Processing Equipment & Systems, Automation, Control

‘Sustainable agriculture practices must triple in order to prevent climate change’: Using space to help food manufacturers meet consumer expectations

17-Mar-2023 By Gill Hyslop

Some of the biggest names in the bakery and snacks industries – including Mondelez, Quinn, ADM, PepsiCo, General Mills and Wildfarmed – have signed up to promote the importance of better-for-you farming processes. But there’s so much more to be achieved.

Kettle Brand joins the air fryer revolution

16-Feb-2023 By Gill Hyslop

While the popularity for energy efficient air fryers has rocketed as consumers attempt to offset the cost-of-living crisis, the kitchen gadget also fits in with the healthier living trend, so it’s not surprising the tech has been adopted by the commercial...

SNAXPO23 is rolling out the red carpet for early-stage brands

14-Feb-2023 By Gill Hyslop

SNAC International is gearing up for SNAXPO23 – Orlando, Florida, 19-21 March – which this year places emphasis on supporting startups, examining flavour trends and sharing knowledge.

Mixed industry reactions to the UK’s new sourdough Code of Practice

03-Feb-2023 By Gill Hyslop

Trade groups like Craft Bakers Association, Scottish Bakers and Federation of Bakers have welcomed the UK Baking Industry Code of Practice (CoP) for the Labelling of Sourdough Bread and Rolls. The Real Bread Campaign, on the other hand, remains highly...

Real Bread Campaign warns UK’s new Energy Support Scheme overlooks microbakery sector

10-Jan-2023 By Gill Hyslop

The UK government has unveiled its new Energy Bills Discount Scheme – which does not provide support for businesses with energy costs below the wholesale price threshold – which Real Bread Campaign coordinator Chris Young said likely see many microbakeries...

Report: State of the UK’s artisan bakery sector

09-Nov-2022 By Gill Hyslop

A new report by the Open University Business School reveals the number of small bakery businesses in the UK has increased in recent years, rising to the COVID challenge, but now facing an uncertain future.

Helping producers to cope in this inflationary environment (by slashing €185,000 off annual costs)

01-Nov-2022 By Gill Hyslop

Escalating manufacturing costs are proving a challenge to food manufacturers across the world. To mitigate the impact of today’s pressurised environment, producers need to focus on efficiency, productivity and waste reduction. Product inspection, too,...

Clif Bar champions packaged snacks to tackle food insecurity

28-Oct-2022 By Gill Hyslop

In the latest edition of Current Developments in Nutrition, a study backed by Clif Bar puts forward the first-of-its-kind set of guiding principles to define sustainable, nutritious packaged foods (SNPFs).

Puratos’ venture arm joins forces with Glimpact to help bakery sector reduce its environmental 'foodprint'

14-Oct-2022 By Gill Hyslop

Sparkalis – the corporate venture arm of Puratos Group – and French foodTech startup Glimpact have created a joint venture (JV) to roll out the first digital platform to evaluate and reduce the environmental footprint of the bakery, patisserie and chocolate...

PepsiCo ramps up snacks capacity in Romania

28-Sep-2022 By Gill Hyslop

PepsiCo is investing another $100m – on top of the $320m over the past decade – into Romania, to double the production capacity of its Popești-Leordeni snack plant.

Panera pilots talking restaurant bot to enhance guest experience in drive-thru bakery-cafés

30-Aug-2022 By Gill Hyslop

Drive-thru diners at two of Panera Bread café in greater Rochester, NY, will be greeted by a proprietary voice ordering AI tech called Tori, which has been developed by OpenCity to maximise efficiency and increase speed of orders.

The 2022 Best in Baking recipients pioneering the bakery of the future

30-Aug-2022 By Gill Hyslop

Grupo Bimbo’s sustainably baked Supán & OroWeat 100% Whole Grain Organic Bread, Dawn Foods’ Women’s Leadership Development Programme and Apex Motion Control’s Baker-Bot are among the raft of recipients to receive the coveted Best in Baking Awards...

Zero Waste Boxes allow eco-conscious bakery and snack producers to recycle once ‘unrecyclable’ equipment

20-Jul-2022 By Gill Hyslop

TerraCycle has created a range of Zero Waste Boxes, designed to allow manufacturers to recycle once ‘unrecyclable’ items used in food-contact environments, giving them a ‘second’ life and saving thousands of pieces of plastic from landfill.

Real Bread Campaign’s call for support

15-Jul-2022 By Gill Hyslop

The Real Bread Campaign is calling on bakers, retailers, caterers and passionate bread advocates to underscore its mission to get Defra to consider its Honest Crust Act, as well as to consider everyone in the upcoming month-long ‘bread for all’ event.

EIT Food Accelerator Network welcomes high-impact class of 2022

24-Jun-2022 By Gill Hyslop

Green Spot Technologies – interviewed by BakeryandSnacks at the start of its journey in 2019 – was among the 61 standout startups selected by EIT Food to receive additional support and investment opportunities to accelerate their growth.

