The Future of Food Safety: Next-Gen Technologies on the Rise

Food safety in a world with a global supply chain creates a number of challenges. Supply chain shortages can make it difficult for manufacturers to get the components they need to build equipment used for testing and maintaining proper food temperatures. These shortages have several impacts for the consumer and manufacturers, particularly concerning pricing and delivery intervals. By evaluating these issues, common causes and some possible solutions, manufacturing businesses can see the benefits of implementing technology to manage supply chain issues.

Supply Chain Problems for Manufacturing

Supply chain shortages can cause several problems for the manufacturing industry. These issues can lead to rising costs, wasted inventory and even business failure.

Difficulty Sourcing Components

Finding components is a major part of modern manufacturing. While most companies would prefer to source parts and raw materials from a nearby location to minimize costs and time spent in transportation, the manufacturing industry often relies on a global supply chain. If certain parts or materials for food processing are only available in a limited region, anything that affects that region can lead to significant price increases or delays in delivery.

Inventory Management Struggles

The supply chain struggle of any manufacturing company lies in the balance of inventory. Few businesses would keep a large inventory of items they do not use frequently, because it takes up space and costs more money to maintain. As such, companies must rely on the supply chain to provide them with the components and materials they need within a tight timeframe. Supply chain disruptions can lead to an unbalanced inventory, forcing businesses to scramble for alternatives.

Labor Shortages

A lack of qualified labor worsens the effects of any supply chain problem. If a region lacks enough workers to produce sufficient raw materials, they may not be able to meet demand for those materials. If a plant creating high-demand components for cold food storage shuts down due to lack of available employees, companies must find another source. The recent pandemic highlighted this issue, causing industry shutdowns worldwide.

Causes of Supply Chain Problems

Supply chain challenges come from a variety of sources. The most common issues relate to political unrest, inflation, transportation delays or climate concerns.

Political Unrest

Political unrest can increase the difficulty for manufacturing companies to find suppliers who can reliably provide food safety equipment and supplies over time. Political instability can come in various forms, including:

Changing government priorities
War and other violent conflict
Border security
Significant changes in pricing, due to inflation, taxes or tariffs

This instability, which may be an issue in some regions more than others, requires manufacturers to build back-up relationships with multiple suppliers in case one relationship fails.

Inflation

Inflation describes a rise in prices for goods and services, which certainly affects the manufacturing industry. Recent inflation has caused the price of most things, from foods to durable goods, to increase for businesses and consumers. Manufacturing companies in particular face challenges due to inflation. In essence, they must decide if they will pass the costs onto their customers or trim their margins to keep a larger client base.

Climate Concerns

Climate change presents a notable challenge for access to supplies and transportation. Excessive temperatures in Southeast Asia have led to decreasing safe work hours and can even damage electronic components, which are commonly produced in this region. Similarly, increasing hurricanes, tsunamis and other storms limit transportation. Although these issues are somewhat predictable, they put stress on a supply chain that already relies on regularity in production and shipping schedules.

Transportation Delays

Delays in transportation of global foods and other goods create significant threats to food safety overall. If a good must be kept at a certain temperature to minimize spoiling or contamination, long delays at a port can cause the food to expire. For companies that rely on a just-in-time inventory of equipment as well as food, temporarily losing access to a crucial component may lead to ineffective food safety practices in kitchens, processing facilities or transportation vehicles.

Mitigating Supply Chain Challenges Without Compromising Food Safety

Companies can use a variety of technologies to minimize these supply chain challenges. By incorporating these tools into manufacturing and administrative processes, businesses can reduce waste and workloads without compromising food safety.

Automation

Automation is the key to minimizing the workload of any manufacturing company. Businesses can automate a variety of tasks using industrial automation solutions, including:

Automated order processing
Inventory management
Raw material and supply inspection
Equipment testing and maintenance
Cleaning and sterilization of equipment

Tools can remove much of the human error of manufacturing, leaving workers free to provide crucial testing and oversight.

Artificial Intelligence

AI provides the most vital solution to supply chain concerns. AI systems take data and use it to create a set of useful practices that work for manufacturers behind the scenes. Specifically, AI excels in the following processes:

Demand prediction
Supply chain management
Transportation route optimization
Management of automated systems
Alerts for failures of critical systems

AI minimizes errors and can increase security of food safety systems, as well.

Blockchain

Blockchain preserves the effectiveness and accuracy of the supply chain by decentralizing access to data. The technology relies on cloud-based repositories for data, which are not kept in a single location. It provides tamper-proof access to important information about the supply chain and transportation of foods and testing equipment. This benefit is important for establishing a chain of ownership, tracking contamination and confirming the safety of food during processing and transport.

3D Printing

The use of 3D printing can increase availability and viability of parts used for food. Food safety relies on regular access to testing and monitoring equipment, which may be difficult to source during supply chain disruptions. 3D printing allows manufacturers to print certain components to specification, decreasing reliance on global suppliers and ensuring that testing equipment works accurately.

Supply chain shortages can cause significant problems for manufacturers. By implementing these solutions, companies can minimize risk and provide crucial equipment for maintaining the safety of the food supply.