Smith Brothers Farms, a family-owned home delivery business in Washington state, had a long list of structural issues to resolve. With those out of the way, the dairy processor can totally focus on milk processing and delighting its customers.
Best Cheese, Purchase, N.Y., an importer of specialty Dutch cheeses, added a chai-flavored farmstead cheese to its Melkbus collection last fall — MelkbusWinter 125.
There are three savory flavors (roasted garlic and herbs; lemon pepper and lemon garlic and herb) and three sweet flavors (honey; cinnamon brown sugar; and caramel sea salt).
November 1, 2013
Kroger, Cincinnati, rolled out six SKUs of finishing butters in late October under its Private Selection label. The butter is sold in 3.5-ounce (99-gram) cups.
Lucerne, a dairy brand of grocer Safeway, Pleasanton, Calif., introduced Plus Protein Dairy Beverage, which contains 12 grams of protein in an 8-ounce serving (the typical fat-free milk has 9 grams of protein.)
Researchers from Washington State University, Pullman, found that organic milk contains significantly higher concentrations of heart-healthy fatty acids compared to milk from cows on conventionally managed dairy farms.
Potassium chloride has been explored as a salt replacer. Other approaches include adding flavor enhancers, using fermentates and trying selected starter adjuncts.
Many ready-to-drink beverages containing dairy protein are shelf-stable. The heat treatment (up to 253 degrees) puts dairy proteins to the test. Keep in mind that the heat stability of caseins and whey proteins are very different.
Frozen yogurt sales continue to rise above the rest, while ice cream sales stay frozen in place. The frozen novelty and ice pop novelty categories were both down.
The children of baby boomers and a growing population of nonwhite U.S. citizens are leading a charge to more adventurous eating, including a preference for ethnic flavors and foods.
January 2, 2014
National demographics influence the dairy industry. Younger consumers are more adventurous in their flavor preferences while baby boomers seek better health through their diet. Note to dairy processors: develop niche products; one size will not fit all.
A milk processor moved from a 90-year-old operation into a newer facility in Kent, Wash. Smith Brothers Farms made the most of the space, designing process areas for efficiency, safety and future growth.
Nearly 1,000 producer and industry representatives attended the 2013 National Dairy Promotion and Research Board/National Milk Producers Federation/United Dairy Industry Association joint annual meeting in Phoenix this month.
November 22, 2013
Neil Hoff, a Texas dairy producer and UDIA Chairman, explained how the checkoff is working to turn around the decades-long decline in fluid milk sales. “At the direction of producer leaders, checkoff staff has met with nearly 200 executives from 50 companies that include fluid milk processors, dairy cooperatives, retailers and suppliers to identify the underlying factors to stabilize and grow fluid milk sales,” Hoff said. “Innovation is critical to fluid milk’s survival.”
In my building, 10 steps take me to my office on the second floor. The 10 steps below just might take your company to a new level of success this year.
Food scientists describe texture as being able to “make or break” a product’s acceptance by the public. Yet compared to flavor, aroma and color, texture has largely been unsung. That’s beginning to change.
Three new DVS full flavor ripening cultures from Chr. Hansen are enabling cheese makers to offer well-defined and consistent flavor, a pleasant texture and an appealing appearance.
The Flow Lite anti-caking system from Allied Blending contains no allergens or taste, produces minimal dusting, and provides excellent flowability for maximum production line speeds.
Ingredion offers a range of cost-effective, highly functional ingredient solutions for processed and analog cheese that enables manufacturers to formulate affordable products without compromising the eating quality.
DuPont selects single culture strains to control post-acidification across the spectrum of white cheeses, allowing manufacturers to optimize their cost-in-use without compromising on taste.
Many ready-to-drink beverages containing dairy protein are shelf-stable. The heat treatment (up to 253 degrees) puts dairy proteins to the test. Keep in mind that the heat stability of caseins and whey proteins are very different.
Potassium chloride has been explored as a salt replacer. Other approaches include adding flavor enhancers, using fermentates and trying selected starter adjuncts.
