Ecolab has acquired Ecovation Inc., a provider of wastewater treatment and renewable energy solutions for the food and beverage manufacturing industry based in Rochester, N.Y. This acquisition complements the comprehensive cleaning and sanitizing systems currently offered by Ecolab Food & Beverage to its dairy, beverage, and meat and poultry producer customers, by providing them with technology to achieve greater water, energy and effluent savings for safer, more sustainable, more efficient operations.

 

Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. has awarded Stellar its Accredited Quality Contractor (AQC) status. The AQC program was launched in 1993 to publicly recognize and honor construction firms that have documented their commitment in four key areas of corporate responsibility: safety, employee benefits, training and community relations. In addition to national and local recognition and promotion, accredited contractors are allowed to use the AQC designation in bid documents, as well as on letterhead, business cards, brochures and job-site signs.

 

DuPont Qualicon will collaborate with the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) at Clay Center, Neb., on developing a new test for detecting E. coli O157:H7 in beef and trim. After responding to an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) request for proposals on collaboration, DuPont Qualicon and USMARC entered into a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA). USMARC is operated by the ARS, the chief scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

 

Stellar has completed a LEED accreditation program for more than 50 of its employees. Administered by the University of Florida’s Center for Training, Research and Education for Environmental Occupations (TREEO), the two-day program prepared a group of Stellar engineers, vice presidents, architects and project managers to take the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional examination. LEED is a system designed by the U.S. Green Building Council to certify and rate new facilities on conservation, energy reduction and sustainability.

 

The Silliker Food Science Center, Colorado State University, and Cornell University have partnered to offer a new workshop on nucleic acid-based detection methods for food borne pathogens and spoilage organisms. The workshop will be held June 23 to 27, 2008 at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo.

Scheduled instructors and speakers for the workshop, which will focus exclusively on nucleic acid based approaches, include: Kendra Nightingale, Colorado State University; Martin Wiedmann, Cornell University; and Mark Carter and Sarita Raengpradub of the Silliker Food Science Center. Registrations are limited.
For more information, log on to www.ansci.colostate.edu/content/view/601/42/.

 

Wixon Inc., a national food ingredients company in the Milwaukee suburb of St. Francis, broke ground March 17 on a culinary center to create, test and demonstrate food specialties and develop new meat products. The ceremony, attended by a number of local dignitaries, took place at the Wixon headquarters. The new 4,200-square foot facility is formally named the Wixon Innovation Center for Culinary & Protein. Construction is scheduled to be completed by September. The center will further Wixon’s food research and development capabilities for itself and its customers. The $2 million addition will also provide a demonstration area for Wixon to showcase products it creates for visiting customers.

 

The owner of a new Fuddrucker’s has picked Sika Corp. for its location in Denton, Texas. Dal-Tex Restaurant Management Inc. chose Sikafloor PurCem urethane cement, cove mortar and coating from Sika Industrial Flooring to use in the new restaurant’s kitchen. For the restaurant’s 500-square-foot entrance and queue lines Dal-Tex went a decorative resinous floor system. The Fuddruckers company colors and logo were incorporated into the floor system. The entrance has a 9-foot Fuddruckers logo in the middle of a solid yellow flake floor. Sika’s custom color Sikafloor 261 was used as the basecoat, and then broadcast to refusal with yellow vinyl flakes. The queue line also used Sikafloor 261 custom yellow epoxy system broadcast with a multi-colored flake blend done in equal parts of Fuddruckers red, blue and yellow. Both floors were sealed with Sikafloor 2002 clear UV resistant epoxy topcoat and Sikafloor Polythane UV clear aliphatic urethane.

 

Food Safety Net Services has announced the opening of its newlyexpanded laboratory at the corporate headquarters in San Antonio, Texas.The state-of-the-art facility will house a broader scope of services, including, advanced analytical chemistry capabilities. The laboratory will also increase the capacity of our specialprojects and research divisions.The new San Antonio acility is open7 days a week, 365 days a year.