The Leading Source for Food Manufacturing News
The Singing Toxicologist
January 13, 2010 11:16 am | Videos | CommentsThe man who brought us such classics as Microbes - They Might Kill You tells us about his grant-funded research on educating consumers, students and industry professionals on food safety with music.
Out With The Old, In With The Kardashians
January 13, 2010 4:41 am | by Anna Wells, Editor, IMPO | Articles | CommentsI recently watched a video on the prospected “obsolete” technology of 2010 —a compilation developed by the Huffington Post which highlighted once prosaic things that were now going the way of the dinosaur. Before I pressed PLAY, I pondered the obsolete… it stood to reason that things like analog television would make the list of the recently tapping out… or DVD in the wake of BluRay? Maybe the Snuggie was past its prime.
Variable Speed Drive Technology Supplies Power When Needed
January 13, 2010 4:28 am | by Paul Humphreys, Atlas Copco Compressors | Articles | CommentsThis article is the final in a three-part series that examines ways to reduce compressed air energy costs. Part one outlined 10 ways to reduce energy costs. Part two suggests ways to reduce energy costs through heat recovery. The simple economic model of matching supply to meet demand optimizes productivity and helps control costs.
Ferrero Reportedly Drops Cadbury Interest
January 13, 2010 4:13 am | News | CommentsMILAN (AP) — The Italian chocolate company Ferrero International SA reportedly is not interested in bidding for British candy maker Cadbury PLC, which is the target of a hostile bid by Kraft Foods Inc. The business daily il Sole 24 Ore reported Wednesday that Ferrero, the maker of Nutella chocolate spread and Tic Tacs, decided after two days of talks with Hershey Co.
Kraft Foods Boosts Earnings Outlook Again
January 13, 2010 4:12 am | News | CommentsNORTHFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Kraft Foods Inc., engaged in a hostile takeover bid for candy maker Cadbury PLC, boosted its full-year profit outlook for the second time in two months after logging strong operating gains, as it spent more on marketing its core brands. The food company, whose products include Maxwell House coffee and its namesake cheese, has reduced its product lines during the economic downturn in order to concentrate on its most profitable products.
Nonprofits Sue Over Patent To Feed Hungry
January 13, 2010 4:11 am | News | CommentsCHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — A pair of American nonprofits want to ramp up production in the next year of a high-protein peanut butter-like paste that could feed some of the more than 1 billion people around the world who don't have enough to eat. But Breedlove Foods Inc. and the Mama Cares Foundation believe one thing stands in their way: U.
Group Prepares For Chicken Pollution Suit
January 13, 2010 4:10 am | News | CommentsBERLIN, Md. (AP) — An environmental group says it has filed a Public Information Act request with Maryland's Department of the Environment for records about a Berlin chicken farm it says is polluting waterways. The Waterkeeper Alliance has threatened to sue the Hudson Farm and Perdue Farms, which buys chickens from the farm.
Farmers To Admit To Human Trafficking
January 13, 2010 3:52 am | News | CommentsHONOLULU (AP) — The owners of Hawaii's second-largest fruit and vegetable farm will plead guilty to charges of importing laborers from Thailand to force them to work, court records show. Aloun Farms President Alec Souphone Sou and his brother, Aloun Farms Vice President Mike Mankone Sou, were expected to admit in court Wednesday to conspiring with Thai labor recruiters to bring 44 Thai nationals to Hawaii, according to their plea agreements.
ConAgra Pays Fines For Plant Explosion
January 13, 2010 3:51 am | News | CommentsRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — ConAgra Foods Inc. has agreed to pay $106,440 for workplace safety violations at a snack foods plant where four workers died after a natural gas explosion last summer, state regulators said Tuesday. The fines are 21 percent less than the penalties originally assessed last month.
What Does It Mean To Have A Creative Workforce?
January 12, 2010 5:16 am | by Mike Collins, author of “Saving American Manufacturing” | Articles | CommentsIn November 2007, a study by the Conference Board and Americans for the Arts in partnership with the American Association of School Administrators, interviewed school superintendents and business executives to find out their views of creativity. Both groups thought creativity was important in the American workplace.
