Why Automating Bakery Processes is Important?

Almost everything in today’s business world is being automated, including bakery processes, making it more efficient and time-saving.

Fremont, CA: As companies aim to optimize their business operations while decreasing costs, automation has been applied to a range of industries. The food business, being a late adoption of automation technologies, has not reached this point yet. However, as more businesses adopt digital transformation strategies and the workforce gap widens, we're getting closer.

Bakeries may not appear as ripe for automation as other parts of the food processing industry, with customer demand increasingly moving toward artisan bread. In truth, the artisan market's rise is driving the demand for automation across the baking industry. Let's take a look at seven reasons why companies should automate bakery processing lines.

It should come as no surprise that increasing throughput is the primary motivation for many businesses to automate their lines. Humans just cannot work as swiftly as robots, which can operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and require no breaks.

Higher throughput is tricky since processors want to achieve it without expanding their facilities. Many processors are attempting to reduce their equipment footprint in order to accommodate more equipment into their existing facilities.Because automated equipment takes up less space than non-automated equipment of comparable capacity, food companies receive more bang for their buck in terms of real estate.

Customers want every product to satisfy their expectations. This is because consistent quality is a crucial indicator of consumer trust in a brand. Customers will not return to a restaurant that serves undercooked rolls or stuffed crust pizzas that are missing their stuffing.Because fewer off-spec goods must be discarded, automation assures consistency, which boosts throughput by lowering yield loss.

In food processing plants, people are a major source of cross-contamination. Microorganisms and allergies can easily be transferred to food by workers who do not follow Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMPs). Even individuals who adhere to CGMPs can spread bacteria into the air by kicking up dust as they walk around a plant or push bins or carts.Automation eliminates the possibility of human-caused cross-contamination by removing individuals from the processing equation.

Processors can achieve traceability and compliance through automation in two ways: first, by reducing the possibility of human error, and second, by making data gathering considerably easier. Not only will this aid when FDA inspectors arrive, but it will also come in handy if something goes wrong. Having process data at the fingertips will assist companies in detecting and preventing a food safety incident from becoming a recall.