The extent to which consumers embrace time-saving products - and are willing to shell out extra for them - is highlighted in the results of the 2013 Product of the Year awards. [ + ]

Watch out, ready meals: prepared salads are muscling in on the convenience market. The prepared salads market is moving away from its established place in the side dishes and accompaniments market to take its place as a main meal contender. [ + ]

Salad manufacturer Sunfresh Salads contracted Aerofloat Australia to install a Model 3500 Aerofloat to treat its wastewater. The Aerofloat is removing up to 97% of SS and FOG. [ + ]

Energy is a significant controllable cost for every manufacturing business and the more energy you save in your business, the more profitable you can be. [ + ]

A national warehousing company sought a solution to a high-risk unloading procedure, where operators had to bend below waist level and above elbow height in order to unpack pallets for sorting. [ + ]

The endless roundabouts of labelling laws and country of origin labelling make me cross. As I consumer I want to be able to determine what I am eating and where it is from. The horsemeat scandal in Europe and the UK has little to do with food safety (assuming the meat was not contaminated with not-for-human-consumption pharmaceuticals) but rather the fact that consumers did not know what they were buying. [ + ]

Fruit growers are a pragmatic bunch, so when citrus grower Chris Deveney says that his first choice for shipping oranges and mandarins is a CHEP crate, there has to be a practical reason why. [ + ]

The foodborne bacterial pathogen Campylobacter jejuni can change its swimming behaviour to find a location with more food. [ + ]

Bakery filling creams for sandwich biscuits (also known as sandwich creams) pose numerous process challenges including dispersion of the high sugar content (50-70% fine sugar), the time to mechanical stability and the high pressure and torque required to handle the product. Additionally, health concerns, consumer demands and legislation have led to the reduction or removal of trans fatty acids and, indeed, reduction in the percentage of saturated fatty acids from these products. This has left many producers with the challenge of handling a recipe that has a slower crystallisation speed which results in a change in the vital consistency of the product. [ + ]

The meat substitution scandal in Europe is exposing the complexity and nasty underbelly of the food supply chain as well as the way the food industry is presented in the media. [ + ]

For anyone who grew up in Melbourne, Slades’ home-delivered soft drinks are an institution. The Tan family took over Slades in 2001, turning a business in decline into a thriving enterprise with a progressive and innovative outlook. [ + ]

If a pump does not live up to the high requirements with regard to safety, design, materials used and material surface finish, this can lead to impurities in the system, potentially causing an entire production to be brought to an immediate standstill. [ + ]

Scientists have identified the location and certain genetic characteristics of taste stem cells on the tongue. The findings will facilitate techniques to grow and manipulate new functional taste cells for both clinical and research purposes. [ + ]

CoMac, a global supplier of kegging, bottling and canning equipment, is installing a keg line for the Two Roads Brewing Company in Stratford, Connecticut. [ + ]

Traditionally grown in the highlands of Ethiopia, teff has been grown successfully in South Africa and the United States. But the little grain could soon be grown in Australia, thanks to research by RIRDC and TasGlobal Seeds. [ + ]