The Leading Source for Food Manufacturing News
Horizontal Motion Conveyor
December 2, 2009 4:05 am | Product Releases | CommentsFeaturing a slow-forward, quick-return conveying motion, The Slipstick® horizontal motion conveyor won’t compromise food quality or present a safety hazard, whether it’s utilized in food processing plants or bulk product manufacturing. The low-impact motion preserves the integrity of the product conveyed, while the elimination of external springs, belts, and rollers ensures safer and sanitary operation.
China Lifts Ban On Canadian Pork
December 2, 2009 4:04 am | News | CommentsOTTAWA — China has reopened its borders to imports of Canadian pork — a possible signal of goodwill as Prime Minister Stephen Harper flies to visit the Asian giant for his first official visit. The huge Chinese market was closed to Canadian pork products in May after the swine flu virus was found in pigs on an Alberta farm.
Bacterial Disease Found In Idaho Cow
December 2, 2009 4:01 am | News | CommentsBOISE, Idaho (AP) — The infectious bacterial disease brucellosis has been found in a beef cow in eastern Idaho, and state agriculture officials are scrambling to see if the infection is isolated or if it has spread to other herds. Idaho Department of Agriculture state veterinarian Bill Barton sent a memo Monday saying that a beef cow from a newly assembled 600-head herd tested positive for the disease, which is rarely transmitted to humans but can cause spontaneous abortions, infertility, decreased milk production and weight loss in cattle, elk, bison and other mammals.
Safety Regulators Cite ConAgra In Plant Blast
December 2, 2009 4:00 am | News | CommentsRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Workplace inspectors cited ConAgra Foods Inc. and a contractor for dozens of serious safety violations in the June explosion at a Slim Jim plant that killed four people, the state Labor Department said Tuesday. Most of the citations against ConAgra Foods and Energy Systems Analysts Inc.
Recalled Cat Food Sickens 21 Cats
December 2, 2009 3:59 am | News | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — A Missouri company said Tuesday its recalled dried cat food has sickened 21 cats and the pet food was distributed in multiple states in the South and along the East Coast. Diamond Pet Foods recalled certain bags of Premium Edge Finicky Adult Cat and Premium Edge Hairball cat food in September because they could lead to gastrointestinal or neurological problems for cats.
Monsanto Joins Pact To Cleanup ID Mines
December 2, 2009 3:58 am | News | CommentsBOISE, Idaho (AP) — Five federal and state agencies, an Indian tribe and Monsanto Co. have agreed to develop comprehensive cleanup plans for three defunct southeastern Idaho phosphate mines. The pact, announced Tuesday by the Environmental Protection Agency, requires the St. Louis-based company to investigate pollution at its Ballard, Henry, and Enoch Valley mines.
FDA Cites Unsafe Conditions At Tyson Foods
December 2, 2009 3:53 am | News | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators have warned Tyson Foods about unsanitary conditions at a Texas plant that makes seafood soups. In a warning letter posted online Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration said its inspectors found fish meat stored at dangerously high temperatures at the company's plant in Fort Worth.
Inadequate Power System Causes Downtime At Winery
December 2, 2009 3:52 am | Articles | CommentsFor over 40 years, Maselli Measurements has been making sophisticated analysis and titration instrumentation—their Multiparametric station performs measurement of sugar content, pH levels and acid-base titration of the grape-juice, or “Must”, before it is transformed into wine.
New Food Safety Lab To Open In MI
December 1, 2009 4:35 am | by About Covance | News | CommentsPRINCETON, NJ (PRNewswire-FirstCall) — Covance Inc. (NYSE: CVD) today announced that it will create a nutritional chemistry and food safety laboratory in Battle Creek, Michigan. The new laboratory will support clients in the region across a wide range of testing, including a significant expansion of Covance's microbiological food safety testing capability.
Scientists Help Crack Maize Genome
December 1, 2009 4:34 am | News | CommentsTUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Scientists have completed sequencing the highly complex genome of the maize plant and say the accomplishment could herald a second "green revolution" in more productive and nutritious cereal crops. Much of the work for the four-year, $30 million collaborative effort by 150 researchers to create a genetic road map for future manipulation of the maize plant was done at the University of Arizona's Arizona Genomics Institute.
