Food Manufacturing

Foodie fads spark robot rethink

TV cooking programmes are driving legions of fans back into the kitchen. Seven of the top 10 most-seen shows of 2015 were episodes of Bake Off, with demands for specific ingredients and products featured, sparking a sales bonanza after each broadcast. Similarly, a slew of new dinner kits are inspiring home cooks to prepare more ambitious meals at a fraction of the effort. This trend is compelling retailers to rethink store layouts, how they group products together for consumer convenience and how swiftly they react to the scramble for the latest "˜must have' ingredient or kitchen gadget.

15th March 2016

Root cause analysis benefits end users and machine designers

A robust root cause analysis (RCA) process is an essential tool for any effective reliability or maintenance improvement program. As Phil Burge, Country Communication Manager at SKF, explains, it can provide useful insights for machine designers too.

8th March 2016

The fight against food contamination: metal detectors vs. X-ray

Sarah Ketchin, Managing Director at Fortress Technology, tackles the equipment options in the most widespread food and packaging application scenarios, cuts through the confusion on the pros and pitfalls of metal detectors versus X-ray, and highlights the importance of arming yourself with all of the facts to make an informed decision based upon the most prevalent contaminant risks.

8th March 2016

Inspecting for contaminants: nuts about snack satisfaction

Midnight cereal snacks, energy sports bars and on-the-go breakfast replacements are shaping the snacks market with UK consumption expected to reach £3.8bn this year. Given this increasing demand for healthy convenience, snacks producers are turning to efficiency driven automation and utilising the latest machinery to deliver consumer satisfaction and maintain safe, high-quality snacks. Sarah Ketchin, managing director at Fortress Technology explores the varied challenges of inspecting for contaminants and the options available.

12th February 2016

Thermal ink jet comes of age

Thermal ink jet (TIJ) is emerging as an affordable and practical coding option for food and other FMCG manufacturers, on the back of game-changing ink technology advancements and falling machine prices. Richard Pether, Director, Rotech, presents an overview.

11th February 2016

Automated palletising systems avoid injury from manual handling

Stack "˜em high, sell "˜em cheap was once a palletising tactic confined to wholesale outlets. Yet nowadays, it's not uncommon to see pallet loads, especially around busy seasonal periods, carefully positioned on supermarket floors. More complex patterns, combined with revisions by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to the L23 manual handling guidance (Manual Handling Operations; Regulations 1992), is proving to be catalyst for automating palletising operations.

4th February 2016

Sensitive about sphere size: food inspection metal detectors

The standard technique for measuring the sensitivity of food inspection metal detectors is to use metal test spheres. Although this type of spherical testing tool is typically expressed by diameter in millimetres, in the real world metal contaminants are more likely to be non-spherical or an irregular shape. Phil Brown, Sales Director at Fortress Technology explains why spheres are used and why a size detection improvement as little as 0.5mm can cut the risk of metal fragments entering the production chain.

15th January 2016

Three things you didn't know about IIoT

The human brain is a wonderful thing that works tirelessly from the day we are born until the day we die, only stopping on special occasions, like when presenting in front of large audiences. We have been studying the brain for many centuries, but we still know relatively little about the trillions of connections that make it work. Creating a road map of the brain is a bit like trying to map out the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). IIoT is a concept that has intrigued industry for several years now, but much like the human brain, is not yet fully understood.

13th January 2016

Measuring pH in a food-safe environment

Food processing covers a wide range of activities all of which require both food safety and quality standards to be met to ensure that consumers receive high-quality products. One of the more vital parameters that plays a part in this is pH, since it governs both physical and chemical reactions during food production as well as inhibiting the growth of pathogens. Ian Webster, Hygienic Processing Segment Manager at Bürkert UK, looks at the importance of measuring pH and the most efficient methods of achieving accurate pH control.

19th December 2015

Ten top torque tips

Driveshafts deliver power as a rotary force, and in most applications there is a need to know the amount of power in the system. But getting measurements from a turning shaft requires some engineering ingenuity, so here Tony Ingham from Sensor Technology in Banbury runs through the basics.

10th December 2015

Technical Articles