The Del Monte company processes fresh fruit, fruit juice and fruit cans based on mainly tropical fruits like pineapple, banana, mango, litchis, etc. The company has designed a road map for a global plant implementation of Lean & Six Sigma as part of a major improvement process which is planned to deliver substantial cost savings.

Total Doors recently provided a solution for coolroom door access in a new food storage complex.

Ensuring measurement traceability and accuracy is an integral part of the quality-centric approach of Metarom, a French producer of flavours and colours for the food industry.

European agri-food company Conserve Italia is using Thermo Scientific GC/MS and LC/MS systems for fast and reliable pesticide analysis of food products. Conserve Italia processes around 650,000 tons of raw materials each year, including fruits, vegetables and tomatoes, and provides the European market with finished goods such as fruit juices, canned vegetables and tomato sauces and purees. The organisation is using the Thermo Scientific TSQ Quantum GC and TSQ Quantum Access Max triple-stage quadrupole mass spectrometers to achieve compliance with maximum residue limits (MRLs) specified for pesticides in food. By using the instruments, the laboratory has significantly increased sample throughput as well as experienced substantial time and cost savings.

A compact vertical screen to remove the solid debris from the factory wastewater before its discharge into the sewer has been installed by energy drinks manufacturer Frucor.

Ready meals manufacturer Creative Cuisine is benefiting from the speed, reliability and convenience of the GT0 tray sealer supplied by tray-sealing specialist Proseal Australia.

Vezet is one of the largest fruit and vegetable processing businesses in the Netherlands and leads the market in freshly sliced, ready-to-cook vegetables. The company has recently expanded its machinery park with three, large-type SC-940 centrifuges from Sormac and a smaller SC-740.

Woolworths South Africa has begun rolling out its Essentials range of supermarket items, the first phase of a complete packaging overhaul being undertaken across all lines within the retailer’s portfolio of house brands. The mammoth task is being overseen by the company’s recently appointed Creative Director, Vince Frost.

GS Italia has used its experience in the manufacture of food processing and packaging equipment for fresh, pasteurised and deep freeze food products to automate the production of fresh lasagne.

As a means of making the planned transition to the new era of self-service in the fruit and vegetable aisles attractive for both young and old, Carrefour and the technology manufacturer Bizerba are currently installing around 1400 scales with optical article recognition and an intuitively operable touch screen in 200 hypermarkets. The aims are clear: weighing and labelling procedures should be quicker, sales and customer satisfaction should be higher and staff should be able to be used more flexibly for a larger range of tasks.

A US survey indicates that consumers, especially baby boomers, are changing their food purchasing habits. Fats, cholesterol and added sugars are being rejected and the move towards higher organic consumption is continuing.

The rate of increase in wheat yields has plateaued and there will not be sufficient wheat to feed the world's future population.

Wireless temperature sensors and ethernet-enabled gateways have allowed one of the world’s leading food production companies to automate its cooking processes.

Resveratrol, an organic compound found in red wine, is claimed to have the ability to neutralise the toxic effects of proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease, according to research led by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Professor Peter M Tessier.

Kentaur manufactures breakfast cereals, both for its own brand and for major retailers such as Migros and Coop, Switzerland’s first- and second-largest retailers. To plan and install a complete new packing system for a wide variety of popped wheat cereals and corn flakes, Kentaur chose Ishida’s representative in Switzerland, Itech of Rotkreuz.