Conference for Food Protection Workshop Sheds a Light on the Industry 4.0 Sanitation Challenges and Developments

Remco is proud to have participated at the Conference for Food Protection Virtual Workshop themed “The Impact of New Food Technologies and New Foods on the Food Safety Professional” from April 13 – 15, 2021.

In spite of the current challenges posed by the pandemic to the food retail and foodservice sector in the U.S. as well as globally, the expert panelists and participants from the industry, regulatory, academia, consumer, and professional arena were determined to deliberate on food safety and sanitation challenges and solutions arising from emerging Industry 4.0 technologies.

Some key topics discussed were on the following:

• 3-D Printed Foods: Part of the talk centered around the limitations in proper cleaning and sanitizing regimes of 3-D printer equipment for producing next-generation foods.
• Edible Cannabis: Where the regulation is left to individual states, the lack of standardized testing and the variable GMPs may accentuate food safety and sanitation problems.
• Lab-Grown Meats: When compared with conventional meats, the novel technology is getting embroiled in complex regulation, allergen, and religious issues.
• Virtual Reality/AI: Discussions featured food safety training with SmartGlass, predictive decision-making using algorithmic programs, and automated equipment troubleshooting.
• Aggregating Social Media Data for Decision Making: Talks focused on the use of social media platforms for tracking foodborne illness incidents and unsafe foods in the market.

Remco will also be participating in the upcoming Virtual Biennial Conference from August 15-21, 2021, where the issues mainly centered around the Food Safety Code will be discussed.

Notes:

Disclaimer: Through this blog, Remco is simply providing some opinions about the workshop. More specific information may be achieved by referring to the workshop archive at: http://www.foodprotect.org/biennial-meetings/2020-biennial-meeting/workshop/

Conference for Food Protection (CFP) is a non-profit organization that was established in 1971 to provide a formal process whereby members of industry, regulatory, academia, consumer, and professional groups are afforded equal input in the development or modification of food safety guidance, such as the U.S. Food Code. More information at: http://www.foodprotect.org/.

Industry 4.0: Generally refers to the Fourth Industrial Revolution or the “ongoing automation of traditional manufacturing and industry practices, using modern smart technologies.”