Resources Blog

Birko Blog

As a leader in food safety, Birko is at the forefront of industry research and trends. Fighting resident foodborne pathogens, developing plant sanitation solutions, sanitary design of custom equipment, and precision chemical blending. In this space, our experts share their insights on these and other timely topics.

October 4, 2018

How Automation Leads to Repeatable Processes for FSMA Compliance

The importance of repeatable sanitation processes to ensure food safety is no secret. Food companies must establish standards and best practices in their plants so that consistent results can be expected during processing, packaging, storage and cleaning. Implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) has made documenting repeatable processes even more significant, but how to comply may be unclear to some. The FDA has basic guidelines for following FSMA rules; however, it leaves decisions on how to follow the rules up to the food processing companies.

Article by Miles Murphy

September 26, 2018

A Food Safety Game-Changer: Your First Look at Birko’s Elite 360® Precision Application Technology

Interventions. Decontamination. Antimicrobial interventions. Intervention application. Precision application. No matter what you call it, it is a crucial step for any food manufacturer. And we’ve created a way to make this process more effective, efficient and cost-effective: Elite 360® precision application technology™. Elite 360® is a groundbreaking new electrostatic intervention technology that has the potential to significantly improve the safety of today’s food. The use of electrostatic in the protein industry isn’t new, but our ability to harness this technology in an application that solves significant food safety issues is new. As I recently told the attendees of the NAMI… Read More

Article by Mark Swanson

September 17, 2018

After the Storm: Advice for Food Processors and Growers Affected by Hurricane Florence

As some processors begin to resume operations after Hurricane Florence, others will face significant challenges before reopening. In addition to the flooding, downed trees, power outages and other devastation everyone is facing in the affected regions, food producers and processors will encounter additional challenges. Flood water is unpleasant. It’s a mixture of mud, sewage, bacteria, debris and toxins that were picked up from effluent lagoons, mine waste dumps, chemical spills and anything else in the flooded areas. Crops in fields that were flooded are most likely unfit for harvest and food use and processing facilities may have been contaminated. The… Read More

Article by Dr. Elis Owens

September 14, 2018

Three Ways Sanitation Automation Benefits Fresh Cut & Produce Processors

Automation is revolutionizing many industries. Technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace while food manufacturers look to invest in innovations that give them an edge and help mitigate the rapidly rising labor costs. In fresh-cut and produce processing, a significant opportunity exists for plants to implement equipment that automates sanitation processes. Why pursue this type of automation? At Birko, we see several distinct reasons for considering ways to use sanitation automation to your advantage.

Article by Bob Ogren

August 23, 2018

A Great American Beer Festival Judge’s Take on Hazy Juicy Beers

The Brewers Association has added three new beer categories at the 2018 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) next month. The styles are: Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale (131 entries) Juicy or Hazy IPA (414 entries) Juicy or Hazy Double IPA (161 entries) There is good reason to include these beers in the GABF competition. Hazy Juicy beers have become wildly popular, and these new styles have the most 2018 GABF entries, 706 to be exact. What does this mean for those of us who judge at the GABF? I think it means there will likely be varying opinions on which… Read More

Article by Dana Johnson