By not taking adequate measures to cut water and energy use, which includes recirculating their resources and leveraging the optimal equipment and operating strategies, many plants are unnecessarily bolstering expenses while becoming more vulnerable to shortfalls in available supplies.

Several large-scale recalls have been issued recently for products containing foreign material, which creates headlines that draw a lot of attention to how the industry keeps foreign material from contaminating the food supply.

The likely culprits in most cases of foodborne illnesses are improper equipment maintenance and sanitation. Mixers and blenders are being upgraded for increased sanitary design and automation.

Meat and poultry processors are seeking ways to address common industry challenges and trends by leveraging cutting-edge advancements in automation and inspection technologies.

Freezing and chilling systems, rooms and facilities continue to advance, as do the quality, sustainability and eco-conscious goals for most processors in this arena.

While many factors including high employee attrition rates affect the eradication of contaminants, perhaps the biggest obstacle is the abundance of plants and equipment that were built years ago with fewer food safety-related features now common to newer designs.

In the fresh-poultry processing industry, it pays to assess quality and safety, especially when demand jumps.

It is important to understand the benefits that can come from a single-point automatic lubricator (SPAL), not only from a maintenance and safety standpoint, but also from a quality and reliability standpoint.

For many of today’s food and beverage processors, it’s not business as usual.