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Safcol to build $80m food manufacturing facility in SA

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +1000

A new $80 million food manufacturing facility is being purpose-built for Safcol Australia at Edinburgh in Adelaide’s north. The company officially broke ground on the new site on 2 June, alongside the opening of its new Adelaide Fish Market facility in Thebarton, as part of a broader strategy focused on long-term manufacturing growth, operational efficiency and supply chain resilience.

Designed to replace Safcol’s existing Elizabeth factory over the next two years, the new facility is being designed with advanced manufacturing technology that is expected to double the production capacity of the current site.

Safcol Australia CEO Andrew Mitchell said the investment was a strategic decision aimed at securing the future of local manufacturing operations while addressing increasing industry pressures.

“Our Elizabeth facility has served us incredibly well over many decades, but increasing energy costs, rising logistics pressures and aging infrastructure meant we reached a point where maintaining long-term competitiveness required significant change,” Mitchell said.

“The new site gives us the opportunity to redesign our operations from the ground up with modern manufacturing capability, greater efficiency and room to support future growth.”

Fish processing in the 1950s at Safcol.

Safcol’s sustainability and operational efficiency remain central to the design and future operation of the new facility, with opportunities for future renewable energy integration aimed at improving productivity and reducing energy and water consumption. The company has already implemented a range of sustainability initiatives across its existing operations, including solar-powered infrastructure and upgraded retort machinery that have reduced carbon emissions by approximately 240 tonnes annually and cut water usage by around 136 million litres each year.

Safcol currently manufactures around 60% of Australia’s wet baby food supply, including products for a leading baby food brand in Australia, alongside soups, canned vegetables, seafood products and products for major supermarket and national food brands. The Elizabeth operation also houses Safcol’s national warehousing and import business, supporting seafood and pet food distribution across Australia. In addition to producing its own South Australian Gourmet Foods range, Safcol manufactures products for a number of well-known Australian brands, including a gourmet food brand, supermarket private labels and other major food partners. The company also processes local mussels and Australian canned abalone for export markets.

Now in its 81st year of operation, Safcol said the new facility represents the next chapter in the company’s longstanding manufacturing presence in South Australia.

“This investment is about building a manufacturing footprint that is fit for the future while continuing to support Australian producers, local supply chains and South Australian jobs,” Mitchell said.

Safcol has appointed South Australian company Sagle Constructions as lead contractor for the new facility.

Top image caption: Rendering of the new facility. Images: Supplied

Technology report — Muting in practice: when safety becomes a vulnerability

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +1000

Muting allows the safety function on machines or systems to be temporarily bypassed so that material can be fed in or out through protective devices such as light curtains or laser scanners without interrupting the production process. Personal safety must be guaranteed at all times. Muting applications repeatedly reach their limits in practice, however, allowing incorrect operation and manipulation. In such cases, alternative security concepts are required.

Unconscious risks

Various types of muting are used in industrial automation: 2-sensor, 4-sensor, time-controlled or sequence-controlled processes. The international standard DIN EN IEC 62046 regulates the requirements for entry and exit stations with muting and stipulates in particular:

Muting must be activated via at least two independent bridging signals
Muting must offer protection against foreseeable incorrect operation or manipulation

The standard thus defines clear requirements for the implementation of muting applications. In practice, however, it is not always fully complied with — either because the specific application requirements are not fully known and may therefore differ from real-life conditions, or because risky compromises are deliberately made to achieve high process stability. As a result, safety functions become less effective, and manipulation or incorrect operation are more likely. For operators, this means an unconsciously increased liability risk and potentially serious consequences for employee safety.

Hazard 1: Safety gap due to ‘pallet muting’

In automated systems, meshed containers or other objects that are difficult for muting sensors to detect are often fed onto or discharged from pallets (Figure 1). The openings in the mesh structure prevent the muting sensors from generating a stable switching signal, making it impossible to mute the safety device. In practice, the pallet itself is sometimes used as a muting trigger (Figure 2) — a procedure that is not permitted. A person could, for example, place an empty pallet in the safety device and thereby deliberately disable the protective device.

Figure 1: A pallet cage is loaded onto a pallet.

Figure 2: Muting on pallet.

Solution: Smart Process Gating (SPG)

This safety gap can be reliably closed with Smart Process Gating (SPG). The bridging function is activated by two independent control signals without external muting sensors. The gating on the safety light curtain is activated by:

a CS switching signal (control signal) from the system control as the first (initiation) signal;
a PFI protective field interruption signal, triggered by the transported goods in the light curtain protective field, as a second (verification) signal.

Figure 3: CS switching signal and PFI signal activate the bridging.

The gating function is activated by the correct sequence of CS switching signal and protective field violation and is monitored by the light curtain. Shortly before the transported goods enter the protective field, the process control system (PLC) sends the CS switching signal to the safety light curtains. The timing must be set so that the distance between the transported goods and the protective field is less than 200 millimetres, preventing another person from passing through immediately before the goods. If the transported goods enter the protective field within four seconds, the light curtain uses its own PFI signal and suppresses a safety shutdown. Gating ends either automatically immediately after the conveyed material has passed through and the protective field has been cleared, or by resetting the CS switching signal via the PLC. This method enables a particularly compact and space-saving system design, as no additional muting sensors are required directly upstream or downstream.

Hazard 2: Safety gap due to incompletely loaded pallets

If a pallet is only partially loaded, or if the transported objects are significantly narrower than the conveyor system, a gap will occur during muting. A person can enter the danger zone through this gap without the safety function being triggered. To close the safety gap, the standard limits the maximum permissible clearance next to the transported goods to 200 millimetres. In real-world applications, however, passage gaps are often significantly larger, making it easy to bypass the protective device.

Figure 4: Excessive distance during muting: a person could enter the danger zone unnoticed alongside the transported goods.

Solution: Access guarding with dynamic format adaptation

This hazard can be eliminated by means of access protection with dynamic format adjustment. Here, two safety laser scanners generate a joint, closed, vertical protective field. In addition, distance sensors installed on both sides of the conveyor belt detect the position and width of the goods on the pallet — alternatively, this can also be determined using the scanners’ integrated measuring function. The safety system uses this information to release a corresponding area in the protective field through which the transported goods can be conveyed without interruption. Access to the sides of the goods remains secured in accordance with standards. After the transported goods have passed through, the protective field is automatically closed again. If a person is walking or driving alongside them, this is also reliably detected. This safety solution’s innovative safety concept enables Performance Level d in accordance with EN ISO 13849-1.

Figure 5: Access guarding with dynamic format adaptation.

For further information, visit: https://www.leuze.com/en-au/solutions-and-services/safety-at-leuze.

Leuze is exhibiting at:

CeMAT Australia 2026

DATES: 23–25 June 2026

MCEC, Melbourne. Stand P13

foodpro 2026

DATES: 26–29 July 2026

MCEC Melbourne. Stand G30

AIFST26 and foodpro 2026 bring science and industry together

Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 +1000

The co-location of AIFST26 with foodpro 2026 will bring food science and technology professionals, researchers, regulators, manufacturers, students and industry leaders together with Australia’s broader food manufacturing, processing and packaging community.

Together, the events will create an expanded platform for knowledge sharing, collaboration and connection across the full food and beverage value chain — from research, regulation, product development and food safety through to manufacturing, processing, packaging, technology and commercial application.

With the theme ‘Grow, Learn, Connect and Champion’, AIFST26 is designed to spark new thinking, strengthen collaboration and drive meaningful conversations about building a more sustainable, resilient and inclusive food system.

Across two days of plenary and concurrent sessions, the convention will feature more than 50 speakers from across the agrifood sector. Key focus areas will include food safety, advances in health and nutrition, sensory and consumer science, food security and resilience, advanced processing, education, food policy and regulation, innovation and sustainability.

AIFST is proud to welcome Tom Black from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to open this year’s convention, reflecting the importance of food science and technology in supporting Australia’s agrifood capability, resilience and future growth.

The program will feature the prestigious JR Vickery Address, to be delivered by Professor Ling Zhi Cheong, Professor in Food Science and Assistant Dean (Enterprise and Innovation) at University of Melbourne, looking at the future of food through a traditional and innovative lens. The broader keynote program will also cover nutrition, innovation, food safety, sustainability and AI.

AIFST CEO Fiona Fleming said AIFST26 provides an essential platform for the food science and technology community to connect, learn and contribute to the future of the sector.

“AIFST26 brings together the people, science and ideas helping shape the future of food. The Convention is an important opportunity to explore the latest developments across the agrifood science community, share expertise, strengthen collaboration and champion the role our profession plays in building a safe, sustainable and innovative food future,” Fleming said.

AIFST26 attendees can expect a comprehensive technical program, expert speakers, panel discussions, networking opportunities and access to the broader foodpro exhibition environment.

