If cheesemaking is an art, then starter cultures can be likened to the temperamen tal artist, says Dan Pelgrin of Madison, Wis.-based Rhodia, Inc., a manufacturer of microbiological starter cultures for the food, dairy and agriculture industries.
Strong sales of the nation's first irradiated hamburger meat, which debuted in Minneapolis and St. Paul stores last month, should help alleviate concern about consumer acceptance of irradiated products.
Research under way at the Western Dairy Center at Utah State University suggests that the use of electrical current may be more effective in producing good tasting, ultra-high temperature milk than more conventional methods.
President Clinton has announced an aggressive new strategy to significantly reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses caused by listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods such as hot dogs and lunch meats.
In an effort to promote recipe consistency and speed production of its products, ice cream maker Blue Bell Creameries recently employed automation software from National Instruments to control the batching system in its Brenham, Texas, plant.
Although spending for packaging machinery by U.S. domestic companies is expected to rise by 2 to 3 percent this year -- to approximately $4.9 billion in sales -- spending by the food industry is expected to decline by 1 to 3 percent during the same period, according to a study by the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI).