In meat and poultry products, phosphate use as an ingredient is multifunctional.

On a conveyor surface, potential harborage points are numerous, including links, bends, etc. While smooth conveyor belts tend to be easier to clean, they also are easier to damage, i.e. fraying edges, gouges, etc.

From a holistic perspective, total poultry across the store had moderate dollar growth but volume declines for all U.S. outlets combined for the 52 weeks ending Nov. 2, says Meagan Nelson, associate director at Nielsen, in Chicago.

In addition to vision systems boosting food safety, processors are using vision systems for standard processing procedures such as monitoring label registration along with missed and faulty packaging to help with quality assurance.

Antimicrobial dips and sprays are aiding processors in achieving food-safety goals from animal harvest all the way through various points of processing, including fresh-cut products.

The majority (64 percent) of U.S. breakfast eaters think a healthy breakfast should be high in protein, finds Chicago-based Mintel International’s Breakfast Foods — U.S. report, published in July 2018.

Sometimes the advantages of using automated and robotic trimming and deboning equipment are not about the technology and equipment in and of itself, but the engineering of the whole line that can aid in speed and other efficiencies along with food and worker safety.

For the past several years, traditional supermarkets have turned to using their strengths, which includes their in-store bakeries, delis and prepared food items. In turn, they are offering viable options for consumers seeking breakfast and lunch sandwiches.

The multi-year rise in bacon looks to be softening relative to the last five years, and much of that decline can be traced to the outbreak of African swine fever in China.

The top challenge for processors in foreign objection detection is there is not one single perfect way to detect every object that may have gotten into the product stream to avoid a recall.