Food production consists of a vast array of equipment—pumps, mixers, oven chain drives, tanks, pipes, conveyor systems, compressors, automatic doors and many other units and systems.
Be it ever so humble, overall equipment efficiency is the focus of a growing number of plant automation projects, adding another component to the continuous improvement tool kit.
Deliberate acts of sabotage can be more difficult to detect and prevent than bacterial threats to food. Food manufacturers now are bolstering their defenses against security threats.
A year after passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act, food companies await regulatory proposals for preventive controls and other requirements of the new law.