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E. Coli

E. coli outbreak hits U.S., Canada

Source of outbreak not yet identified in U.S.

Casey Laughman

January 5, 2018

An E. coli outbreak has led to 17 illnesses and one death so far in the United States.

Packaging

StackTek expands into baby food

Single-serve PET containers snap together to form a ‘stack,’ creating single-serve portions, each individually sealed in BPA-free, reusable containers.

Crystal Lindell

January 5, 2018

StackTek may be best known for its applications in the wine industry, but now it’s making its way into the baby food market.

Food recalls

Leading cause of recalls in 2017 undeclared allergens, mislabeling

Food Industry Counsel LLC says 438 total recalls were reported.

Debra Schug

January 3, 2018

There were 438 recalls in total and the leading cause of these recalls was the presence of undeclared allergens and products being mislabeled.

Dry Processing

Van der Graaf drives help Taylor Farms reduce failures

Plant achieves better sanitary results and more reliable production

Casey Laughman

December 22, 2017

After switching to Van der Graaf drives, Taylor Farms has seen decrease in failures and improved sanitation.

Unclear which agency should be inspecting catfish

GAO says the FDA and USDA’s FSIS need to get together on testing imported catfish for residual drugs.

December 20, 2017

The saga dates back to 2012 when the Government Accountability Office said that the responsibility for inspecting catfish should not be reassigned from FDA to the USDA. However, that’s not what happened.

FDA’s top 5 most commonly cited food safety violations

FY 2017 top violations are almost the same as those cited in FY 2016 and 2015.

Debra Schug

December 20, 2017

Among the top five violations during 2017 were lack of pest control and sanitation monitoring.

Food Packaging

Mondi launches sustainable paper liner for F/F/S machines

Paper bag solution cuts plastic usage by 70 percent

Crystal Lindell

December 20, 2017

Mondi Extrusion Coatings says its new paper bag solution will cut plastic usage while fitting existing F/F/S machines.

Engineering R&D

Food-grade lubricants may require less frequent changes than previously thought

Give the maintenance staff a break and change the oil in air compressors less often

Wayne Labs

December 20, 2017

Testing methods for food-grade lubricants have improved to predict and determine more accurately the actual lifetime of a compressor oil change—which may be better than previously expected.

Automation Series

Automation can help food processors improve throughput

Some ways of improving throughput may be simple, but without an analysis of your operation, it’s hard to know where to start

Wayne Labs

December 20, 2017

While there's no "one size fits all" solution to improving throughput, there are some guiding principles to help processors achieve greater productivity.

Food Safety

Comprehensive training is key to food safety efforts

By offering workers training and coaching, processors can ensure food safety goals are met

Casey Laughman

December 18, 2017

In-depth evaluation of training programs helps processors ensure that training is giving their operators the tools they need to succeed, while still meeting food safety requirements.