How is Food Processing and Packaging Tech Fulfilling Consumer Demands?

The demand of the consumers is increasing day by day when it comes to food products.

Fremont, CA: Consumers are expecting a wider variety of options for virtually all types of food products. Food products have a massive range of perceived healthy options like organic, vegan, vegetarian, or are made with alternative raw materials like protein sources, which include ingredients like hemp or almonds. Consumers additionally demand that food be packaged not only for safety but also for convenience, with the food manufacturers delivering a variety of serving sizes, delivering food in ready-to-eat packages, or bulk provisioning for whole food stores.[vendor_logo_first]

This proliferation of food options is also happening when food outlets tend to be consolidating, with retailers many retailers grabbing increasing market-share. This consolidation inevitably leads to increasing price pressure.

Food manufacturers respond with automation, with a recent survey indicating that 94 percent of packaging operations are using robotics. Food packaging lines are consistently a source of frustration for food manufacturers. While automation has the potential to increase food packaging line throughput, it’s not always a panacea. With the need for many lines to continually change over from one product to another, even automation can only do so much to increase packaging line throughput.

 Savvy food manufacturers are implementing OEE measurement systems to maximize their capital investments in food packaging lines. OEE takes into account the Quality of product produced, the Efficiency (speed) of the production process, and the Availability of scheduled production machinery. Measuring OEE is an excellent way for food manufacturers to optimize the throughput of their food packaging operations, and Worximity TileBoard is the ideal way to gain visibility into your packaging process OEE.

Improving throughput in food packaging processes starts with packaging design. A review of food packaging design includes looking for unnecessary materials, including too much protective material encasing the product. Using standardized package sizes for multiple products means that standardized equipment can be used, and change-over times can be reduced. For film wrapping stations, film gauge is an important consideration. Too thin a film can lead to film feed breakages and too many rejects due to holes being torn in wrapped packages. Using pre-printed packaging may reduce packaging steps, change-over times, and rejects due to misprinted packaging after filling being avoided.