Meat Business Settles Inspection Lawsuit
December 1, 2009 4:33 am | News | CommentsLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A western Nebraska meat business has settled a 2-month-old lawsuit after agreeing to following federal inspection laws governing businesses that sell to commercial customers. Federal prosecutors had said Marky's Meat Market in Gering violated meat inspection rules since 2006 because the business sold meat to commercial customers without having USDA inspectors present during preparation.
Mayo Uncovers Mysterious Slaughterhouse Illness
December 1, 2009 4:32 am | News | CommentsMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Doctors at the Mayo Clinic and government public health experts have confirmed the mysterious illnesses in 24 slaughterhouse workers in Minnesota and Indiana from 2006 to 2008 was caused by an autoimmune response to a mist of pig brain tissue. Their article was published Monday in the British medical journal Lancet Neurology.
Analyst Sees Strong Year Ahead For Food Makers
December 1, 2009 4:32 am | News | CommentsNEW YORK (AP) — Food manufacturers have a very good year ahead of them, according to Citi analyst David Driscoll. Consumers are eating at home more often, the popularity of store-brands is slowing and increasing advertising spending and product creation all bode well for food makers' profitability, Driscoll wrote in a research note.
New Plant To Convert Sugar Into Plastic
December 1, 2009 4:31 am | News | CommentsLAUSANNE, Switzerland (Tetra Pak) – Tetra Pak has reached agreement with the largest Brazilian petrochemical company, Braskem SA, to purchase limited volumes of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) derived entirely from a renewable feedstock. The agreement represents the first move toward using green polyethylene in the carton packaging industry.
In Your Facebook
December 1, 2009 4:19 am | by Jeff Reinke, Editorial Director, Food Manufacturing | Articles | CommentsI like to consider myself a true connoisseur of irony. So the circumstances regarding a recent article that our esteemed associate editor Meaghan Ziemba forwarded on was not lost on me. You see, she e-mailed a collection of editors an article where the author spouted on about the death of e-mail as a form of communication.
Preserve, Protect, Prosper
November 30, 2009 11:37 am | by Rush LaSelle director of worldwide sales & marketing for Adept Technology, Inc. | Articles | CommentsAchieve Packaging Sustainability with Flexible Automation Our world’s need to preserve resources for the future means the packaging industry’s ultimate goal is achieving packaging sustainability. Packaging sustainability balances economic prosperity with environmental and social responsibility.
Design Advice Series
November 30, 2009 11:07 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe new installments of the TechTalk Design Advice Series for igus’ bearings line are “The Science Behind Triboplastic Bearings” and “Increase Speeds and Accelerations with Plastic Bearings”, which both aim to educate design engineers by offering technical insights and tips.
Fixed-Mount ID Reader
November 30, 2009 11:05 am | Product Releases | CommentsIn-Sight® fixed-mount ID readers integrate lighting, camera, ID software, processor and communications into an industrial-grade design. The units incorporate IDMax Data Matrix code reading software, based on PatMax® technology, to provide reliable decoding under all conditions. The software handles a wide range of degradations to the appearance of the code, no matter what the cause, allowing the units to deliver reliable readings.
Weight Controller
November 30, 2009 11:03 am | Product Releases | CommentsUntitled Document December 1, 2009 The HI 4050 weight controller is available factory-installed in a stainless steel (Nema 4x) enclosure. It can be configured as a blind unit or with a keyboard and display. A load cell summing board or intrinsic barrier assembly can be added to eliminate the need for a system junction box or for use in hazardous class I, II, DIV II applications.
Poultry Q&A
November 30, 2009 9:53 am | Articles | CommentsPrior to his 10 years of experience in agriculture, Scott Carter obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from Purdue University and a Ph.D. in Nutrition and Biotechnology from North Carolina State University. His research at NCSU focused on the discovery of a novel enzyme, its production and scale up via fermentation, and the application of this enzyme to poultry diets to improve protein digestibility and utilization.
