Processors are making do with existing facilities, reducing energy and other resources while preparing for FSMA-related inspections.
It could have been worse. While the number of reportable food and beverage projects for the year 2011 was the lowest in the last five years and below the 2010 numbers, it was just slightly lower than in 2009, according to Food Engineering’s 35th Annual Plant Construction Survey. Political uncertainty and lack of cash from banking institutions have held new projects at bay, much as they did the two prior years. Meanwhile, increasing energy prices and the clamor for more output and greater agility have sustained the expenditures for primary process improvements, line expansions and renovations. With the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) beginning to take hold, processors are wondering if their existing plants can pass muster without major redesign or even replacements.