Vacuum = The Dust Workhorse
January 12, 2010 5:15 am | by Vital OSHA & NFPA Housekeeping Standards | Articles | CommentsIn nearly all industries, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends vacuum cleaning as the preferred first defense method of controlling fugitive dust. NFPA 654 states “vigorous sweeping or blowing down with steam or compressed air produces dust clouds.” Despite NFPA and OSHA recommendations, many companies still use air compressors and brooms to clean surrounding equipment, and areas of dust and debris.
Mounted Points
January 12, 2010 5:14 am | Product Releases | CommentsThis line of mounted points features a laminated construction of nonwoven cotton fiber and abrasive grains that are pressed and bonded into barrel, bullet, conical, and round shapes which can be matched to fit the job. Providing smooth, controlled, chatter-free grinding action, they are ideally suited for blending corner welds inside stainless steel tanks and fabrications used in the chemical and food processing industries.
Polypropylene Tubing
January 12, 2010 5:11 am | Product Releases | CommentsProlite® polypropylene tubing, a semi-rigid product, is made from an NSF-61 (National Sanitation Foundation) compound and is used in applications such as potable water supply, food processing and beverage transfer. The product’s properties include: Excellent chemical and corrosion resistance Very low moisture absorption High dielectric strength Meets UL94 HB burn rating Lightweight Thermoformable and weldable Low surface friction Compound meets FDA requirements for food contact surfaces Tubing is stocked in nine sizes (1/4” through 1-1/4” O.
Body-Diagram Safety Board
January 12, 2010 5:10 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe HurtSpot magnetic body-diagram whiteboard shows injuries and makes safety awareness in the workplace personal. Safety managers find the magnetic printed steel job-task board displaying the injury points on a body-diagram to be a powerful tool to motivate employees toward better safety practices.
Bright Food Considers $1.4B CSR Sugar Division
January 12, 2010 5:09 am | News | CommentsMELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Chinese food and retail conglomerate Bright Food Group said Tuesday it's interested in buying the $1.4 billion sugar and renewable energy division of Australian building materials company CSR. Bright Food — a food producer and retailer — said while it valued CSR's sugar business at Australian dollars $1.
PepsiCo Expects To Close Bottler Deals
January 12, 2010 5:08 am | News | CommentsPURCHASE, N.Y. (AP) — PepsiCo Inc. said Monday it expects to close on the $7.8 billion buyout of its two biggest bottlers by the end of the first quarter and avoid further questions from the Federal Trade Commission. "PepsiCo believes that it can consummate its acquisitions of Pepsi Bottling Group and PepsiAmericas by the end of the first quarter of 2010 without a 'Second Request' being issued by the Federal Trade Commission," PepsiCo said in a regulatory filing.
Cadbury Makes Case Against Kraft Takeover
January 12, 2010 5:07 am | News | CommentsLONDON (AP) — British candy maker Cadbury PLC on Tuesday stepped up its defense against a hostile takeover bid from Kraft Foods Inc. by announcing that full-year results will beat market expectations and pledging a 10 percent hike in dividend payments. Cadbury said Kraft's 10.
USDA Urges Grapes Over Opium
January 12, 2010 5:06 am | News | CommentsKABUL (AP) — The U.S. has announced plans to invest $20 million to improve the Afghan government's ability to promote agriculture reforms that the Obama administration considers the main non-security element in stabilizing the country. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told The Associated Press on Tuesday that efforts to steer Afghan farmers away from the opium poppy trade are key to the war effort.
EPA Strengthens Smog Standard
January 12, 2010 5:05 am | News | CommentsWASHINGTON, D.C. (EPA) — The United States Environmental Protection Agency last Thursday proposed the strictest health standards to date for smog. Smog, also known as ground-level ozone, is linked to a number of serious health problems, ranging from aggravation of asthma to increased risk of premature death in people with heart or lung disease.
Slaughterhouse Manager Pleads Guilty
January 12, 2010 5:04 am | News | CommentsIOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A former manager at a kosher slaughterhouse in Iowa has admitted to helping illegal immigrants get fake documents one week before an immigration raid. Former Agriprocessors, Inc. slaughterhouse manager Brent Beebe pleaded guilty Monday to one count of conspiracy to commit document fraud.
