The EU Food & Drink Industry The EU food and drink industry is the largest manufacturing sector in the EU, with 965 billion turnover (about 15% of total manufacturing turnover) in 2008, about 310.000 companies and 4.4 million direct employees. In this sector, the SMEs account for the 99% of the companies involved. However, studies commissioned by the EC indicate that competitiveness of European food industry remains weak compared to US and Canada. Hydrodynamic Cavitation Hydrodynamic cavitation consists in the generation of huge amounts of energy in the form of shock waves, due to the turbulence produced in a fluid by pressure fluctuations.