Food News

Guaranteeing food safety. Protecting brand reputations. Complying with product specifications. Minimizing food waste. Maximizing yields. Protecting profitability. Too many challenges for the growers, processors and packers of fresh, fresh-cut, canned, frozen and dried vegetables! Challenges which would be so much easier if foreign materials didn’t get mixed up with freshly harvested vegetables. Or if every batch of vegetables didn’t contain sub-standard product. Or if the presence of these unwanted materials on the processing line wasn’t sometimes almost impossible to detect. The good news is that optical sorting machines can deal with all these challenges. 

Here we take a brief look at the challenges currently facing avocado packhouses; how retailers’ requirements are expected to change; and why state-of-the-art sorting and grading solutions not only enhance packing efficiencies but also put packhouses in better shape for the future.

Tomatoes are one of life’s blessings. For growers, tomatoes give a high yield and are in strong demand. For consumers, tomatoes are packed with healthy antioxidants, nutrients, and vitamins. For processed food manufacturers, tomatoes add color, flavor, and natural goodness to juices, pastes, purees, sauces, and ketchup. And for food processing lines, tomatoes are a swelling revenue stream.

Today’s sorting technologies achieve an accuracy that manual sorting simply cannot. The optical sorting machines offered by industry-leader TOMRA Food can be relied upon to detect and eject foreign materials, cross-contamination, product clumping, and malformed products. And at the same time as looking over the production line like guardian angels, automated sorters also enhance product hygiene, solve labor-related challenges, increase throughput, maximize yield, and gather data that can unlock further improvements in line efficiency.

Industry experts in China applaud TOMRA for setting new standards in sorting and grading solutions with AI technology

It’s not easy for nut processors to ensure food safety or meet customers’ product specifications. For one thing, foreign material and shell fragments can get into the processing line’s product stream. For another, nuts can be damaged by both by external and internal defects which can be almost impossible to detect. There’s also the risk posed by allergens if one type of nut should unintentionally get mixed with another. Yet all of these threats have to be eliminated to protect processors and retailers from product recalls and reputational damage.
This is achievable thanks to the extraordinary effectiveness of state-of-the-art optical sorting machines.

TOMRA Food’s industry-leading sorting technologies - optical
sorting machines, application-specific modules, multi-lane sorters, and the TOMRA Insight data platform - are extraordinarily effective. And sorting solutions are now available for a wide variety of potato products - everything from potatoes just taken out of the ground or storage to fresh pack, chips (crisps), French Fries, other frozen products (such as wedges, slices, and hash browns), and dehydrated flakes and granules.

Leader in sorting, grading, and packing solutions to host industry events, show new packing line solution, and make presentations on latest technologies.

One of the most successful businessmen of all time, the American industrialist Andrew Carnegie, identified teamwork as “the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” The influential business consultant Ken Blanchard put it another way: “None of us is as smart as all of us.” In other words, even the cleverest, most focused, hardest-working people can achieve more when they collaborate with others. This is certainly true at food processing plants and packhouses, where efficiencies depend not only on the line equipment, but also on the teamwork of the people managing and operating it.

Changes in the cherries business are bringing new challenges as global demand is rising and exports are booming. Packhouses are under pressure to handle greater volumes and at the same, they must also maintain or improve product quality. There are sensor based solutions that make this possible as Benedetta Ricci Iamino, Global Category Director for Cherries at TOMRA Food, explains.

Industry leader highlights the growing importance of AI to the food industry and demonstrates its wide-ranging solutions with a holographic display

New appointment is the latest of numerous initiatives strengthening customer support in TOMRA's biggest market

Citrus packhouses are striving to meet evermore demanding quality expectations, yet must also increase quantities and improve yields. This is a tricky balancing act, but it can be done, as Clinton Jeffries, Global Category Director Citrus at TOMRA Food, explains.

TOMRA Food continues to sharpen its focus on sorting and peeling solutions precisely tailored to food categories 

The increasing global demand for seeds and grains, including seed corn and coffee beans, is a great opportunity for food processors to swell their revenue streams.

