Breaking News on Prepared Food and Meat Processing

Machine-makers highlight hygiene at Interpack

Easy-clean design is a major priority for designers of processing equipment, say companies at Interpack introducing their latest innovations to the market.

Low-fat foods drive emulsifiers, other ingredients

Food ingredients that are key to low-fat foods are seeing the fastest growth in their sectors as the health and wellbeing trend continues, finds a new report.

US politicians weigh in on biofuels vs. food debate

The debate over whether biofuels are a major factor in rising food prices lugged on this week, with the Bush administration for the first time acknowledging there may be some truth to this.

Reducing food waste a matter of compliance, expert

Huge volumes of food waste could be diverted from land-fill sites and back to the table, if only there was proper attention was paid to processes and compliance with regulatory safeguards, according to an industry expert.

Safer, smarter, simpler: the future of packaging

Food packaging will in the future have to offer more protection, greater flexibility and be simpler to produce, according to trends identified by Oman-based packaging group Octal.

SMEs step up labelling efforts in fight against obesity

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly joining larger manufacturers in embracing voluntary food labelling, developed by the EU food and drink industry.

Fat replacers to spiral in US dairy and meat sectors

Demand for fat replacers is set to increase as health trends continue, with particular growth experienced in the meat and dairy sector, according to a new report.

Organic Summit to highlight industry concerns

Nanotechnology for food and food security are among the key issues affecting the natural food industry, according to the line-up of topics at this year's Organic Summit.

UK industry following quality standard guidelines, FSA

British food companies are by and large playing by the rules when it comes to providing information to consumers about the quality of the food they are eating.

Weekly Comment

The dangers of selective science

Antioxidants are back under the microscope for all the wrong reasons. But the use of meta-analyses to pool data is controversial, and scientists need to keep perspective before publishing conclusions.

German industry seeks clarity over food labelling

The German government is keeping industry guessing about its preferred scheme for nutrition labelling, performing about turns between favouring a traffic light scheme or guidance daily amounts (GDA).

BASF to extend biodegradable focus

BASF is planning to significantly step up production of its biodegradable plastic materials amidst growing demand from various industries including packagers.

EFSA calls for caution on bacterial resistance

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) says that the growing use of antimicrobial agents in food could be damaging human resistance to bacteria and other microbes.

Ingredients firm targets local sourcing cooperation

Cobell, a UK-based nationwide fruit ingredient supplier, is aiming to step up local sourcing for its products by teaming up with a regional promotion agency in the South-West of England.

Nitrogen vs CO2: Air Products' handy guide

Air Products has commissioned a new study that will help food processors navigate their way through the potential minefield of meat chilling products.

Indian herbal provides food hydrogel advance

The production of stable, cross-linked hydrogels could be possible by using the well-known Indian herbal genipin, suggest Indian researchers.

Nanoparticles could improve food safety

Silver nanoparticles could improve the safety of the world's food supply, according to a research project at Iowa State University.

Incidences of foodborne illnesses stagnate

The numbers of foodborne infections in the US have stagnated after a period of decline, indicating the need for further prevention efforts, a new report claims.

Irish food authorities review tuberculosis meat concerns

Ireland's food safety authority (FSAI) has published an updated report on the potential for transmission of zoonotic tuberculosis through the food chain.

Canada proposes crackdown on food safety

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday unleashed a proposed consumer safety bill that could force food manufacturers in the country to improve tracking of suppliers and processes.

US warming to air chilled chicken

Seven US poultry processing plants have switched to using air chilling equipment to meet EU import requirements for the product, with more expected to follow, according to USDA researchers.

Purac helps cut salt without raising listeria risk

Biochemicals company Purac has stepped up development in products that prevent growth of listeria bacterium as reformulation to cut salt content increases the risk of the food-borne illness.

FSA appoints expert body on food contaminants

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has appointed the Central Science Laboratory (CSL) as the central UK, expert body on contaminants in food, to help and advise the Agency across a range of food contaminant issues.

Software simplifies supply systems, says manufacturer

A newly devised software solution for warehousing could allow food processors to streamline their entire storage and distribution operations into a single more efficient system, according to the developer.

Packer designed to step up efficiency and changeover times

A manufacturer of case and tray packaging equipment for the food industry claims its latest development allows processors greater flexibility in packaging a variety of different products on the same machine.

Antimicrobial meat decontaminates step nearer after EFSA verdict

Four antimicrobial substances used for decontaminating poultry carcasses do not affect consumer bacterial resistance to antibiotics, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has said this week.

PakSense develops standard temperature-monitoring labels

PakSense's temperature monitoring labels for fresh food products in transit are now easier to order and are delivered to customers more quickly, according to the company.

Salmonella study to build prebiotics knowledge

Studies are underway to investigate the use of galacto-oligosaccharides to protect animals from salmonella infection, both to reduce the risk of the bacteria entering the food chain and increase knowledge on prebiotics' benefits.

House flies carry salmonella risk for poultry

The common house fly may pose a threat to the safety of poultry products as they are able to spread salmonella poisoning to healthy hens, say researchers.