Smart Manufacturing

Thailand foodservice industry shifts to cage-free eggs

The growing ethical awareness among the consumers has led the Thailand foodservice industry to increasingly adopt sustainable practices. Many foodservice operators are opting for cage-free eggs and restaurants are placing greater importance on animal welfare. This shift not only addresses the evolving consumer expectations but also aligns with global food standards, reflecting the industry’s commitment to ethical sourcing and sustainability. Consumers believe animals deserve respectful treatment, with the confined, restrictive conditions of battery cages widely deemed cruel. In contrast, cage-free systems provide hens with more freedom to move and express natural behaviors, aligning with ethical values. Cage-free systems can have a smaller environmental footprint when managed responsibly. Consumers prioritising sustainability consider cage-free eggs to help reduce environmental harm and support sustainable farming. Moreover, sustainable feed practices and reduced reliance on antibiotics contribute to a healthier ecosystem and lower overall resource usage. Restaurants adopting this standard are not only supporting the humane treatment of animals but are also contributing to healthier food production processes. Capitalising on these trends, various foodservice operators in Thailand, such as Tap Home Cook and Zen Corporation Group have committed to only use eggs from cage-free hens. Cage-free environments are believed to help produce healthier eggs with a lower risk of contamination, particularly salmonella, than eggs from caged systems. Consumers often associate better animal welfare practices with higher food quality and safety.

Suomen Lantakaasu invests in Kiuruvesi biogas plant project

Suomen Lantakaasu Oy’s biogas plant to be constructed in Kiuruvesi, Finland will produce renewable liquefied biogas from cattle farm manure in Upper Savo and from other agricultural and food industry byproducts. The investment covers the construction of the biogas plant and the liquefaction unit. The preparatory groundwork phase has already been finalised and construction of the biogas plant will begin this winter. The plant will be completed in 2026. The Kiuruvesi biogas plant is part of the Upper Savo complex that includes the industrial-scale, centralised liquefied biogas production plant in Kiuruvesi as well as three smaller satellite plants in Lapinlahti, Sonkajärvi and Nurmes. The total value of the investment in the Upper Savo complex is around EUR 100 million. The project has been granted EUR 19.2 million in funding from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF investment aid). This aid is critical for realisation of the project. The final decisions on construction of the satellite plants are still pending the completion of the environmental permitting and zoning processes. The biogas plant under construction in Kiuruvesi will make efficient use of local livestock manure. The plant will be able to receive manure from about 100 farms locally, i.e. around 400,000 tonnes of manure per year. The biogas plant will also receive manure-based compressed biogas from other biogas plants in the hybrid complex for liquefaction. The plant will liquefy about 125 GWh of biogas per year, which is equivalent to the estimated annual fuel consumption of 250 heavy-duty vehicles. “Manure biogas production has a major role in reducing emissions not only from heavy transport, but also from agriculture. With the binding supply agreement we have signed with more than one hundred agricultural entrepreneurs in Upper Savo, the biogas plants will have a very broad impact on Upper Savo’s agricultural emissions and […]

NZ’s low-carbon beef production to accelerate following new study

New Zealand’s low-carbon beef production is set to accelerate following the release of a new study that found younger dairy cattle produce almost half the greenhouse gas emissions of older steers. The move could help address a significant ethical and environmental concern for the New Zealand dairy sector which sees nearly two million, four-day-old bobby calves culled annually – a practice facing a potential ban by 2030 due to animal welfare concerns. The new AgResearch report found that dairy-derived beef raised to 10-18 months has a carbon footprint 29-48% lower than the average for mixed beef cattle in New Zealand. The researchers found that in dairy production, the total greenhouse gas emissions are allocated between milk and live weight sold for meat. This means that only a portion of the emissions are attributed to the beef, while the rest are allocated to the milk. In contrast, beef systems only produce live weight, so all the emissions are allocated to the beef. Daniel Carson (Ngāi Tahu), founder of Māori-owned agribusiness Mīti, which commissioned the research, says their mission is to transform young dairy calves, usually slaughtered at four days old, into a sustainable and profitable food source. He says by extending the lifespan of these calves by up to a year they are able to create a new market for a viable low-emission protein source while adding value to the dairy and beef industries. Carson says it is hoped the research will support the creation of a new low-carbon, young beef category called Mataora, specifically designed for manufacturing into added value products, and lead to more efficient utilisation of New Zealand’s meat processing infrastructure as well as a low-carbon leather for the high-end fashion sector. “At the moment young bobby calves are considered surplus to requirements and the current system treats […]

