Food is the essence of life-giving energy to all life forms including humans. Humans, however, have evolved with the consumption of processed and packaged foods. Even then, their system has not advanced to such a level that it can handle any kind of food. Adulterated and infected foods cause a lot of safety concerns amongst humans. As a result, food safety has been on the agenda of various food authorities for food safety. Food monitoring for a long time has
been dubious and authorities are constantly on the lookout for ways to enforce strict standards for food safety. So what are the top food safety trends that are ensuring our food safety?
Food safety modernization act (FSMA)
After the outbreak of numerous foodborne illness, the US Food & Drug Administration is bringing about massive changes to its regulations. In 2016, FDA released its updated strategy for the implementation and training of FSMA. The strategy outlines foundational rules including Preventative Controls for Human and Animal Food, Foreign Supplier Verification Programs, and Produce Safety.
Changing dining trends
Eating out has become a noticeable dining trend, which has started picking up in the last few years. It also brings about new challenges as restaurants have to serve more customers and have to battle it out for procuring fresh supplies seven days a week. Maintaining food safety while balancing the cost factor and procurement of fresh foods is definitely a challenging task. Companies are turning towards automation to tackle this issue.
Supply chain traceability
After many food scandals including the horsemeat scandal, customers are demanding a high level of traceability on what they eat. Consumers are always on the lookout for fresh, healthy, and locally sourced food and ingredients. In order to make food supply chain traceability a possibility, many food companies are looking towards blockchain technology to provide an easy answer. Blockchain technology can track a finished product back to the origin with ease, which cannot be tampered. As a result, food suppliers can build trust towards their brand amongst the consumers.
Demand for natural and organic food
The obsession with leading a healthy lifestyle doesn’t look to stop anytime soon. Consumers are demanding organic and natural food, and the demand is expected to grow at a rate of 16%, annually. As a result, start-ups are entering this market at an unprecedented rate. They are also bringing in food without artificial preservatives, colors, and dyes. However, the safety of these products can be dubious and so is its shelf life. Suppliers will need to avoid potential consumer health issues and void costly recalls.
Increasing digitization
Kitchens today still rely on conventional pen and paper-based systems that are inefficient, prone to human errors, and are time-consuming. Additionally, such records are easier to forge and falsify. New technologies such as IoT based sensors, digital checklists, and automated monitoring will soon replace this traditional system all over the world. Businesses will be able to control every aspect of routine tasks and compliance management with ease and increase their overall efficiency.
To know more about the top trends in food safety:
