Processing equipment

Suspended jail sentence after bread basket misuse

21-Jul-2017 By Gwen Ridler

A Coventry baker has been handed a suspended prison sentence and fined £3,000, after breaching injunctions not to use equipment belonging to Bakers Basco and its shareholders.

2 Sisters expands cutting line to create 150 jobs

21-Jul-2017 By Matt Atherton

2 Sisters Food Group will create 150 new jobs at its chicken processing site in Coupar Angus, Perthshire, after expanding its cutting operation.

Müller plans £40M factory extension to create 52 jobs

14-Jul-2017 By Matt Atherton

Müller UK and Ireland Group has applied for planning permission to extend its Telford factory in a £40M investment – a move which would double its capacity and create 52 jobs.

Cooked chicken recalled after production line fault

11-Jul-2017 By Gwen Ridler

Poultry processor Forresters Sales has been forced to recall a batch of cooked chicken wings, after a fault in a production line left some of the products undercooked.

The Cake Crew seeks workers after £500k loan

10-Jul-2017 By Matt Atherton

Cake manufacturer The Cake Crew will expand its production capacity and recruit more staff after a £500,000 loan from investment firm Finance Wales.

Greencore buys factory from Street Eats maker

28-Jun-2017 By Matt Atherton

Convenience food manufacturer Greencore has acquired a new factory in West Drayton, London, from the maker of products for the Street Eats food-to-go brand.

Food Safety Conference

Antibiotic use cut 71% by halting blanket treatment

28-Jun-2017 By Matt Atherton

The UK poultry sector cut its antibiotics use by 71% between 2012 and 2016, by stopping farmers from using antibiotics in a ‘blanket’ treatment.

FTA urges action after driver dies at migrant barrier

20-Jun-2017 By Matt Atherton

The French government must take urgent action to protect drivers’ safety after a van driver was killed when his vehicle crashed into lorries allegedly queuing at a makeshift barrier, made by migrants, near Calais, said the Freight Transport Association...

Five-storey chicken factory to be built in South Korea

20-Jun-2017 By Matt Atherton

One of the world’s largest poultry processing plants is to be built in a 150,000m2 five-storey factory in South Korea.

Smart food factories move even closer

19-Jun-2017 By Rick Pendrous

Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) took centre stage at the huge Interpack 2017 processing and packaging show, in Düsseldorf last month.

Carlsberg to go carbon neutral by 2030

14-Jun-2017 By Gwen Ridler

Beer giant Carlsberg has launched a new sustainability programme, with plans to eliminate carbon emissions and halve water usage by 2030.

Safety conference to focus on latest industry tech

14-Jun-2017 By Matt Atherton

How new technology will benefit food safety will fall under the spotlight, courtesy of Campden BRI, at this year’s Food Manufacture food safety conference.

Food makers to benefit from new robot factory

09-Jun-2017 By Matt Atherton

A new factory dedicated to building robots for food manufacturing roles, promises to boost firms’ productivity, claims its owner.

2 Sisters’ Smethwick site to close with 250 job losses

05-Jun-2017 By Matt Atherton

2 Sisters Food Group has confirmed its Smethwick poultry processing factory will close at the end of June, with 250 workers at risk of losing their jobs.

Yogurt maker expands factory after £2.2M investment

30-May-2017 By Matt Atherton

Welsh yogurt maker Llaeth Y Llan (Village Dairy) has increased its capacity and expanded into new markets after a £2.2M investment from HSBC and the Welsh government.

Chicken firms to pay £19,216 for equipment misuse

26-May-2017 By Matt Atherton

Two chicken processing businesses have been ordered to pay almost a combined £20,000 in damages and costs to bakery equipment maker Bakers Basco, for using its equipment without permission.

Greencore plans factory closure: 400 jobs at risk

26-May-2017 By Matt Atherton

Greencore has revealed plans to close its chilled desserts factory in Evercreech, Somerset, putting about 400 jobs at risk.

