MIXING, WEIGHING & CONVEYING HEALTHIER FOOD LOSS HABITS


Charlie Graham, European sales sanager at Fortress Technology and Sparc Systems, examines the importance of accuracy on the scales and why weight uniformity is so critical, especially in the expanding health and wellness sector


T


he rising cost of healthy diets, an ever growing market in weight management products, hikes in prices for food staples


combined with better waste management strategies is encouraging food production facilities towards precision checkweighing and 100 per cent reliable weight control. The global market outlook for automated checkweighing remains strong. Industry reports predict further rapid growth, suggesting 4.6% CAGR each year between 2019 and 20271


. For many FMCG


manufacturers, price hikes, squeezes on profit margins, the explosion in lifestyle-led single serve and ready-to-go food packs, as well as strict regulatory mandates and productivity driven investments, is swinging the scale towards advanced and accurate precision checkweighing.


GET A GRIP ON GIVEAWAY


Currently, there remains plenty of untapped potential for using automation and data collection in weighing food production processes. Giveaway has been a long accepted practice in food factories due to overcompensating in the filling phases to avoid falling foul of international and domestic weight legislations. To ensure food production facilities don’t


deviate from set weights for product units, many checkweighing technologies now deliver the real time feedback data needed for quality control and interfacing with other machinery to adjust autonomously. Upfront checkweighing machine costs can provide a rapid return on investment. Sophisticated software adds full


transparency to packing processes tracking each unit weight meets the set parameters as


34 OCTOBER 2021 | PROCESS & CONTROL


each passes over the checkweigher. Besides reducing false rejects and product


waste, network technology allows for automatic data transmission. With integrated data collection software, everything from trends, pack rates and live OEE data is instantly reported. Production and QA personnel can then utilise the information to monitor and fine- tune production line performance, even prior to the weight check process. Upstream weighing systems are especially


beneficial in bakery and meat processing facilities. For example, Sparc’s automated Hestia Dough Checkweigher can save bakers thousands of pounds every day. Connected to an automated upstream dough dividing line, if a piece of dough is under or overweight by as little as 0.5 grams, the Checkweigher automatically rejects it. Simultaneously, the machine’s advanced fibre optic controlled software communicates back to the dough divider in real time to adjust the position of the blade for the next batch. Similarly, if a meat manufacturer finds


inconsistencies in the size of meatballs, this provides a clear indicator that processing machinery is not running accurately. Beyond highlighting this fault, precision systems, such as the Raptor checkweigher, provide a controlled feedback signal to upstream


automation equipment used to portion food products. This signal specifies when to increase or decrease the fill quantity accordingly, eliminating the need for human intervention. Deviating from a recipe also affects the


value of products, ‘free from’ and ‘dietary’ ranges are classic scenarios where formulation conformity is critical. Charlie Graham said: “Free-from ingredients can cost over 150% more than conventional products. For instance, there is often 20 or more ingredients within a free-from bread recipe. Placing even greater emphasis on tightly controlling waste.”


MAINTAINING VALUE IN MAINSTAY FOODS


Global food prices are going up. The pandemic-related supply chain disruptions and a surge in prices for essential commodities, is expected to affect retailer pricing strategies for all types of products, including baked goods and ready meals. At the start of 2021, global food prices hit a six


year high. Absorbing these additional inflation costs will in time pass down the consumer chain. Brexit and subsequent trade complications already being encountered are likely to add to the woes for British food manufacturers. The Food and Drink Federation has estimated that red tape and new border checks could add three-billion pounds in costs per year for food importers. Shrinking pack sizes has been a common


practice in recent years to counteract price rises. Manufacturers firmly lay the blame on rising raw material costs for resizing packs. Faced with these pressures, and in an attempt to contain domestic food prices, implementing strict waste control measures and reducing giveaway is now even more acute. Globally, the weight management market is


projected to grow at 8.6 percent CAGR in the next five years2


. For this expanding market,


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