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Food safety factors driving equipment upgrades

New regulations, the global food supply chain, changing science, consumer expectations, the Internet-enabled speed with which illnesses are reported and other factors all play a role on equipment upgrades.

Many factors are driving change in the food industry, not the least of which is impending new regulatory requirements that are part of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). However, food companies are currently being driven by a whole lot more than compliance with new regulations.
Pressures that food manufacturers and producers need to pay attention to are legion, including:
  • Reliance on a global food supply chain
  • Changing science that is connecting illness with foods more than ever before
  • Consumers who expect great quality at low price with zero risk
  • The propensity for both mainstream and social media to weigh in on food issues • Increased threat of legal action
  • New regulatory requirements
These are among some of the major factors driving upgrades in food processing and packaging facilities. Let’s take a closer look at these factors:
 
Reliance on a global food supply chain.
 
In the U.S. alone, there are more than 170,000 food manufacturers, processors, and distributors, about 2 million farms, and about 1 million restaurants and foodservice outlets. Every one of them is driven by safety, quality, and compliance. The FSMA is only the latest regulatory "stick" in a long progression of technologies, standards, best practices, and a mix of mandatory and voluntary guidelines.
In the U.S., 15% of the food consumers eat is imported from more than 150 countries and territories. This includes about 80% of seafood and more than half of the fresh fruits and vegetables. Import shipments of FDA-regulated products, for instance, have been growing at 13% annually. The country is dependent on imports, not because it has lost the skill to produce these foods domestically, but because it's more cost-effective to import them.
 
Changing science that is connecting illness with foods more than ever before.
 
The science of food safety is changing. There are some who hold views like the small business owner who says, “I don’t need to worry. We’ve been making this product the same way for 50 years, and I’ve never had a problem.” Just as likely, he’s never had a problem because he’s never gotten caught. Times—more properly, science—have evolved to uncover sources of risk.
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