F O O D & B E V E R AG E C O N C E P T TO D E L I V E R Y P R E S E N T TO F U T U R E F O O D P R O C E S S I N G .

C O M

SPECIAL REPORT:

THE
INTEGRATED
PLANT

MODERN EXPECTATIONS
FOR BREAKFAST FOODS
PRESENT CHALLENGES FOR
PLANT OPERATIONS TEAMS
p3

TRACEABILITY FOR
STANDARD COMPLIANCE AND
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
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IMPROVED PRODUCTION YIELD

THROUGH COMPUTER BASED
FORMULATION / RECIPE WEIGHING

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A Supplement to Food Processing

Floor Scales for Food Production

Easy Cleaning Every Day
Food production environments can require constant cleaning to safeguard against contamination.
METTLER TOLEDO floor scales include stainless steel construction and designs built with
washdown effectiveness in mind. EZ-Lift scale decks allow for thorough, 360-degree
washdowns for protection from product recalls.
To learn more, call or visit
1-800-METTLER
www.mt.com/us-fp-floorscale

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Modern Expectations For Breakfast

Foods Present Challenges For Plant
Operations Teams
Plant managers wrestle with realities where the need for innovation
mingles with the need for productivity.
By David Phillips, Plant Operations Editor

of Greek-style yogurt, it is now the leading overall brand of

yogurt, outdistancing competitors that had been established
for three or four decades rather than five or six years. Chobani
does not have a relax-while-you-are-ahead mentality, so this
year it will introduce several new SKUs, with a particular focus on broadening the packaging options offered to customers.
This included a product called Chobani Flip. Its not revolutionary to present yogurt and its fruit and granola or other
flavoring ingredients in separate segments of a container, but
it was new to Chobani at the time. Combine this with the
Chobani Champions tube package, and we can guess that the
companys production team was kept on its toes. Some of the
changes will took place at the companys new, outsized plant
in Twin Falls, Idaho.
Where the need for innovation mingles with the need for
productivity (and with food and employee safety concerns) is
where plant managers wrestle with realities as they produce
foods for what is often called the most important meal of
the day.

reakfast foods can be as unchanging as, well, oatmeal. But like any segment in the food business, the
expectations of consumers and by extension the demands on the food company are also subject to change and
innovation. And for those on the operations side, that means
the next adaptation headache may be right around the corner,
whether thats a matter of adjusting for a new formulation that
just doesnt behave the same way in the process or installing
new equipment for an additional package format.
Example No. 1: Suzie Crockett is a vice president-level
technology officer for health and nutrition at General Mills,
Minneapolis, where she also leads the Bell Institute of Health
and Nutrition, which helps the company come up with its
overall strategy for making its breakfast foods better-for-you.
And if that were not enough, she also blogs for the company
on its Taste of General Mills consumer blog site.
Part of this commitment is to continuously improve the
health profile of our existing products she wrote in a blog
post. These improvements are strongly tied to what consumers tell us (they want): healthy, great-tasting foods that fit their
lifestyles. However, they also tell us they wont compromise on
taste. So the guiding principle behind all our health improvements is the maxim: its not nutrition unless people eat it.
Example No. 2: Chobani, Norwich, N.Y., has in short order
not only won a horse race to become the leading U.S. brand
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Food safety in the morning

For these companies, and others making breakfast foods, production staff must work with product developers while continually staying on top of their own concerns. Chief among
them, of course, is avoiding food contamination, says Todd
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Baker, technical director with conveyor-maker Horizon Systems, Lawrence, Kan.