When peeling vegetables, many processing lines waste huge amounts of food – and potential revenue. With modern peeling machines, however, this can be prevented, while also reducing energy costs and water consumption. Eamonn Cullen, Market Manager Peeling at TOMRA Food, explains how.

Christian Tougaard joins the company to lead TOMRA Processed Food sales in the EMEA region

For the new leader of TOMRA’s business area specializing in fresh fruit and vegetables, the priorities are customer-centricity and developing the business’ global presence

New partnership will strengthen and simplify customer support for Fruit Packers

The award’s judges applaud how, by using digital tools and AI technology, TOMRA Food has advanced food sorting accuracy and efficiency

For blueberry businesses, this is a time of change. Global demand is climbing. Production is increasing. New growing regions are gaining market strength. And consumers’ quality expectations are rising. All these changes mean that growers and packhouses must now be more productive and efficient than ever before.

When businesses behave with sustainability, it’s not only society that benefits – this can also help bring in new business. Stefaan Kennis, Director of Strategy, Market Intelligence and Sustainability at TOMRA Food, explains why - and how technologies can make this easy.

Michel Picandet, Head of TOMRA Food, touches on topics like food safety and transformation. He talks about his daily routine, favorite dishes, and what he learned in China. But most of all: he gives you a unique insight into the mission he sees for TOMRA Food in the world around us. Be inspired and inspire in return!

Jessica Brennan, Head of Transformation and Communications at TOMRA Food, onboarded about one year ago while TOMRA Food was … yep … as if it were written in the stars … in full transformation. While she explains to us that it’s all about people: involving everybody in the story, making sure we keep the big picture in scope and create room for (more female) leadership, we also get to know why an Australian aeronautical engineer ends up on Belgian soil (was she not aiming for Mars???). Her biggest piece of advice: ‘Be yourself, be bold, and speak up’.

David Coupez, Customer Centricity, Enablement and ACE (Advanced Customer Engagement) Program Lead, is joining us in the TOMRA Talks Food studio to look at the past, present and future of TOMRA Food. A peculiar conversation on TOMRA as a technological innovator at the core and how to balance that with smart Customer Engagement actions to keep ahead of the customer revolution. His piece of advice: 'Don't be afraid to use your creativity'.

New appointment in California reflects TOMRA's regional and global commitment to tailoring its solutions to food categories' specialized needs

Ahead of the new online event for the global avocado industry, TOMRA spotlights solutions for growers and packhouses who are under pressure to increase throughputs – and whose next big challenge will be higher expectations of product quality

Damien Gibson, Global Category Director Apples at TOMRA Food, analyzes in this article the challenges faced by apple packhouses and explains how TOMRA Food’s solutions allow them to reduce the labor required for sorting whilst significantly improving the consistency, accuracy, and packout of the sorted product.

Free-to-download publication spotlights how sorting data can now be easily accessed and understood to gain commercial advantage

With TOMRA’s new sensor-based sorting technologies, Pet Food manufacturers and producers of animal by-products will be able to reach new levels of efficiency, food safety and product quality.

TOMRA Food has just celebrated its 50th anniversary with all teams around the globe. The company is leading the resource revolution with intelligent, game-changing products that improve yields and minimize waste. In addition to more sustainability, this also means increased cost efficiency and protection of the brand image benefitting customers in the meat and poultry processing industry. The leading manufacturer of sensor-based sorting machines will present its digitally supported portfolio at the IFFA trade show from May 14th to 19th, 2022 in Frankfurt.

Wide-ranging announcements made today at leading international trade show

In this new application, the TOMRA 5C makes final quality checks on the line with superior sorting efficiency, higher yields, higher capacity, and the benefits of big-data analysis

New tagline recognizes how TOMRA Food and its customers can work together to improve global food production; legacy brands integrated into one TOMRA Food brand; new talent to be attracted to build on market leadership

Maximizing protein's profitability from meat, poultry, rendering and pet food

As the leader in optical sorting technology, TOMRA is committed to developing and adapting new technologies to help almond processors create higher value products and maximize grower returns without sacrificing profitability. In this video, TOMRA reveals how big data and analytics are used to uncover hidden inefficiencies, unlocking the potential of your process with the power of information and providing accessibility all the way to your mobile device.

