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Ready-to-eat

Views: 4453

Do You Really Need to Upgrade Your PLC-5 Automation System?

Source: Rockwell Automation

Upgrading PLC-5 automation systems has been on the food and beverage industry’s radar for quite some time now. In fact, when I began working at Stellar 12 years ago, people were buzzing about Rockwell Automation moving the processor into retirement (“Silver Series” status). However, the PLC-5 1771 was such a widely popular system, Rockwell held back on pulling the trigger until recently. In August 2012, Rockwell revealed it would no longer support the PLC-5 processor anymore, including engineering replacement parts—big news, considering more than 80 percent of the marketplace owned these systems. Continue Reading “Do You Really Need to Upgrade Your PLC-5 Automation System?”

Views: 2348

[Timeline] 9 Defining Moments for the Food Processing Industry

July marks an exciting milestone for Stellar: our 30th anniversary. While we’ve celebrated plenty of remarkable moments over the past three decades, we know we’re not the only ones. Food processing has experienced several turning points of its own, signifying key changes that have molded food manufacturing as we know it today. Continue Reading “[Timeline] 9 Defining Moments for the Food Processing Industry”

Views: 2620

Is Your Food Processing Plant Safe From Listeria?

Listeria is a foodborne illness that can have dire consequences–sometimes, deadly. The bacteria is characteristically persistent, able to not only thrive for years, but within frozen storage and outside of the expected environments, such as meat processing plants. Are you sure you’re taking the proper measures to ensure listeria isn’t growing in your facility?

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Views: 1023

3 Ways to Prevent Food Plant Electrical System Malfunctions

Do you give enough care and consideration to your food processing facility’s electrical equipment? As a senior electrical engineer for Stellar, I joined several of my peers in a discussion in this month’s Food Engineering article, “Electrical systems and components: The lifeblood of your facility,” on electrical safety, systems maintenance and more. In the article, I reviewed factors that impact your plant’s electrical well-being. Below I describe them in greater detail for Food for Thought’s readers: Continue Reading “3 Ways to Prevent Food Plant Electrical System Malfunctions”

Views: 2477

3 Ways to Determine the Fitness of Your Refrigeration Compressor

Refrigeration screw compressors use axial thrust load bearings—and they have a life expectancy that will begin to fail over time. At one time or another, all food processors and beverage manufacturers will be in the market for a refrigeration compressor rebuild or replacement. Because the compressor and its bearings will deteriorate over time, staying on top of its performance is crucial to avoiding a catastrophic failure. Here are three methods that can help gauge your compressor’s fitness.

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Views: 5811

Eco-friendly Packaging in the Food and Beverage Industry: Types & Benefits

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.

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Views: 1135

How Production Loads in Your Food Processing Plant Affect Refrigeration Efficiency and Stability

When cooling loads change gradually, your refrigeration equipment and controls undergo gradual changes and your system remains stable and efficient. However, if rapid load fluctuations occur as a result of production or sanitation activities, many systems experience pressure or temperature fluctuations, which can cause sanitation and quality issues as well as increased energy usage. There are several strategies food manufacturers can employ to deal with these challenges. Continue Reading “How Production Loads in Your Food Processing Plant Affect Refrigeration Efficiency and Stability”

Views: 2352

Following Sanitary Design Best Practices Key to Avoiding Food Safety Recalls

Stellar is experiencing a major uptick in sanitary design projects, and we have a hunch as to why. The implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) has many food and beverage companies taking a deeper look at their processing practices, their plant designs and the equipment that goes inside their facilities. As food recalls litter the headlines and impact the health of consumers, food safety continues to be a crucial area of focus. A sound food safety program begins on the plant floor, and it all starts with following sanitary design best practices.

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Views: 1005

Food Processing Plant Down? 3 Solutions to Keep Operations Moving

Aside from producing high quality, safe products, what is one of the most important rules of food manufacturing? Do not short your customers. If a disaster puts your plant’s operations on pause, know your options for continuing production outside the walls of your facility. Co-packing, co-manufacturing and built-in redundancy are three solutions to keep your operations moving when your plant is down. Here are the key things to know about each.

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