As the COVID-19 crisis continues to unfold around the world, food and beverage manufacturers have maintained sound economic footing due to acute consumer demand for a broad range of food and beverage products.

Producing safe food is non-negotiable. This is particularly true for gluten-free foods intended for the approximately 3.2 million Americans with celiac disease, for whom trace amounts of gluten can cause debilitating health problems. 

Continental Mills, Inc., the maker of premium baking, breakfast and snack brands, including the beloved Krusteaz speed-scratch mixes and others, purchased a 175,000 square foot facility in Effingham, Ill., located adjacent to its existing manufacturing facility in Effingham.

Global bakery manufacturer and ingredients supplier Dawn Foods announced it has entered into an agreement to sell its North American frozen manufacturing business to Rise Baking Company.

This move will accelerate the company’s penetration into the global food market and bring it closer to key farming communities and grain handlers, as well as to food and food ingredient companies.

Furthering Rich’s reach and offerings in both the bakery and dessert categories are two manufacturing plants the company will acquire from TreeHouse Foods.

The new facility will allow the edible oils business to conduct multi-scale, continuous piloting, starting with the refining of new vegetable oils and blends and ending with innovative shortening solutions for breads, cakes, cookies, frying and other uses.

Headquartered in New Jersey with operations in California, Florida and Canada, White Toque sells both frozen and dry specialty foods to more than 250 distributors and wholesalers across the US.

The new line features a high-speed filling process that improves the density and deaeration of the flour to give a more compact, “brick shaped” appearance when the valve bags are full.

The company will add all new processing equipment, including a cutting-edge “spiral hydro chiller” for quick-chilling soups to lock in freshness, as well as proprietary cooking kettles that are both large enough for production efficiencies yet small enough to allow soup to be made largely by hand in small batches.