The big business driver in cereal as with all food processing across the board is food safety, Baker says. Second, at least in our arena, is complying with combustible
dust regulations.
Lately food companies expect those systems to have higher
level of hygiene and to protect against dust proliferation and
cross-contamination. Sorting equipment might also be expected to aid in traceability initiatives.
Five years ago no one thought much about bacteria in a
cereal facility, but that has changed, Baker says. There is
now a much higher awareness of how bacteria can enter a
plant and how it can reside around various pieces of equipment and processes.
One of the reasons for the change is that bakers and cereal
makers had been working with the assumption that all bacteria would be killed in processing. But evidence showed that to
be a false assumption, and those same companies realized further precautions were warranted. Another reason is that there
is now a heightened effort and greater ability to pinpoint the
cause of an illness before there is a large-scale outbreak.
A few years back there wasnt the ability to trace, so when
someone was sick they were just diagnosed with food poisoning, Bakers notes. Now the medical professional can test and
if it is determined that it was caused by Salmonella it can be
traced back to the facility and even the lot number. They can
trace it back to your facility and your piece of equipment if
they find it. One bad situation can take us all down.
Customers are now looking for conveying systems with
built-in sanitation capabilities, and food processors who work
with dry materials are beginning to adopt HACCP and other
programs designed to keep pathogens away from products.
Looking at traffic flow patterns and segregations of certain
functions [like] you have seen in meat and dairy you are
now starting to see that in cereal and baking facilities, Baker
says. So if their pneumatic conveyer is made to travel through
several material zones, they will choose pressure of vacuum to
avoid having any of that material leaking out. A few years ago
we didnt really see that get much consideration. It used to be
all about efficiencies.
Thats not to say that efficiencies and productivity no longer
matter, Baker says, but processors are now looking at things
like shortened changeover and reduction of down time to
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make up for any efficiencies that are lost when they operate
more carefully.
Key Technology Inc., Walla Walla, Wash., provides conveying and sorting systems to food processors and other industries. Clients include potato processors who make readyto-cook hash brown patties and fruit and nut processors, says
John Kadinger, market manager for Key.
When our breakfast food clients come to us, they are
mainly concerned with process efficiencies, Kadinger says.
They are looking at how they can improve those processes
and reduce their costs. Cost of labor is always an issue, so if
there are ways to add automation and improve the process efficiencies, they are always interested in that.
John McIsaac, vice president of business development for
Reiser, Canton, Mass., agrees. Clients are looking for efficiency in their operations. They want to produce more with
fewer resources.
Reiser manufactures and markets portioning and forming
equipment for meat and cheese processing, including equipment that makes sausages. Some of the best-selling models
include skinless sausage machines that can increase output by
30 percent, and equipment that allows for quick changeover.
Horizons Baker notes that processors of some breakfast
foods fall into the dry environment group that must pay especially close attention to the issue of combustible dust.
In part due to high profile incidents of the past 10 years,
the National Fire Prevention Administration has issued new
regulations regarding the risks of combustible dust. Those regulations affect candy makers, cereal mills and bakers as well
as other food and manufacturing entities, but enforcements
varies from state to state, and awareness is far from uniform,
Baker says.
Nice and easy

A recent study by Mintel indicated that consumers who eat

breakfast regularly are more likely to seek more nutritious
foods at breakfast time that at other times of the day. Breakfast
foods innovations making the news recently include completenutrition liquid breakfast beverages marketed by General

Read the complete story on

FoodProcessing.com.

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Making Food Processing Fast and Safe

Scales Built with Brains and Brawn
The METTLER TOLEDO ICS (Industrial Compact Systems) line of bench scales is built
to enhance food production. Scales with ColorWeight displays make over/under
checkweighing and classifying visually intuitive to vastly increase user productivity.
They also withstand the challenges of wet and harsh operating environments for
protection against product contamination.
To learn more, call or visit
1-800-METTLER
www.mt.com/us-fp-ics-scales

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Traceability for Standard Compliance

and Process Improvement
By Mettler-Toledo

eoccurring incidents such as e-coli in spinach and dioxin in pork emphasize the rising importance of efficient
traceability. Tracking & tracing food, feed, and foodproducing animals through production and distribution stages
is proving vital to consumer safety and company reputations.
Food Safety regulations such as EU178/ 2002 or US Bioterrorism Act, as well as retail-driven standards, require food
suppliers to assure traceability on a one-up/one-down principle
but do not dictate methods. Some companies comply using
paper-based systems; others may require full networked computer and bar code systems to effectively meet requirements.
This paper focuses on in-plant traceability and discusses how
good traceability not only helps a manufacturer comply with
legal and regulatory requirements; it also shows how the right
systems and equipment can contribute to production efficiency
through better stock management and minimized waste.

Assists in problem diagnosis, passing on liability where relevant

Promotes customer confidence and brand protection
Optimizes production efficiency and quality control (stock
control, material usage, and origin/characteristics of products).

What is Traceability?

Traceability is defined as:

Ability to follow raw materials and components intended
to be, or expected to be, incorporated into a product, through all
stages of receipt, production, processing and distribution.
Traceability can also ensure that product safety and quality
attributes have been checked (country of origin, species of animal, whether all components are quality-checked and released
for production or that products are free of foreign bodies).
DESIGNING A TRACEABILITY SYSTEM
Legislation generally requires a one up/one down approach
to traceability. Integration of internal and external systems
improves efficiency. Therefore, it is worth considering systems
operated by raw material or component suppliers as well as
customers to understand a companys interaction within the
supply chain.

THE IMPORTANCE OF TRACEABILITY

Traceability is a legal requirement for food, feed and related
products. In addition, it is a basic element in safety and quality management schemes such as the GFSI accepted standards
(BRC, IFS, SQF, and FSSC22000) or in national industry and
product specific regulations (e.g. EU beef labeling regulations).
Traceability requirements are linked to legislative demands
that any product placed on the market shall be fit for purpose
and not injurious to health. As a risk management tool, traceability allows businesses and authorities to withdraw products
identified as unsafe.
It also:
Minimizes costs incurred by making recall more effective
Allows targeted action to prevent recurrence
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General principles

Some general principles to consider when designing or challenging an existing traceability system include making sure
that it:
Covers all stages of production, processing and distribution
Identifies raw materials suppliers
Identifies which components have been used in which product
Identifies supplied customers
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Identifies which products and intermediates have been disposed of (verification of destruction may be required)
Ensures products supplied to customers are adequately labeled or identified to facilitate traceability
Provides details to authorities on-demand in a timely manner.

terials must be considered through adequate risk assessment.

