o

The Vinyl Institute Affirms the Safety of PVC Products

Ned Monroe, president and CEO of the Vinyl Institute, offers insight into the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announcement that vinyl chloride will be one of the next five chemicals selected for prioritization under the Toxic Substances Control Act.




o

How Charity Adeoti Plans to Recruit the Next Generation of Flooring Installers

After losing family members to gun violence, Charity Adeoti discovered her passion for making a difference. Learn how this graduate of the Floor Covering Education Foundation 10-week installation program aims to inspire youth to get off the streets to pursue careers—and successful futures—in flooring.




o

Belknap White: Tile Trends and Business Outlook for 2024

Belknap White’s Dave Godlewski, vice president ceramic, and Jane Twombly, director of specification, provided a more in-depth look at the company which is one of the largest flooring distributors in the country, discuss what’s coming for 2024, the opportunities they see on the horizon and the trends they are following this year.




o

Leslie Del Pozo on Her Flooring Journey and Commitment to the Installation Community

Leslie Del Pozo, vice president of marketing content & communications, QEP/Roberts has been supporting the installation community in a variety of ways for several years now, including sponsoring our Installation Awards for the second year in a row. Here, we dive more into her flooring journey, what supporting the installation community means to her and the importance of just showing up.




o

The Resilient Floor Covering Institute's 2024 Mid-Year Outlook

Resilient Floor Covering Institute President and CEO Bill Blackstock offers an update on the association's key initiatives for the second half of 2024 and provides an outlook for the resilient category of flooring. 




o

David Gross on the Sisters in the Brotherhood Union Organization

David Gross, executive director, INSTALL, highlights the Sisters in the Brotherhood (SIB)—a women’s union organization within the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. He provides an update on how the unions have evolved over time and talks in depth about the support and resources the SIB offers.




o

Industry Q&A: Fishman Flooring President Shane Richmond on Succession Planning and the Future of Distribution

Fishman Flooring’s new president Shane Richmond discusses the benefit of Employee Stock Ownership Plans, succession planning and the future of flooring distribution. 




o

AHF Products: A One-Stop Shop for Hard Surface Commercial Flooring

At NeoCon 2024, Floor Trends & Installation met up with AHF Products Chief Commercial Officer Jennifer Zimmerman and Vice President of Commercial Fred Reitz to learn more about the company’s commercial channel strategy, incorporating AHF Contract, Armstrong Flooring, Crossville Tile and Parterre brands.




o

Novalis CEO John Wu on Resilient Flooring Industry Trends and Strategic Growth in 2024

Learn how this leader in resilient flooring emphasizes long-term planning, approaches the evolving role of digital printing, and discusses the importance of clear product storytelling. Plus, Wu highlights Novalis' commitment to domestic manufacturing.




o

SCI Floor Covering Expands Through Strategic Acquisitions, Remains Bullish on Industry Growth

SCI Floor Covering, backed by Ranier Capital, is expanding through strategic acquisitions in the Midwest. Despite some market softness, SCI President and CEO Dave Elberson remains optimistic about the flooring industry's outlook. Learn about his acquisition strategy, business outlook and SCI's career path for installers. 





o

Shaping the Future of Flooring Through Collaboration and Innovation

Get an inside look at the art of flooring design through the eyes of Audra Keiber, Mohawk’s director of design & development. In this episode, Keiber gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the Mohawk Design Summit, bringing retailers and designers together to forecast 2025 and 2026 trends and product ideation.




o

UCX CEO Ray Mancini on the Future of Flooring Distribution

The Belknap White Group recently announced the brand merger of Belknap White, JJ Haines and Swiff Train under the UCX umbrella. Here, UCX CEO Ray Mancini discusses the merger and the future of distribution.   




o

IUPAT’s David Winkler on Training, Partnerships and the Future of Flooring Installation

David Winkler, regional director of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 5, discusses the importance of training, provides insight into the inner workings and benefits of IUPAT and dispells some common misconceptions about trade unions. 




o

Industry Q&A: The Future of AI in Flooring Installation

No doubt, artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay, but how is it being utilized in flooring installation? App developer and installer Jason Potts walks us through the newest features of AI bot Ballin Knows Best and what it means for the future of installation.




o

How Showroom Pricing is Revolutionizing Flooring Retail with QR Code Technology

Learn how Showroom Pricing, founded by Kristen Stensby, offers QR code-driven solutions for flooring retailers, enabling real-time pricing updates and comprehensive data reports. 




o

Synchrony’s Vince Lowe on the Future of the Retail Shopping Experience

Vince Lowe, senior VP and general manager home specialty and flooring with Synchrony, talks through the high points on“The Future of Retail” report, reveals more about consumer shopping trends, how technology is shaping the shopping experience and where technology is heading in the next six years.




o

Food Traceability Rule to Assist Stakeholders

The Food Traceability Rule is designed to facilitate faster identification and rapid removal of potentially contaminated food from the market, resulting in fewer foodborne illnesses and deaths.




o

FDA Investigates Elevated Lead in Cinnamon Apple Pouches

FDA has initiated an onsite inspection at the Austrofoods facility located in Ecuador.




o

Two FSMA Programs Offer Tools to Assist Stakeholders

QR codes and a graphic element are being offered to communicate the status of participants in TPP and LAAF and to promote awareness of the programs.




o

FDA Makes Clam Advisory

FDA advises restaurants and retailers not to serve or sell and consumers not to eat chopped clams illegally harvested in Massachusetts and distributed by Red’s Best.




o

Get the PFAS Out of Food Packaging Materials ASAP

While the feds have been slow to clamp down on PFAS in packaging materials, states and consumer groups are taking their own legal actions.




o

FDA Shares Information on Redundancy Risk Management Plans for Critical Food Manufacturers