The Co-op commits to 100% British frozen meat

24-May-2017 By Matt Atherton

The Co-op will become the only retailer to sell 100% British own-label frozen meat, after its commitment to source only British own-label fresh meat earlier this month.

300-job sugar beet plans welcomed by NFU

22-May-2017 By Matt Atherton

Proposals for a sugar beet processing facility that would create up to 300 jobs in North Yorkshire have been welcomed by the National Farmers Union (NFU).

Food firms advised to defer VAT payments on kit to free cash flow

18-May-2017 By Noli Dinkovski

Food manufacturers are being advised to defer VAT payments on equipment purchases to free up much needed cash flow.

Premier focuses on cost efficiency as profit falls

17-May-2017 By Matt Atherton

Premier Foods reported a 9.3% drop in underlying profit to £117M in its full-year trading update, as the business vowed to focus on cost efficiency and revenue growth.

Me and My Factory

Nim’s Fruit Crisps’ factory operations – in pictures

15-May-2017 By Matt Atherton

Founder and ceo of Nim’s Fruit Crisps, Nimisha Raja, believed so passionately in the quality of her product that she sold her home to finance the company’s new factory. Here’s a tour, in photographs, of the facility that Raja built with the investment.

Icelandic Seachill accepts Seagold offer for factory

09-May-2017 By Matt Atherton

Icelandic Seachill has accepted an offer from frozen seafood processor Seagold to buy one of its vacant facilities in Grimsby, in a deal that would create jobs.

Dairy firm creates 70 jobs after £22M investment

05-May-2017 By Matt Atherton

North Wales dairy processor Tomlinson’s Dairies is creating 70 new jobs after securing £22M of funding to expand its cold storage facilities.

Me and My Factory

Nim’s Fruit Crisps founder on life after Brexit

05-May-2017 By Matt Atherton

Promoting the British origin of food and drink products will pay off for manufacturers after Brexit, according to Nim’s Fruit Crisps founder and ceo Nimisha Raja.

Interpack 2017 showcases innovation

03-May-2017 By Rick Pendrous

Interpack 2017, the processing and packaging trade fair which takes place in Düsseldorf in Germany from tomorrow (May 4) until May 10, is expected to beat records in both exhibitor numbers and visitors.

Food waste targets ‘must be set for food businesses’

02-May-2017 By Matt Atherton

Big food manufacturers and retailers should be required to comply with food waste targets, according to a report by an influential committee of MPs.

Denmark firm buys bolt stunning specialist

02-May-2017 By Rod Addy

UK captive bolt stunning specialist Accles & Shelvoke is being bought by Frontmatec, a global supplier of processing equipment to the red meat industry.

Product file

Video guides help to achieve mixing perfection

28-Apr-2017 By Rick Pendrous

A series of videos that provide advice on how to mix sometimes difficult-to-handle food ingredients with high shear mixers has been produced by equipment supplier Silverson Machines.

Haydens Bakery launches multi-million pound investment

28-Apr-2017 By Michael Stones

Haydens Bakery has launched a multi-million pound investment plan to upgrade facilities at its site in Devizes, Wiltshire.

Food and drink sectors face a ‘perfect technological storm’

27-Apr-2017 By Rick Pendrous

The “perfect storm of societal and technological development” facing the food and beverage industry was under discussion last month in Houston, Texas, at a show organised for the customers of automation and robotics specialist ABB.

2 Sisters’ fish processor gets £5M investment

24-Apr-2017 By Matt Atherton

2 Sisters has invested £5M in its frozen fish processing business, Five Star Fish, after it won a contract with Marks & Spencer (M&S) last year.

Robotics in food manufacture gets government boost

24-Apr-2017 By Rick Pendrous

A new £448,850 government-funded research project has been launched to promote the use of robotics in food manufacturing, which hopes to replace labour-intensive industrial food preparation operations.

