Check out the November 2021 edition of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, highlighting the 2021 Frozen Foods Processor of the Year: Louisa Foods, Site Strategies Before Building Cold Facilities, and much more!
St. Louis-based Louisa Foods—our 2021 Frozen Foods Processor of the Year—can trace its roots back almost 60 years, not to a food processing plant, but a single family-owned restaurant in the Gateway City.
This is my last magazine as editor-in-chief of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, since I am moving over to R&FF’s parent publication, FOOD ENGINEERING. I have truly enjoyed my time at R&FF reporting on all aspects the cold chain, while being fortunate enough to cover the industry during its unprecedented transformation that continues today.
The cellular structures that protect meat and meat fibers during a rapid freeze do not exist for plant-based products. The crystal growth protections afforded to animal proteins are not natively present in plant-based systems.
As a woman in the foodservice industry, specifically in logistics and distribution for a manufacturing company, I haven’t always found myself working alongside other women in leadership roles. That is changing though, as it is for many other areas of the corporate ecosystem. I’ve built a varied and interesting career in foodservice and encourage others, particularly women, to consider making their mark in the industry.
The need for speed has never been greater along the cold chain, as last-mile demands dictated by the continued rise of e-commerce has added to an already breakneck pace spurred by record sales and increased traffic for cold foods over the past 18 months. Somewhere amid the rush to build new distribution hubs and cold storage spaces is the ubiquitous and often overlooked pallet. Without it, few of the products expedited to market would reach their destinations on time.
Tips and strategies for industrial site identification prior to building cold facilities, particularly since greenfield sites are in high demand today.