New refrigerated and frozen retail products.

When building food manufacturing plants, it is vital to understand the product and the process for producing, packaging and storing raw materials, and the end product. This is coupled with mechanical and electrical design complexities, sanitation issues, energy-saving measures, Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) compliance and equipment integration. It is no wonder that many factors need to be weighed, whether you are building a new facility or upgrading an existing plant.

Earlier this spring I was thrilled to attend the Refrigerated Foods Association’s (RFA) 42nd annual conference and expo in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. The conference included outstanding networking opportunities and social events, a service project, and a chance to hear from some of the best and brightest in cold foods. It was another great reminder of the industry’s dedication to feeding the world in a safe and sustainable manner.

The award honors a foodservice distributor or logistics provider for its year-over-year growth and leadership in facility expansions, food safety, energy efficiency and fleet management, new product development, mergers and acquisitions and more.

These five companies pulled away from the pack of nominated products and will be honored with individual Q&As.

The latest information on innovative equipment for the cold chain.

Latest information on new packaging innovations for the cold chain.

New refrigerated and frozen retail products.

Consumers continue to turn to frozen foods for convenience, nutrition and value.

In this issue, we take a look at the top 150 frozen food processors and the top 25 refrigerated foods processors. Convenience, value and meeting changing tastes continues to drive product innovation and sales of frozen and refrigerated foods.