Video interview: Hostess set to sweeten its business for another century

15-Jun-2022 By Gill Hyslop

A decade after bankruptcy, Hostess Brands is thriving under CEO Andy Callahan, who has prioritised innovation to turn the century-old maker of Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Donettes into a snacking powerhouse.

Grupo Bimbo leverages 10 years of progressive digital transformation with home-grown tech

09-Jun-2022 By Gill Hyslop

The Mexican bakery giant has marked the 10th anniversary of its factory and fleet automation initiative with the announcement of further upgrades and investments.

Bakers Basco ramps up its long arm of the law

27-May-2022 By Gill Hyslop

The membership scheme set up by Allied Bakeries, Fine Lady Bakeries, Frank Roberts & Sons, Hovis and Warburtons to manage a bakery equipment service has recruited a former police officer as its new National Investigations Manager.

Advances in bakery and snack processing

RBS introduces ‘game changer’ for better-for-you baked pita chip producers

28-Apr-2022 By Gill Hyslop

Reading Bakery Systems (RBS) has introduced a new pita chip production system that produces baked, split pita chips, as well as a variety of other baked crisp snacks.

Advances in bakery and snack processing

The benefits of automatic metal detector testing

28-Apr-2022 By Gill Hyslop

Mettler-Toledo’s Automatic Test System (ATS) is considered to be the recommended testing method for vertical metal detectors.

Advances in bakery and snack processing

Eaglestone keeps cookie and bar lines moving

28-Apr-2022 By Gill Hyslop

Eaglestone Equipment has developed a new conveyor to help bakery and snack processors speed up production of small products like cookies and snack bars.

How the Incredible Hulk and other tech has enabled a St. Louis bakery to carve out its niche

28-Apr-2022 By Gill Hyslop

The adoption of automation, the cheekily named Bruce Banner (nod to the Incredible Hulk) and Redzone has enabled Companion Baking to cement its role as a mid-size bread distributor, producing 150 SKUs daily despite its limited floor space.

Advances in bakery and snack processing

CPM swoops up snacks industry standards setter

22-Apr-2022 By Gill Hyslop

Turnkey equipment manufacturers CPM Wolverine Proctor has acquired UK specialist engineer Planet Dryers Ltd., best known for its triple-pass dryer that has set the industry standard for the snacks market.

In 2021, General Mills ‘met the moment’ in nourishing people and protecting the planet

20-Apr-2022 By Gill Hyslop

The Cheerios, Betty Crocker and Nature Valley brand owner has released its 2022 Global Responsibility Report, highlighting the progress it has made against environmental and social commitments in 2021.

Grupo Bimbo rocks for its ethicality and energy efficiency ethos

07-Apr-2022 By Gill Hyslop

The Mexican bakery giant has been recognised for the sixth time by Ethisphere as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies, while Bimbo Bakeries USA (BBU) has been honoured by the EPA for its energy usage at 20 of its facilities, setting the bar for the...

‘No time to waste’: PepsiCo ramps up water goal with revolutionary tech that reuses steam from potato chip production

01-Apr-2022 By Gill Hyslop

PepsiCo has developed groundbreaking tech for condensing and treating the steam evaporated from its fryers to recover more than 50% of the water used in potato chip manufacturing lines, an approach that could save 60 million litres of water a year.

The art of craft

Real Bread Campaign calls on FSA to regulate terms like ‘craft’ and ‘artisan’

24-Mar-2022 By Gill Hyslop

While the Campaign has hailed the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) strategy for 2022-27, an open letter has called for tougher regulations to recognise the craft sector and level the playing field for small business owners.

Repeat business is testament of flooring system’s durability in high paced baking environment

22-Mar-2022 By Gill Hyslop

Viennoiserie specialist Brioche Pasquier Bakery has again approached hygienic flooring specialist Kemtile to get involved in the second phase of the refurbishment of its Milton Keynes facility.

Sirha Europain to root out the pastry champs of the world

15-Mar-2022 By Gill Hyslop

Sirha Europain – taking place in Paris, France, from 26-29 March – is once again hosting the European Pastry Cup, and for the first time, the French selection event for the World Pastry Cup.

Romanian potatoes for PepsiCo’s Lay’s to be grown under European Green Deal standards

22-Feb-2022 By Gill Hyslop

Following an extension of its partnership with the snack giant, Grup Serban Holding (GSH) is investing in a state-of-the-art irrigation system that slashes water and energy consumption, along with the use of fertilizers and pesticides.

Ramping up the bakery waste message

15-Feb-2022 By Gill Hyslop

Food Waste Action Week (7-13 March 2022) was created by anti-food waste expert WRAP to help slice global food waste in half by 2030 through actionable change.

