Golden State Foods (GSF), parent company to dairy processor KanPak and one of the largest diversified suppliers to the foodservice and retail industries, said it is marking its 75th anniversary with a year of celebrations throughout 2022. GSF associates have been engaging in the company’s milestone year through a new GSF 75th anniversary website, along with activities, contests, giveaways and videos, plus upcoming opportunities for associate scholarships, local Associate Appreciation Week events in every facility, and more.

“It’s a momentous year for all of us throughout GSF and our family of companies,” said Mark Wetterau, chairman and CEO of Irvine, Calif.-based GSF, in a message to the company’s 6,000 associates across the globe. “Over the past year or so, GSF’s 75th Anniversary Steering Committee has been planning for a special year of celebrations to make the anniversary celebrations memorable and meaningful for our associates, our customers, our community partners and all who have taken part in shaping GSF through the years.”

The Center for Dairy Research (CDR), Madison, Wis., said it is holding two in-person short courses on buttermaking.

The Advanced Butter Buttermaking Short Course will take place June 14-16 in person at Babcock Hall on the University of Wisconsin – Madison campus. This course is a three-day deep dive into producing and evaluating butter, CDR said. It covers fundamental buttermaking topics, as well as subjects such as microfixing and addressing defects. The course also includes hands-on laboratory, manufacturing and sensory sessions. For more information or to register, visit https://www.cdr.wisc.edu/short-courses/advanced-buttermaking.

The Buttermakers Apprenticeship Workshop, to be offered June 20-24 at Babcock Hall, is an intensive five-day course covering buttermaking production principles and technology. This course is for aspiring buttermakers who have completed Buttermaking Fundamentals and/or Advanced Buttermaking and need apprenticeship hours for their buttermakers license, CDR said. This unique workshop provides the opportunity to complete a 40-hour apprenticeship with Wisconsin licensed buttermakers and includes unique topics not covered in other CDR butter short courses. For more information or to register, visit https://www.cdr.wisc.edu/short-courses/buttermakers-license-apprenticeship.

On March 24, the Washington, D.C.-based International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), Arlington, Va., submitted joint comments to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. In the comments, the organizations said, they urged the agency to improve nutrition security by updating school meal nutrition standards to encourage increased consumption of dairy — in keeping with recommendations from the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) report and with leading health organizations.

In 2020, the federal Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee report found that 79% of 9- to 13-year-olds are not meeting the recommended intake of dairy foods and thereby are under-consuming a variety of nutrients during childhood and adolescence, including potassium, calcium and vitamin D. In their comments to USDA, IDFA and NMPF said they noted that school children of all ages are falling short of these recommendations, and they rely on school meals to meet their nutritional needs. IDFA and NMPF also noted that falling participation rates in school breakfast and lunch programs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic are a growing concern for overall nutrition security among students.

USDA this spring announced transitional school meal nutrition standards for the next two school years that will allow schools to continue to serve low-fat flavored milk consistent with DGA recommendations, and pause overly stringent sodium reduction targets that threaten the ability of school meals professionals to serve nutrient-rich cheeses. USDA intends to craft more permanent standards for school year 2024/2025 and beyond that pave the way for healthy and nutritious school meals, the organizations said.

Stellar, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based firm focused on design, engineering, construction and mechanical services worldwide, said it received a 2021 National Safety Excellence Award from Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). Neil Ross, vice president of safety, accepted the award on behalf of Stellar’s Safety Team at the 32nd annual Excellence in Construction Awards during the ABC Convention 2022 in San Antonio on March 16. The company was recognized with a Pinnacle award, the highest of three categories, placing Stellar among a select group of ABC contractor members whose achievements in the field of construction safety are considered exceptional.

International Food Products Corporation (IFPC), St. Louis, announced an exclusive partnership with Futura Ingredients, Singapore. The agreement allows IFPC to distribute Futura Ingredients’ full product line, including Ekömul series glycerol mono stearates, distilled mono glycerides, functional distilled mono glycerides and more, as well as Ekölite series sodium stearoyl lactylates, sorbitan tri stearates, sorbitan mono stearates, polyglycerol and more.

Tompkins Robotics, an Orlando, Fla.-based specialist in the robotic automation of distribution and fulfillment operations, said it partnered with Global Robotics Services (GRS), a platform backed by Singapore-headquartered GLP that provides financial backing for collaborative robots as a service (RaaS) solutions. The Tompkins Robotics - GRS RaaS solution provides customers with the ability to pay for what they consume, including equipment, installation, commissioning and support costs, all of which are included in the service level agreement.

Jaisen Kohmuench, vice president – international for Erie, Pa.-based separation technologies specialist Eriez, announced that Tim Sheehan will succeed Satish Shenoy as Eriez-India managing director after Shenoy’s retirement earlier this year. Sheehan has been with Eriez since 2011, serving most recently as sales director for the company’s Canadian office.

Core eBusiness Solutions, a Fairfield, N.J.-based developer and solution provider for 3PL, B2B and warehouse management software, announced a strategic alliance with the Numina Group. Headquartered in Woodridge, Ill., Numina Group is a warehouse designer and integrator of order fulfillment automation technologies focused on reducing labor and increase distribution productivity. Through this alliance, both Core and Numina are primed to offer their customers an end-to-end combination of advanced warehouse management software and warehouse automation integrated as a single solution, scalable to support a business with a single or multiple warehouse operations.

Beneo, a Parsippany, N.J.-based manufacturer of functional ingredients, announced a quadrupling of the storage capacity at its Offstein facility in Germany, to improve its efficiency and strengthen the company’s business contingency resilience still further. The new high-bay warehouse, which opened in February, allows for increased storage of the company’s crystalline functional carbohydrates isomalt, Palatinose, and galenIQ. With an $8.5 million investment in this fully automated facility, Beneo said it continues to further improve its supply chain robustness and reduces transport.

TricorBraun, St. Louis, said it acquired U.K. rigid packaging company Neville and More, further expanding its presence in Europe and around the world. Neville and More is a glass, plastics and aluminum packaging provider for many well-known household brands across multiple end markets, including health care, pharma, personal care and food & beverage.