I read the recent quarterly reports from Tyson and Sysco (Q2, and Q3, respectively) and both reflect the deep impact of restaurant, hotel, catering and other volume foodservice shutdowns on each of their businesses (and by extension, the cold foods supply chain) due to COVID-19. Here are my thoughts on the future of foodservice and what companies along the cold chain can do prepare for it. 

Metal detection today remains the backbone of food safety compliance for the majority of the industry, but especially in the chilled and frozen food sector. Specifically, simultaneous multi-frequency scanning is making it much easier for manufacturers to identify hard-to-find metals in food products with high conductivity (so-called "wet" products). These products may, literally, have high water content. Additionally, above-average conductivity may also be linked to high levels of minerals, particularly salt. These can be found in products such as bacon, or ready meals.

Over one billion tons of food is wasted every year. The Food and Agriculture Organization also estimates that in developing countries, up to 40% of total food produced can be lost before it even reaches market. As such, implementing methods of safely storing and transporting food is crucial for being able to continue to feed the planet.

Kellogg Co. believes in transparency. It also believes in sustainability. That’s why it was named Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ 2016 Sustainable Processor of the Year.
 

It used to be that the majority of Americans had their milk delivered straight to their front doors. Every day, the milkman would place bottles of milk in a “milk chute” that had a small cabinet with a door on the outside.

These days, anything and everything is online. From recipes and do-it-yourself solutions to blogs and reviews, the worldwide web is chock-full of “information.”

First order of business—congratulations to Hormel Foods Corp. for receiving Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ 2013 Sustainable Supply Chain of the Year award. We received a great deal of online nominations from some top-name processors, however Hormel Foods showcased exemplary efforts in surpassing its own sustainable measures. 

Nominate your company or a refrigerated and/or frozen foods processor/customer today for Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ annual Sustainable Supply Chain of the Year award.

IPPE 2013 sets the record with more than 1,150 exhibitors and 430,000 square feet.