The Leading Source for Food Manufacturing News
A New Era Of Loading Dock Safety
November 30, 2009 7:02 am | by Michael Brittingham, Manager, 4Front Engineered Solutions | Articles | CommentsFor years the focus on the loading dock has been on two issues—stopping energy loss and dock accident protection. With rising concerns about product quality, processing plant management has a new question to ask—how well does the dock protect against the invasion of airborne contaminants? According to Bruce Paulson with Evapco, Inc.
Water: Food Manufacturing’s Most Important Ingredient
November 30, 2009 7:02 am | by Edward Orvidas, Strategic Account Manager, Culligan International Corporation | Articles | CommentsThe importance of water quality cannot be underestimated by food manufacturers. It plays a vital role, both as a critical ingredient in ensuring food quality and as a key to efficient production.
Many Shades Of Green
November 30, 2009 5:27 am | by Krystal Gabert, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsI weaseled out of a Black Friday spent weaving through aisles of hand-painted South American pottery and fair-trade silken scarves. Thinking of excuses to avoid being dragged on a fair-trade shopping excursion in a second-tier city’s Granola District is, regrettably, part of the cost of living when one chooses—as I have—to surround oneself with strident members of the latte-sipping, Prius-driving set.
Group Accuses Fish Plant Of Polluting Bay
November 30, 2009 4:29 am | News | CommentsREEDVILLE, Va. (AP) — Virginia and federal regulators are investigating allegations that the nation's top menhaden processor has been dumping oxygen-choking fish waste into the Chesapeake Bay. The Southern Environmental Law Center accuses Omega Protein Corp. of routine discharges comparable to a large wastewater-treatment plant.
Ute Tribe Members Seek To Halt Hatchery
November 30, 2009 4:28 am | News | CommentsFORT DUCHESNE, Utah (AP) — Some members of the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Utah are seeking to halt construction of a $6 million fish hatchery at Big Springs Creek. Opponents have expressed concern over the project's effect on what they consider sacred springs, and have called for mediation with the tribe's Business Committee over its fate.
Judge To Release Rubashkin Case Witnesses
November 30, 2009 4:27 am | News | CommentsCEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Twenty-four illegal immigrants being held as material witnesses in a federal case against a former kosher meatpacking plant manager will be released. The former workers at Agriprocessors Inc. in Postville were among those arrested during an immigration raid at the plant in May 2008.
Food Banks Go High-Tech
November 30, 2009 4:25 am | News | CommentsSEATTLE (AP) — Food banks across the country are undergoing a high-tech revolution, adopting sophisticated databases, bar coding, GPS tracking, automated warehouses and other technologies used in the food industry that increasingly supplies their goods. It's a long way from handing out macaroni and canned soup from a church basement.
Pirates Pitcher Pursues Farm Policy
November 30, 2009 4:24 am | News | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — An e-mail requesting an internship arrived at the Agriculture Department this summer with an impressive resume: Princeton University degree in operations research and financial engineering, 3.8 college GPA, 1520 SATs. Ross Ohlendorf didn't mention his 95 mph sinking fastball, but it probably wouldn't have hurt his chances.
Soda Can Tabs May Pose Swallowing Risk
November 30, 2009 4:23 am | News | CommentsCHICAGO (PRNewswire) — Three decades ago, a study revealed that beverage can pull-tabs were being swallowed by children, prompting a switch by U.S. manufacturers to stay-tabs. But a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) found that the new tabs are still potentially unsafe.
Mixer Impeller
November 30, 2009 4:21 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe “S” shaped design of the Sanifoil Impeller creates agitation patterns identical to standard impellers. The difference lies in the accessibility of the underside of the blade to CIP cleaning solutions during the vessel cleaning process. The unit is a combination of an Axial Flow and Radial Impeller blade that, during the CIP process, allows the entire underside of the blade to be thoroughly exposed to the cleaning solution.
Planning Software
November 30, 2009 4:20 am | Product Releases | CommentsMaterials Requirements Planning (MRP) software provides a complete production planning and inventory control system that: Reduces inventory carrying costs and gives users more control over the manufacturing processes Synchronizes sales, purchasing and production so users always know precisely what items are required, how many and when they're needed Protects against purchasing insufficent quantities of an item used in manufacturing, or purchasing the wrong item Ensures that users don't purchase excessive quantities of an item and tie up cash while it remains as stock Helps users consistently meet tight customer delivery contracts Mo.