Countdown to four intensive days to celebrate French bakery

08-Feb-2022 By Gill Hyslop

Sirha Europain puts the French bakery sector in the spotlight next month, celebrating the country’s know-how in all things baguette and beyond, with rising ingredient prices, production methods, standardisation and deep-freezing being the hot topics.

2022’s biggest brand opportunity: Fly the flag to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

01-Feb-2022 By Gill Hyslop

Chevler – a manufacturer of baking cases and bespoke printed greaseproof paper – is reminding the UK bakery sector to not miss out the massive, one-off opportunity to be celebrated in June.

Bimbo Bakeries USA joins Green Power Partnership

27-Jan-2022 By Gill Hyslop

The American arm of Mexican bakery giant Grupo Bimbo has signed up to the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Green Power Partnership.

First quantitative study on bread waste maps the upside of surplus goods

15-Dec-2021 By Gill Hyslop

In 2021, Panera Bread will have donated almost $100m in unsold bread and bakery products to Americans in need – a gesture that today is more of a necessity than just philanthropic, following data that confirms the global food system is a major contributor...

Updating the true cost of food waste in the UK

23-Nov-2021 By Gill Hyslop

Supply chain specialist Balloon One racked up the cost of the UK supply chain’s food waste problem – and came up with some shocking results.

Smart tech or smart cash? UK bakery sector at watershed moment

10-Nov-2021 By Gill Hyslop

A new insight paper from Siemens highlights the GB&I bakery sector’s need for a smart tech-and-capital combo, more than ever before.

Greek tortilla producer gets production boost with bespoke robotic and VFD technology

31-Aug-2021 By Gill Hyslop

A customer has reported that a new automated production line using robotic and variable frequency drive (VFD) technology is working twice as fast as its existing lines, while increasing the quality of its products.

Controlling the art of mass producing the perfect climate smart loaf

27-Aug-2021 By Gill Hyslop

Bread is an age-old staple that conjures up uncomplicated natural wholesomeness, however, the difference between theory and practice is miles apart. Certainly, mass producing bread demands specialised equipment that will pinpointedly control the process...

Bespoke prover basket and pocket specialist joins Federation of Bakers

04-Aug-2021 By Gill Hyslop

Be-St Holland Products BV has become the latest associate member to join the Federation of Bakers (FOB).

Mekitec acquires Bimbo’s AI software subsidiary: ‘We’ll be one of the creators of the next generation of inspection, starting with baking’

03-Aug-2021 By Gill Hyslop

Mekitec Group has cemented its place among the world’s leading food quality control vendors with the acquisition of Grupo Bimbo’s subsidiary, Kanan Smart Solution, in a share transaction.

RBS takes the science behind snack innovation online

23-Jun-2021 By Gill Hyslop

Reading Bakery Systems (RBS) has taken its Science & Innovation Centre to the next level with the launch of Virtual Trials.

BakeryandSnack Chat Podcast: The AI platform that is putting the brakes on production floor waste

07-Jun-2021 By Gill Hyslop

Seebo is the artificial intelligence (AI) platform used by producers like General Mills, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Mondelēz to predict and prevent food waste on the factory floor.

AMF embraces digitalisation to quantity and quality control pizza toppings

03-Jun-2021 By Gill Hyslop

The Netherlands-headquartered equipment specialist has developed Smart Solutions, a cloud-based software that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to automate the quality and quantity control of cheese and other pizza toppings.

Get your bakery questions answered by British Baker's expert panel

02-Jun-2021 By Gill Hyslop

Join British Baker’s free webinar on Tuesday 8 June where you can quiz bakery experts on all aspects of manufacturing from planning, energy and waste management through to ingredients and more.

Clean label

Why go clean label in the baking industry?

20-May-2021 By Gill Hyslop

According to equipment specialist Mecatherm, the answer is twofold as it not only satisfies consumer demand, but also an industrial sustainability challenge that presents new marketing opportunities.

Sign up to free webinar on optimising bakery production

19-May-2021 By Gill Hyslop

Hosted by British Baker, the webinar will explore how bakery manufacturers can optimise production for the post-Covid era.

Bakers set to unleash their widest designs with extended capabilities of Eddie

14-Apr-2021 By Gill Hyslop

German OEM specialist DTM Print has unveiled a manual feed option, along with custom food trays, for Eddie, the world’s first-and-only NSF and GMP-certified edible ink desktop printer for printing directly onto cookies.

Guest article

How analytical tools are enhancing the future of baking and snack production

18-Mar-2021 By Gill Hyslop

The key to creating high quality, safe baked goods and snacks efficiently is constant monitoring. Wes Shadow, grain market manager at PerkinElmer, analyses the three crucial stages in which analytical technologies can be utilised to inspire confidence.

Mettler-Toledo’s updated ProdX software ushers in Industry 4.0 capabilities

16-Mar-2021 By Gill Hyslop

Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection is gearing up for the food industry’s fast-approaching digital transformation with the release of a significantly updated version of its ProdX product inspection management software.