Machinery technology, food safety protocols and capital budget optimization can only be improved with changed outlooks and recharged brain power.
With the food industry now in the grips of a half a billion egg recall,
no one knows when or how the source of the contamination will be found.
I can’t help but ruminate on other recent product recalls and
contamination problems from leaky roofs, nasty things found in lettuce
fields and bad batch mixing.
Whether the culprit
turns out to be human error, cost cutting or corporate red tape, the
crucial thing to learn from these episodes is that food safety and
manufacturing operations must always be in continuous improvement
mode.
For decades, Food Engineering has surveyed its
readers on a number of topics, and in this issue, we’re featuring the
25th annual Packaging Trends Survey. The human factor once again is top
of mind in survey responses. Packaging line efficiency is being
thwarted by a lack of automation and too much manual labor, Food
Engineering readers say. Retailer demand for customized orders and
displays containing multiple product types and sizes is often an
efficiency drain in the race for line output. Packagers responding to
our latest survey are vocal in their needs for better line control,
solutions to footprint issues and obtaining more management attention
toward improving packaging operations.
While
packaging machinery efficiencies have greatly improved over the past
two decades, based on our survey findings, it’s time once again for
upper management to refuel their packaging machinery budgets. Continued
packaging demands from retailers and other customers can no longer be
sustained by manual labor.
So whether manufacturing
challenges lie in line flexibility, food safety or automation,
solutions can only be cultivated by human innovation and leadership.
Machinery technology, food safety protocols and capital budget
optimization can only be improved with changed outlooks and recharged
brain power.
Plant of the Year Call for Entries
If
your company has completed or will complete construction of new plant
or a major renovation or expansion project during 2010, we want to hear
from you. Entries for Food Engineering’s Plant of the Year award are
due December 1. All plants projects submitted should produce finished,
processed food or beverage products designed for human consumption. For
more information, visitwww.foodengineeringmag.comor email fasslj@bnpmedia.com.