Production challenges in Food & Beverage

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, food security is becoming a critical global issue [1]. In particular, Asia, Africa, and Latin America are experiencing growing levels of food insecurity, which is leading to an increased demand for processed foods. As a result, Food & Beverage manufacturers are under pressure to increase their throughput, improve their yields, and minimize their production losses.

?However, the Food & Beverage industry is a complex processing environment with high levels of regulatory oversight. The consequences of off-spec production are severe in terms of reprocessing or even discarding. For this reason, production plants tend to operate at lower yields with large safety margins. In this blog, we examine some of the production challenges in Food & Beverage to identify solutions to improve throughput and yield without compromising product quality.

If you like to take an even deeper dive into the topic of efficient production in the food and beverage industry, you might like to take a look at our website. We’ve gathered some great information on how real-time inline insights can help manufacturers optimize their processes and maximize their efficiency.

1.???A lack of real-time product quality information

Food & Beverage manufacturing facilities rely on manual sampling and laboratory testing to verify the product quality of intermediate streams as well as final product batches. The time delay between taking a sample in the field and receiving a laboratory result could be 15 minutes to an hour or even longer. Lab results will always be out of sync with the plant conditions making it difficult for operators to make adjustments in process parameters with confidence.?

If the product is off spec, several hours of production may continue until the process interventions have the desired effect. This time delay could result in an off-spec batch with costly consequences. On the other hand, if there is room to optimize the process for a higher yield, the time delay will result in lower production volumes. Research shows that product quality can vary between 1 and 5% using a manual sampling approach, indicating how significant that lost production opportunity can be.

2.???Transition losses and waste

?Transitioning from one product to another in Food & Beverage manufacturing results in losses as the transition material will not meet the specifications for either product. The longer this transition time, the greater the volume of losses. However, it is impossible to know when the transition is complete without testing the product stream for quality.

?Switching out of transition too early leads to off-spec material entering a product tank, which could result in an off-spec batch and product waste. On the other hand, switching too late leads to the on-spec product being sent to the transition tank, making it unavailable for sale to a customer. Both these losses impact a manufacturer's yield and, therefore, their profitability.?

?Many manufacturers use time-based criteria for switching out of transition based on experience with a large safety margin. They use manual sampling and lab results to confirm the switch out of transition, leading to delays where the on-spec product is lost to waste while waiting for the result.

3.???Labor-intensive manual sampling

?Manual sampling is labor-intensive. Operators must travel from the laboratory to the sampling point. They must wear the appropriate safety equipment, which may be cumbersome to put on and remove afterwards. Once they have the sample, they must return to the laboratory and perform the relevant analysis. The entire process could take anything from 10 to 20 minutes or longer.

?A daily ten-hour production run could require hourly samples. A conservative sampling time of ten minutes accumulates to 600 lab technician hours per year. This labor expense adds to the operating costs of the Food & Beverage manufacturer. Reducing the plant's reliance on manual sampling can allow technicians to perform more value-adding work.

Conclusion

The Food & Beverage sector is under pressure to increase throughput and yield due to growing global market demands. A lack of inline quality information is one key factor that inhibits manufacturers from maximizing their performance. At the same time, manual sampling adds to the operating costs and reduces their profitability. Exploring solutions for inline process measurement could help Food & Beverage manufacturers to overcome these challenges.

To learn more, head on over to our website.

[1] https://www.fao.org/state-of-food-security-nutrition/2021/en/