This year’s IFFA has come to a close after six days of discussions about the latest industry trends and analytical solutions. We asked some of the participants for their take on important trends for the coming years.
The big buzz word in the meat industry this year was automation.
According to Andreas Seydelmann, Managing Partner of Seydelmann, the scarcity of labour combined with the increasing focus on quality and food safety is behind the strong focus on automation in the meat industry.
“If something goes wrong with the product, that’s not acceptable at all. So, having to recall should be absolutely prevented. We need systems that are continuously safe.”
Focus on food safety
Seydelmann explains that today’s consumers are expecting a more diverse range of products, including niche products such as vegetarian and vegan products which are increasingly in demand. In the pet food industry things are changing too, as people are willing to pay more for pet food than they did some years ago.
On the whole, consumers have become more and more focused on product content. They want to know about the CO2 footprint, nutritional value, whether products are organic or come from a specific region. But it’s not only about knowing whether products are healthy and organic according to Seydelmann. “It’s also just to read the label and be curious about what’s inside. There could be some customers who say, ‘I want these ingredients, or I don’t like to have additives’ for example.”
Improved process control
Recipe control is one way of handling these new demands. Using advanced software to control the ingredients makes it easier to achieve traceability. Integrated fat analysis is an important source of control data. “Of course, fat analysers are absolutely relevant because nowadays the product should have a dedicated fat content and not more or less,” says Seydelmann. “We always need to look for something that is possible to integrate in the production line or to use before we receive the raw material. The better it is analysed, the easier it is for us to control the process. Our recipe control usually needs a fat content or needs standardised raw materials.”
Automatic foreign object detection
Seydelmann also highlights how foreign object detection is an important aspect to consider as part of the automation setup. “Just try to imagine that you have a foreign object in the raw material that goes into the machine, this could destroy the machine and could destroy the product. In the worst case, it is not destroying the machine or the cutting set, but the foreign object will be cut in hundred smaller pieces.” In effect, food safety is also about taking care of your machinery: “If your machine has a problem, that could end in a product problem,” he concludes.