Breakthrough Victoria invests in company turning waste into animal feed

Breakthrough Victoria is announcing a $2.5 million investment in Viridian Renewable Technology Pty Ltd, a pioneering Melbourne based company, addressing food wastage and creating a circular economy through sustainable insect protein manufacturing. Viridian is already operating its first commercial plant in Derrimut and will significantly increase factory capacity in the following 12 months, creating 15 direct jobs and producing 1,300 more tonnes of protein ingredients every year. Future plans include building two more plants in Gippsland that will be situated in food and agricultural industry hubs to support local businesses. Viridian also has links to Victorian universities and engineering businesses and intends to collaborate on future research projects to directly benefit Victoria’s innovation sector. The company specialises in developing and deploying technology aimed at creating insect-based protein ingredients for pet and animal feed with a nutritional quality greater than many traditional protein sources and a considerably lower environmental impact. Viridian also produces fertiliser products used across Australia to support regenerative agriculture. Australians waste about 7.6 million tons of food each year across the food supply chain. This represents a huge economic cost, waste of natural resources and around 3 per cent of our greenhouse emissions. At the same time, we need new ways of producing enough high-quality protein to feed ourselves, our pets and our livestock. Viridian addresses these challenges by building highly automated insect protein factories that can substitute traditional proteins in pet food and animal feed with affordable, consistent and nutrient-rich products, providing a commercial solution to this global issue. This approach reduces the amount of food materials wasted in landfill and the emissions associated with food, feed and fertiliser products. Insects require minimal land, water and feed to produce protein-rich biomass, making them an incredibly efficient food source. The company’s innovative technology elevates this efficiency further with […]

Confidence grows in solutions for processing plant-based foodstuffs

By Antonio Guillermo Jara Ponce, Systems Sales Manager, HRS Heat Exchangers The last two years have seen a slowdown in investment by the global food and drink industry, particularly in terms of products containing added sugar. However, plant-based drinks and alternative proteins have continued to grow as a sector. There are a number of reasons that food and drink manufacturers have postponed investment over the last 24 months. Some were waiting for interest rates to fall to make investment finance more attractive and reduce the price of raw materials, while others appear wary of the effects of proposed legislation by Western governments to tackle public health issues such as obesity and diabetes, which could see the introduction of taxes on sugar and fat, for example. Yet at HRS Heat Exchangers we’ve seen a difference between some of our traditional markets, such as those making juices, sauces and carbonated drinks, where investment has definitely slowed – and the plant-based and health-food sector where, despite some market readjustment, confidence has been noticeably higher. We are definitely seeing more demand from manufacturers of plant-based drinks, and not just those using traditional ingredients like soy and oat, but others such as coconut or rice. From our perspective, the actual ingredient is less relevant than its properties. From a design point of view, the material’s viscosity, thermal conductivity and how it flows are more important. Once we’ve established those parameters we can design an efficient heat exchanger. The ultra-heat treatment (UHT) of soy-, nut- and oat-based milk alternatives is fundamentally the same process as for dairy and, given our experience in dairy processing (together with the increasing use of our systems for handling meat products), makes us well placed to provide solutions both for plant-based drinks and alternative proteins. One of our particular specialisms is […]

Dr-Aaron-Low-Chief-Technical-Officer-amaea-working-at-their-RD-lab-in-Hamilton-New-Zealand FI