As a large number of product recalls recently showed, plant-based ingredients in pet foods can hide a dangerous poison. The near-invisible threat is aflatoxin, one of the mycotoxins produced by certain molds (fungi) on plants such as corn, grain and tree nuts. When this slips into the food chain undetected, it can harm pets and pet food manufacturers’ reputations.

TOMRA Food announced today its new organization focused on two business areas, Fresh Food and Processed Food. This change creates a powerful organization, unique in the world, which brings together the most extensive technology portfolio, the widest array of Research & Development skills, and the strongest global footprint in the sector.

Tuna processing is demanding, fiddly, and hugely labor intensive. So many people are involved in removing bones and scales from the fish, and in separating the differing colors and qualities of meat, that the risk of human errors is ever-present. So too are the risks of worker-related foreign materials, such as clothing fibers and strands of hair, falling into the product.

The booming popularity of kettle chips (known in some parts of the world as ‘crisps’) brings potato processors a mixture of opportunities and challenges. Opportunities lie in the strong demand for a potato-based product that commands a premium price. Challenges arise because what originated as a low-volume ‘artisan’ snack must now be produced in vast and faultless quantities for big-brand retailers with reputations to protect.

Today, we are delighted to give the stage to Jason Schenker, Chairman of the Futurist Institute; President of Prestige Economics and bestselling writer on many innovative topics, such as future food challenges.

Cashew processing in India is getting more challenging, especially considering manual labor and the current global environmet. Maximizing quality is especially important to maintaining India’s reputation as a premium cashew market and perhaps the best weapon to have in the battle for product quality and commercial competitiveness is optical sorting machines. Acquiring such machines is a significant financial decision, but also a wise investment that pays back with rich rewards.

Running a potato fresh pack line involves keeping an eye on so many variables that it can seem like juggling – and now, because of COVID-19, there are more balls to keep in the air. Performing the seemingly impossible can become possible, however, when TOMRA Food provides a helping hand. TOMRA’s optical sorting machines, well known for sorting to high levels of accuracy with low levels of waste, also solve a wide range of pack line challenges which have intensified since the emergence of COVID-19.

With the demand for fresh, convenient and healthy food growing among consumers, leafy greens are the order of the day. From fresh cut to pre-washed and pre-packaged products, this is a rapidly growing market with significant potential.

The scale of the global food waste problem is staggering. According to reports, 1.6 billion tons of food are lost or wasted every year, equating to a total value of $1.2 trillion being wiped from the supply chain. With one-third of the total amount of food produced globally being misused, the industry needs to look towards innovation and digitalization to combat this ever-growing trend.

With global peanut production huffing past the 45 million metric ton mark in 2018, according to International Nut and Dry Fruit Board, the global appetite for this unassuming ground nut has been skyrocketing. Not only have peanuts established themselves as an increasingly versatile food item in the human diet, but their consumption is distributed globally, with China producing and consuming approximately 40% of the produce.

Processing many different types of frozen vegetables, this Chinese business has doubled efficiency and increased productivity by adopting two optical sorters, including the laser-equipped TOMRA 5B.

The De Marchi group is a standard-setter in fruit and vegetable production in Brazil and a successful exporter. This business invests in the best practices and processes to ensure safe, healthy, and tasty products. To further increase product quality, and to raise the level of automation on its processing line, the group recently acquired its first TOMRA 5B sorting and grading machine.

Eamonn Cullen, Market Manager Peeling at TOMRA Food, analyzes in this article the market situation and some of the challenges faced by potato processors, such as reducing food waste and energy use in the processing line, and explains how TOMRA Food addresses these issues.

TOMRA, the global provider of advanced collection and sorting solutions, celebrates its 50th anniversary today. Each of the Group’s four divisions - Collection, Food, Recycling and Mining – marked the milestone by declaring a collective mission for the future to “transform how we all obtain, use and reuse the planet’s resources to enable a world without waste.”