Key benefits of attending AIFST26 include:

staying up to date with the latest trends, research and innovations
opportunities to collaborate across academia, research and industry
deeper understanding of emerging industry trends and market shifts
networking with sector leaders and like-minded professionals
Continuing Professional Development points for AIFST members

For more information, visit www.aifst.asn.au/AIFST-2026.

Image: Supplied

AIP elevates packaging discussions at foodpro 2026

Wed, 27 May 2026 00:00:00 +1000

Over four dynamic days, foodpro 2026 will bring together the full spectrum of food manufacturing and packaging with more than 400 exhibitors, cutting-edge displays, and hands-on learning opportunities for attendees. Visitors will also have the chance to take part in AIP-led mini training courses and forums, covering key topics in food packaging innovations, sustainable packaging design and regulations, food waste and the intersection with packaging, and more.

As one of the leading Association Partners for foodpro, the Australasian Institute of Packaging (AIP) has developed an action-packed week for anyone who is interested in learning more about packaging for the food and beverage industries.

During foodpro, the AIP will be offering six educational sessions including two mini training courses, four packaging panel discussions, a walking tour of the show, and an Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Award showcase with the winners being announced on 28 July. The AIP will also have an exhibition stand.

AIP Packaging Panel Discussions x4 — Monday, 27 July

The AIP will be hosting four panel discussions on the Innovation Stage at foodpro, which will bring together leading technical packaging experts covering a broad range of topics, including the latest global and regional regulatory framework for extended producer responsibility, design for recycling vs design for circularity, innovative materials and trends in food and beverage packaging design, sustainable packaging design, fibre alternative, data and digitalisation, and more. The experts will offer global, regional and local perspectives to the discussions.

AIP Packaging Training Courses x2 — Tuesday, 28 July

Training Course 1. Unboxing Accessibility: Easy to Open, Reclose, Grip & Handle Packaging Design
Training Course 2. Future of soft plastics and flexible packaging: Sustainable Trends & Innovations

On 28 July, the AIP will be running two mini training courses which are designed for the micro and SME sector, as well as the multinationals. The training courses are a paid program so all attendees will need to register early. Visitors can attend one or two courses and attain a Certificate of Completion and points towards the Certified Packaging Professional designation.

Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards — showcase and gala dinner — Tuesday, 28 July 2026

The AIP will be running the annual Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) awards on 28 July across the road at The Aviary, Crown Complex. Coordinated by the AIP, the Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards are designed to recognise companies and individuals who are making a significant difference in their field in Australia and New Zealand. The PIDA Awards are the exclusive award program for all Australia and New Zealand entries into the prestigious WorldStar Packaging Awards, which are coordinated by the World Packaging Organisation (WPO). All of industry is invited to join the gala awards ceremony. The AIP will also have a unique PIDA showcase area at foodpro for everyone to visit and see the 2026 round of finalists. Winners will be announced at foodpro on 29 July.

AIP expert walking tour for foodpro — Wednesday, 29 July 2026

The AIP will have an expansive Education team attending foodpro, so they will be guiding walking tours of the show for AIP Members and industry colleagues, as well as for all of the students that the AIP has across the Diploma in Packaging Technology, the Certificate in Packaging, the Fundamentals of Packaging Technology course and the Master of Food & Packaging Innovation degree. Anyone is welcome to join the walking tour with the AIP experts, visit AIP member stands, and discuss key trends and innovations that are being showcased. This walking tour will also include the Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) showcase and announce the winners of the 2026 round.

All attendees who participate in the AIP educational program will receive a Certificate of Attendance and points towards the Certified Packaging Professional (CPP) designation.

Images: Supplied

Addressing bulk ingredient flow challenges in food & beverage handling

Wed, 27 May 2026 00:00:00 +1000

The successful discharge of ingredients from silos, railcars or bulk bags into food processing equipment usually requires more than vessel geometry, air pressure or gravity. Changes in material flow can be anticipated — but never predicted with complete accuracy. Setbacks such as unexpected flow obstructions, erratic discharge rates, or non-uniform feeding often require additional consideration.

Food ingredient characteristics such as shape, moisture content, bulk density, length of time materials have remained inert, and ambient conditions such as temperature and humidity, add additional layers of complexity. Additionally, the same ingredient sourced from various origins or at different times may display subtle (or substantial) differences in density, shape, or moisture content.

Here are four common causes behind ingredient stream flow issues:

Bridging: ingredients such as fine powders, those with irregular particle shapes or with high moisture content, are prone to compaction — forming an obstruction, aka a ‘bridge’, that stalls flow.
Ratholing: is commonly experienced in funnel-flow hoppers and with materials that compact or segregate during storage. Unlike bridging, the material continues to flow; however, slowly down a narrow channel in the vessel, leaving most of the material in the hopper.
Agglomeration: is where individual particles adhere to one another and form large masses. Agglomeration is commonly caused by moisture absorption, temperature changes or the presence of fats, sugars or binders.
Segregation: separation, or segregation, occurs when a previously blended food mixture begins to separate during storage or handling. Differences in particle size, density or shape cause fine or light particles to sift downward or heavy particles to migrate differently, resulting in inconsistent product composition.

Achieving reliable flow

Because no two bulk materials behave exactly the same, effective flow promotion begins with a clear understanding of an ingredient’s flow properties under actual operating conditions. Material testing, combined with real-world application experience, helps ensure that the selected solution addresses the root cause of flow problems.

Depending on the material(s) being handled, a food equipment manufacturer/designer will incorporate one or more of the following solutions:

Bulk bag activation:

Bulk Bags are highly valued for their ability to cost-effectively store and discharge large ingredient amounts. One disadvantage is the smaller diameter of the bag spout compared to its circumference.

If the material in the bag is completely solidified, a pre-conditioning procedure to loosen the material is necessary. Hydraulically actuated steel plates or rollers that press against the sides of the bag with the necessary force will loosen the material, allowing discharge through the bag spout.

Pneumatically actuated paddles and bag elongation devices are effective in ensuring consistent discharge of more free-flowing, yet problematic food materials. These paddles press and lift the bag upward while also creating downward tension on the bag spout — resulting in a ‘V’ shape at the bottom.

Effective discharge from steel vessels:

When gravity and vessel geometry are insufficient, steel vessel activation devices can initiate and sustain ingredient flow — either by reducing wall friction, breaking material adhesion or inducing controlled movement within the vessel.

Common steel vessel activation methods include:

Mechanical or pneumatic external vibrators, which transmit energy through the vessel wall to reduce friction and collapse stable arches or ratholes
Live-bottom or mechanically actuated discharge aids, such as agitators or de-lumpers, which physically move material towards the outlet

Preventing material segregation:

Ideally, blended bulk materials should not remain stationary for extended periods. Otherwise, gravity will take over, and heavier materials will sink to the bottom.

Flexible screw conveyors are well suited for conveying pre-blended or density-varied materials. These conveyors help prevent separation of blended materials by maintaining a consistent, controlled flow from inlet to discharge.

Image caption: Test Lab facility — Flexicon Corporation US HQ.

The importance of bearing specification in bakery environments

Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +1000

The scale of the commercial bakery sector with high throughput production, retailer supply contracts and narrow operating margins leaves little room for unplanned downtime.

So, where do small industrial bearings fit into all of this? Industrial bearings are positioned near burners, within oven conveyors or adjacent to industrial dryers. They operate under sustained elevated temperatures, conditions that accelerate lubricant oxidation and degradation.

Put simply, as oxidation progresses, grease loses its viscosity and film strength. This weakens the lubricating barrier between the rolling elements and raceways in bearings.

Friction rises and internal temperatures increase further, creating a cycle that rapidly shortens bearing life.

To give a bigger picture, around one fifth of global energy consumption is used to overcome friction according to the Global impact of friction on energy consumption, economy and environment report from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Belgrade. Therefore, tribological losses represent a measurable share of total energy demand in industrial systems.

Production stoppages

Some bearings are designed specifically for moderate industrial temperatures. But, in many cases, these components only survive a fraction of their intended lifespan inside demanding food manufacturing equipment, like a tunnel oven assembly. When grease breaks down, metal-to-metal contact increases wear and can result in the bearing seizing up. Production does not slow gracefully in these moments, it stops entirely.

Another issue is thermal expansion which introduces a second, less visible threat. As shafts heat up, they expand. As the shaft expands with heat, it can squeeze the bearing internally. That unwanted preload raises friction and stress, shortening service life.

Again, in line with the study from Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, increased contact stress accelerates fatigue and raises power consumption. Over months of continuous operation, the cumulative effect becomes measurable, both in terms of maintenance frequency and energy demand, and impacts the reliability of equipment.

Contamination compounds the challenge

Not only should food equipment be reliable and well-maintained, it must also be kept clean to prevent contamination.

