Plant & Works Engineering February/March 2023

February/March 2023 www.pwemag.co.uk Plant & Works Engineering | 41 Food & Beverage Special Focus Di rect beverage products also presents an opportunity for brands to enable greater data exchange with retailers, suppliers, and consumers. Such data will offer new opportunities for food businesses to address risks and operational challenges and provide the transparency needed to run supply chains more efficiently. The information can also be passed on to the consumer via scannable 2D codes, for improved engagement and brand positioning. Conclusion As we move further into the era of big data, traceability solutions will become a crucial part of day-to-day business. All brands working within the food and beverage sector need to be ready to adopt them in due course. However, those food and drink manufacturers who embrace traceability ahead of the curve will not only reap the benefits of implementing it without regulatory and time pressures but could also gain significant competitive differentiation through optimised supply chains, improved consumer experience, and preparedness to weather whatever challenges may yet get thrown in their path. unidentified allergens or hazardous materials are inadvertently added to food products. Some of the most counterfeited products include: Olive oil – fraudulent oil products diluted with substandard or lower value oil may contain hidden allergens (for example, nut oils) or oils that are not fit for human consumption. Milk – watered down, substandard milk products have been found to contain melamine, a high-protein compound known to cause kidney problems. Honey – illicitly produced honey may be diluted with refined sugar or syrups. Adulterated honey has also been found to contain potentially harmful antibiotics. Wine and spirits – counterfeit alcohol products often contain substances that can be highly detrimental to human health – including methanol and antifreeze. Seafood – expensive varieties of fish can be substituted for lower-value products. A frequent substitute for some varieties of tuna is escolar, an oily, hard-to-digest fish known to cause mild to severe stomach upset. Batch-level traceability can help brands mitigate some of the risk of counterfeits and food adulteration, as it requires suppliers to provide supply chain data on individual batches of ingredients at the point of supply and delivery. This information can then be aggregated into each additional step of the supply chain to give a much-needed audit trail of individual batches of ingredients and provide a necessary deterrent to any party seeking to contaminate a product or ingredient – be that deliberate or by accident. Embracing traceability in the food supply chain Food safety incidents and adulterated and counterfeit food products can be just as dangerous as fake pharmaceuticals, and as such, the food industry is a prime candidate for regulatory traceability. That said, those without a current traceability solution should not wait for regulation – the time to act is now. Beyond compliance and consumer safety, the end-to-end traceability of food and