This new requirement was established following a months-long infant formula shortage sparked by insanitary conditions at one of the nation’s largest infant formula facilities. 




o

FDA Issues Supplemental Response on the Labeling of D-tagatose on the Nutrition Facts Label

D-tagatose must be declared as an added sugar on the Nutrition Facts label, but it contains fewer calories than sucrose or table sugar.




o

bioMérieux and FDA Launch Research Collaboration

The collaboration is designed to improve microbial detection tools to combat foodborne pathogens.




o

FDA Announces Packaging with PFAS No Longer Sold in U.S.




o

FDA Offers Update on Post-market Assessment of Chemicals in the Food Supply

The updated list includes select food ingredients (including food and color additives), food contact substances and contaminants under FDA review.




o

FDA Seeks $7.2 Billion to Enhance Food Safety

The request includes an increase of $495 million—or 7.4 percent above the FY 2023 funding level.




o

FDA Publishes Revised Draft Introduction and Appendix to the Preventive Controls for Human Food Guidance

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a revised draft Introduction and Appendix 1 to the multi-chapter draft guidance for industry titled “Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food: Draft Guidance for Industry” (PCHF Draft Guidance).




o

FDA Issues Import Alert for Food Products with Chemical Contaminants Including PFAS

The alert gives the FDA the ability to help prevent entry of human food products into the U.S. if they are found to be contaminated with a broad range of human-made chemicals.




o

FDA Hosts Meeting on Data and Technology for Food Safety

The meeting is designed to help the agency improve its understanding of how it can leverage data and technology to exponentially advance food safety and achieve better health outcomes.




o

FDA Revokes Standard of Identity for Frozen Cherry Pie

The FDA says revoking the standards will provide greater flexibility and the opportunity for product innovation.




o

FDA Releases Guidance on Voluntary Premarket Engagement for Foods Derived from Plants Produced Using Genome Editing

The guidance describes how firms can voluntarily engage with the FDA before marketing food from genome-edited plants.




o

Mojix Releases FSMA 204 Compliance Playbook

The resource provides information needed to prepare businesses to achieve compliance with the FDA Food Traceability Rule.




o

Two Recent Rulings Support Current Method for Assessing Prop 65 Exposure

If the plaintiff’s theories were adopted during recent attempts to use California’s Proposition 65 to sue food manufacturers, it could've dealt a major blow to food manufacturers, distributors and retailers who sell products in the state.




o

Preliminary Results on the Ecology of Human Pathogens in the Southwest Environment Released

The study sought to better understand the ecology of human pathogens in the environment in the Southwest agricultural region, particularly how pathogens survive, move and possibly contaminate produce prior to harvest




o

National Strategy to Reduce Food Loss and Waste and Recycle Organics Announced

The joint efforts aim to reduce waste, increase recycling of organics, reduce climate pollution, save families and businesses money, and support a circular economy.




o

FDA Says Tara Flour Does Not Meet GRAS Standard in Human Food

An evaluation reveals that there isn’t enough data on the use of tara flour in food, or a history of its safe use, to consider it GRAS.




o

FDA Proposes to Exempt Certain Cottage Cheese From Traceability Requirements

 In the final rule, the FDA announced its intention to consider exempting cottage cheese regulated under the Grade “A” Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) from the rule’s requirements.




o

Sufficient Testing Capacity Reached for Import-related Foods

The U.S. FDA announced that sufficient laboratory capacity has been reached for certain import-related food testing, specifically for mycotoxins, under the Laboratory Accreditation for Analyses of Foods  program.




o

FDA Releases Results of Sampling of Retail Dairy-Free Dark Chocolate and Chocolate-Containing Products for Milk Allergen

The sampling was conducted to better understand the extent to which these products potentially contain unintended milk at levels that may be hazardous to people with milk allergy.




o

All About Air Filtration Part 2: Understanding Filtration Efficiency

Filtration efficiency is an important element in dust collection system design for the food industry.




o

Choosing the Right Pump for Poultry Processing Applications

Selecting the right pump to convey product in a food-safe manner during processing steps or to remove waste from processing operations to a waste facility is important for poultry processors.




o

Stampede Culinary Partners Triples its Sous Vide Cook Capacity in New Mexico

The new ovens at the Sunland Park location are state-of-the-art six-truck, dual-purpose ovens, meaning that they have the capability of both smoking and sous vide cooking.




o

T. Hasegawa Secures USDA Certification for Meat and Poultry Flavor Manufacturing

The California-based company is adding equipment, resources and production space to accommodate production of USDA-certified meat and poultry-based products.




o

All About Air Filtration Part 3: Choosing the Right Filter Media

In this four-part series on dust collection for the food industry, we’ll cover everything you need to know about air filtration.




o

VEMAG Introduces Flexible Filling Table for Bakeries

VEMAG engineers developed the FT722 filling table, a new solution for bakeries to produce a variety of baked goods with exact weights.




o

Steakholder Foods Opens Demonstration Center

The facility offers live demonstrations of the company's 3D printers, showcasing real-time production of plant-based meat and seafood alternatives and promoting customer engagement.




o

ProMach Launches Wine & Spirits Solutions Group

ProMach’s Wine & Spirits Solutions team is positioned to solve the unique challenges of processing and packaging traditional bottled products, small-format bottles and ready-to-drink (RTD) products in cans and single-serve bottles.




o

GEA Introduces CONTA Dual Block Valve Technology for Spray Dryers

GEA’s new system is designed to reduce microbiological risks, ensuring safer and more efficient processing operations.




o

Nestlé to Invest in UK Purina PetCare Factory

Developments funded by the investment include upgrading existing production lines, revamping facilities for the factory’s 600 workers, and initiatives to improve energy efficiency and to help reduce carbon emissions.