A growing number of consumers (34 percent) are eliminating big breakfasts and replacing it with a small morning meal, followed by a “second breakfast” snack, according to research collected by Eggland’s Best. Recognizing this opportunity, the company is introducing Eggland’s Best Snacks. The four unique combination snack packs are one hard-cooked and peeled egg along with cheese and one other food in a portable and convenient snack tray.

Combinations are: bacon and cheddar cheese, chocolate-covered almonds and cheddar cheese, olives and feta cheese, and salami and provolone cheese. A single-serve pack contains 10-20g protein and sells for about $3.29. Compared to ordinary eggs, EB eggs contain six times more vitamin D, 25 percent less saturated fat, more than double the omega-3s, 10 times more vitamin E, and more than double vitamin B12. EB Eggs are also an excellent source of vitamin B2 (riboflavin) and vitamin B5. EB’s superior nutrition is due to its proprietary all-vegetarian hen feed that contains healthy grains, canola oil and a wholesome supplement of rice bran, alfalfa, sea kelp and vitamin E.

Why choose just one ice cream favorite when you can have two? That’s the thought process behind new Breyers 2in1 ice cream from Unilever. Four combinations mean dessert lovers don’t have to choose.

There’s Oreo Chips Ahoy!, which is vanilla ice cream loaded with pieces of real Oreo cookies swirled together with caramel ice cream and pieces of Chips Ahoy! cookies. Reese’s Reese’s Pieces is peanut butter ice cream loaded with pieces of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups swirled together with chocolate ice cream and loads of Reese’s Pieces mini candies. Snickers M&Ms combines caramel ice cream loaded with pieces of Snickers swirled together with chocolate ice cream and M&Ms minis. Last, there’s Heath Waffle Cone, which is vanilla ice cream loaded with Heath toffee pieces swirled together with chocolate ice cream and fudge-covered waffle cone pieces. All four flavors come in 48-oz. tubs for a suggested retail price of $3.99 to $5.49.

With so many consumers trying to get back to 'real' and authentic food, the Wild Blueberry Association of North America wants to educate food processors and consumers on how Wild Blueberries can be used in food and beverage formulations to achieve those goals.

Learn more about Wild Blueberries in this video below, as well as on the Wild Blueberry Association of North America page on FoodProcessing

Leading U.S. tuna brand StarKist is now in the chicken business with the launch of Chicken Creations, a line of fully cooked and seasoned white chicken chunks sold in shelf-stable pouches. This marks the brand’s first foray outside of the seafood space.

The ready-to-eat chicken comes in 2.6-oz pouches and contains 70-90 calories and 9-10g of protein, depending on variety, of which there are four: Buffalo Style, Ginger Soy, Zesty Lemon Pepper and Chicken Salad. The all-white meat comes from U.S.-raised, cage-free and hormone-free chickens. A pouch sells for about $1.75.

“After 100 years in the tuna business, we proudly announce that StarKist is now a diversified healthy food company,” says Andy Mecs, vice president of marketing and innovation. “It is our goal to provide convenient, healthy options that satisfy the palates and nutritional needs for all Americans. Chicken Creations is a natural extension to our highly successful Tuna Creations and Salmon Creations, as we already have the pouch expertise and consumer trust in our high-quality flavored protein products. We are pleased that consumers will now have even more to love as they can ‘tear, eat and go.’”

Color-coding is an important part of any food safety program. Not only does it help prevent cross-contamination due to pathogens, allergens, and foreign contaminates, color-coding has a variety of other uses.

Color-coding is an important part of any food safety program. Not only does it help prevent cross-contamination due to pathogens, allergens, and foreign contaminates, color-coding has a variety of other uses. With the number of governmental regulations growing, it is essential that food processing facilities stay on top of the current trends and best practices to be market leaders. Implementing a color-coding program is a great way to help accomplish that.

Download this White Paper to learn how you can implement a color-coding system