Food safety and food quality dominate the hot topic list in today’s industry news
In this month’s issue of WPS Direct, we’re taking a look at several recent developments in the world of food and beverage processing. This is what’s happening now, and what it means for you.
Consumer Trends: Shoppers Face the Battle of Brains vs. Bellies
How do consumers deal with conflicting nutritional claims in food marketing? That was the focus of a new study, which drew some surprising conclusions about buying behavior and how it’s tied to health consciousness. People’s perception about their health has a profound impact on their food purchase decisions. For food producers, determining the psychological profile of their target market can be critical to marketing a product successfully. To learn about the studies, click here.
FDA Proposes Updates to Nutrition Facts Label on Food Packages
The FDA has proposed a new format for nutritional labels. The proposed labels will include serving sizes that are more in line with what Americans actually eat, and call out things like calories more clearly. If approved, the new format will change the way health-conscious consumers make food purchase decisions. The long-term effects of this change may impact recipes and ingredient usage in a wide variety of products. See an example of the proposed label here.
Rethinking Clean-In-Place Design
Clean-in-place (CIP) systems can be hugely beneficial to plants that want to improve food safety measures while minimizing operational downtime. For food and beverage processors considering new plant construction, or a significant renovation to an existing facility, it pays to think ahead and include CIP systems in the overall design. Consulting with a full-service design-build contractor that specializes in process engineering can be invaluable as new plant designs are considered. Read more about CIP systems, or check out this Food Safety News article to learn about CIP-specific plant design.
FPSA Submits Comments to FDA on Proposed FSMA Rules
The Food Processing Suppliers Association (FPSA) has weighed in on several proposed rules within the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The FPSA targeted its commentary on three main areas: finished product testing, pathogen environmental monitoring, and the unintended consequences of FSMA. In a nutshell, the FPSA believes that finished product testing conflicts with a HACCP approach, undermining preventative programs. Pathogen environmental monitoring, while a good idea in concept, is something that could become ineffective if tied to punitive action by the FDA for positive test results. And the unintended consequences of aggressive regulation under the FSMA could include forcing smaller processors into untenable situations while larger companies move operations offshore. To read the FPSA’s full commentary, click here.