As the number of foods formulated with inulin continues to increase, the number of people who can’t tolerate this fermentable fiber is also on the rise. What are the potential implications for the dairy industry?
The Artis Evo from GEA Procomac uses a patent-pending system of layer handling to save space, reduce maintenance cost and maintain high-speed production.
Harpak-ULMA’s Rama secondary equipment offers the capability of multipack sleeving in a variety of configurations and can accommodate cups with different shapes and sizes.
Alliedflex, a provider of global standup pouch and innovative pouch-and-bag packaging machinery systems from global suppliers now includes the Ixapack pouch automation systems machinery program.
Oystar A+F‘s SetLine wrap-around packer is a multifunctional, versatile end-of-line packaging system that enables a wide variety of packaging solutions for a variety of products.
Axon introduced its Aurora SS mandrel-style shrink film applicator. The Aurora SS can apply labels, tamper-evident bands and multipacks at up to 300 BPM with a film layflat width range of 50 millimeters to 200 millimeters.
The R-300 multipacking system from PDC configures as a multipacker, as a shrink labeler and as a combination multipacker /shrink-labeler for individual products.
Quest Industrial’s ultrasonic knife robotic cell cutting process involves a knife vibrating at the speed of sound, producing a nearly frictionless surface to which cheese neither sticks nor deforms.
Braskem expanded its portfolio of high-density polyethylene resins with the launch of the HD7600 family, which is designed especially to meet the needs of the shrink-film segment, such as secondary packaging for unitizing cans and bottles.
The Apex Sleever from Douglas Machine provides new package options for producers since it improves package integrity for multipacks of bottles and cups.
The Swing machine from Blueprint Automation is a versatile robotic cell that can pack bags and other packages either standing up or laying down, into cases, crates and other secondary containers.
The Affinity dicer from Urschel features a USDA Dairy Division-accepted sanitary design with stainless-steel construction including Ra 32 stainless surface finish on all components within the product contact/cutting zone.
The Boston Shearmill and Boston Shearpump series of sanitary in-line high shear mixers surpass the capabilities of conventional shearpumps by providing very high throughputs at high to extreme shear rates.
The CheeseCrafter total production and quality control software from Page & Pedersen International provides full traceability and registers every ingredient used, recording key data, including description, SKU (where appropriate), batch number and expiration date. Ingredients are then linked with the specific batch of cheese in which they were used.
GEA Tuchenhagen 3-A Varicover product recovery systems can recover up to 99% of valuable product. The systems are suitable for any application in the dairy and food industry where valuable, viscous products are pushed out of pipes using another medium without intermixing.
The CSI 500 from GEA Westfalia Separator, an integrated drive separator used to remove bacteria from milk, is used increasingly in cheesemaking operations.
Detection systems scan for foreign objects in dairy foods and beverages. Suppliers of X-ray detectors, metal detectors and checkweighing equipment talk about making the most of these important systems.
When it comes to cutting exact weight cheese at high throughput there is a multitude of design criteria including ease of operation, ease of inspection and able to be cleaned easily.
Dairy plants in the United States are limited in how they can use reclaimed water. But in Singapore, what comes out of the water tap is treated sewage that is safe to drink. There’s a lesson there for us.
I love a parade except when it’s a never-ending march through my plant by inspectors from federal or state agencies or auditors sent by customers or third-parties.
Food scientists describe texture as being able to “make or break” a product’s acceptance by the public. Yet compared to flavor, aroma and color, texture has largely been unsung. That’s beginning to change.
Tekkra's intermittent and continuous motion-bundling and shrink-wrapping systems deliver packaging automation for dairy, food, beverage and other industries.
December 10, 2013
Cincinnati-based Pro Mach Inc. acquired the assets of Tekkra Systems. Tate & Lyle received the Beverage Innovation of the Year award at the Food Ingredients Europe Excellence Awards 2013 in Frankfurt, Germany.