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The FDA recently released new final Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) rules. These rules are the result of amendments made to the original proposals, based on comments and criticisms in public forums. Below are important details of two rules. You can find a full explanation of each new rule here.
Continue Reading “What Food Processors Should Know About 2 New FSMA Final Rules”
Though it can appear harmless and be overlooked entirely, combustible dust is extremely dangerous in food processing facilities. Any solid material composed of distinct particles can present a fire hazard according to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration.
Continue Reading “How to Prevent and Mitigate Combustible Dust Explosions in Food Plants”
Today, our team is settling back into the office after exhibiting at PACK EXPO in Las Vegas. While packaging is fresh on our minds, let’s examine some fascinating packaging research released by The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (PMMI) earlier this week. Continue Reading “Packaging Trends: Key Findings from The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies Research”
Following several years of FDA outreach and industry input, the Food Safety Modernization Act’s Preventive Controls for Human Food rule is now officially final. The rule implements elements from the original proposal in 2013 as well as supplemental proposals since then. Several things have changed as a result. Continue Reading “FSMA Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule Now Final: What You Need to Know”
Food for Thought is celebrating its two-year anniversary this month, and one of our very first blog posts is one of the most popular to-date. In April of 2013, I wrote a piece titled “Food Companies Go Green With Eco-Friendly Packaging,” discussing its different types and benefits. Eco-friendly packaging is something that’s only gained more steam as time has passed.
Continue Reading “Eco-friendly Packaging in the Food and Beverage Industry: Types & Benefits”
Food and beverage processors are increasingly turning towards robotics for the technology’s slew of benefits including reduced costs, upped throughput and increased food and worker safety. Earlier this month, I contributed to the Food Engineering article, “The rise of robotic automation,” discussing the functionality for robots in the food processing industry. While robotics does boast various benefits to food manufacturing, it’s important to follow some best practices during your own implementation. Continue Reading “5 Best Practices for Using Robotics in Your Food Processing Plant”
As product lines become more diverse due to increased demand in specialty ingredients in multiple sized packages with private labeling, manual processes become both costly and time consuming. Many food processing plant managers are recognizing the benefits of automating previously manual processes to increase production and reduce labor costs.
Continue Reading “Automate These Three Processes to Increase Throughput”
Odor complaints from those who live and work near food processing plants have been making headlines lately, resulting in bad press and poor community relations for the manufacturers. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Air Act was created to reduce emissions of hazardous and odorous air pollutants and outlines specific requirements for food processors. Subsequently, odor control should be a part of any food processing plant’s Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) program.
Continue Reading “Eliminating Noxious Plant Odors Through Incineration: A Case Study”
The food and beverage industry today is all about consumer demand and meeting preferences for tastes, specialty ingredients and preparations (such as non-GMO, Kosher and gluten-free), flexible packaging, and convenient serving sizes.
Take the coffee industry for example: One customer wants a special blend in a light roast with a medium grind. Another customer wants a different blend in a dark roast with a fine grind. You can do the math and see the exponential impact of the options. Every variation creates a unique SKU for the coffee producer.
Continue Reading “Tips for Managing Multiple SKUs to Meet Customer Demands”
Ingredient changes and process design solutions are much easier to engineer in a new plant than in an existing one. Plants that work with allergen products can design dedicated process lines, separate storage areas and well-planned cleaning processes to avoid any cross-contamination issues. Yet with gluten-free products being relatively new on the scene, retrofitting an existing plant to incorporate this allergen into the current product mix can be challenging.
Continue Reading “Process Solutions For Adding Gluten-free to Your Product Mix”
