(Washington, D.C. – November 7, 2013) The International Dairy Foods Association announced the winners of the second annual Innovations Awards yesterday at the International Dairy Show in Chicago. One winner was selected in each of five categories – food safety, ingredients/flavorings/seasonings/additives, packaging, processing and sustainability – and attendees voted during the show to select the winner of the Attendee Choice Award.
2013 Winners
- ExtenData received the Food Safety Innovation Award for its MobileConductor™, a comprehensive mobile supply chain software that allows dairies, processors and marketers to track and trace milk from farm to store as it travels across the country, improving safety throughout the entire transport.
- Saputo Cheese USA Inc. earned the Ingredients/Flavorings/Seasonings/Additives Innovation Award for its Treasure Cave Crumbled Blue Cheese Flavors. Saputo brings home the newest menu trends with four new bold flavors of crumbled blue cheese: Buffalo Wing, Southeast Smoked, Chipotle Pepper and Southwest Chipotle & Black Bean.
- Curwood, Inc. received the Packaging Innovation Award for its popular EZ Peel® Reseal technology, which provides makers of chunk, sliced or snack cheeses with peel/reseal convenience in 100-percent flexible packaging with films as low as three-millimeters thick.
- Junction Solutions earned the Processing Innovation Award for its Blend Optimizer, which automates batching, blending and mixing operations and determines the best combination of ingredients for the most effective utilization of material resources.
- Quest Industrial, LLC received the Innovative Sustainability Award for the Quest Pro Pick Pack, an intuitive three-in-one robotic cell that produces a box, picks the product and packs it all in one compact cell that is customizable to fit any facility's needs.
- Sargento Foods Inc. received the Attendee Choice Award for its Ultra Thin Sliced Natural Cheeses, which have 45 calories or fewer per slice but are cut from the same great quality cheese as Sargento’s sliced natural cheese. The Ultra Thin slices contain half the calories of traditionally sliced cheeses.
Each of the winning entries exemplified substantial achievements in price or performance, significant advancement in a technology or its application, or innovative design. To be eligible for an award, the products or services must have been introduced to the market during the past 12 months.
"Exhibitors place a great deal of emphasis on innovation when they exhibit at the International Dairy Show, and these awards provide another targeted opportunity for exhibitors to bring their products and services to the attention of the dairy industry," said Robin Cornelison, IDFA trade show director. "All companies that entered products or services, especially the winners, will gain added recognition from peers and potential customers for their innovative products and services."
Posters featuring the submissions were on display near the Innovations Showcase Pavilion at the International Dairy Show. Award winners will be featured in an upcoming edition of Dairy Foods magazine, which co-sponsors the awards with IDFA.
The International Dairy Show, presented by IDFA, features the newest innovations in technology, packaging, ingredients and services for the dairy foods industry. Educational sessions offer solutions that span the entire manufacturing process, and attendees have the opportunity to visit exhibits displaying everything dairy companies need to run more efficiently, create new products and improve profitability.
The next International Dairy Show will be held September 15-18, 2015, in Chicago. Visit www.dairyshow.com for more details.
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The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 550 companies within a $125-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's nearly 200 dairy processing members run nearly 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85 percent of the milk, cultured products, cheese, ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States.