Food Engineering articles from October 2001

Food Engineering archives from October 2001

It's about choice.
October 1, 2001... IN THIS MONTH'S FOOD SAFETY COLUMN (p.32), Contributing Editor Douglas Powell asks the question: Should politicians be making marketing decisions? It's a timely question for the food industry. As Powell goes on to explain, the Canadian...

Plant Openings & Expansions.
October 1, 2001... The Stellar Group has finished construction on a 50,000-sq.-ft. renovation and expansion for Smithfield Packing Co. The remodeling and upgrade of Smithfield's plant was due to increasing production and keeping inline with the highest sanitation...

The Haskell Company was selected by The Perrier Group to direct design and construction of its new $100 million Mecosta Ice Mountain spring water bottling plant in Stanwood, Michigan.
October 1, 2001... The Haskell Company was selected by The Perrier Group to direct design and construction of its new $100 million Mecosta Ice Mountain spring water bottling plant in Stanwood, Michigan. The plant will be among the first manufacturing facilities...

Feds prepare to take on Mad Cow Disease.
October 1, 2001... THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (HHS) PLANS TO expand efforts to combat bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) -- better known as "Mad Cow Disease" -- with a multi-pronged plan that will place greater emphasis on surveillance,...

New imaging technology detects trace fecal contamination.
October 1, 2001... AN IMAGING TECHNOLOGY under development as part of a partnership between the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and eMerge Interactive, Inc. of Sebastion, Fla., has shown in recent trials that it can detect trace levels of fecal...

Consumer groups say irradiated food is being misrepresented.
October 1, 2001... What's in a word? Plenty, according to consumer groups Public Citizen and Center for Food Safety (CFS), which are jointly calling on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to initiate a thorough investigation into companies that advertise food...

Foodborne illness "sprouting" from unusual source.
October 1, 2001... GUESS WHAT THE BIGGEST SOURCE OF FOODBORNE illness in California was between 1996 and 1998. Meat? Eggs? Contaminated water? Nope. Try alfalfa and clover sprouts. According to a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine, which investigated...

Online B2B venture gaining momentum.
October 1, 2001... THIS HASN'T BEEN A PARTICULARLY good year for many web-based business-to-business ventures, but at least one company is having a relatively easy - make that ec - time of it. ecFood announced in August that it completed $100 million of...

ABB, the global technology company, announced that it has acquired a minority interest in the Swedish software maker, Industrial & Financial Systems AB (IFS).
October 1, 2001... ABB, the global technology company, announced that it has acquired a minority interest in the Swedish software maker, Industrial & Financial Systems AB (IFS). "This partnership completes another important link in our Industrial IT strategy,"...

The national consulting firm of Carter & Burgess is pleased to announce the additional of Ron Vallort as an Associate and the Director of the Food and Beverage Group for the firm's Retail & Distribution Division.
October 1, 2001... The national consulting firm of Carter & Burgess is pleased to announce the additional of Ron Vallort as an Associate and the Director of the Food and Beverage Group for the firm's Retail & Distribution Division. Mr. Vallort's responsibilities...

Rockwell Automation.
October 1, 2001... On July 16, Rockwell Automation presented an overview of the company's energy efficiency initative before Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta, Ohio Governor Bob Taft, and a host of Ohio state congresspersons. The presentation was...

Flow International Corp. has appointed Pat Adams to the new position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Fresher Under Pressure, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of FLOW.
October 1, 2001... Flow International Corp. has appointed Pat Adams to the new position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Fresher Under Pressure, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of FLOW. Fresher Under Pressure uses ultrahigh-pressure to destroy...

FRANK DOOR COMPANY.
October 1, 2001... Doug Dougherty of Redmond, Ore. has been names national sales manager for Frank Door Company of Newport, N.C. Frank Door is a leading maker of insulated doors for a wide variety of cold-storage applications. In his new position, Dougherty is...

Active packaging gets a boost.
October 1, 2001... FDA clears the way for a system that releases chlorine dioxide gas to kill bacteria and spoilage organisms THE PROMISE OF PACKAGING THAT SENSES change in food and reacts to it has been more tease than reality, but recent FDA clearance for...

Realignment brings new technology to food.
October 1, 2001... THERE'S A LONG LIST OF TECHNOLOGIES developed for food and beverage that end up being applied in other industries, so there's a little tit-for-tat in a reorganization of Bosch Packaging Technology that will bring innovations in the...

Ex-Campbell's packaging chief heads Hall honorees.
October 1, 2001... PET pioneer Melvin Druin heads this year's Packaging Education Forum list of Hall of Fame inductees. Joining him in the Class of 2001 are Ted Marquis Sr., founder of MARQ Packaging Systems; Yoshikane Mito, a leading practitioner and educator in...

