Safety, traceability, vega and circularity

The food industry is one of the industries that will always evolve. After all, humanity will always want to keep eating, no matter what happens around them. It is probably for this reason that a large number of organizations are studying and researching trends in this sector. On the one hand, from themes such as sustainability and climate but, of course, also from the point of view of consumers and gastronomy. What is happening here and what does this mean for the food companies, but also for the companies that make the necessary machines?

The food industry in 2024 is moving with some other industry trends, regarding safety, sustainability and security. Safety relates directly to the means of production and peripheral equipment. Sustainability addresses raw materials and how products are grown, as well as packaging. 

Security and traceability

The ever-increasing focus on safety has several reasons. On the one hand, laws and regulations are becoming stricter and stricter, and the fines when things go "wrong" are not insignificant. On the other hand, Western consumers strive for ever higher standards and do not accept crooked cucumbers, vegetables with a spot or apple sauce with a color that is not always identical. In addition, there is food scarcity in the world, which fuels the tendency to fraud. Poorer quality often means lower production costs and thus greater profits. Scandals in milk, meat and fish are undoubtedly known to all. Finally, there is the power of the consumer through social media, among other things. One or more messages can make or break a product or producer. Extreme caution about quality is therefore required.

To ensure food safety and quality, technologies and equipment are constantly being developed to detect substandard quality. Vision techniques, possibly combined with AI, as well as thermal imaging cameras, UV and other technologies are used to perform the checks. Preferably for 100% of products and with 100% reliability. Traceability also plays a role in this: áf things go wrong, where can you prove that at least you are not at fault? And all this at the high speeds associated with increasing automation in food production and processing?

Vega

The food industry knows better than anyone that consumers constantly want "different. A serious challenge because the current times involve seriously different products. Many studies show that the popularity of plant-based foods is increasing. In part, this also has to do with the sustainable consumer who is aware that meat production has a negative impact on the climate. But on the other hand also with the increased "health awareness. Through research, it is becoming increasingly clear which products make a positive or correct negative contribution to health. Pure and vegetable then often emerges as the winner, which means that current and future production and packaging machines are geared to processing precisely these products. 

Environmentally conscious

Finally, consumer influence on packaging. On the one hand, today's consumer is still looking for "convenient and easy. Cooking yourself is not a favorite hobby of many working people anyway and so food must be quick, simple but preferably also healthy to prepare. The right quantities in packaging that is suitable for a microwave or can be deposited in the airfryer in one go are preferred.

Last but not least, the packaging should preferably be recyclable or compostable. On the one hand, companies are already being pushed for this by the government, which imposes obligations on packaging materials. On the other hand, the manufacturer must be able to guarantee food safety. A combination that demands new developments.