Italian-based Pasta Garofalo has introduced biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film material to its line of select pasta products. This new mono-film material is the product of advanced recycling via some form of pyrolysis—an anaerobic high-heat process that breaks down commingled plastics and produces oil and, eventually, a polymer resin for packaging film material or other uses.
Vital Farms hatched a plan to create a model of sustainability for Egg Central Station, which is why it’s FOOD ENGINEERING’s 2023 Sustainable Plant of the Year.
It only takes a few seconds after stepping into Vital Farms’ Egg Central Station (ECS) to realize that the company truly loves its egg-related puns. If there’s writing nearby, be it on a wall, memo or bulletin board, there’s a pun not far behind. They’re part of an ethos that starts from the top and flows down the company’s ranks to put a smile on someone’s face, even if just for a second. That idea of doing good extends beyond the facility walls to its other locations, the farmers who supply the eggs, the consumers who buy the product and, finally, to the planet itself. That visible commitment to the environment is why the addition at ECS was chosen as FOOD ENGINEERING’s 2023 Sustainable Plant of the Year.
Suboptimal transport conditions and equipment play a significant role in food wastage; upgrading refrigerated equipment with telematics can be a realistic, sustainable part of the solution