Innovation Reports

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PMMI MEDIA BRANDS:

2026

Edition

Proteins

Innovations Report

From The Editors

Welcome to the 2026 ProFood World/ Packaging World Innovations Report.
This second-year report showcases standout packaging and processing equipment spotted by PMMI Media Group editors at PACK EXPO Las Vegas, held September 29–October 1, 2025.

Editors highlight the defining features of each new product and capture videos of the innovations in action on the show floor. What follows is an organized, category-by-category look at the most noteworthy and genuinely new solutions drawn from hundreds of booth visits, and curated through decades of combined editorial experience.

Participating editors included:

Matt Reynolds, Chief Editor, Packaging World
Liz Cuneo, Editor in Chief, Healthcare Packaging
Derrick Teal, Editor in Chief, ProFood World
Anne Marie Mohan, Senior Editor, Packaging World
Lilián Robayo Páez, Editor in Chief, Mundo EXPO PACK
Silvia Gamba, Assistant Editor, Mundo EXPO PACK
Casey Flanagan, Associate Editor, ProFood World‍
Sean Riley, Editor in Chief, OEM Magazine
Pat Reynolds, Contributor, Packaging World‍
Rick Lingle, Contributor, Packaging World

Proteins

Introduction

Ensuring Quality Protein

The latest innovations in protein processing solutions are transforming the food and beverage industry enabling producers to increase yield, improve consistency, and reduce environmental impact. As technology reshapes how proteins are sourced and produced, the next generation of processing equipment is setting new benchmarks for efficiency, versatility, and quality assurance.

Proteins

Innovations Report

Packaging Equipment

High Speed

Operator Friendly

Small Footprint

GEA

Slice Pack Line

Precise Slicing

The UniSlicer handles thin cuts of meats and similar products with options for shingling, stacking, or separating slices.

Consistent Product Presentation

The line ensures precise portioning and high-quality finished product appearance suitable for retail or food service.

Versatility is important for contract manufacturers who want to grow and don't want to limit themselves to one or a few clients only, and also for CPGs that want to run a variety of SKUs.

Derrick Teal

Editor-in-Chief, ProFood World

Slice Pack Line

GEA

The line can handle a wide range of proteins, including beef, chicken, turkey, and bacon, with consistent results.

The line offers high throughput in a small footprint.

Slice Pack Line

GEA

Key Features

GEA’s Slice Pack Line is a versatile solution for slicing, stacking, and packaging thin food products. The system integrates slicing, product staging, and flexible vacuum or MAP packaging, allowing high-quality presentation in both flexible and rigid formats.

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Proteins

Innovations Report

Processing Equipment

Operator Friendly

Eagle Product Inspection

Eagle Pack 400 HC

Hygienic Design Features

Levers and pins allow for the removal of the front door and cleaning the conveyor in around 30 seconds.

Enhanced Contaminant Detection

PXT Photon-counting delivers high-resolution imaging with a greyscale range of up to 65,535 values.

Detecting bone fragments or low-density contaminants can be challenging when using legacy X-ray systems.

Derrick Teal

Editor-in-Chief, ProFood World

Eagle Pack 400 HC

Eagle Product Inspection

Each inspection event produces an image and metadata that can be stored, reviewed by quality departments, and used to prove compliance.

Eagle Pack 400 HC

Eagle Product Inspection

Key Features

Eagle Product Inspection shares how this technology offers food-processors enhanced assurance of safety and quality, especially in high-risk protein applications.

Sustainable / Recyclable

JBT Marel/A&B Process Systems

CIPure Clean-in-Place System

Automated Precision Cleaning

Digitally controlled CIP cycles automatically regulate flow, temperature, and chemical concentration—ensuring consistent, repeatable sanitation with minimal operator intervention.

Sustainability by Design

Built to reduce water, steam, and chemical usage, the system's recovery and reclaim functions recycle cleaning solutions for lower utility costs and less waste.

To ensure food safety, food and beverage manufacturers need greater control, efficiency, and confidence in every cleaning cycle from their systems.

Derrick Teal

Editor-in-Chief, ProFood World

CIPure Clean-in-Place System

JBT Marel/A&B Process Systems

Modular skid design connects easily to existing production lines, fitting a wide range of facility layouts and capacities.

CIPure Clean-in-Place System

JBT Marel/A&B Process Systems

Key Features

Designed with a focus on sustainability, efficiency, and safety, CIPure minimizes water, chemical, and energy consumption while giving processors complete visibility into cleaning performance.

High Speed

Rome Grinding Solutions

The Colossus

Designed for speedier grinding

This grinding solution is aimed at boosting throughput for bulk raw materials or intermediate ingredients.

Constructed for easier maintenance

An emphasis was placed on accessibility and reductions in downtime, so maintenance tasks are simplified compared to legacy grinding equipment.

In processing operations where grinding or size reduction is a bottleneck, a faster grinding solution helps keep upstream supply adequate and prevents line starvation.

Derrick Teal

Editor-in-Chief, ProFood World

The Colossus

Rome Grinding Solutions

Engineered for hygiene and sanitation

The Colossus

Rome Grinding Solutions

Key Features

The latest unit from Rome Grinding Solutions is designed for high-speeds, easier maintenance, and flexibility--all with sanitation in mind.

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Proteins

Innovations Report

Conveying/Feeding

Operator Friendly

Robotic

Small Footprint

Orics Industries

Automatic Meal Assembly Line

Complete Ready Meals Line

From tray denesting to protein loading to sauce depositing to robotic transfer into MAP, it's all there.

Vision System for Picking

A delta-style robot uses a vision system to identify protein products conveyed randomly and pick them precisely for placement into a tray.

Orics has greatly expanded its machinery-building capabilities since it got its start years ago in MAP systems.

Pat Reynolds

Contributing Editor

Automatic Meal Assembly Line

Orics Industries

Complete line for increasingly popular ready meals sold fresh thanks to MAP.

Robots play a key roll at two points in the line: picking and placing a protein item and transferring filled trays into MAP system.

Automatic Meal Assembly Line

Orics Industries

Key Features

Comprehensive solution for fresh refrigerated ready meals.

Sani-Matic

CleanWorx Buggy Washer BWX-600-S

Purpose-Built for V-Mag Buggies

Specifically engineered to clean 400-lb V-Mag buggies, which are widely used across protein, bakery, produce, and other food processing sectors.

Simplified Design

Provides a straightforward, operator-friendly wash process without unnecessary automation or controls.

Manufacturers can benefit from a practical, standardized approach to buggy cleaning that offers reliable sanitation without the complexity or cost of a fully customized system.

Derrick Teal

Editor-in-Chief, ProFood World

CleanWorx Buggy Washer BWX-600-S

Sani-Matic

Provides a straightforward, operator-friendly wash process without unnecessary automation or controls.

Sani-Matic showcased a 3D model of the CleanWorx Buggy Washer BWX-600-S and provided technical data sheets for interested processors.

CleanWorx Buggy Washer BWX-600-S

Sani-Matic

Key Features

The BWX-600-S Buggy Washer is part of Sani-Matic’s new CleanWorx brand, which was developed to provide simplified, standardized cleaning systems for the food and beverage industry.

Proteins

Innovations Report

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Innovations Report

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Innovations Report

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Innovations Report

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Our Editors

We'd love to hear your feedback!

editors@pmmimediagroup.com

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