Land O' Lakes jumps on opaque bottle bandwagon.
October 1, 2001... A GROWING BODY OF SCIENTIFIC research supports what consumers already knew: ultraviolet light degrades the flavor of milk, and the translucent, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) jugs favored by dairy processors hastens the oxidation that causes...

Can drier packaging add value to broiler sales?
October 1, 2001... PURGE FROM MEAT PRODUCTS HAS been accepted as a necessary evil for years, but retailer pressure on suppliers is building to do something about it. Almost half of consumer complaints about supermarket chickens involve leaking blood and...

Die-cut bags upgrade shelf appeal.
October 1, 2001... LIKE A WELL-TAILORED SUIT, DIE-CUT polyethylene bags that provide a flattering fit for pizza dough and other pegged bakery items are adding retail sizzle for the President's Choice line. Designed, produced and printed by the former Nor...

Plain talk about food labels.
October 1, 2001... NFPA endorses presenting information on allergens in terms that consumers can readily understand Washington, D.C., is not a place usually associated with "straight talk," but food processors used the occasion of a recent FDA public meeting...

StarLink dealt a setback.
October 1, 2001... An independent Scientific Advisory Panel has submitted a report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicating that it is unable to set a reasonable tolerance level for StarLink corn in food for human consumption. In the panel's...

FSIS to tighten residue rule.
October 1, 2001... The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has disclosed plans to reduce the levels of chemical residues in meat and poultry products allowed under current rules. To put teeth in the new regulations,...

Bitter harvest.
October 1, 2001... Why the Canadian Wheat Board should reconsider its call to ban genetically engineered wheat Should politicians make marketing decisions? Based on their track record, no. Yet that is exactly what the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) and the...

Several sites now operate as one.
October 1, 2001... ERP system helps multi-sited pasta maker consolidate IT systems and streamline EDI FOLLOWING NUMEROUS EXPANSION and an acquisition, Dakota Growers Pasta Company -- now the third largest pasta manufacturer in North America -- recently found...

How the TOP FIRMS Stack Up.
October 1, 2001... Derided as "old economy" firms a year ago, the world's 100 largest food and beverage companies are benefiting from renewed appreciation Before the e-world crashed and burned, ending talk about the new economy for the foreseeable future,...

HACCP Integrations.
October 1, 2001... New software and RF systems integrate HACCP into plant process-control and information networks, but applications to date are few As reported last month in Food Engineering's "State Of Manufacturing 2001" study, a substantial number of...

A World of Opportunity.
October 1, 2001... Worldwide Food Expo promises its bottom-line oriented programming and exhibits "serve up better profits" for attendees of the Chicago event Perhaps no other major American city takes more heat for its winters than Chicago. And summers?...

MES In Search of Sizzle.
October 1, 2001... Saddled with a stodgy image, manufacturing execution systems still struggle for broad application in food and beverage processing In the acronym-happy world of automation software, MES is a label whose time may have passed, if it ever...

Knockout door for low ceilings.
October 1, 2001... TKO Doors now offers their XLT track design that fits within headroom as tight as 18 inches. This new design track overcomes the challenge of guiding the door along the ceiling by providing a double groove radius and horizontal track. A trolley...

Wall panels.
October 1, 2001... Mapes Industries manufactures a complete line of metal faced laminated wall panels that are the ideal solution for sanitary food requirements. The unique vitreous porcelain finish can be applied to both steel and aluminum to provide the most...

High-speed roll door.
October 1, 2001... The Clean-Roll's stainless steel construction makes wash down easy. Removable side columns, pitched run-off trough on the stainless steel bottom bar, and USDA and FDA compliant, urethane-coated panel material help make this door ideal for...

Fabric curtain door system.
October 1, 2001... Designed for high traffic applications, FabriCoil can withstand incidental collisions against the door fabric and bottom bar and guards against damage by giving-way on impact. FabriCoil is available in vinyl or urethane curtains to suit any...

Impact traffic doors.
October 1, 2001... To help meet the demanding federal regulations for food safety, Chase Doors has redesigned their patented Durulite Impact Traffic Doors and ThermaGard Cold Storage Doors to gain NSF certification. NSF is known for its role in developing...

High-performance doors.
October 1, 2001... Albany Door Systems manufactures a line of high performance doors specifically for the food and cold storage industry. Our high-speed doors are designed for maximum safety and productivity in high traffic environments. Albany doors save money...

Insulated doors.
October 1, 2001... Hercules energy efficient insulated doors are featured in a 12-page brochure detailing their availability for cold storage, freezer and custom design applications. Standard designs include sliding, infitting, overhead, bi-fold, vertical lift,...

