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Factors that are shaping our future

25 February 2022

Shifting consumer expectations, changes in food safety legislation, and emerging technologies have created operational challenges for manufacturers of all sizes. As digital technologies continue to transform global markets, no industry remains untouched, and food and beverage manufacturing is no exception. 

Rittal believes that there are three factors that are set to impact day-to-day operations on the food production floor, and how leading manufacturers are adapting to win. These are:

Standards and legislation: In recent years, food and beverage manufacturing regulations have changed significantly across the globe due to technological and scientific advances. Europe has long been at the forefront of these legislative changes and successful companies will likely be those who stay ahead of the curve and implement changes sooner rather than later. This allows them to avoid downtime and the potential for higher costs associated with refits when new legislation eventually passes.  

Even in our current outcomes-based regulatory framework, reducing cleaning time and ensuring impeccable hygiene standards continues to be a key area of focus. As the
physical landscape of manufacturing shifts to accommodate the increased presence of technology, so too will the approach to safety and cleanliness. This leads to the next topic – the presence and proliferation of technology in food production spaces.  

Food sustainability and corporate responsibility: There can be no denying that we all have a responsibility to implement sustainable environmental practices. But from a commercial perspective, it is also certainly worth taking the time to embrace sustainability, as millennials and Gen Z begin to dominate the consumer market. Consumers of the future will place ever higher value on environmental sustainability, and they will also go out of their way to support companies who follow environmentally friendly practices.

Manufacturers that want to reach this audience will need to implement changes that reflect this shift in consumer priorities and effectively communicate the changes that have been made. To do this, there is a need to streamline every aspect of the business, putting a new focus on environmental sustainability.

Whether it is recycling production materials to close the loop on waste outputs or reducing the energy consumed during cleaning, every part of the food production process should be moving towards a more sustainable future.

In order to offset the cost increases associated with making these transitions, industry leaders are continuing to refine efficiency-boosting practices like clean-in-place (CIP) to make production facilities greener. 
  
Technology and digital transformation: At this point, it is necessary to consider the massive impact that the Internet of Things (IoT) will have on manufacturing. Telecommunications organisation, Telstra puts it very clearly when it states that ‘In an increasingly automated manufacturing environment, having multiple machines communicating with each other and being managed and diagnosed remotely offers benefits that are self-evident.’ These smart machines pose a unique challenge to the food and beverage industry – their delicate circuitry and sensors needs to be located on the production floor, but must also be protected from contaminating or being contaminated by the manufacturing process.

Additionally, when used in food applications these complex computer systems will also need to be compliant with current and future food safety regulations and be well-suited to withstand increasingly ambitious CIP procedures. 

Now is the time to consider how existing manufacturing systems can be updated to try and account for the changes that are taking place in the industry. Whether it’s investigating new, sustainable production methods or investing in physical infrastructure that supports new technologies, now is the time to move confidently forward or risk getting left behind in such a competitive market sector.

Optimising every piece of the manufacturing puzzle is essential to maintain a competitive advantage.


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