Diageo’s ‘105 job cuts a gross betrayal’ of staff

21-Apr-2017 By Matt Atherton

Diageo’s plans to cut 105 jobs at its bottling plants in Glasgow and Fife have been slammed by unions as a “gross betrayal” of its workers.

Automation needed to avert a labour crisis

19-Apr-2017 By Noli Dinkovski

UK food and drink manufacturers should turn to automation as there will be a labour supply crisis regardless of the outcome of Brexit negotiations, a leading economist warns.

Robots will create rather than destroy food jobs

19-Apr-2017 By Matt Atherton

Robotics and automation will create more skilled jobs in the future, despite a report claiming 46% of manufacturing workers were at “high risk” from automation’s introduction by the early 2030s, said the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).

Sea lice: Seafood giant blames parasite for yield fall

13-Apr-2017 By Matt Atherton

Seafood giant Marine Harvest has blamed sea lice for a 9.4% fall in global salmon harvest last year, after revealing 69% of its Scottish salmon farms broke statutory sea lice limits.

Moy Park fined £200k after ‘deep laceration’ injury

13-Apr-2017 By Matt Atherton

Poultry processor Moy Park has been ordered to pay more than £210,000 after a worker suffered a “deep laceration” to his hand when testing the blades on one of its cutting lines.

Walkers Shortbread worker hospitalised after injury

12-Apr-2017 By Matt Atherton

A Walkers Shortbread worker was admitted to hospital last week (April 6), after he trapped his hand in a dough feeder while carrying out routine cleaning.

Mondelēz opens four new Cadbury production lines

10-Apr-2017 By Matt Atherton

Mondelēz International has officially opened four new production lines at its Bournville site, the home of Cadbury chocolate, following its £75M investment in 2014.

Innovation introduction to reduce campylobacter contamination

04-Apr-2017 By Aaron McDonald

Air Products has introduced a new rapid chilling system, designed to further decrease the contamination of campylobacter for poultry processors.

Manufacturing product file

Conveyor system for handling light powders

31-Mar-2017 By Rick Pendrous

A new Z-Conveyor has been introduced by Dutch company Poeth, which is claimed to minimise the amount of light powders left behind in transport systems and optimise production capacity.

Manufacturing product file

JBT acquires high pressure processing firm Avure

31-Mar-2017 By Rick Pendrous

Food and drink processing equipment specialist JBT Corporation has acquired high pressure processing (HPP) equipment supplier Avure Technologies for $57M (£47M) in a move designed to expand its food processing systems, which extend food shelf-life.

Morrisons cuts time to pay small suppliers to 14 days

27-Mar-2017 By Matt Atherton

Morrisons’ small-scale food and drink suppliers will have to wait only 14 days for payment, after a pledge from the UK’s fourth-largest retailer.

Maggoty meat butcher to pay £54,000

17-Mar-2017 By Matt Atherton

A meat firm has been ordered to pay £54,000 in fines and costs for seven food hygiene offences, after a bag of putrefying meat filled with maggots was found behind a freezer.

Costa opens £38M roastery to quadruple production

17-Mar-2017 By Matt Atherton

Coffee maker Costa has opened a new £38M roaster in Basildon, Essex, to quadruple its capacity.

Could cobots be coming to a food factory near you?

09-Mar-2017 By Michelle Knott

Collaborative robots – ‘cobots’ – could be the future for working alongside people.

Pork and bacon producer opens new £3M facility

01-Mar-2017 By Matt Atherton

Pork and bacon producer Robertson’s Fine Foods of Ayrshire has opened a new £3M food processing unit, in a bid to increase capacity.

Prima Cheese wins £3M Lloyds Bank investment

01-Mar-2017 By Matt Atherton

Prima Cheese has secured a £3M investment from Lloyds Bank to install a fourth production line, which will increase capacity by 50%.

£2bn fund raises industry’s automation hopes

20-Feb-2017 By Paul Gander

With the government pledging an additional investment of £2bn a year by 2020 for UK research and development – including a special fund for priority technologies, such as robotics – the food and drink sector will need to ensure that industrial applications...