Top Food & Bev Industry Posts You Missed in October 23571

From massive recalls of flour possibly contaminated with E. coli to major food companies embracing the reduced-sugar chocolate trend, October was a dynamic month for the food and beverage industry. Powder & Bulk Solids editors selected these posts to provide our audience with an overview of some of the most interesting food and beverage-related news that was reported in the last month.  

Food Firms Go All In on Reduced-Sugar Chocolate in 2019
Sugar is on the outs as consumers turn to healthier food and snack choices. Food manufacturers are embracing the shift. In the confectionery category, major chocolate producers – including Barry Callebaut, Cargill,Mondelez, and Nestle– are responding to the trend by developing a variety of reduced-sugar products. With all the recent developments in reduced-sugar chocolate this year, food manufacturers that use chocolate in their products may want to consider the "sweet opportunities" of this growth segment for 2020.

ADM and King Arthur Recall E. coli-Tainted Flour
Flour and baking mixes producer King Arthur Flour Inc. and ADM Milling Company issued a voluntary national recall in early October for several lots of Unbleached All-Purpose Flour in 5 lb. and 25 lb. bags after E. coli O26 was uncovered in samples of the products. The recall involved 34 lots of flour produced a the ADM Milling plant in Buffalo, NY. Around the same time, J.M. Smucker issued another recallfor King Arthur flour over concerns that the products were contaminated with E. coli. 

FDA Debuts Online Tool to Monitor FSMA Compliance
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently rolled out a new tool that will assist the agency in gauging the impact of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) as compliance dates for the legislation’s seven rules are reached. Released on September 30, the FDA’s Food Safety Dashboard will monitor the food industry’s progress in meeting the requirements of FSMA.

OSHA Fines Flavorings Plant $223K After Worker Fatality
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Kerry Inc. for one willful and eight serious safety violations and issued a fine of $223,525 after a worker died in a fall at the firm’s Greenville, MO liquid smoke production plant.

McCain Foods Invests $300M in New French Fry Line
Frozen potato and snack food products manufacturer McCain Foods USA started work on a $300 million expansion project in mid-October that will add 170,000-sq-ft of space to its Othello, WA potato processing plant. The company said the investment includes a new state-of-the-art battered and conventional French fry processing line. When the project is finished, the company will create 180 new jobs and increase its consumption of potatoes from the region by 11,000 acres. 

2 Workers Hurt in Explosion at Cargill Plant
Two workers were injured in an explosion in a building at the Cargill protein facility in Dodge City, KS on October 17. News radio station KNEB reported that live cattle and feeder cattle futures dipped after news of the blast broke. Operations at the plant were briefly disrupted by the incident. 

Mondelez Opens New Candy Production Line in Canada
Confectionery firm Mondelez International has completed a CAD$40 million (about $30.6 million) project to install a new candy production line at its manufacturing facility in Hamilton, ON. The company’s new line has a capacity of 11 million pieces of candy per day, according to coverage by CBC News. 15,000 sq ft of space was added to the facility during the project to house the new production capabilities.

Plant Manager Pleads Guilty in Pet Food Fraud Case
A manager of a Wilbur-Ellis Company pet food ingredients processing facility in Texas pleaded guilty to charges of pet food fraud and money laundering in a federal court room in Missouri in late October. 48-year-old William Douglas Haning appeared before U.S. Chief District Judge Rodney Sippel in the Eastern District of Missouri on October 24, admitting that he and several others shipped adulterated and falsely labeled pet food ingredients to pet food manufacturers, co-packers, and co-manufacturers when he served as operations manager of the Wilbur-Ellis plant in Rosser, TX from January 2008 to May 2014. 

Cargill Commits $225M to Expand Soybean Crush Plant
American agribusiness Cargill is dedicating $225 million to an expansion project at its integrated soybean crush and oil refining site in Sidney, OH as the company looks to meet increasing demand for protein and refined oils. The investment will be used to boost the facility’s crush capacity and upgrade operations, the company said in a press release issued Wednesday. Cargill also support area farmers with features like improved truck unloading capabilities in Sidney. 

Molson Coors Cutting 500 Jobs, Changing Name
Molson Coors Brewing Co. announced a revitalization plan that includes cutting 400-500 jobs, streamlining its four business units into two, and changing its name to Molson Coors Beverage Co. This revitalization plan is designed to allow Molson Coors to invest across its portfolio at the level necessary to drive long-term, sustainable success.

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