ABSTRACT
Food processors add utility and value to raw farm products. In this process, the food manufacturers interface with both producers and consumers; they buy commodities to be processed from farmers and typically sell their products, in tum, to food wholesalers and occasionally directly to retailers. These activities collectively have been defined as "those that typically use power-driven machines and materials, handling equipment, to mechanically or chemically transform raw materials into foods and beverages for human consumption."1 Food processors also provide important marketing functions, such as new product and process development, packaging, labeling, branding, storing, transporting, and financing.