Flour dust is fine, persistent and poses an airborne risk to machinery. Once inside a bearing, flour mixes with degraded grease to form an abrasive compound. This accelerates wear on raceways and rolling elements, particularly in high-speed conveyor applications.

Moisture from washdowns and steam from proofers adds another dimension. Bearings not designed for humid or chemically exposed conditions may begin to corrode. Surface pitting undermines load distribution and reduces fatigue life. What begins as minor surface damage can develop into vibration, noise and early failure.

When failure occurs in a high throughput bakery, the consequences extend beyond the component itself. Ovens must cool before maintenance teams can intervene safely. Product in process may be lost. Restart procedures consume both time and energy.

For manufacturers operating under strict delivery schedules, even short stoppages disrupt supply chains.

Specification should be strategic, not routine

Reducing friction through specialty bearings for food manufacturing and lubrication therefore contributes directly to efficiency gains. The right bearing choice protects uptime, supports compliance and contributes to energy performance.

Bearing replacements are frequently treated as an unavoidable maintenance routine. In reality, many of these failures stem from specification that doesn’t reflect the true environmental conditions.

By examining operating temperature, contamination levels and washdown exposure in detail, it becomes possible to recommend heat resistant, sealed bearings and corrosion resistant bearings that materially extend service life.

The objective is not to overengineer, it’s to align engineering decisions with operational reality. Let’s look at some examples.

Heat resistant bearings equipped with high temperature lubricants are formulated to resist oxidation and maintain film integrity under sustained thermal load. By preserving lubrication stability, they reduce friction and slow wear progression.

Specifying appropriate internal clearance for elevated operating temperatures helps accommodate thermal expansion without imposing excess stress.

Sealed designs are equally important in flour heavy environments. Effective contact seals reduce particulate ingress while retaining lubricant within the bearing cavity. In washdown zones, corrosion resistant materials such as 316 stainless steel provide added resilience against moisture and cleaning agents.

Bakeries that view bearing selection through the lens of heat stability, contamination control and energy efficiency will be able to reduce disruption and protect both product integrity and margin.

In environments where ovens never truly cool and conveyors rarely stop, small mechanical decisions make a measurable difference.

Image credit: iStock.com/Denisfilm

Weathering the storm: climate resilience in the food & beverage sector

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +1000

Recent floods in Queensland and devastating bushfires in Victoria have exposed just how vulnerable our food and beverage supply chains are to climate shocks in Australia. These events have disrupted transport routes, delayed ingredient deliveries and forced temporary shutdowns of processing facilities. The result? Not just short-term shortages and price hikes, but a fundamental challenge to the reliability and resilience of Australia’s largest manufacturing sector.

Australia’s food and beverage industry, which employs over 270,000 people and contributes more than 32% of all manufacturing turnover, is now facing unprecedented pressure to adapt. Key sectors such as dairy and grain processors, beverages, plant-based innovators and meat producers, are all grappling with the reality that climate risk is business risk.

In this climate-challenged environment, reliability isn’t just a competitive edge, it’s a lifeline. Manufacturers need partners and systems they can trust, no matter what the weather brings. This is where Burkert Australia can help. Its automation solutions are designed for resilience, precision and uptime, qualities that are now essential for food and beverage manufacturers navigating a future of climate uncertainty.

Burkert’s hygienic instrumentation and automation systems are designed to meet the world’s strictest standards (FDA, EC1935/2004, NSF), supporting everything from fermentation and batching to clean-in-place (CIP/SIP) and plant-based protein processing. Its technologies, like the contactless FLOWave flowmeter and predictive ValveInsight maintenance tool, enable real-time monitoring, reduce waste and help safeguard product quality, even during extreme weather events.

As climate risks intensify, the sector’s leaders are those investing in climate resilience, adopting technologies that enable real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance and rapid response to supply chain shocks.

Looking ahead, Australia’s food and beverage manufacturers must future-proof their operations, not just for efficiency and compliance, but for survival.

At Burkert, sustainability is deeply rooted in its company culture and strategy. It has set an ambitious vision for a regenerative economy, aiming not just to minimise harm but to generate positive environmental impacts and support natural cycles. Its sustainability strategy, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, commits to CO₂ neutrality in Scope 1 and 2 by 2028 (with a 33% real reduction from 2023), reducing the carbon footprint of its products, and fostering diversity and inclusion in its workforce.

For its customers, this means partnering with a supplier whose solutions help decarbonise operations, improve energy efficiency and conserve resources, all while ensuring process reliability and compliance. Its global sustainability program and local initiatives ensure it delivers sustainable value, not just promises.

Burkert said it is proud to stand with the industry, helping build a more resilient, sustainable and future-ready food system for Australia.

Burkert’s climate-resilient solutions will be exhibited at foodpro 2026 on stand S22.

Image credit: iStock.com/BeyondImages

Trends in beverage packaging

Tue, 19 May 2026 00:00:00 +1000

Traditional beverage packaging such as bottles made from glass or PET, aluminium cans and drinks cartons, is changing. Some of the companies exhibiting at the recent interpack event showed that a maximum reduction in material, intelligent barrier functions, digital process control and improved recyclability are among the requirements for new generations of beverage packaging systems.

Weight reduction:

KHS revealed it is pursuing a “premium lightweight” approach and presented Premium Lite, a bottle for still mineral water made of 100% recycled PET, weighing just 6.2 g for 0.25 L. The bottle is designed to combine a minimum use of materials with good aesthetics and has been specifically tailored to the requirements of modern high-speed production lines. This lightweight bottle is produced on the KHS InnoPET Blomax Series V stretch blow-moulding machine.

Image credit: KHS

When it comes to product protection and the circular economy, KHS is taking things even further with its Supreme PET bottle. Here, the company uses its Plasmax technology, which applies a silicon oxide coating that is less than 100 nanometres thick to the bottle’s inner wall. The coating acts like glass, protecting oxygen-sensitive drinks — such as green tea — from oxidation and extending their shelf life. At the same time, the bottle is still fully recyclable, as during the recycling process, the glass layer is removed in an alkaline solution without contaminating the PET. The combination of product protection, rPET compatibility and industrial production speeds of up to 60,000 bottles per hour illustrates the extent to which barrier technologies have now evolved towards a circular economy.

Easily recyclable labels:

Along with a reduction in materials, the question of the recyclability of individual components is becoming increasingly important. As an exhibitor at interpack 2026, CCL Label focused on innovations in the circular economy and showed how packaging design can actively support recycling systems. In the area of label and sleeve technology, the company opts for concepts that support recycling. EcoFloat, for example, is a shrink sleeve solution based on low-density polyolefin. During the sink float PET recycling process, the sleeve material floats while the PET flakes sink; this physical separability is crucial in high-quality bottle-to-bottle recycling. Another new feature is the EcoFloat White option for light-sensitive products, which allows bottlers to switch from opaque HDPE or PET packaging to clear PET bottles.

Image credit: CCL Label

With its WashOff labels, CCL has also helped to address the requirements of industrial washing processes in the reuse and refill sector. The pressure-sensitive labels can be removed in a lye bath without leaving any residue and thus support reusable glass and PET systems. In addition, the EcoShear adhesive technology is designed to improve the recyclability of single-use glass bottles, as self-adhesive film labels are almost completely removable.

Adhesive for high-speed labelling:

The composition of supposedly minor components is also gaining in importance. With a new hot-melt adhesive that does not contain mineral oil, Henkel Adhesive Technologies has designed a solution with a removal rate of up to 98% in the recycling process. Residue is separated from the material flow together with the remains of the labels. The hot-melt adhesive solution is designed to be compatible for both paper and plastic labels and ensure smooth operation at high speeds of up to 40,000 bottles/h while maintaining low processing temperatures of 110 to 140°C.

Technomelt EM 335 RE contains no mineral oil, is almost completely removable in the recycling process and is PETCYCLE-approved. Image: Henkel

Replacing labels with laser marks:

Doing without labels is also now possible. Last year, Krones developed DecoBeam, a solution for marking PET and rPET bottles directly. Relevant information such as the product’s net quantity, ingredients, best-before date and design elements are laser marked directly onto the bottles — which is designed to save material and make packaging easier to recycle. Two laser marking methods are available: CO₂ lasers result in a more white-ish colour, while fibre lasers produce black lettering. Logos, graphics and design elements can also be depicted alongside the text.

Image credit: Krones

Krones also offers an alternative to classic labels for glass containers: INKpression transfers ink directly onto the containers themselves. What makes this application so special is that the ink is not applied through a classic printing process: the finished design is peeled off backing material and transferred onto the container as a whole.

Boom in cans continues:

Sales of canned soft and energy drinks are currently experiencing a boom, particularly among younger target groups. Drink cans also have a good recycling rate: over 76% in 2023 and rising, according to figures from two European associations, namely Metal Packaging Europe (MPE) and European Aluminium (EA). Deposit systems have a significant effect here: countries with deposit-return systems achieve recycling rates of up to 90%.

