Manufacturing operations are the beating heart of the food industry, ensuring everything is created to the highest standards and sent out to the shelves all whilst meeting tight deadlines.
You want to keep everything consistent in order to hit targets and produce quality products. The last thing you want is lost labor hours and food waste due to inconsistencies across operations.
What classes as a large-scale production?
Food production involves preparing raw food and converting this food into ready-made products that are suitable for human consumption. The products can either be used in the home or for food processing industries.
Meeting consumer demand provides the opportunity to scale-up your food production processes. Large companies have various departments dedicated to specific areas of the production process, including regulatory experts, food scientists, process engineers and recipe formulators.
Large-scale production examples include slaughterhouses, grain mills, bakeries and the processing of meat, poultry and fish. Agricultural practices are heavily relied on by the food industry, and we could see the agricultural industry begin to use automation to make farming our food more efficient.
Why accurate consistency is key
Quality over quantity is a crucial factor in food manufacturing, as it only takes one bad product to turn customers away from your brand.
Consistency is key as it helps to create happy, satisfied customers who enjoy your food and will want to repurchase. Maintaining a loyal customer base means higher profitability, so prioritizing your existing customers is an absolute must.
Delivering quality products consistently will help you stand out amongst the competition, putting you that one step ahead by maintaining a great reputation. Following efficient procedures and avoiding food waste will also help to lower overall costs.
How consistency is achieved
There are many ways to keep your food manufacturing processes consistent. You can use technology, such as thermocouples, to ensure the temperature of the ovens is always at the same level to deliver even cooking for all food items.
Automating your processes by using robotic machinery is said to be more accurate and efficient than humans. Alternatively, ensure that all staff are trained well and are regularly attending training courses to refresh their knowledge of general food practices.
Plus, checking each stage of the food production process on a regular basis will help you identify any issues, so you know when to make a change when necessary.
Development
Whilst keeping consistent is key, so is keeping up with consumer demand. Sustainability is known as one of the biggest incentives to change consumer behavior, so it’s important to invest in your business’ sustainability strategy.
It’s worth revaluating whether the packaging you are using is eco-friendly and analyze how sustainable your suppliers are, too.