Translucent insulated doors.
October 1, 2001... These translucent insulated overhead doors for industrial, institutional, government and residential buildings eliminate cold, dark areas by transmitting up to 76percent visible light while maintaining privacy. Doors are custom-fabricated from...

Wall bracket.
October 1, 2001... Remco's new wall bracket offers you a way to protect your investment in cleaning tools. Made from co-injection molded polymer, the one-piece bracket protrudes away from the wall for sanitary drying and hygienic storage. With the bracket's...

VHO fluorescent lamps.
October 1, 2001... Shat-R-Shield will offer shatter-resistant VHO fluorescent lamps in three types: VHO/TSC, VHO/LT/TSC and VHO/LT/Jacketed. VHO lamps operate at higher wattages, burn at higher temperatures and emit up to 2.5 times as much light as regular...

Color vision sensor.
October 1, 2001... DVT Corp., who invented the "smart camera" over ten years ago, has introduced the industry's first color machine vision sensor, the DVT Legend 540C SmartImage Sensor. DVT's newest SmartImage Sensor, the Legend 540C, represents the industry's...

36-pan capacity.
October 1, 2001... For serious washing requirements, consider the Douglas Model SD-36. This large volume workhorse features a convenient split door design and a generous 36-pan capacity. An innovative racking system provides maximum flexibility when cleaning...

SimPro Controls' SimLink.
October 1, 2001... SimPro Controls' SimLink system now offers remote control and monitoring capabilities for single-loop flow control applications. Now, a simple and economical solution is available for processes that previously may not have been considered...

Centrum blender.
October 1, 2001... The new Centrum Blender incorporates a unique conical-shaped agitator design combining helical ribbon and screw designs. The agitator is mounted vertically and rotates at close clearance to the conical vessel walls. Materials being mixed are...

Mixproof valve.
October 1, 2001... The modular, flexible Unique Mixproof Valve, coupled with ThinkTop, the most advanced control unit in the industry is now available from Alfa Laval to help improve processors' fluid handling systems. With a wide range of combinations, the...

Toll drying.
October 1, 2001... PCS has two pulse combustion dryers available for toll drying, with water evaporation rates of 40 and 400 lbs per hour. Pulse drying uses gas dynamic atomization, which instantly atomizes and dries the feed material without mechanical shear,...

Spray retorts.
October 1, 2001... Building on the worldwide success of Marlen's "T" Series of MAP machines, the CR-250 represents the "next generation" of MAP equipment. Significant features of the new model include its compact, space-saving footprint, a straight line product...

Detect missing items.
October 1, 2001... Loma Systems, Inc. announces new software capability for its AXIS X-ray inspection equipment. In additional to finding contaminants, AXIS is now capable of detecting missing or broken items and incorrectly filled packages. The software has been...

Plastic conveyor belting.
October 1, 2001... The EZ Clean family of plastic conveyor belting from Ashworth is designed specifically for rapid and thorough in-plant sanitation, strength and impact resistance. The modular construction of EZ Clean belts minimizes downtime for repairs, thus...

Double profile seaming rolls.
October 1, 2001... Angelus has designed a new set of seaming rolls for their "P" Model can seamers. These new seaming rolls, for first and second operation seaming assemblies, have an identical groove-profile on each end. This double profile feature enables a...

Communications platform.
October 1, 2001... Ecolab's Pest Elimination Division introduced the new estat communications platform that brings its quality service to yet another level. One component of the platform is the new estat communicator, which allows our service specialists to...

Epoxy mortar.
October 1, 2001... Tigerfreeze is an epoxy mortar that won't crack, shrink or lose its bond when applied in cold temperatures, Tigerfreeze has excellent flexibility, impact and chemical resistant properties. Tigerfreeze is a 100 percent solids, three component...

Drag chain pallet conveyor.
October 1, 2001... Rugged construction, triple-chain drive and easy-install modular design make Alba Manufacutring's drag chain pallet conveyor a strong winner for reliable heavy-pallet conveying for the beverage industry. Build bulldog-tough to withstand jarring...

Orbital weld heeds.
October 1, 2001... This series of orbital weld heads can weld tube or thin pipe through the range of 0.093-in. to 7.500-in. Arc Machines' Model 9 weld heads incorporate a two-sided clamping mechanism. An independent set of clamps on each side of the weldhead...

Business-wide reporting.
October 1, 2001... Ci Technologies Inc. has just announced Plant2Business Solutions -- an industrial strength information management system that allows users to manage and transfer plant or industrial process data throughout their entire business organizations...

Pressure Pack process offers kinder, gentler retort.
October 1, 2001... Economics and changing consumer expectations are creating an opportunity for 10-year-old technology Escalating energy prices and processors' interest in ultra-high pressure and other new technologies are creating an opportunity for the...