Earlier this month, the Lucks Autumn and Winter 2012 catalog was made available. This book is full of new design collections, supply items and fresh decorating ideas designed to inspire decorators’ creativity.

The World Packaging Organisation’s president Thomas L. Schneider, CPP, discusses meetings and speaking engagements in Sydney, Bankok, new packaging shows and packaging news and technology from across the globe and much more.

The announcement represents a significant step as part of Kellanova's Better Days Promise to advance sustainable and equitable access to food.

For the second consecutive year, Grupo Bimbo received recognition for its actions to mitigate the effects of climate change at a global level.

The company reportedly has achieved significant carbon cuts on the plant-based line.

The trend, termed ‘Regeneration Rising,’ involves new palettes and factors consumers want.

The prestigious IBIE awards salute snack and bakery producers for sustainability.

The food solutions firm has lifted its 2025 regenerative agriculture goal to 5m acres.

The report details momentum across the company's three strategic focus areas: products, people, and planet.

Our sister mag Refrigerated & Frozen Foods has released its annual ranking of the largest frozen food companies in the U.S.

The Enriching Communities effort seeks to feed the hungry and boost sustainability.

Additionally, the company is on track to achieve its goal of sending zero waste to landfill by 2025.

Pipcorn Heirloom Snacks and Spudsy announced that they have sold their assets to newly-formed UpSnack Brands.

An R&D expert from the sugar company shares insights on how the sustainable farming practice can benefit food producers, and the planet.

Traditional Portuguese and Spanish dishes and desserts

During the last few years, sustainability has received significant attention from many different groups.

When Columbus first sailed to America, its inhabitants had already developed more than 200 types of maize.

On Sept. 26, the two owners of Jensen Farms, were arrested for shipping adulterated food in 2011. The charge was shipping contaminated cantaloupe, which resulted in the death of 33 people and sickened 147 people. The two brothers were arrested on misdemeanor charges of introducing adulterated food into commerce. 

As demand for gluten-free products continues to increase, more manufacturers are entering this niche market, developing a wide range of products in various categories. 

The number of gluten-free products that have entered the market in recent years is quite large—almost mind-boggling. To some degree, this trend was fostered by FDA’s relatively new rule, Gluten-Free Labeling of Foods (August 2013), which allows manufacturers of foods inherently gluten-free to make such label claims. Thus, we now have gluten-free tomato sauce, a product that was probably always gluten-free.

Skout Organic is launching its newest snack, Vanilla Macaroon Soft-Baked Cookies, as part of the brand’s limited-time Small Batch line of cookies and bars this month.

Pop culture-infused humor, vibrant design, and a catchy Mariachi riff bridge brand awareness from protein bars into savory snacks.

The company’s goal was to create a treat with the same appearance, taste, and texture profile as its original brownie recipe.

The new addition to the Myna Snacks lineup is made with real cheese and Italian herbs and seasonings that deliver the taste of pizza in a convenient, crispy, nutritious format.

John B. Sanfilippo’s (JBSS) 1-million-sq.-ft. headquarters and production complex in Elgin, Ill., is a real powerhouse, with a whopping 85 production lines for nut and snack processing. The company has witnessed steady growth and the challenges that go with it. And with more than 90 years of experience and a keen focus on customer and consumer solutions, JBSS tackles the tough nuts to crack head on. 

New influences, trends and preferences are redirecting many bakers to develop and produce new products. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is still a critical issue, as are commodities, private-label products and many business consolidations. 

Packaging enhancements, a twist on shapes and ingredients and many new flavor combinations continue to win over consumers. 

Chicago Specialty Bakers brings traditional, Old World baked goods to life for today’s discerning consumers.

Today’s market for better-for-you extruded snacks is skyrocketing, with products like veggie straws and other puffed/expanded products finding appeal among shoppers seeking alternatives to traditional offerings.

In a move toward boldly-flavored, healthful products, manufacturers are finding innovative ways to meet the needs of consumers who favor sweet and savory bakery foods and snacks. Starting with the dessert first, familiar flavors and healthful benefits can be found in many of Wholly Wholesome’s pie products.

