The intersection of food, and drugs

I read an article today about Nestle developing foods with "real" health benefits: Nestle to test effect of nutrients on human cells.  At first glance, the title infers to activities that are scary, ominous.  But further reading, you find that Nestle is developing foods that are good for you--provide health benefits beyond nutrition.

This is interesting for a number of reasons

Repost, with Comments: Number of Trade Regulations to Take Effect in 2014

<p><a href="http://www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2013/food-safety-trade-regulations/"><b>Unprecedented Number of Trade Regulations To Take Effect in 2014 </b></a><br>Matt Goodman, Livingston International<br>Prepare your company for an onslaught of new trade regulations, many of which center around food import quality and safety.</p>

Food Safety Modernization Act, Trade Acts, Compliance--how can a food manufacturer keep up with all of the regulations?  The rate of change that is hitting the food and beverage industry--from consolidations, acquisitions, to changing customer tastes, to government oversight--collectively challenge both the large and small processors.  It is one thing to purchase technology, but having the foresight and knowledge to adequately implement, and plan for the future, that's where a company needs assistance.

The need for better control of the food manufacturing process, through #MES

I read an article today on SmartBrief that said FDA recalls more than doubled in this quarter, primarily due to undeclared allergens. Here is the article link:

http://www.smartbrief.com/news/gma/storyDetails.jsp?issueid=C815E5BB-7A9C-4A0B-B3F4-8A02B272EFA5&copyid=8C2DB16D-CFB4-41CA-A7BB-13A33D45D6ED&campaign=googleplus&ref=googleplus8C2DB16D-CFB4-41CA-A7BB-13A33D45D6ED

Repost, with comments: Traceability to be a top consumer food trend in 2014

 http://www.smartbrief.com/11/13/13/traceability-be-top-consumer-food-trend-2014-1

The drive for better understanding of food sources continues, with point of origin labeling now a prequisite for many consumers.

This is an extension of the Food Safety Modernization Act now being mandated by the US government, requiring a swift and definitive response to a recall event.

For companies like Invensys serving the food and beverage industry, this is a welcome movement, for the industrial automation industry has strived to put better controls around a manufacturing process supply chain, starting with the raw ingredients/incoming quality inspection and extending through final delivery to the customer.  The more transparency the manufacturer has to their process, the better they can control and manage.  That's the focus of #ManufacturingExecutionSystems, providing the supply chain visibility, quality control, and transformation management of raw materials to finished goods. Long a staple tool for the food and beverage industry, #MES has expanded beyond the traditional plant floor to provide enterprise integration (for example, the amount of material consumed by operation), quality and production management (yields, throughput, LIMS integration) as well as equipment uptime (bottlenecks, yields, quality). It's a comprehensive solution to help manufacturers meet their customer needs for better quality, security and peace of mind.

Breaking News: FDA to Food Manufacturers: Remove The Trans Fats

http://www.foodprocessing.com/industrynews/2013/fda-to-food-manufacturers-remove-the-trans-fats/

Thanks to Food Processing for letting us know that the food industry now has 60 days to respond to this finding. For consumers, this is good protection against substances that may be harmful, but in any case, it may lead to more healthy eating, which is a boom for both the public and the processors.

Safety Regulations: Food Safety Regulatory Outlook for 2013

Safety Regulations: Food Safety Regulatory Outlook for 2013

For the past few years, the demand for food safety has had a domino effect: it's not only the producers, but the suppliers to these organizations that have to be cognizant of the reporting, tracking and systems infrastructure that are necessary for compliance.  Invensys (and other automation suppliers) have offerings such as #MES, #Quality, #EMI and other visualization, reporting and analysis tools to help manufacturers/processors maintain or establish compliance.  This article is a good overview of the challenges facing us all in 2013.