Image credit: Coca-Cola/Uli Deck

Many beverage manufacturers are currently expanding their range of cans. This year, for example, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Germany (CCEP DE) is investing in a new canning line at its Halle location, which is expected to go into operation in 2026, when it will supplement the two existing bottling lines for non-carbonated beverages in PET bottles. With this multi-million investment, CCEP DE is responding to an increased demand: last year, sales of canned beverages increased by around 12% compared to the previous year on the German market alone.

Drinks cartons with a good life cycle analysis (LCA):

When it comes to drinks cartons, opinions often differ despite this form of packaging being lightweight, opaque and recyclable with around three-quarters of its material consisting of cardboard fibre — supplemented by barriers that ensure the product is protected and help extend shelf life. According to the German Association of Manufacturers of Carton Packaging for Liquid Foods (Fachverband Kartonverpackung für flüssige Nahrungsmittel e.V., FKN), when it comes to recycling, the industry is more advanced than many believe; the drinks carton has long been part of a functioning cycle, thanks to association companies Tetra Pak, SIG Combibloc and Elopak as well as the Palurec recycling plant at Knapsack Chemical Park. In Germany, around 36,000 tonnes of plastic and aluminium from drinks cartons is thus recycled every year.

Top image credit: iStock.com/AlexandrBognat

Fuel, fertiliser and freight: a perfect storm for food security

Wed, 06 May 2026 00:00:00 +1000

Australia is facing a convergence of supply chain pressures the country has not experienced simultaneously before. Ongoing instability in key global shipping routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, has driven sharp volatility in global oil prices, leaving diesel — the lifeblood of freight, farming and food distribution, exposed to sustained price pressure and uncertainty.

Fertiliser supply, already tight, remains under strain as global supply chains adjust to shifting trade flows and geopolitical tensions. At the same time, consumers, squeezed by cost-of-living pressures, are shifting their spending in ways that are reshaping demand across every category of grocery retail.

For the companies that move food from farm to shelf, these are not separate problems. They are the same problem, arriving at the same time, and landing on the same infrastructure: the distribution centres that link Australian manufacturers, retailers and consumers.

“There is a perfect storm forming around food security in Australia right now. Fuel is volatile. Fertiliser is short. Shopping habits are shifting. And the supply chain is being asked to absorb all of it at once,” said Dave Rubie, Sales Director, Integrated Systems and Mobile Automation at Dematic. “The businesses that handle this well will be the ones that already designed flexibility into their operations. The businesses that struggle will be the ones still running the supply chain they built for a more predictable decade.”

Dematic, Australia and New Zealand warehouse automation solutions supplier, says the current environment is accelerating a shift that was already underway: the consolidation of multiple distribution operations onto fewer, higher-density, better-connected sites — often co-located with manufacturing to cut freight out of the equation entirely.

“The most obvious way to insulate a food and beverage business from fuel volatility is to reduce the number of truck movements it depends on. That means bringing warehousing and manufacturing onto the same site wherever possible, and consolidating operations that were previously scattered across third-party logistics providers. It also means building denser distribution facilities, so you can hold more inventory on less land without the transport penalty,” Rubie said.

This approach is not theoretical. Several of Australia’s largest food and beverage operators have already reshaped their supply chains around exactly this logic — and are now operating with a structural cost advantage as fuel prices climb.

Asahi Beverages’ automated distribution centre at Heathwood in Queensland is one of the most frequently cited examples of the consolidation model in Australia. The facility brought multiple separate distribution operations together on a single site, dramatically reducing the number of inter-warehouse truck movements and delivering a documented 250% productivity gain for the business. In an environment where every litre of diesel now costs significantly more than it did a month ago, the transport savings that consolidation was designed to deliver have become materially more valuable.

Another leading global spirits and beverages company, Diageo, made a similar move in 2014, consolidating storage operations that had previously been spread across multiple third-party logistics providers into a single automated facility. The original business case was built around reducing transport costs between sites. That logic holds more strongly today than it did when the decision was made. Every kilometre of freight taken out of a supply chain in 2026 is worth substantially more than it was in 2025.

The logic of consolidation is not confined to beverages. Teys Australia, one of the country’s largest beef processors and exporters, invested approximately $100 million in a centralised, highly automated beef aggregation and export facility near the Port of Brisbane — designed to replace a fragmented model in which each of its three major Queensland processing plants at Beenleigh, Lakes Creek and Biloela ran its own cold storage and trucked product directly to port or to nearby external cold stores.

The new facility, powered by a Dematic automated storage and order build system more than 20 metres in height, now handles more than seven million cartons of chilled and frozen beef per year. Critically, the system can build a single export pallet drawing cartons from all three processing sites — giving Teys the ability to respond to shifting customer orders with a level of agility that a decentralised, site-by-site model could never deliver. Moreso, the system achieves significant labour savings and has reduced export delivery times by a whole week. For an exporter facing local and global competition, whose supply chain is exposed to domestic freight costs, international shipping volatility, and shifting tariffs, that performance and flexibility is now the operating foundation of the business.

“What these businesses have in common is that they treated their supply chain as something to be designed, not just operated. They asked how many trucks, how much land, how many handovers between sites, and they worked to bring those numbers down,” Rubie said. “The businesses that made those decisions five or 10 years ago are in a much stronger position today than the ones that didn’t. The current environment is making that gap visible to everyone.”

The pressure on Australia’s food supply chain does not stop at the distribution centre. Farmers facing diesel shortages cannot run tractors. Farmers facing fertiliser shortages cannot maintain yields. Extreme weather events are compounding the strain on fresh produce. And consumers, watching their household budgets tighten, are shifting towards frozen and longer-life products — a pattern that has repeated in every previous downturn and is reasserting itself now.

Australia is currently experiencing a food security challenge that it has not had to confront in living memory, and one that the country’s supply chain infrastructure will either absorb or buckle under.

“Australia has been fortunate. We have had a supply chain that was based upon pricing assumptions and guarantee of energy supply and we have not had to think about food security the way other countries have,” Rubie said. “That is changing. The good news is that the tools to build a more resilient supply chain exist, they are proven, and Australian operators have been quietly adopting them for years. The question now is how quickly the rest of the sector can follow.”

For operators still running fragmented, transport-heavy distribution models, the current environment is a warning. For those who have already consolidated and automated, it is a validation. And for the policymakers and industry bodies watching Australia’s food supply chain absorb the shock, it is a test of infrastructure decisions that were made years ago and are now being tested in real time.

Stop the inventory chaos: bringing control to random weight protein processing

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +1000

Meat, poultry and seafood processors work in some of the most demanding environments in food manufacturing. Variable product weights, short shelf life, strict traceability requirements and ongoing labour pressure all add to operational complexity.

Yet many facilities still rely on a mix of disconnected systems, spreadsheets and manual processes to manage production, inventory and dispatch. As volumes increase and margins tighten, gaps in visibility and control become harder to manage.

The result is often operational friction, duplicate data entry, delayed decisions and reduced confidence in the numbers.

The reality of random weight production

Protein processing presents a unique challenge: no two units are the same. Products need to be tracked not just by quantity, but also by weight and, increasingly, by individual identity.

Traditional inventory systems, designed for standardised goods, often fall short in this environment. Tracking quantity alone can create inconsistencies between physical stock and system records, leading to time-consuming reconciliations and a higher risk of error.

For many processors, this is where ‘inventory chaos’ begins, when systems are not built to reflect the reality of the product.

Connecting the plant, end to end

Across the industry, there is a growing shift towards more connected plant operations, where production, inventory, quality and dispatch are managed within a single environment.

Solutions such as ExPCS: Existco Plant Control System are designed with this approach in mind, bringing these functions together so information can flow across the plant without constant manual hand‑offs.

With a connected approach:

Data is captured once and used across multiple functions
Teams work from the same real-time information
Production can be monitored as it happens
Issues can be identified earlier and resolved faster

This level of integration is designed to reduce reliance on manual workarounds and provide a clearer view of what is happening on the floor.

In random weight industries, inventory accuracy is critical, not only for operational efficiency, but also for compliance confidence and customer assurance.

This is where Triple Dimension Inventory Tracking is designed to help. Instead of tracking inventory as “quantity only”, ExPCS is designed to track three attributes for every inventory unit: Quantity + Weight + Serial Number (unique identifier).

That extra layer of detail matters in meat, poultry and seafood operations, where variable weights are the norm and every unit can change form as it moves through the plant. By maintaining these three dimensions through inventory movements and processing steps, teams can work from a more complete view of stock.

