The underlying objective of any thermal processing of beverages or liquid food is safety. Thermal treatments consist of heating a product and holding it at a desired temperature for a specific length of time in order to either pasteurise or sterilise the product. For many processes, the minimum log reduction of bacteria are set by the regulations. However, these are minimum requirements and are usually exceeded for many reasons, including attaining lower failure rates, longer shelf life, and product quality and image. However, these thermal processes also directly impact the quality and image of the product due to its reactions to heat.

Food manufacturers are facing tougher challenges than ever before. In order to meet record-keeping and lot-tracking requirements, they must be able to rapidly identify and track every single ingredient in their products, from receipt through processing, packaging and shipping to the exact customer location.

Interest in food and drinks carrying gut or digestive health claims appears to be continuing unabated, at least as far as food and drinks companies are concerned.

Spinach sales fell but expenditures for total leafy greens remained unchanged, following a US government warning to avoid bagged spinach because of possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination in 2006.

Despite Australia’s legendary success in developing wine export markets, the industry has recently come under severe stress and must take action to deal with the challenges it faces, according to a recently released global industry report.

In May, 949 exhibitors from all over the world presented their latest products, services and high-tech solutions for processing meats at the leading meat industry exhibition - IFFA 2010. At the exhibition, Prof Dr Horst-Christian Langowski* of the Fraunhofer Institute discussed the latest developments in packaging technology.

Norway is now operating the first salmon slaughter line in the world to use automatic bleeding based on machine vision and robot technology. The innovation makes for more rational operation, says the system’s pilot operator.

Australian drive solutions providers are stepping up the fight against counterfeit gear-unit and motor ‘copy cats’ in order to safeguard Australian industry from breakdowns, inefficiency and downtime.

Norway is one of the countries responsible for the production of fish oils and omega-3. Over 40% of the world’s omega-3 oils in food and food supplements originate there.

Creating and maintaining a safe, hygienic food plant is a constant challenge that requires eternal vigilance - one slip up can, potentially, sound the death knell for the business. There is no ‘once and for all’ solution, as the very ingredients themselves frequently carry the bacteria and contamination into the plants. Following are two sets of research you may find interesting.

Looking for reclosable packaging options? Packaging suppliers have the goods.

Stainless steel’s unique characteristics make it highly suited to use in the food industry and users can increase corrosion resistance, cleanability and longevity by handling it appropriately. Purge welding to avoid heat tint is one example where users can ensure they get it right from the outset.

Kraft Foods is addressing the problem of increased traffic by finding alternatives to trucking and making its distribution network more efficient. Since 2005, innovative sustainability projects have saved the company more than 80 million km in its global transportation and distribution network.

Chadwicks has created a variety of lids for Bacchus’s ready-to-drink liqueur shot party pack, Shotbox.

With a specially engineered solution, Avery Dennison has helped Moet Hennessy to solve one of the most difficult challenges in wine labelling. The result is an attractive and functional neck label that secures the foil cap wrappings on the company’s champagne brand, Moet & Chandon, and all its premium champagnes.