FOOD & BEVERAGE FORTRESS TECHNOLOGY EUROPE
alternatives. In 2022, the European retail market for plant-based foods surged to €5.8 billion, up by €1bn in two years.
MARKET SET TO DOUBLE Measuring $10.37bn in 2022, by 2032 the global protein market it is expected to reach around $23.34bn. This rapid expansion in the meat and meat-
alternative market has naturally increased the amount of product passing through a single facility. When new equipment, processes and production lines are introduced, recalls and food safety threats multiply, prompting the need for additional control measures. Once a food facility has developed and implemented its HACCP food safety plan, it must be periodically evaluated in order to ensure compliance with standards and regulations. The plan must be analysed again if there are any changes within the facility that might increase or introduce a food safety hazard.
POULTRY POPULARITY In the UK, skinless breast remains the most popular chicken cut. This is predominantly attributed to its versatility and low fat content. As poultry processors add more of this product into their stock, the potential risk of physical contaminants during the cutting, trimming and deboning stage of production increases. Metal is the most likely contaminant to be introduced
28 November 2024 Irish Manufacturing
during this stage due to the prevalence of automation and stainless steel equipment. In addition, when equipment and surfaces deteriorate over time, they can present a possible contamination risk. Regular food safety audits are integral to any management system. Poor record-keeping and non-compliance with established food safety plans are some of the top reasons food manufacturers fail audits.
These issues can be prevented by being
strategic when selecting high-contaminant-risk checkpoints and inspection equipment on protein processing lines. Whenever there is a change in a process or packaging, risk professionals should revisit inspection protocols and hypothetical contamination scenarios to look at potential holes in the value chain. With higher volumes of product passing through a metal detector or X-ray system, there may also be more opportunities for food safety hazards to be mismanaged. To overcome this issue, when a facility introduces additional inspection equipment, existing and new operating staff should be properly educated, trained and assessed on the standard equipment testing procedures.
HIGH SAFETY STAKES It is common for processors with fast-growing operations to target food safety hazards with multiple CCPs. One longstanding Fortress
customer and protein processor reports that by including both upstream and end-of-line metal detection, they reduced costs attributed to good product waste, time and labour by 50 percent. Where there might appear to be a need for
multiple machines to manage increased upstream output, Fortress recommends closely examining available options and speaking with their inspection system provider about the best system for their application. They can offer insights into various inspection systems and provide guidance Currently, plant-based burger patties and sausages are a vegetarian and vegan staple. However, trends change. Predicting the future popularity of current ‘consumer-favourite’ food products is always challenging. Given these rapid shifts, it is important for processors to remain diligent when identifying hazards and CCPs, no matter how large or how quickly their production line is expanding. Cutting corners on food safety is when non- compliance and brand-damaging contamination recalls are most likely to occur. An annual HACCP assessment – a requirement for all meat, poultry and protein facilities – will help to ensure that all essential inspection points are effectively managed and, most importantly, that they are retail and foodservice compliant.
www.irish-manufacturing.com
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
