The US food ingredient and flavor systems company has been based in Texas since it was founded in 1926 and will move all of its operations to the new location based at the same premises, once construction is finalized in early 2018.
According to Parker’s president, Greg Hodder, the current plant was built in the 1950s, but there were multiple drivers behind building a new facility; primarily, to accommodate anticipated future growth.
The factory will triple the company’s total production capacity for the inclusions and other speciality ingredients it produces for the baking, snack, RTE, confectionery, dairy and beverage industries.
Food safety first
“It will also serve as the hub of Parker’s kill-step validation and food safety initiatives,” explains Hodder.
By the end of 2017, food manufacturers will have to comply with FDA regulations to provide scientific evidence that a ‘kill-step’ process is in place to mitigate biological and pathogenic risks.
Parker already offers inclusions, variegates, pralines, hard candies and sprinkles with scientific evidence of a five log reduction during the manufacturing process, designed for worst-case scenarios by a third party.
