technology).
April 1, 2002... EACH YEAR, PUBLICATIONS LIKE Information Week, eWeek, and InfoWorld publish lists of who they consider to be the best Information Technology (IT) innovators. Again in 2001, the food industry was not well represented. The InformationWeek...

Roll door. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Clean-Roll, a high-speed roll door from Rytec Corporation meets USDA, FDA, NSF and ISO standards and is UL-certified. Its fast open and closing speed helps reduce the passage and spread of airborne pathogens and helps maintain a constant...

Floor systems. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Atlas Minerals and Chemicals, Inc. developed two new floor systems - Rezklad E-GP and Rezklad E-HP. Rezklad E-GP, a general purpose floor system, is designed for new construction and maintenance of existing seamless floors where there is...

Floor resurfacer. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Garon Products introduced Treflite, an epoxy floor resurfacer for finishing old and new floors. One hundred percent nonskid, Treflite bonds to almost any surface - concrete, wood, steel, aluminum, glass and ceramics. Treflite's epoxy binder...

Coffee filling system. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Spee-Dee Packaging Machinery, Inc. and Matrix Packaging Machinery, Inc. formed an alliance to introduce CoffeePro, a coffee filling system which fills small (one- to four-ounce) fraction packs for food service. Benefits of CoffeePro include PLC...

Depth filter module. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... SUPRAdisc II, a depth filter module from SeitzSchenk Filter Systems, was developed for higher flows and increased contaminant loading, especially in more critical applications. SUPRAdisc II's new patented separator design provides easier flow...

Door System. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Albany Door Systems' Rapid Roll 220 high-speed fabric door is priced at $3699. Designed to install easily, the Rapid Roll 220 comes with low-profile side frames and pre-assembled components. The model 220 opens and closes at a speed of 42...

Automatic cap feed elevators. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... CAP-L Company introduced an expanded line of automatic container cap feeding elevators. The equipment features heavy duty construction with a stainless steel inclined elevator bed and chute with polycarbonate covers, nine cubic feet stainless...

MMA flooring systems. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Cryl-A-Floor methyl methacrylate (MMA) flooring systems from Dur-A-Flex, Inc. cure to full hardness in less than one hour. The system is a combination of acrylic resins and specially graded aggregate. Its ability to withstand temperatures as...

Automated sliding door. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Durulite QuickSlide, an automated sliding traffic door from Chase Doors features a lightweight panel constructed from roto-molded cross linked polyethylene and non-CFC-insulated foam core. The doors feature pre-assembled box track hardware,...

Warehousing management system software. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Warehouse Rx, warehousing management software from ESKAY Corporation, allows users to start from a completely manual warehouse operation and move to fully automated distribution systems. Users need only add automation modules and the latest...

Protean software. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... An informational guide to Protean process-plant-centric software in the food and beverage industries is now available from Baan Process Solutions, part of Invensys Software systems. The full-color, eight-page brochure discusses Protean's...

In-line crusher. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Atlantic Coast Crushers, Inc. offers the FLOW-SENTRY, an in-line crusher for crushing, mixing and breaking oversize material, preventing line blockages and streamlining downstream operations. The patented Model 3FS-04 FLOW SENTRY comes in...

Stainless steel speed reducer. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... All stainless steel reducers are the latest addition to Baldor Electric Company's line of speed reducers. Features of the all-stainless steel speed reducer include 304 cast stainless steel housings, covers and shafts, O-ring sealed C-face,...

Pallet dispenser. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... The model 704 Multiple Load Pallet Dispenser simultaneously feeds pallets to multiple palletizers by feeding pallets in up to three directions. The machine's bulk loading capacity of up to 54 pallets reduces the number of times lift-truck...

Automatic unscrambler. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Omega Design's Omega-Sort plastic bottle unscrambler is supplied with a floor-level hopper, rotary disc sorter and an orientation system. Features include easy load hopper design, FlowTrac elevator, a unique sorter design to minimize air...

Roll-fed labeler. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... B&H Labeling Systems' enhanced BH8000 roll-fed labeler increases productivity, safety and labeling accuracy at speeds of over 800 cpm. The BH800's advanced motion control system provides increased network capability and allows centralized...

Microdrive. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Rockwell Automation introduced the Allen-Bradley PowerFlex 4 AC drive designed to provide global OEM and end-users with a cost-effective speed control option for machine tools, fans, pumps, conveyors and material handling systems. It is...

Depalletizer. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Model 108 Bulk Depalletizer from A-B-C Packaging Machine Corporation runs plastic, glass, cans or composite containers. It incorporates features that enhance container stability. For example, the depalletizer's rugged steel frame contains 1,600...

Mortar flooring. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... CornerStone's CornerCrete CS 5000, high performance polyurethane mortar flooring is chemical resistance, durable and has a coefficient of expansion close to concrete. Its resistance range is -50 [degrees] to +250 [degrees] F, including...