With this level of control, processors can:

Improve stock accuracy and reduce discrepancies.
Strengthen traceability from intake through to dispatch.
Better understand yield and cost performance.
Respond more confidently to audits and customer requirements.
Rather than relying on estimates or manual adjustments, give teams access to precise, current inventory information that reflects what is actually on hand.
Reduce manual effort across operations.

Manual processes remain a common source of inefficiency across processing facilities. Paper-based workflows and spreadsheet tracking can slow down operations and increase the risk of errors, particularly as production scales.

By moving towards automated data capture and digital workflows, processors can reduce administrative workload. Information is recorded as part of the process rather than after the fact, which improves both speed and accuracy.

The practical benefit is straightforward: less duplication, fewer corrections and faster access to the information teams need to keep production moving.

Doing more with the same team

Labour constraints continue to shape how food manufacturers operate. With limited capacity to increase headcount, many businesses are focusing on improving how work gets done.

Greater visibility and automation support more efficient operations without adding complexity. Instead of relying on manual checks and rework, staff can focus on higher‑value tasks that support production outcomes — quality checks, line performance, yield control and customer fulfilment.

In practice, this can lead to:

Increased throughput without adding the same level of admin effort
Fewer errors and less rework
Reduced operational pressure on teams
More consistent day‑to‑day performance
Supporting controlled growth

As demand grows, maintaining control becomes increasingly important. Disconnected systems and manual processes can make it difficult to scale without introducing risk.

A more integrated approach provides the structure needed to support growth while maintaining accuracy and traceability. With the right systems in place, processors can expand operations with greater confidence, without the chaos that often comes from disconnected tools.

Robots that can peel and slice curvy veggies

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +1000

Humans can routinely interact with curved objects as part of daily life, for example, when slicing a banana, peeling a cucumber or washing dishes. However, handling curvy objects can be challenging for robots. Now, researchers have developed an approach that can help robots transfer skills across objects of diverse shapes and sizes, enabling them to peel and slice varied fruits and vegetables.

In order for robots to manipulate an object, they need to understand its position, shape and proportions. While planar or regular shapes share a global frame that can be represented by common reference points, it is much more difficult to create a generalised frame for curved objects. This, in turn, makes it harder for robots to transfer actions across different curved objects.

To address these challenges, Cem Bilaloglu and colleagues designed a way to generate reference shapes for irregular objects, thus allowing robots to generalise tasks regardless of geometry.

This method generates a point cloud of coordinates for the object and then defines key reference points along its surface.

These points can form a smooth representation of the object that includes task-relevant information, which can then be combined with control or trajectory-planning frameworks.

Using this method, the researchers demonstrated that robots could perform continuous, contact-rich actions on several everyday objects.

Tasks included peeling a banana or sweet potato, slicing vegetables, and probing the surface of different 3D-printed objects. Bilaloglu et al. also showed that their approach could operate even with partial or noisy sensor data, or in cluttered workspaces.

The study was published in Science Robotics.

Video: Overview of the results and the method

Video credit: Cem Bilaloglu

Top image credit: iStock.com/Jecapix

Next-gen pumps use film-based technology

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +1000

An ultrathin silicone film being developed at Saarland University in Germany enables pumps to operate without motors, without compressed air and without lubricants or external sensors. These film-based pumps can be switched on and off as needed and integrated into designs previously thought impossible. Wherever a vacuum is required — from applications in manufacturing and automotive engineering to laboratory and research work — this new technology is opening up access to lightweight, flat and energy-efficient pump architectures.

The researchers apply an electrical voltage and immediately the polymer film begins to move. At just 50 micrometres thick, this ultrathin membrane has about the same thickness as a human hair. By adjusting the electrical voltage applied, researchers in Professor Paul Motzki’s team can make the film undergo powerful pulsing motions, vibrate at a desired frequency or amplitude, rise and fall in a smooth undulating motion, or hold a fixed position. What may sound like a party trick is, in fact, the basis for a new class of miniature actuators.

Because the motion of the film can be precisely controlled, it can be used to deliver localised pushing and pulling forces, generating movements that would otherwise require motors or compressed air systems — both of which need space, energy and maintenance. The research team is integrating the films into vacuum pumps that can draw air or liquid out of a chamber. Vacuum pumps are ubiquitous and indispensable in industrial applications ranging from packaging machinery and robotic grippers to medical technology.

Creating a vacuum without compressed air and without a motor

The film technology being developed in Saarbrücken is designed to eliminate the need for heavy components and enables lightweight, compact pump designs. “Using dielectric elastomers — as these electrically responsive polymer films are known — we can tailor pump geometries to specific requirements. That means that we can create forms that would not be technically feasible using conventional approaches. For example, we can produce extremely thin, flat designs comparable to the shape of a smartphone,” said Paul Motzki, who is Professor of Smart Material Systems at Saarland University and Scientific Director/CEO at the Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technology in Saarbrücken (ZeMA).

The film-based pumps can operate in compact, sensitive environments. One of the benefits of dielectric elastomer technology is that it does not need expensive or hard-to-source materials like copper or rare earth elements. And because it operates without lubricating oil, it is suitable for applications in cleanrooms and sterile settings.

“Depending on the operating mode, our membrane pumps can also be very energy efficient,” Motzki said. The pumps also run quietly — an advantage that could help to reduce background noise levels in production halls and assembly lines.

More actuators create greater power

At this year’s Hannover Messe, Motzki’s team exhibited the new prototype that illustrates how their technology can be scaled. Their latest vacuum-pump prototype is equipped with a dual drive. Last year, the team presented a single film drive in a single pump chamber. This year, they are showcasing a dual-drive prototype that features two film actuators in two pump chambers. “We can connect the two actuators either in parallel or in series, increasing pressure, volumetric flow rate and overall power,” Motzki said.

The two film-based drives can operate in opposing phases, with one side in intake mode, while the other discharges. This prevents performance drop-off and allows the pump to deliver higher flow rates and greater pressure capability — generating a continuous vacuum quickly and without cycling. The new dual-actuator design delivers a marked performance gain. Whereas the single chamber pump was able to achieve an absolute pressure of approximately 300 mbar, the new system can get down to below 200 mbar absolute. “And we can connect additional membranes in series or parallel to tailor and further boost performance — depending on application needs,” Motzki said.

Another step towards industrial deployment

The new version of this motor-free vacuum pump is another step towards industrial deployment for Motzki’s team. The technology is also being used for a wide range of other applications, from robotic grippers and loudspeakers to smart textiles and haptic feedback systems for smartphone displays. For example, the team has developed a smart industrial glove that can respond to how the operator’s hand and fingers move and communicate this information to a computer.

The team is now looking for partners with whom they can develop applications that bring their film-based pump technology to market.

Image caption: At Hannover Messe, Professor Paul Motzki’s research team is exhibiting a prototype vacuum pump that uses two film-based actuators. Doctoral researcher Daniel Philippi (left) and student Lukas Roth (right) are pursuing research on the smart-film technology. Image credit: Oliver Dietze

Young water professionals take a closer look at food manufacturing

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +1000

A group of emerging water professionals from South East Water recently visited the Mondelēz food manufacturing plant in Scoresby to gain a better understanding of how water is used and repurposed in an industrial setting making confectionery.

The site visit to Mondelēz was organised as part of the broader efforts of South East Water’s Young Professionals Network (YPN), which is designed to provide learning and development opportunities for its workers just starting out in their careers. The first-hand look at the food facility allowed participants to gain a better understanding of a major industrial water user’s needs and how their role could contribute to improving these water services.

Katelyn Davis, a Water Recycling Operator at South East Water, was inspired to get involved with the YPN initiative after she was introduced to it by a colleague.

“For me, it’s a chance to connect with emerging professionals and broaden my understanding of South East Water. It gives me space to step outside my usual role as a treatment plant operator, build relationships across different teams and learn from the experiences of others — while also contributing to my own knowledge and perspective.”

Participants on the Mondelēz site visit were able to gain an understanding about how large food manufacturers use water across multiple stages of production. Key areas of focus included the importance of water for production, sanitation and trade waste.

Davis said the scale of production and the strong focus on water awareness throughout the entire facility was of most interest to her during the site visit.

“From the production lines and Clean In Place (CIP) systems to the employee hand-washing stations, it was interesting to see how every area has been carefully designed and continuously improved to manage water use efficiently and support sustainability across the plant,” she said.

South East Water proactively works with its large-volume business customers to support water monitoring and improve efficiency, while using smart technology to help customers detect leaks early, reduce waste and manage costs.

Davis said she was impressed with the team members at Mondelēz during her visit.

“There was a wide range of people with different career backgrounds, all working towards the shared goal of maximising production whilst maintaining water management. It was inspiring to see how enthusiastic they were to share the improvement and initiatives they have implemented, alongside the impressive production and CIP equipment; it was clear the employees at Mondelēz are genuinely passionate about their work and were eager to give us insight to their processes,” she said.