Molecularly imprinted polymers successfully remove smoke taint in wine

Wine science researchers from the University of Adelaide have found that a tailor-made polymer developed in New Zealand could hold the key to removing smoke taint in wine. A billion-dollar problem, wildfires are an ongoing threat to vineyards. Wines made from grapes exposed to smoke result in an acrid, ashy aroma, taste and mouthfeel that compromises quality and reduces value to the point that it is oftentimes unsaleable. Ideally, to remediate smoke tainted wine, the molecules responsible need to be reduced, without removing desirable elements that contribute to the wine’s composition, colour and flavour. Professor of Oenology, Kerry Wilkinson and her colleagues have successfully tested a method to lessen smoke taint in wine, validating the use of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) to target removing the volatile phenols responsible for the smoke taint. Researchers added MIP beads to smoke-impacted wine which selectively bound and removed the target compounds, ameliorating the wine’s sensory profile. MIP specialists, amaea developed the MIPs used in the Australian Government funded study. Professor of Oenology, Kerry Wilkinson said: “The selectively of MIPs made the science worth considering as a method to reduce volatile phenols. We exposed the wine to MIP beads imprinted with billions of binding sites complementary to the target compound’s molecular properties, such as size, shape and chemical characteristics – which allows the MIPs to specifically target, capture and remove the offending phenols.” The research showed the MIP technology was successful at removing 35−57% of the volatile phenols from the sample wines which included guaiacol, 4-methylguaiacol, cresols, and phenol. The findings were recently published in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry: Amelioration of Smoke Taint in Wine via Addition of Molecularly Imprinted Polymers during or after Fermentation. Dr Aaron Low, Chief Technical Officer amaea said: “Removing smoke taint from wine has long been a […]

Sidel whitepaper shows how beverage industry can harness the growing consumer trend for variety packs

Following the booming interest in beverage variety packs among North American consumers, many beverage producers are now considering implementing this packaging strategy in other markets. Sidel has distilled its expertise in variety packs into a new whitepaper to support producers and brewers in their decision-making. The launch of Sidel’s new variety pack solutions whitepaper will aid brewers and other beverage manufacturers looking to capitalise on this surge in popularity of variety packs. The comprehensive and objective whitepaper has been designed to explore and address the pertinent issues faced by decision-makers when designing their variety pack packing strategy, from market value and industrial challenges to the transition to an inhouse solution. Growing demand for Variety Packs Variety packs of flavoured alcoholic beverages increased by 833 percent from 2016 to 2020 demonstrating consumers’ increasing search for variety, novelty and customisation, a trend mirrored by the huge increase in popularity of hard seltzers amongst young adults. First appearing in 2013 in the US, the demand for hard seltzers grew into a market worth more than $2 billion by 2021, with more than sixty brands[2]. Variety packs offer consumers a way to sample new products, cater to different tastes within a social group, present potential value for your money and are convenient to carry and store. With increasing promotion, interaction and now online sales, they also allow breweries the potential to offer on-demand Variety Packs, allowing consumers to create their own packages according to their personal tastes. Transitioning to in-house solutions Approaches to packing solutions for variety packs can vary significantly depending on the beverage company’s production need and technical choices, from manual to automated repacking lines with WIP storage or even a ‘mega accumulation’ on-the-line production model. When the variety pack trend first started, beverage producers relied on contract packagers to avoid large […]

