To combat ongoing labor issues and meet surging demand for consumer packaged goods (CPG) throughout the coronavirus pandemic, R.A Jones says it designed an automatic magazine loader (AML) for use with its cartoning machines. The new AML promotes cartoning line efficiency and safety by automatically pulling carton-filled cases off a conveyor and orienting them properly for loading. This process minimizes the time and interaction employees spend on the loading stage of production. The modular AML technology is a cost-effective and fast method for drawing from the benefits of automation. It is applicable to various CPG markets, including food, household goods and beyond.

Pecan Deluxe Candy Co. launched popping boba inclusions — tiny juice-filled spheres encapsulated in an edible shell that burst with flavor. These inclusions are featured in nearly every yogurt chain and bubble tea shop and have recently found their way into a variety of desserts and beverages. The boba provide a fresh, new aesthetic and the fun experience that consumers are craving, the company says. The inclusions are traditionally available in a range of fruit flavors; Pecan Deluxe Candy Co. has expanded flavor offerings and will continue innovation to further develop this new platform for a wide array of food and beverage applications.

Festo says it introduced the MS series of filtration products — filters that lower the risk of particle contamination when compressed air comes into direct contact with food or packaging in the food zone. The MS series meets or exceeds the highest industry standards for clean air. Always in stock with guaranteed fast shipping, MS filters arrive assembled with safety and total productive maintenance features typically found as custom add-ons. The units install easily and are priced competitively. The MS series is designed for food and packaging-in-food-zone applications. The three different models in the series not only conform to FDA and Food Safety Modernization Act guidelines for clean air, but also meet or exceed the top national and international benchmarks.

As one of the largest manufacturers of ion exchange resins and polymeric adsorbents, DuPont Water Solutions says it helps manufacturers develop better-tasting and more nutritious products, improve the efficiency of their operations, reduce operating costs and address increasingly strict regulatory requirements. The company’s family of concentration, polishing, purification and separation solutions, together with its technical expertise and global reach, enables essential innovations in crop-to-food solutions to address regional taste preferences, shifts from subsistence-based to protein-based diets and food safety, diet quality and innovative food choices. DuPont expertise is the key ingredient in food processing.

Tetra Pak introduced 14 state-of-the-art processing lines for cheese manufacturers. The new best practice lines (BPLs) are designed for cottage cheese production, as well as mozzarella, semi-hard cheese, cheddar and fresh cheese production. Together, these cheese types make up 79% of all cheese volumes and have a forecasted compound annual growth rate of 3% from 2021-2025, Tetra Pak says. The new BPL concepts provide a complete production solution for customers that is optimized to fit their needs. This announcement comes as consumer research conducted by Tetra Pak reveals that more than a third (36%) of consumers globally say they have significantly increased their intake of cheese during the pandemic.