Another area of strong interest during the site visit was trade waste management. Attendees examined how wastewater generated during food production is handled, treated and discharged in compliance with environmental regulations.

A South East Water spokesperson said: “Trade waste is the industrial wastewater our business customers discharge into the sewer network. Managing it well is essential for protecting our assets and the safety of our people working on them, and for ensuring we maintain high‑quality recycled water. Strong trade waste controls also safeguard our water recycling treatment processes, reduces operational risk, and protects the environment.”

Nirav Joshi, a data scientist at South East Water, also participated in the Mondelēz site visit. Joshi said he was highly impressed with the workplace culture, the company’s strong emphasis on safety, and the water conservation efforts employed at the site.

“One initiative that stood out to me was an internal survey conducted to gather detailed operator feedback on opportunities to improve efficiency throughout the plant, encouraging both small and large enhancements,” Joshi said.

“In the end, over 40 recommendations were implemented, with the associated cost savings quantified and extrapolated. It was encouraging to hear about the value and care placed on our water by one of our largest commercial customers.”

By observing real-world applications, participants were able to connect concepts, such as water reuse, efficiency and waste minimisation, to tangible industrial practice.

“The Mondelēz team highly valued the engagement with South East Water during the site visit. The interaction was constructive and collaborative, reflecting a strong shared commitment to sustainability. We are confident this partnership will deliver positive outcomes for both the community and the environment,” said Vikas Gambhir, Scoresby HSE Lead, Mondelēz.

Initiatives such as the YPN play a vital role in preparing the next generation of water professionals who are better equipped to help tackle some of the industrial challenges ahead.

South East Water manages almost $5.2 billion in assets including water and sewerage networks. Its service area covers a land area in Victoria of 3640 km² from Port Melbourne to Portsea and approximately 30 km east of Pakenham.

Images: Supplied

Six on the shelf: on-the-go protein, ready-to-cook veggies and more

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +1000

Real food on the go

True Protein has launched its new ultrafiltered milk-based shake, made from real milk with 30 g of pure protein and no added sugar. Five years in the making, the True All Natural Protein Shake is a ready-to-drink protein developed using ultrafiltration technology with real ingredients — ultrafiltered grass-fed dairy and zero artificial additives. The product is available in two flavours at select wholesalers.

www.trueprotein.com.au

Corn ribs made easy

Kalfresh has launched its latest ready-to-cook prepped vegetable product — Sweet Corn Ribs. Ready in eight min, the corn ribs can be cooked by barbecue, air-fryer, microwave or oven. Packaged with a garlic sauce, the ribs are now on the shelves at Drakes’ supermarkets in Qld and other outlets will follow soon.

www.kalfresh.com.au

Ruby red and berry sweet

Zespri has launched a limited-season Zespri RubyRed Kiwifruit in Australia for the first time. Tasting like sweet berries, the kiwifruit variety has bright red flesh that contains antioxidants and vitamin C. To create the variety, Zespri worked with the Kiwifruit Breeding Centre, a partnership between Zespri and the New Zealand Institute for Bioeconomy Science (formerly Plant & Food) using natural breeding techniques.

www.zespri.com/en-AU

No fluff, just buff...alo milk ice cream

Western Australia’s Quindanning Buffalo and family‑owned MICA Creamery have joined forces to create buffalo milk ice cream for MICA Creamery stores across Perth. The small-batch ice cream is described as a rich, ultra‑creamy treat crafted from locally produced buffalo milk. It debuts in two flavours: Classic Vanilla Rich and Hazelnut Chocolate.

https://www.quindanningbuffalo.com/

Snacks in all shapes and sizes

Alexia Horley, CEO for ANZ Foods at PepsiCo, with the new snack formats.

PepsiCo Australia has launched two new formats in its snack portfolio — Smith’s Crackers and Mini Canisters — with fun new food formats that tap into different occasions. The Smith’s range is entering a new aisle for the first time as an oven-baked crunchy biscuit available in five flavours. Mini Canisters will be filled with four of PepsiCo’s snack brands in mini sizes.

www.pepsico.com.au

Aussie icons unite with a chocolate treat

Asembl has united Diageo’s Bundaberg Rum and Cadbury Old Gold for the first time with the launch of Cadbury Old Gold inspired by Bundaberg Rum dark chocolate block. Available now in Coles, Woolworths and independent supermarkets across Australia, the limited edition chocolate combines 45% Cadbury Old Gold dark chocolate with a Bundaberg Rum-inspired centre.

www.asembl-brands.com

The mathematics of fish freshness

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +1000

The mathematical model development has potential as a real-time monitoring system that can estimate remaining shelf life, reduce waste and improve decision-making across the seafood industry.

“As is well known, the freshness of fish and shellfish begins to deteriorate immediately after death, but these changes are difficult to track across complex distribution networks,” said Associate Professor Naoto Tsubouchi of Hokkaido University. “As a result, appropriate decisions cannot always be made accurately because the time-dependent changes related to freshness are not fully understood.”

This uncertainty affects not only the safety and quality of fish, but also its economic value. Decisions about pricing, storage and transport are often made without precise information, affecting logistics and inventory across retail seafood centres, fishmongers, supermarkets, conveyor-belt sushi restaurants and convenience stores — often leading to inefficiencies and unnecessary waste.

In the study, published in the Journal of Food Engineering, researchers introduce a mathematical model based on the well-known degradation pathway of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in fish muscle after death. “When a fish dies, the ATP stored in its muscle tissue undergoes sequential decomposition, and we used this naturally occurring process to create a predictive mathematical model,” Tsubouchi said.

By describing this biochemical process mathematically through what is known as the K-value, the model can help estimate the current freshness of a fish and predict how it will change over time. So, it can determine not only how fresh a fish is now but also how fresh it will be hours or days later.

More than 60 years ago, a freshness index based on the K-value was first proposed by researchers at Hokkaido University. Today, it is used globally as a scientific indicator of fish freshness. However, conventional methods for estimating the K-value require sampling fish tissue and analysing it in the laboratory, making the process time-consuming and destructive. The new model instead predicts the K-value by modelling ATP degradation. It uses basic information like fish species, storage time and temperature to offer a non-destructive and potentially real-time alternative.

Because the same biochemical pathway also determines fish taste, the new model can provide insight into fish quality as well. Inosinic acid (IMP) is a compound that is produced during the ATP degradation pathway, and which contributes to the desirable umami flavour. Some other late-stage compounds in this pathway are associated with bitterness and off-odours. This means the model can estimate both freshness and flavour.

The researchers tested the model across multiple fish species, including mackerel, and found that its predictions closely matched the measured freshness values in the laboratory. “This research shows that a single model structure can be applied across multiple fish species, while maintaining predictive accuracy,” Tsubouchi said.

The researchers have patented related aspects of the technology in multiple countries and see its future application in sensor devices and automated freshness monitoring systems.

Image credit: iStock.com/Pickone

Mitigating unseen losses in large food packs

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +1000

When these invisible issues are not addressed promptly, they can soon have a direct and detrimental effect on the financial stability of food processing companies. Tim Whyte, General Manager of Fortress Technology NZ explores how one of the most powerful strategies to address inefficiencies is to strengthen inline and end-of-line food safety inspection processes.

Combining metal detection and checkweighing equipment on case inspection lines allows processors to directly resolve issues relating to waste, food loss and labour challenges. This integrated strategy assists food companies to maintain a high level of detection sensitivity and enables rigorous quality control throughout the entire manufacturing process.

On top of the trends

The market for large packages of food ingredients is steadily expanding as manufacturers and foodservice providers seek out cost-effective and high-quality food ingredients for use in large-scale food manufacturing. Concurrently, caseweighing inspection advancements at Fortress Technology centre on the development of intelligent, connected and hygienic systems that improve efficiency and reduce waste at scale in ingredient and heavy food applications.

Combination metal detector and checkweighing systems are essential for industries aiming to reduce food waste and meet strict quality control standards, regulatory compliance and automated production efficiency. New research indicates that the global inspection and weighing machine market is projected to reach US$4.1bn by 2035, almost double the value of US$2.3bn in 2025.¹

These specific factors directly influenced the development of Fortress Technology’s Raptor BBK Combination System. Purpose built for applications such as pet food, grain bags and large-case formats weighing between 8–25 kg, this combination system delivers several advantages to users operating at scale.

The user-friendly design ensures that production staff can easily interact with and manage the equipment. Maintenance routines are straightforward, minimising downtime and supporting consistent productivity. Additionally, the system features an easy-to-clean design, helping processors maintain the highest hygiene standards required in boxed or heavy bag production environments.

Uniquely, the Fortress Technology Combination Systems have a CRO (conveyor-run-only) option that is designed to ensure food safety and HACCP compliance is prioritised. This means that the metal detector can always run for products that do not require a weight check.

