Cutting-edge
solutions
Times Food Processing Journal explores the quality
concerns of Indian food processing industry and outlines
solutions for manufacturing optimisation
In today's busy world, we hustle through
the morning, add a dash of cream or
sprinkle some sugar in our tea or coffee as
we head towards the door to get to work. At
that moment, the thought of what to eat for
dinner might cross our minds. What we rarely
think about or consider, however, is whether
the tea or coffee we drink or the food we eat
for dinner is safe for consumption. We
typically don't know where the food on our
table comes from, nor do we really care.
That's because as consumers, we have faith
that the food and beverage manufacturers are
doing their job to deliver fresh, affordable and
untainted products.
Customer satisfaction with food products
translates into brand value for food
manufacturers. Consistent freshness, taste and
appearance are all vital to grow brand value.
To maintain customer satisfaction while
increasing product diversity and mix, there is
a growing concern among food manufacturers
to ensure consistent quality, regardless of
where these products are manufactured
and distributed.
The food and beverage industry is a highly
regulated market segment for obvious reasons.
It is also a highly competitive industry that
relies on brand loyalty and clever packaging
tactics to attract new customers. While
strategy and marketing form a large part of
the success recipe in these companies, it is
becoming increasingly clear that in order to
comply with new laws around traceability as
well as to keep up with rising demands for
processed food in India and Southeast Asia,
technology is the key ingredient.
Manufacturing agility
Consumers are today demanding a greater
variety of food products. Their buying
behaviours include pre-packaged meals,
products that reflect their ethnic
backgrounds, familiar products with unique
flavours and products packaged to meet their
lifestyle needs. To meet consumer demands
and quickly bring new products to market,
food manufacturers must be agile and have
the ability to manufacture multiple products
on existing production lines.
Rockwell Automation has identified six
strategic business issues - regulatory data
management, product tracking and tracing,
production optimisation, order and process
execution, recipe and product management
and asset utilisation - that food and beverage