Design will depend on on elements such as:
Number/nature of raw materials and components
Criticality and risk of components used
Batch/lot sizes and uniformity
Production processes
Number of component combinations & lot splits

An ideal system fits into a companys normal work practice

and enables quick and easy collection of relevant information.
Risk assessment

To read the rest of the white paper,

click here.

Relevant variables such as the nature of products and raw ma-

Look inside some of the worlds most

efficient food production facilities and
you will find METTLER TOLEDO equipment.
Inventory management
Batching
Formulation
Classification
Checkweighing
Portioning and dispensing
Tracking and tracing
Quality control
Shipping and logistics

Increasing Productivity and Quality

Professional Solutions for Food Production
To learn more, call or visit
1-800-METTLER www.mt.com/us-fp-food

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Improved Production Yield through

Computer Based Formulation /
Recipe Weighing
By Mettler-Toledo

Aside from regulations, unpredictable supply-chain or customer events may require investigation into production steps.
If defective batches appear, the root cause of the problem must
be identified and measures taken to ensure future product
quality and safety.
Essentially, food producers must document all processes
without gaps. This includes recipe development, quality lab,
production planning, monitoring, dispensing and packaging /
distribution. A computerized and intelligently networked formulation / weighing system is key.
A traceability system shall be in place which enables the
identification of product lots and their relation to batches in
direct contact with food, packaging intended or expected to
be in direct contact with food.
The traceability system shall incorporate all relevant processing and distribution records.

ood manufacturing companies are under increased

pressure to improve plant productivity, product quality
and consumer safety. For all three, ingredient traceability and process tracking play central roles.
International standards designed to ensure product safety
(EC 178/2002, US Bioterrorism Act, FDA, GMP, BRC, IFS,
ISO 22000) are cropping up. A prerequisite to the traceability required is documentation of all relevant formulation and
weighing process activities.
A computer-guided and networked, rather than paperbased, production system provides easily accessible production
data. The resulting documentation and analysis can improve
quality, reduce waste and protect both consumers and brand
reputation, providing significant bottom-line improvement.
This paper will address the benefits of investing in such a
system as well as considerations that help ensure the system
enhances manufacturing processes.

TRUE TRACEABLE FORMULATION / WEIGHING

IS COMPUTER-BASED
Truly gapless traceability requires that all involved parties feed
recipe relevant data ingredients, structures, work instructions, batch and production order information into a centralized system. A computer-based systems advantages over
a paper-based system include data consistency, speed of data
analysis and improved recall management.
An electronic system can also document processes, generate
weighing and manufacturing reports, and print labels to identify goods-in-process. This brings users one important step

INCREASING REGULATORY PRESSURE

REQUIRES TRACEABILITY
From bird flu to bioterrorism threats, modern reality has
forced both governments and food processors to impose new
rules for food and allied product manufacturing.
The IFS (International Food Standard) for example
requires producers to guarantee traceability of goods flow,
as stated in IFS Version 5, paragraph 4.16.1: Similar requirements are stipulated in BRC (British Retail Consortium) Issue
4, paragraph 2.13 and ISO 22000, paragraph 7.9.
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closer to compliance with EU 178 / 2002; BRC; and Controls Used for Manufacturing, Processing, Packing, or Holding Dietary Supplements for FDA 21 CFR Part 111 CGMP
Regulations. This type of system is also vital for transparent
manufacturing processes and providing a proper decision base
for streamlining processes.
End-to-End Documentation
Tracking and tracing demands documentation of all production actions from goods receiving to endproduct shipment.
To be effective, manufacturers must ensure systems provide
relevant data quickly. Some governments request access even
within few hours.

For example, in a recall, a manufacturer must identify:

Who delivered the spices used in batch XY of meat pie Z?
What quantity was used?
Who released the recipe?

If end-product taste deviates from recipe expectations:

What area of processing needs to be adjusted?

To read the rest of the white paper,

click here.

Benefits of FormWeigh.Net
Increased productivity
Guaranteed consistent
product quality
Process safety and stability
Time savings
High flexibility

Simplify Your Tasks

with Smart Formulation

The FormWeigh.Net system for dispensing and formulation is

designed to simplify complex and demanding formulation needs.
Thanks to the intuitive formulation process, stable product quality
is assured from batch to batch, while maximizing material
utilization and reducing the amount of manual work involved.
1-800-METTLER www.mt.com/us-fp-formweigh

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Your Project
Our Weighing Components
Our catalog presents an in-depth look into the wide range of weighing components your projects require.
These components are designed for easy integration into machines, process plants, tanks, vessels,
hoppers, conveyor systems, and process instruments.
Download the new Weighing Components Catalog and learn more about
OEM Weighing Solutions from METTLER TOLEDO.
To learn more, call or visit
1-800-METTLER
www.mt.com/us-fp-weighmodules

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