Fortress Technology’s compact combination metal detector and heavy duty caseweigher features an override option that prioritises metal detection ensuring HACCP compliance.

“Consolidation of these technologies not only streamlines processes but also supports processors in maintaining compliance with food safety standards and industry regulations. The result is improved operational efficiency, reduced product giveaway and enhanced reliability. These factors all contribute to the long-term financial stability of food processing companies,” Whyte said.

The time for waste is over

Rising environmental concerns and economic pressures demand more efficient use of resources, minimal waste and improved sustainability practices across all food production lines. In high volume operations, even minor process deviations can quickly escalate. The scale of losses in wholesale and larger cased products is often more visible and are amplified due to the high volume of output involved.

Non-conforming or contaminated product caught after packaging represents a significant irrecoverable cost. Additionally, isolating contaminants and salvaging unaffected product at this final stage is often more time consuming and impractical, impacting productivity.

These risks can be reduced by strategically placing inspection systems at high-risk critical control points throughout the production process.

Implementing metal contaminant detection systems at critical control points is one of most effective methods to reduce high volumes of food waste.

Fortress Technology advises processors distributing food packaged in cases or large bags to intercept physical contaminants at their largest and most detectable form, prior to fragmentation and dispersal during processing. If identified post-packaging, large volumes of finished product may need to be discarded. A recommended strategy can involve implementing dual- or multi-stage inspections. This may include screening incoming ingredients before processing using gravity and/or large format metal detectors, followed by final metal detection and weighing safeguards at the end of the production line.

Enhancing footprint efficiency

Large scale production rarely equals more floor space. By expanding vertically and positioning gravity metal detectors on mezzanine floors, or optimising floor layouts and incorporating automated solutions, bulk processors can increase their output and profitability per square metre.

The Raptor BBK Combination metal detector and caseweigher answers this call for more compact combination systems that conserve floor space and lower operational costs without compromising performance. Measuring less than 2.5 m in length, reject conveyors can be customised to suit the product application. The system is also designed to enhance user safety by preventing heavy lifting and hazardous pinch points.

Its robust and hygienic construction is designed to ensure long-term performance in demanding processing and packaging environments. The modular plastic chain conveyor belting and AC induction motor supports efficient cleaning and maintenance.

Real-time data logging and connectivity provides extra assurance that food processors are experienced and ready to adhere to food traceability rules as they roll out globally.

Given that 70% of all products globally rely on bulk solids handling at some point in their lifecycle, the reliance on inspection and quality control cannot be underestimated, said Whyte. The answer lies in prioritising inspection, data integration, and in-line and end-of-line weighing of packaged ingredients and larger-format foods.

Top image credit: iStock.com/satamedia

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UQ opens FaBA MakerSpace for food innovations

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +1000

The University of Queensland has opened a purpose-built facility designed to help speed up food product development and strengthen industry collaboration.

Professor Nidhi Bansal from Australia’s Food and Beverage Accelerator said the FaBA MakerSpace will provide rapid prototyping, unique research collaboration opportunities and access to advanced equipment.

“By giving industry partners access to a food-grade space equipped for fast, low-risk prototyping, we are enabling them to innovate more quickly while drawing on UQ’s research expertise to codesign practical and commercially focused solutions,” Bansal said.

“This facility is designed to help businesses test ideas, refine food and beverage formulations and explore new technologies in a way that is agile, efficient and directly connected to commercial business needs.”

The FaBA MakerSpace can replicate all stages of food production, including modified atmosphere packaging. (L–R) Geethi Eshani Ilukpitiya, Justin Nugent, Dr Bhaskar Adhikari and Charlotte Duniam.

The FaBA MakerSpace is designed to help reduce the cost and uncertainty associated with early-stage innovation for business.

It offers capabilities including beverage and liquid processing, powder development, filtration and separation technologies, advanced sterilisation and packaging systems and multiple drying platforms including spray drying and freeze drying.

Charlotte Duniam and Geethi Eshani Ilukpitiya with a commercial oven used in the development of baked and dried products.

Companies will be able to create multiple prototypes in a single session, trial emerging technologies and assess feasibility before investing in commercial equipment.

Senator Anthony Chisholm, Assistant Minister for Resources, Regional Development and Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry — who officially opened the FaBA MakerSpace — said the facility would provide Australian business with a competitive R&D advantage.

“This is a nationally significant facility that will support food innovation, industry collaboration and workforce development,” Chisholm said.

“As one of six projects funded under the Albanese government’s $370 million Trailblazer Universities Program, the Food and Beverage Accelerator plays a huge role in bolstering research and commercial capability in Australia’s priority sectors.

“The new facility here in the heart of UQ provides a perfect example of the goals and possibilities set out in our plan for a Future Made in Australia.”

UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry AC said the FaBA MakerSpace enables UQ to engage nationally for food and beverage industry innovation.

“This facility gives Australian companies access to capabilities that would otherwise be out of reach for many early-stage or fast-growing businesses, helping them turn ideas into market-ready products more efficiently,” Terry said.

“The FaBA MakerSpace is a central hub in UQ’s network of innovation facilities designed to support new product development, scale up readiness and undertake industry-led research across the food and beverage sector.”

The FaBA MakerSpace supports UQ teaching and learning by ensuring students and emerging entrepreneurs gain hands-on experience with contemporary product development, food engineering and applied industry projects.

Top image caption: Professor Nidhi Bansal setting up a rheometer to determine the texture properties of a food product. Image credits: The University of Queensland

Maximise throughput, minimise downtime

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +1100

The food industry frequently encounters bulk solids that resist reliable flow — materials that pack, cake, compress, solidify, rat-hole or agglomerate during storage, shipment or processing. These non-free-flowing ingredients often lead to irregular discharge from bulk bags, silos, hoppers or vessels.

Such challenges can undermine even well-designed processes, causing downtime, material waste and cross-contamination risks in hygiene-critical environments. Selecting bulk handling equipment engineered specifically for these difficult materials is essential to maintain efficiency, product consistency and regulatory compliance.

Specialised solutions for every stage

From conditioning, discharging and conveying to filling, dumping and batching, there are specialised solutions to address these handling issues at every stage.

Conditioning solidified materials is a critical first step. Hydraulic bulk bag conditioners use compression to break up caked or compacted contents. Standalone units enable programmed, multi-side conditioning at variable heights for thorough loosening. Integrated models combine conditioning and discharging in one machine, saving floor space, reducing costs compared to separate units and eliminating forklift transfers between steps.

Discharging non-free-flowing materials from bulk bags demands active flow promotion. Advanced dischargers feature devices that stretch the bag top upward and/or the bottom downward as it empties, while timed activators raise and lower opposite bottom sides, progressively forming a steep ‘V’ shape. This forces even stubborn materials — including residues in corners — to discharge completely.

Conveying remains a cornerstone for moving non-free-flowing materials reliably. Flexible screw conveyors excel here, as the screw is the only moving part contacting the product, driven from above the discharge point to avoid bearing exposure and contamination. Custom-engineered screw geometries prevent packing, build-up, binding or seizing. The fully enclosed tube routes easily — vertically, horizontally or at angles — through confined spaces while preserving blended material integrity without segregation or degradation. The screw’s gentle rolling action ensures smooth, controlled conveying and maintains blend uniformity by preventing separation throughout the conveyor length.

Weigh batching uses these conveyors to deliver high-capacity transfer for productivity along with precise, step-down dribble feeds for accurate dosing.

Cleanliness and contamination control

Dust control and sanitary design are critical in food applications. Drum, box and container dumpers create dust‑tight seals during loading, tipping and discharging. Flexicon bulk bag dischargers provide dust‑tight connections between the bag spout clean side and downstream equipment to further minimise airborne particles and cross‑contamination. Open-channel stainless steel frames eliminate cavities or recesses where bacteria, mould or contaminants could harbour, enabling rapid, thorough wash-downs and unobstructed visual inspections. Flow control valves, clamp rings and telescoping tubes are FSANZ-accepted, supporting compliance with stringent food safety standards.

Virtually all such equipment can be built almost entirely from 304 or 316 stainless steel, finished to industry and user’s sanitary standards — including continuous, smooth, flush welds up to mirror polish. IP66 or IP67 enclosures and motors withstand high-pressure wash-downs with steam or cleaning solutions without damage.

Material flow enhances safety

Food processing plants, upstream of packaging lines, will use a metal detector that scans the product to identify contaminants. Detection of a contaminant, called a ‘strike’, triggers the metal detector to divert a portion of the food product into a collection bag. Workers then inspect the rejected sample to verify that the contaminant was removed.

Bulk‑handling equipment that enhances material‑flow consistency also improves the reliability of metal detector strike detection, helping reduce both downtime and material waste.

