Monitoring & metering


THE LINK BETWEEN DIGITALISATION AND MAINTAINING FOOD SAFETY


The food industry is the UK’s largest manufacturing sector, with around 12,000 businesses. But despite this, the industry is falling behind others when it comes to adopting advanced technology. Food safety has never been more critical and implementing change to processes can secure this. In this article, David Sarhok, account manager Europe for food and beverage processing and equipment at industrial technology company Watlow, shares the importance of digitalisation in maintaining food safety.


F


ood safety has never been subject to more scrutiny than now. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), an estimated 600 million people fall ill each year after eating contaminated food. In the UK, contamination and allergen issues are the biggest cause of food recalls, showing a lot still needs to be done to improve around maintaining food safety. So, how can manufacturers ensure they follow best practices in ensuring our food is safe?


MANAGING RISKS


If we look at the production of processed food prod- ucts on a large commercial scale, there is generally good practice in most factories.


The food and beverage industry has been slower to adopt a formal regulatory framework than indus- tries such as pharmaceuticals, for example. If we look at global trends, the tendency is to hold suppliers responsible for all aspects of the supply chain, in the case of ‘from farm to fork’. Even the best-managed


factory depends on the quality of its raw materials. But sometimes processes can be interfered with, making vigilance along the supply chain as important as inside the processing plant.


Around the world, most food safety regimes rely on a Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP) methodology. This requires a supplier to evaluate risk areas in the production and supply chain and ensures measurements and tests at critical points detect prob- lems before the product is shipped. For example, if a sterilisation process is required, a record of tempera- ture against time must be maintained and reviewed before shipment. And with this comes an increasing focus on prevention rather than detection.


KEEPING AHEAD OF AUDITS Food safety management systems are multifac- eted, making them complex. They will incorporate


60 November 2024 Instrumentation Monthly


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96