Industrial Fan
November 30, 2009 4:19 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe Revolution HVLS (high-volume, low-speed) industrial fans feature the industry's only unique Propell-Aire™ blade design for maximum air movement in industrial facilities. It costs just pennies an hour to operate and reduces energy costs by up to 30%. Available from 8’ to 24’ diameters with two- and four-blade options.
Innovating For The New Consumer Reality
November 30, 2009 4:15 am | by George Young, Founding Partner, Kalypso | Articles | CommentsAfter nearly two years, the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression appears to slowly be coming to a close, but don’t expect consumer spending to return to pre-recession patterns anytime soon. Buyers have been shell-shocked by the inability to hang onto their homes, the worst job market in more than a generation, and decimated retirement funds that will take years to rebuild.
Union 'Concerned' Over Kraft's Bid For Cadbury
November 25, 2009 6:12 am | News | CommentsLONDON (AP) — Britain's leading union said it remained concerned about potential large scale job losses at candy maker Cadbury PLC if it is taken over by Kraft Foods Inc. after the U.S. company failed to make firm commitments on local production in talks Wednesday. The Unite union, Britain's biggest trade union with some 2 million members, wants a guarantee that Kraft will not transfer production facilities out of Britain if it succeeds in its 9.
Farmers Demand Payment From Gov't-Backed Producer
November 25, 2009 5:12 am | News | CommentsRAMA, Sask. (CANADIAN PRESS) — About 50 farmers blocked the entrance to a feed mill near Yorkton, Sask., to press their demand to be paid by Saskatchewan's largest hog producer. Big Sky Farms filed for bankruptcy protection last week and owes creditors more than $80 million. Farmers at Tuesday's demonstration say they stand to lose thousands of dollars because Big Sky has not paid them for hog feed they have supplied.
Eastern NC Reeling From Hog Farm Bankruptcies
November 25, 2009 5:09 am | News | CommentsRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — On a recent camping trip with his son's Cub Scout troop, Curtis Barwick ended a talk about his job managing contracts for the now-bankrupt Coharie Hog Farms with a desperate plea. "I really don't care if you eat the sausage or not," Barwick told the scouts.
Mo. Woman Pleads Guilty In Grain Fraud Case
November 25, 2009 5:08 am | News | CommentsST. LOUIS (AP) — A 45-year-old businesswoman accused of cheating farmers out of at least $27 million in proceeds from grain sales pleaded guilty to mail fraud Tuesday in what prosecutors have said was the largest scheme of its kind in Missouri history. Cathy Gieseker, of Martinsburg, pleaded guilty in U.
China Executes 2 Involved In Tainted Milk Scandal
November 24, 2009 5:41 am | News | CommentsBEIJING (AP) — China executed a dairy farmer and a milk salesman Tuesday, the only two people sentenced to death in a scheme to water down infant formula with an industrial chemical that left at least six children dead and sickened more than 300,000. The contamination of the milk power with melamine was one of China's worst-ever food safety scandals, and Beijing is eager to prove it has responded swiftly and comprehensively to eliminate the problem—one in a string of food safety scares.
Labor Violation Trial For Meatpacker Delayed
November 24, 2009 5:39 am | News | CommentsSMITHFIELD, Va. (AP) — A legal maneuver by Smithfield Foods Inc. is likely to send an unfair-labor practices complaint to federal investigators in Washington, D.C., and will delay a trial that was scheduled for next month. The National Labor Relations Board alleges that the pork-processing giant improperly bargained with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters on behalf of the Food Processors Local 1046, which represents workers at the soon-to-close South Plant.
Butterball Hotline Answers Tough Turkey Questions
November 24, 2009 5:38 am | News | CommentsNAPERVILLE, Ill. (AP) — Workers at Butterball's turkey-tips hot line are used to oddball situations: The woman who cleaned out her turkey with a scrub brush and asked if that was OK to do. (You don't need to do that.) People who thaw a turkey in the bathtub while washing their kids.