Genevieve Muir’s Coast of Gold bursts into Australian market

An Australian brand centred on authentic West African flavours is making massive waves in the premium foods and condiments market, with the official launch of the award-winning Coast of Gold Shito Pepper Sauce range. Arguably the most loved sauce in Ghana, Shito (pronounced Shi-Tow) is a unique blend of hot peppers, herbs, spices and seafood, slow cooked to perfection. Known for its smoky heat and rich flavour profile, it pairs well with a variety of dishes such as rice, grilled meats, vegetables and even snacks. Boldly bursting into the Australian market with Gold and Silver accolades from the 2024 Melbourne Royal Australian Food Awards, Coast of Gold’s Shito Pepper Sauce is now available in a sweet, smoky and spicy Hot variety (Silver award-winner), Medium heat, and via a 100 per cent plant based Mild (Gold award-winner) recipe. The range has also received international acclaim via a Gold Star at the 2024 Guild of Fine Food Awards in the United Kingdom. With all three individual varieties also available in a taster pack and as a value bundle, Shito Pepper Sauce is the hero product of the Coast of Gold brand, which is sold online and delivers nationally and internationally. Rapidly capturing the attention of specialty food stores since its recent launch, the range is also now sold through more than 70 retailers across New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria and Queensland. With plans for rapid wider distribution soon across the nation, Coast of Gold was originally founded during the Covid-19 lockdown period in the home kitchen of Ghana-born Sydneysider, Genevieve Muir. After more than a year of perfecting the recipe via countless test batches made with the input of her family members scattered across the globe – aunties in Ghana, uncles in England, cousins in the Netherlands, the USA, and even […]

Quady Winery celebrates 50 years of the road less travelled

Andrew Quady is an innovator, risk taker, and pioneer of California’s sweet and aperitif wines, known for varietals including the Electra Moscato and Vya Vermouth. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a generation of winemakers, mostly in California, transformed the American wine industry, emphasizing quality, terroir, and individual expression. James Conaway, in “Napa: The Story of an American Eden,” called these men and women the “Second Wave” of American winemaking. Looking back, we can also call them our “greatest generation,” in recognition of the risks they took and the accomplishments they made. Most of the recognition of these winegrowers has centered on Northern California, but the movement existed throughout the entire American wine industry, with important pioneering wineries in Oregon, Washington and throughout the entire state of California. Today, most of these groundbreakers have retired, sold their businesses or have been unable to sustain their wineries through the many difficult cycles of the industry. Andrew (Andy) Quady is one of the last remaining members of this generation still active in the industry. Graduating from U.C. Davis with a master’s in enology in 1973, he became a winemaker that same year, beginning in Lodi and later moving to Madera. However, unlike his fellow graduates, who ended up making notable cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, and pinot noir, Andy forged a different path. He took advantage of opportunities as he saw them and focused on wines that would be the very best versions of what he could make in the region where he was, no matter how popular they may have been at the time. It was at Davis that Andy met Darrell Corti. Darrell, owner of Corti Brothers stores in Sacramento, was a benefactor of many young winemakers in the Second Wave. He encouraged the movement by purchasing their wines and promoting them […]

Brawijaya University Prof Develops Early Harvest, High-yield Corn Seeds

MALANG, E. JAVA, Indonesia – An expert from the Faculty of Agriculture of Brawijaya University, Prof Arifin, has developed hybrid corn seeds for animal feed that have a higher yield and faster harvest cycle. “If the average corn productivity is only 9 tons per hectare, using Brawijaya Nusa corn seeds could lead to a productivity increase of over 30 percent,” Arifin explained to the media on Friday. Two types of hybrid seeds, namely Nusa 1 and Nusa 3, have been developed as part of the innovation. Both have higher productivity compared to regular corn seeds. “Brawijaya Nusa corn seeds can produce up to 12.9 tons (of corn) per hectare and 13.7 tons per hectare compared to corn seeds in general, which are only 9 tons per hectare,” he said. Initially, five types of seeds were proposed, but only two passed the release test by the Ministry of Agriculture. The seeds were found suitable for dry land areas, such as in NTT, particularly Sumba and Timor. “NTT has the potential for growing corn, but its current productivity is significantly low. To meet the national average of 5.8 to 5.9 tons per hectare in the next few years, productivity is needed as it currently stands at only 2.3 tons per hectare.,” he pointed out. Therefore, the innovative technology from the Maize Research Center (MRC) is expected to boost the national production of corn for animal feed. The development of hybrid seeds commenced in 2022 in NTT. Following this, Arifin and his team implemented the technology for seed production and cultivation among the local farmers. This year, the farmers started to see added value from the field corn seeds. Arifin emphasised the importance of partnering with the private sector to ensure the successful management of business operations involving seeds, varieties, and technology developed by the university. He […]

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