Outputting consistent products is much easier when the basic components are consistent, and the food industry is making headway in reducing raw-material variability.
Whether a plant produces chicken nuggets or tater tots, the materials coming in the front end have a direct impact on the finished goods going out the back. Operators and engineers can recalibrate and fine-tune equipment throughout the production cycle to compensate, but at some point, finished goods are what they are because the raw materials dictate that outcome.
"Different potatoes have different percentages of solids, colors and grades, and the desired properties are different depending on whether you want to freeze, dehydrate or make chips out of them. But the production challenges go beyond that," an executive at one of the largest North American potato processors confides. "The crop changes every year, but your customer specs don't."