Bag end effector. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... The adjusting bag end effector made by Columbia/Okura can help palletize multiple bag types and sizes from up to three production lines simultaneously. When attached to the Columbia/Okura robotic palletizer, the equipment's multi-position...

ID7 application terminal. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Mettler-Toledo, Inc.'s new generation ID72000 application terminal with a 1.3-inch display is designed to improve the accuracy and usability of weighing information. Its stainless steel, waterproof terminal can be used in sanitary sensitive...

Conveyor shipment program. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... With its new Conveyor "Quick-Ship" Program, Automated Production Systems Corporation offers the shipment of complete conveyor systems in two to four weeks depending upon configuration. Even standard machines such as palletizers, depalletizers,...

Extended power magazine. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Econocorp, Inc. offers the new extended power magazine as an option on its line of automatic horizontal cartoners. The extended magazine offers more than four times the capacity of the standard 16-inch carton magazine and comes with a 5-foot...

Outer case coders. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... The Domino C-Series is a new range of outer case coders designed for improved print quality and greater flexibility. The equipment is suited to various applications from basic large character applications to sophisticated networking solutions....

Auger fillers. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Series 3000MLX automatic auger fillers from Mateer Burt use Allen Bradley Micrologix Programmable Logic Control (PLC) to oversee all aspects of an automatic fill, including container handling functions such as indexing, vibration and container...

Hose reel. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... The SSN700 hose reel from Hannay Reels is designed for tight and confined spaces. Manufactured for heavy duty applications, these stainless steel reels can be used in the food, beverage and dairy industries. With no paint to chip and no...

Mezzanine safety gates. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Benko Products Inc. offers the Protect-O-Gate Mezzanine Safety Gate. Designed for fall protection at a mezzanine ledge, the gates come in four different models including pivoting, pivot and slide, drop gates and swing gates. These models...

In-line mixers. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Silverson Machines Inc. introduced 3A-certified in-line mixers designed for efficient and hygienic mixing. Each mixer incorporates the company's rotor/stator workhead which can mix, emulsify, homogenize, suspend, disperse and disintegrate...

Liqui-processor. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... The VacuShear[R] liqui-processor system from Admix, Inc. can blend milk powders in a subsurface tank, providing dispersion for rapid wetting and deaerate while blending. The powder addition rate can be controlled through system design and...

Poly bag insertion machine. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... K&R Equipment Inc.'s new automatic PBI-II Poly Bag insertion machine is designed for high-speed placement of poly bag liners in erected cases. This machine can be used in continuous-duty bulk packing applications and can handle KD case sizes of...

Online calculation software. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Paratherm Corporation offers a web-based service for engineers and designers who work with thermal fluid systems. ParaCalc(tm) Online helps calculate critical data on paratherm fluids as well as water and other known liquids. It is available at...

Nara paddle dryer/cooler. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... The Komline-Sanderson Nara Paddle Dryer/Cooler is used for indirect heat transfer applications requiring heating, drying or cooling. Its twin agitator design produces uniform mixing and high heat transfer rates. The heat transfer medium--steam,...

Wall and ceiling systems. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Hunter Wall and Ceiling Systems are engineered to provide durability to food plant environments. The company designs and installs specialty wall and ceiling systems for plants in the food industry. Hunter Wall and Ceiling Systems; Tel....

Metal detector. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Loma's new IQ2 metal detector incorporates a redesigned control panel with an icon-driven display. The IQ2 relies on a 32-bit microprocessor for faster data processing. Loma Systems; Tel. (800) USA-Loma/(630) 588-0900; Fax: (630) 588-1394;...

Turkey breast lobe classifier. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... Gainco, Inc. introduced turkey breast lobe classifying equipment designed to classify up to 65 turkey breast portions per minute at a tolerance level of +/- 5.0 grams. The classifier features programmable controls that allow for batching...

Container products catalog. (Technology Sourcebook).
April 1, 2002... BASCO has a new 288-page product line catalog that contains over 4,000 industrial packaging products with descriptions and technical data. Also included are dimensions and part numbers. The catalog is organized into the following product...

Supplier Profiles ... (Advertising Supplement).
April 1, 2002... Admix, Inc. Admix, Inc. offers a wide range of sanitary equipment to suit all your mixing, blending and particle size reduction needs whether you require batch processing, in-line processing or powder conveying and feeding. With thousands...

Shackling solution: Automating the transfer of live birds to a poultry kill line promises to ease stress levels for both humans and livestock. (Engineering R&D).
April 1, 2002... SHACKLING POULTRY ON A KILL LINE RANKS among the most onerous jobs in the food industry. It's a stressful, injury-prone activity for humans and livestock alike. It's also a very labor-intensive process in one of the food industry's most...