From its humble beginnings in 1953 as a Mom and Pop factory manufacturing time switches, the Danish company Micro Matic has grown into a trendsetting manufacturer of dispensing equipment and a full-scale solution provider to the brewing and beverage industry.
The course of history never runs smooth. This saying also holds true for Micro Matic, which today is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of dispensing equipment but whose company history over the past half century has witnessed several ups and downs and taken many unexpected turns. Fifty years ago in 1953 an enterprising couple laid the foundation for Micro Matic by setting up a simple factory in Denmark’s third largest city Odense. They took on a huge risk when they started producing extractor tubes for kegs.
This brief report reviews the current investigations on whether there is a link between beer consumption and bone density, and on the contribution that beer makes to our daily silicon intake.
Beer is a rich source of silicon in the diet, but until recently the health implications of this silicon content have not received much attention. New research has now suggested that silicon may be important for the formation of strong bones, and possibly also aid in the prevention of osteoporosis.
Silicon and health
Silicon itself has been regarded as important element in the diet, since animal studies back in the 1970’s showed that silicon-poor diets cause stunted growth and development.4 mg/litre.
Though there are regrettably 2 - 3 million alcoholics in Germany, 60 - 70 million people enjoy moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages. This large majority should be made fully aware of established scientific findings associated with a responsible approach to beer.
Dosis fecit venenum! (The dose makes the poison!) was already postulated by Paracelsus (1493 -1541). A health-promoting dose of beer is regarded as being 1 l/day (= 40 g of alcohol) for men and ½ l/day (= 20 g of alcohol) for women. Strict abstinence from alcohol constitutes a risk factor for heart and vascular diseases.
Altogether, these factors lead to a reduction in coronary diseases of 30 - 60%, in myocardial infarctions of 20 - 40% and in strokes of, on average, 20%.g. The same is true in Europe.
Can lowering of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limits make an effective contribution to increased traffic safety or is it more a question of shadow boxing to the detriment of the brewing and catering sectors? Dr. Lothar Ebbertz, Deputy Chief Managing Director of the Bavarian Brewers’ Association, addressed this question at a press conference in Schlossbrauerei Herrngiersdorf. Ebbertz used accident statistics to track trends and developed a chain of arguments for journalists present showing that, in the main, simply lowering BAC does not yield very much.
Politicians of all parties never tire of castigating drinking and driving. The 0.5 g/l limit (maximum legal level of blood alcohol in Germany) has been in place since April 1998, recently with more severe penalties: As of 0.g..
Low alcohol (= LA) beers tested at our Institute in Weihenstephan between 1980 and 1997 are described in this paper.
Different alcohol limits for low alcohol beers apply in various countries. In the United Kingdom e.g., they must not contain more than 1.2% (1), in Australia not more than 1.15% (10) and in Germany not more than 1.5% alcohol by volume.
The reasons for development of British LA beers in particular at the end of the 1980’s (1,2,3,4,8) as well as the - doubtful - future prospects for this beer type in the mid-1990’s have been reported on numerous occasions (5). Not all brands have been equally successful. Still, extensive work done by brewing technologists in production and composition of this beer type deserves to be documented.
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As a major export brewery, Beck & Co., together with its beers, takes up the challenges of the international premium market every day. An important component of the company’s successful positioning in this segment is an up-to-the-minute and future-oriented quality and technology policy. At Beck & Co., the latter requires meticulous selection of high-quality raw materials, modern technologies and strategies for continuously improving the quality of processes and products.
Beck & Co. has a long tradition of continuously implementing scientific insights in brewing practice as an integral part of the above policy.’s brewing engineers.
The essential feature of the activities is that they are constantly promoted by the company management.
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In issue IV/2001 of Brauwelt International, a rather dated article on the subject of ZIS was published on page 326 by mistake. This article is obsolete. Modern communications and diagnostics technology from KHS now presents itself in much greater variety and will be described accurately and topically below. KHS offers two new communications highlights: "SSP" - the new Service Software Package - and state of the art diagnostic service "through the glasses" or through a camera.
SSP - Three components - one service package
SSP consists of the three components: AIS Plant Information System, EIS Spare Parts Information System, and HIS Main-tenance System. These three components comprise a complete whole and give users a great deal of additional transparency. 1).
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In recent years an increasing number of reports on the positive influences of polyphenols on human health have been published, in both the scientific and public press. Especially anti-cancerogenic effects, together with the positive effects of moderate alcohol consumption on coronary diseases, are mentioned. Food products containing polyphenols include several different vegetables, fruits and spices; the highest polyphenol contents are observed in green tea and red wine, and also in beer (Fig 1).
The positive influences on human health are predominantly ascribed to the anti-oxidative effects of poly-phenols, which are able to compensate the action of oxygen radicals in blood. Several European countries co-operate on this project.
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Warnings about excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages were also voiced in ancient times. This article attempts to trace definitions of moderate alcohol consumption, starting with rules of the year 1500 B.C., through the Roman Empire, the Middle Ages and Modern Times up to and including the present.
The concentration on the "Food and Beverage" business area which was initiated in 1997 has yielded positive results in recent years for the special machinery manufacturer, Sasib. The strategy behind this and the importance of individual elements were explained by Vittorio Colombo, Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of Sasib S.p.A. during an interview.
Nearly four years ago a decisive change was implemented in the group which involved concentrating on the food and beverage industry. Mr. Colombo named the following reasons for this move:
Customers in this industry operate world-wide. This produces synergies based on geographical coverage. The competencies of this company in terms of meeting customer demands were best suited to these business areas.
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