On its own, chocolate is a wonderful treat. Marry chocolate with the perfect flavor pairing, and the snack becomes even more memorable. Classic pairings, such as chocolate with peanut butter, raspberry or mint, are here to stay, but adventurous flavors are growing in popularity.

Busy lifestyles and affordability aren’t the only reasons why consumers add frozen baked goods to their shopping cart each week.

Harris Interactive recently released the results of its 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend study, which analyzed the responses of more than 38,500 consumers on key measures of brand health for more than 1,500 lifestyle, product and service brands. When questioned about the brands they are likely to reach for when craving a salty snack, respondents chose Lay’s Potato Chips—the top-ranked salty snack for the past eight years—followed by two other Frito-Lay North America brands, Doritos and Tostitos.

Pretzels have been around for more than a thousand years, originating in southern Europe around 610 A.D., according to historians. Today, crispy, hard pretzels are consumed by people in many of the countries represented at the 2012 Olympics.

When it comes to the Olympics, most people prefer some sports over others. The same holds true for consumers when it comes to snack foods.

Low in calories, high in fiber—popcorn may just be the perfect natural snack. Of course, that doesn’t stop manufacturers from trying to up the ante by enhancing all the whole grain has to offer. Now, popcorn can be found competing with chips, pretzels and even candy in the snacking Olympics.

Marketers of beef jerky, a favorite of truckers and a staple at gas-station checkouts, want it to be a healthier snack. Makers of the spicy, salty dried treat find that consumers can accept turkey versions and are now stepping up sales with moister, tastier and fancier dried-meat products, some in flavors such as Basil Citrus and Lemon Garlic.

Pork rinds are probably the most misunderstood item in the snack category. This is surprising, because people have been eating pork rinds—also called pork skins—as long as they have been eating pigs. One of the world’s first snack foods created thousands of years ago, and favored in the southern states, pork rinds are a simple combination of fried pork skins and salt.

Potato chips and chocolate? Snack manufacturers and bakeries are experimenting with unique combinations to satisfy consumers’ desire for a snack with the perfect sweet-savory blend.

Demand for chocolate in snack and bakery items is driven by two core consumers: Luxury seekers; and healthy snack eaters who both share a common desire for great-tasting chocolate produced in a sustainable fashion. 

Snack producers and bakers have expanded their explorations into sweet-savory profiles, with sweet-salty, sweet-spicy and sweet-herbal all gaining favor.

The California Fig Powerball was created as a snack to take on the go, a quick bite that will provide a burst of energy that also delivers sound nutrition.

When it comes to sweet goods like doughnuts, Danishes, sweet rolls, muffins and coffee cake, the market is in a state of flux. As Walter Postelwait, president of Pak Group LLC/Bellarise Baking Ingredients, Pasadena, CA, puts it: “The total segment appears to be growing slowly, but has hot pockets of activity.”

The chips segment has grown quite lively over the past year, with new product areas emerging and others, like apple chips, seeing considerable growth and maturation. Snack producers are also starting to grow beyond potatoes, offering sweet potato, beet and parsnip chips.

Florigo (from tna) has announced the launch of a new continuous potato chip fryer that features patented opti-flow technology for improved frying performance.

The flexibility to produce different flavors, shapes, sizes and types of products is high on the list of qualities that snack and bakery makers are seeking from manufacturers offering griddle equipment and fryers.

Fryers continue to see ongoing improvements related to hygienic design, oil management and energy efficiency. Equipment suppliers are also offering models that occupy a smaller physical and carbon footprint, and that include adaptability to handle a diverse array of products.

Heat and Control, Inc., an equipment manufacturer and food processing industry supplier, recently released the OilSaver Filtration System to its Oil Management System lineup.

VITO Fryfilter, Inc. recently released an intensive cleaner individually packed as tabs, for an effective cleaning of commercial deep fryers: the VITO tab.

Snack and bakery companies looking to purchase new or improved ovens, proofers, fryers, and dryers have a long list of requests when it comes to features and benefits, according to manufacturers of those types of equipment.