From recall readiness to raw material and energy costs, Food Engineering readers weigh in on issues affecting workers and the workplace for food manufacturing.
Escalating energy prices were top-of-mind topics when this year’s State of Food Manufacturing survey was mailed to 3,000 readers of Food Engineering, and while sustainability programs helped put the spotlight on conservation efforts a year ago, sky-high costs for all types of fuel put teeth into energy-savings programs this year. Presented with a list of 20 automation purchases their facilities intended to make, 16% say energy management software is on the shopping list, making it the eighth most frequently cited expenditure. In previous surveys, energy management consistently ranked at or near the bottom.
Energy and water conservation also top the list of trends that will most affect manufacturing operations over the next five years, dislodging the perennial number one issue, food safety. A year ago, fuel and energy costs was the fourth most-frequently mentioned issue.