Prepared meal production comes with a variety of challenges, with one of the most common being the challenge of reducing food waste. Unfortunately, food waste is a common and persistent issue for prepared meal manufacturers.
The good news is that with modern-day food robotics, reducing food waste is now more attainable than ever.
Keep reading to find out how you can start reducing food waste in prepared meal production with a reclaim conveyor system. We will also discuss when you may need a reclaim system and what this technology actually does.
What is a Reclaim Conveyor
Before we discuss how you can begin reducing food waste in prepared meal production, what is a reclaim conveyor system? These conveyor systems are specifically designed to help reduce food waste by reclaiming and reusing ingredients.
Especially in prepared meal manufacturing, products are often produced at high speeds. When this happens, ingredients can fall onto the conveyor, either due to incorrect application or because equipment like a waterfall applicator is being used. A reclaim conveyor recovers excess ingredients, allowing them to be recirculated and used for other products.
Conveyors with reclaim capabilities are absolutely essential for prepared meal production if you want to cut costs and reduce waste.
At Quantum, we offer a variety of reclaim systems, including conveyors, topping applicators, and commercial meat slicers. This equipment allows you to safely reclaim excess ingredients while maintaining sanitary and quality standards.
Benefits of Food Robotics in Reducing Manufacturing Waste
Food robotics now plays a crucial role in prepared meal production, especially when it comes to reducing food waste. The technology has never been more advanced, providing food manufacturers with a variety of options for scaling production and improving quality.
When it comes to ingredient waste, it is easy to overlook this issue as it may not seem serious at first. However, food waste adds up over time, resulting in wasted resources and less ethical manufacturing practices. That is why it is important to address it early and reduce waste wherever possible.
Here are the benefits of using food robotics to reduce waste in prepared meal manufacturing.
Faster Production
Automated technology helps prepared meal manufacturers speed up production while reducing food waste. Ordinarily, ingredient waste would result in downtime, whether your conveyor is being backed up by excess ingredients or your team is trying to collect ingredients to reuse.
Reclaim systems automate the process of saving excess ingredients to use for other products, helping to maintain efficiency and speed.
Smaller Team
When you take advantage of an automated reclaim system, you won’t have to rely on manual labor. Not only does this help to reduce the risk of human error in manufacturing, but it also allows you to maintain a smaller team.
By relying only on a small team of employees, you won’t be as impacted by labor shortages or unreliable employees. This will also help you to cut costs as you won’t have to provide as much training or put as much effort into new hires.
Also, if you invest in Quantum equipment, one of the additional services we provide is equipment operator training.
Sanitary Design
One of the many challenges manufacturers have faced when it comes to reducing waste is maintaining sanitary standards. After all, it can be challenging to keep things sanitary when you are trying to capture excess ingredients that have been dispensed onto your conveyor system.
This is especially true if you produce a variety of prepared meals and do not want to encourage cross-contamination across different types of ingredients.
At Quantum, we offer a solution to this problem by providing conveyors with a super sanitary design. Many of our conveyors are easy to clean and are washdown compatible.
When to Invest in Reclaim Topping Applicators & Commercial Meat Slicers
If you haven’t yet invested in reclaim equipment for your prepared meal manufacturing company, now is the time to do so. The technology has never been better, and if you wish to remain competitive, it is essential that you stay up-to-date.
However, purchasing any type of new equipment is an investment, and it is important to do your research beforehand. Here are some examples of when you should start to consider investing in new reclaim equipment:
- Consistent Waste: If you have noticed that your prepared meal manufacturing company is wasting a lot of ingredients, you need to consider reclaiming equipment. This is an upgrade all companies should consider making, but especially so if you are already having ingredient waste issues.
- Company Growth: Any time your manufacturing company starts to grow, you need to examine the types of equipment you are using. As your company grows and speeds up production, you will most likely require reclaim systems to keep food waste in check. Especially for high-speed production. This type of equipment automates the process of reclaiming ingredients, recirculating them, and applying them to other products.
- Product Expansion: Even if your company isn’t necessarily speeding up production, you may be adding to your line of products. If that is the case, you should consider investing in reclaim equipment to avoid the risk of wasting ingredients that could be used for other products.
If any of these scenarios apply to your situation, now is a good time to make the investment in reclaim equipment.
At Quantum, we offer a variety of reclaim conveyors, meat slicers, topping applicators, and sauce applicators. Many of our pieces of equipment also come with additional benefits and features. Such as: being washdown compatible, having a cantilevered design, or providing custom configurations.
Improve Prepared Meal Production With Quantum Equipment
At Quantum, we understand how challenging prepared meal production can be, especially when it comes to reducing food waste. That is why we have designed the best food robotics to help reduce waste, speed up production, and improve product quality. Contact our team today to learn more about our reclaim conveyor systems, commercial meat slicers, and topping applicators.