The snack and bakery industries are constantly changing. Due to that, employees will always need updated training.

“Continuing shortage of qualified employees and a highly competitive job market are resulting in unprecedented rates of attrition, temporary hiring, and mass hiring of new employees,” says Steve Robert, global vice president of sales, marketing, and production innovation, AIB International, Manhattan, KS. “This is prompting some manufacturers to allocate resources from food safety and sanitation to production or, in general, having employees take on extra responsibility where in the past, there was a dedicated resource.”

“Current employees are working as hard as they can and plants are unable to train their food safety and sanitation personnel quickly enough, resulting in inefficient processes and a higher probability of missing key items that compromise food safety and product quality,” Robert warns.

AIB International recently launched a food safety and sanitation online course. Mid-level managers in the food supply chain can strengthen their knowledge in an easy-to-follow, modular format.

“Sanitation is absolutely critical in this industry, and there is a real shortage of well-qualified people in today’s market. The industry needs help, especially with the onslaught of mass hiring across the globe,” adds Robert. “Our food safety and sanitation course was created to fill a need in the market, and we used instructional experts who leveraged neuroscience principles for adult learning to help ensure that the training offers highly engaging content that can be reviewed at the participant’s own pace.”

He says that the food safety and sanitation course is an all-encompassing 24-module program designed to help mid-level managers and supervisors in the food supply chain more effectively handle their food safety systems. Due to its unique curriculum and design, participants can select from the 24 modules and complete those that are relevant to their needs or responsibilities.

“Modules were designed to meet the different needs of the food supply chain. For example, pest control companies can benefit from this training by selecting the eight modules that will provide their personnel with the knowledge needed to support an integrated pest management program in a food facility,” he comments. “Additionally, U.S. manufacturers and those exporting to the U.S. can use the content in these modules to gain a greater understanding of FDA regulations, industry best practices, and food safety principles, while those interested in other international markets can choose the non-FDA related modules to expand their knowledge of sanitation and food safety.”

Individuals in different roles within the food supply chain can benefit from the new training by selecting the modules that are most relevant to them. No limit is placed on the number of modules an individual can complete.

Vanessa Vial, assistant director of education, American Bakers Association (ABA), Washington, D.C., says that this year, ABA’s Bakers Manufacturing Academy launched an advanced training program for bakery’s most common product: white pan bread.

“The online course, available in both English and Spanish, is divided into two sections comprising 20 modules. The lessons focus on each step of the manufacturing process, from scaling through the packaging of the finished product. The ideal students for this course are those who want to manage or supervise and bakery shift, department, or facility,” she explains. “The flexibility of the Bakers Manufacturing Academy (BMA) allows entire corporations to integrate our training enterprise-wide by activating each bakery/facility location and enroll their workforce into programs that work best for their employee training goals.”

Robert says that with all the challenges the food supply chain is currently facing—for example, labor shortages and tight timelines—training should still be a top priority.

“Regardless of the industry, food safety and prerequisite programs play a lead role in every aspect of your business. Training has never been more important than it is today. Reduced staff means other employees are wearing more hats than ever before, and while production is running at record levels, this inherently raises risk levels,” he explains.

“I can’t stress enough how critical training is, especially for positions that are responsible for proactively combatting microbiological and allergen management concerns, such as sanitation. Training is key to building and fostering an enhanced organizational culture that prioritizes food safety,” Robert says.

“Ongoing education is an investment that will shield your processes and provide the essential tools to face regulatory evaluations with confidence.” SF&WB

Frank Cea, vice president, food & beverage, RoboVent

Dust collection and air filtration can be an overlooked factor in food safety concerns for bakeries and snack food makers.

“When air filtration systems can’t keep up with excess food dust, dust can migrate to places in the facility where it doesn’t belong,” explains RoboVent President Rick Kreczmer. “This can increase the risk of cross-contamination between production lines and microbial growth in dust deposits.”

To minimize these risks and ensure compliance with food safety regulations, here is a checklist to ensure your dust collection systems are up-to-date and well maintained:

• Collect dust close to the source to prevent propagation of dust through the facility. Hoods or enclosures around dust-producing processes aids in efficient capture.
• Make sure there is adequate airflow for efficient capture of dust inside enclosures and conveyor systems. Dust building up inside enclosures is a combustion risk in addition to a food safety concern.
• Positive and negative pressure zones can be used to isolate sequential production processes and prevent dust from migrating between zones.
• Locating the dust collector outdoors and venting filtered air to the outside minimizes the risk of re-contamination.
• Use appropriate filtration (e.g., HEPA) for air coming into the building via makeup air and HVAC systems to avoid introducing pollens, molds or bacterial contaminants from the outside.
• Select a filter appropriate for the dust you are collecting. Hygroscopic food dusts may require a PTFE-coated or washable filter media.
• Make sure the dust collector is equipped with a sensor to detect leaks past the filter and appropriate fire and deflagration safety elements for NFPA compliance.
• Perform all recommended preventive maintenance and inspect the system frequently. If you notice dust building up on surfaces in the facility or inside enclosures, contact your engineering firm to evaluate your air filtration systems.

Logistics Snapshot: “We are seeing an increased focus on the transition toward Industry 4.0 within the snack and baking sector,” says Gilchrist. “Data plays a crucial role in this next step for the industry, and the need for data collection and integration with large data systems is a driving factor in our product development. New process specific monitoring solutions are being installed throughout the production process, serving as both data collection systems and feedback control points to react to issues quickly and reduce waste. Furthermore, many systems on the line are being integrated into large data systems to provide bakers with the complete information on their line performance.”

“Another exciting area of development has been in adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) features into the inspection platforms. AI and machine learning tools currently under development, such as automatic learning, serve to simplify the user experience and help customers better configure systems to meet their needs,” he says.

“In addition, new AI based detection and processing algorithms are boosting inspection performance and allowing the detection of more defect types than ever before. The combination of traditional inspection techniques supplemented with new AI tools unlocks even greater potential for vision inspection systems and promises exciting developments within the industry.”

Company:
Aptean

Website:
www.aptean.com

Company: KPM Analytics

Website: www.kpmanalytics.com

Logistics Snapshot: “To successfully comply with production standards, bakery and snack manufacturers need an appropriate and effective testing system established for the audit process of industrial metal detectors,” says Garr. “Depending on the criteria set out by each retailer Code of Practice (COP), tests are typically scheduled throughout the day at hourly intervals to confirm the inspection system is repeatedly identifying all potential metal contaminants. However, if carried out manually, passing test samples through the exact center of a standard 165mm or 215mm aperture, when product is being funneled at high speed from a multi-head weigher through the metal detector straight into a VFFS bagger, and retrieving them is huge challenge and drain on labor.”

Halo Automatic Testing automates this process, eliminating human error and eradicating workforce H&S risks—such as climbing up above the hopper multi-head weigher and passing a metal test stick/ball manually through the in-line metal detector and retrieving before packing, adds Garr.

“Originally engineered in collaboration with one of the largest U.S. snack manufacturers to overcome the major limitations of performing manual checks on vertical inspection lines, Halo Automatic Testing enables factory operatives to pre-program ferrous, non-ferrous, and stainless steel sample tests,” he notes.

The company also will launch Contact 4.0 at PACK EXPO this year. For the first time, Fortress customers will be able to tether multiple front-end inspection machines to back-end reporting systems and securely share performance data.

Company:
Aptean

Website:
www.aptean.com

Company: Fortress Technology

Website: www.fortresstechnology.com