In an industry where hygiene, consistency and throughput are non-negotiable, specifying bulk handling equipment tailored to non-free-flowing materials delivers measurable returns: fewer blockages, higher yields, lower labour and stronger compliance. By prioritising engineered solutions for conditioning, discharge, conveying and sanitary integration, food processors can transform challenging ingredients into reliable, efficient production streams.

Image caption: Flexicon offers equipment for non-free-flowing bulk solids in contamination-sensitive applications.

Improving efficiency of pharma packaging cleaning after filling

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +1100

Cleaning the exterior of pharmaceutical containers such as bottles, vials and cartridges after filling prevents any adhering product residues from becoming a danger to humans and the environment. This process, which is traditionally liquid-based, consumes enormous amounts of energy and water and incurs high costs. In order to provide a more resource-friendly solution, a manufacturer of fill & finish machines participated in a joint project to investigate the suitability of the quattroClean snow jet technology. The results have confirmed that the sustainable cleaning process meets all the requirements of the pharmaceutical industry. A basic validation carried out in parallel simplifies the approval of the process in compliance with FDA and GMP regulations.

Reasoning behind the solution

“Due to the trend towards the use of increasingly potent active ingredients, there is a risk that the exterior of the containers could be contaminated with a potentially hazardous substance after filling. We are therefore seeing a growing demand for solutions to clean the outside of containers after the filling process. Not only do ever-stricter cleaning requirements have to be met, but the reliable removal of product residues must also be proved,” said Werner Iländer, Group Manager of Research, Technology and Pharma Services at Bausch+Ströbel.

Until now, external cleaning has generally been a liquid-based process involving spraying the containers with ultra-pure water and subsequently drying them with clean compressed air. This requires large quantities of water to be treated in an energy-intensive process and, depending on the product being filled, to be disposed of as hazardous waste. This not only results in high operating costs for users but is also a wasteful use of drinking water.

“For these reasons, we looked around for an alternative cleaning method that would make this process more cost-efficient and resource-friendly, as well as having a lower CO₂ footprint. We have been working with the dry quattroClean snow jet cleaning technology from acp systems for some time and know that very high standards of cleanliness can be achieved, depending on the substance to be removed. However, we had no valid data on the material compatibility of the process,” Iländer said.

Image credit: acp systems

QuattroClean snow jet cleaning is a dry process for full-surface and localised applications that can be integrated into fully-automated production lines. The cleaning medium is liquid, recycled carbon dioxide, which is a by-product of industrial processes and used, among others, in the food industry. The liquid CO₂ is guided through a wear-free two-substance ring nozzle and expands on exiting to form fine snow crystals. These are bundled by a separate jacket jet of compressed air and accelerated to supersonic speed. The focused jet of compressed air and ‘snow’ develops a combination of thermal, mechanical, solvent and sublimation effects on impacting the surface to be cleaned, which makes it effective. The removed contaminants are then extracted in the compact cleaning cell, thus preventing re-contamination of the product and contamination of the surroundings. Since the crystalline carbon dioxide sublimates during the process, the cleaned residue-free surfaces are dry, thereby eliminating the need for rinsing and drying steps.

Joint project to test the solution

Bausch+Ströbel, therefore, didn’t hesitate to participate in a joint project funded by Invest BW involving five industrial partners as well as Fraunhofer IPA and the NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute at the University of Tübingen. In the project, the material compatibility and cytotoxicity of the cleaning technology was investigated on various product surfaces typically found in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors.

“This project was primarily about proving that the mechanical forces of the snow crystals do not alter, impair or damage the surface in any way. It was also important to establish whether the thermal stress and/or the chemical properties of carbon dioxide affect the surfaces or biocompatibility of the containers, for example by releasing cytotoxic material components,” the group manager explained.

In addition to glass vials, test specimens made of stainless steel 1.4301 and 1.4305 with different surface finishes, as well as polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyether (PE), polyoxymethylene (POM), nitinol and cobalt-chromium were included in the studies.

To evaluate the test series, Fraunhofer IPA examined the surfaces of the test specimens microscopically (light and/or scanning electron microscope) in their initial state and after cleaning. The dry jet cleaning process was carried out under worst-case conditions, ie, the middle section and edges of the test specimens were continuously irradiated with CO₂ snow at a high pressure of 12 bar for 10 seconds. During the subsequent microscopic examination of the glass vials, no cracking was detected, and no propagation of existing cracks was observed.

Microscope images of vials with existing damage show no change in the defects before (left) and after (right) worst-case cleaning with the CO₂ snow. Image credit: Fraunhofer IPA

With the aid of a fluorescent penetrant, it was also possible to demonstrate that the snow crystals did not cause any additional stress in the glass. Likewise, the abrupt exposure to cold and the subsequent warming of the vials to ambient temperature did not result in the formation of any micro cracks. Furthermore, in vitro cytotoxicity tests in accordance with DIN EN ISO 10993-12: 2021-05 and DIN EN ISO 10993-12: 2021-08 confirmed that the CO₂ snow does not impair cell vitality in any way. The VOC and SVOC analyses carried out according to ISO 16017-1 yielded Tenax values within or below the measurement limits.

GMP- and FDA-compliant process

The process therefore meets all the requirements of the pharmaceutical industry in this field; it is also compliant with GMP and FDA in terms of material compatibility, meaning that basic validation has already been achieved.

“In this project, we were able to generate the key data for our customers and develop a basic solution. The next step will be to implement this in a market-ready product that will significantly reduce operating costs and resource consumption in external cleaning for specific applications,” Iländer said.

Top image credit: Bausch+Ströbel

Zeroing in on food safety tests — are they too sensitive?

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +1100

The international team of researchers make it clear that food safety is an important concern, as foodborne pathogens account for approximately 420,000 deaths and 600 million cases of illness each year. However, the authors argue that food systems will be more sustainable, while continuing to protect public health, if ‘zero-detection’ expectations are replaced with evidence-based targets for ‘sufficiently safe’ food.

The article sets out how regulators might find trade-offs with other important factors, such as food supply security, sustainability and nutritional health.

“Although the public expects food to be completely safe, there will always be some risk of foodborne illness. Zero risk doesn’t exist, and we shouldn’t be aiming for that either. Just as we don’t limit highway speeds to 10 miles per hour to minimise road deaths, we need to take a balanced approach that considers possible negative consequences of extreme food safety measures,” said lead author Prof Martin Wiedmann from Cornell University.

Impact of aiming for zero risk

According to the study, many rules and purchasing standards rely heavily on detecting a pathogen, sometimes treating any detection as unacceptable without fully considering dose, exposure, the food’s ability to support microbial growth, or who is most at risk.

Throwing away such food reduces the available food supply and wastes resources. Similarly, recalling food products from consumers can damage consumer trust, pushing people away from otherwise healthy products.

The authors argue that other protective measures, such as storage temperatures, packaging and heat treatment, can waste energy, increase costs and reduce nutritional content. While these are all important safety measures, they should only be applied if needed and associated trade-offs should be considered.

“A tremendous amount of food is wasted that would have been sufficiently safe to eat. Too often, trade-offs such as environmental or economic costs are only considered after a traditional microbial risk assessment. We cannot afford to carry on like this at a time when we desperately need to reduce our impact on the planet and assure not only food safety but food security,” said co-author Prof Sophia Johler at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany.

Focus on risk rather than hazard

The current situation is driven by an emphasis on hazard-based assessments, according to the authors, where regulations focus on detecting pathogens, regardless of the threat to consumers. The researchers argue that the food system should move towards more flexible risk-based approaches, which assess the probabilities of harms and adjust the safety measures accordingly.

Regulations that overemphasise stringent corrective actions (such as recalls) when swab samples from a food-processing facility test positive for an indicator, for example, could lead to undue corrective actions in areas that are unlikely to contaminate the food. The authors explain that this could be an opportunity cost that diverts resources away from more effective interventions and control strategies in high-risk areas.

“There’s well-established evidence that focusing on end-product testing is generally ineffective to ensure safety. Overemphasis on end-product testing may distract from other food safety measures (eg, applying validated and verified process controls), which can provide greater public health benefits,” said co-author Dr Sriya Sunil at Cornell University.

Better tools to assess priorities

Computational tools that incorporate vast amounts of information across the food production system could help with establishing acceptable risks.

One challenge is how to prioritise different hazards. For example, in the US, norovirus causes thousands of times more cases than Listeria monocytogenes, yet Listeria monocytogenes causes more deaths per year.

While there are trade advantages to having consistent international food safety standards, the balance between competing interests may vary between regions. This can become even more complex when factoring in the health and environmental implications of greenhouse gas emissions.

“Specialists across social sciences, economics and life sciences must work together to establish values that align with consumers’ priorities. Together with advanced models that build on geographic information, AI and genomics, we can assess, manage and communicate risks far more accurately,” Wiedmann said.

Image credit: iStock.com/Blueastro