The Role of Sustainability in Frozen Food Production: Reducing Environmental Impact
The importance of sustainability in frozen food production should not be overlooked. In addition to making food manufacturing friendlier to the environment, when done correctly, it can cut operational costs and streamline efforts.
The frozen food manufacturing process can be harsh on the environment. Overuse of ingredients and resources and the generation of wasted products that don’t pass QC also harm the environment. So how can frozen food manufacturers overcome these issues and implement more sustainable production practices?
At Quantum Technical Services, we believe that a simple solution to reducing environmental impact is automation. Automating the frozen food manufacturing process can help companies achieve sustainability in manufacturing. By strategizing your frozen food warehouse to include sustainable automated equipment, your label can quickly reduce its ecological impact. Here, we’ll explore simple automated solutions to improve sustainability that also increases productivity. Let’s focus on the issues that make food manufacturing harmful to the environment first.
Sustainability in Manufacturing: Implementing Automation
Common problems that increase environmental impact during the frozen food manufacturing process include ingredient waste, resource overuse, and products that fail QC. Each of these features of food manufacturing can be detrimental to the environment. However, they are easily minimized with automation.
Ingredient Waste
Ingredient waste is highly prevalent during the frozen food manufacturing process, as food manufacturing causes about 2% of global food waste. Food waste also adds greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, because it eventually decomposes. It also causes a loss of capital. Ingredient waste is detrimental to both the environment and food manufacturers, and minimizing waste is an effective way to improve your manufacturing process.
Sustainability in manufacturing can start with minimizing ingredient waste. Employing either target topping applicators or applicators that have reclaim capabilities can reduce the amount of ingredients wasted during assembly. Doing so can reduce overhead costs associated with ingredient restocking.
Resource Overuse
Another impact on the environment during the frozen food manufacturing process is resource overuse. While the cost of energy and water has decreased, the cost can add up when your machines aren’t efficient at managing these resources. We’ve designed Quantum automated food equipment to use only the amount of energy and water needed, saving brands on resource costs. This way, frozen food manufacturers only use the amount of energy and water resources necessary to produce meal products.
Products that Fail QC
Throwing out fully assembled meals after they fail QC wastes time, effort, and money. It’s also detrimental to the environment by emitting greenhouse gases, just like ingredient waste. Ensuring that each product is made to brand specifications limits the amount of products that need to be tossed out. Companies can improve their sustainability in manufacturing by employing automated food equipment that ensures quality and consistency between each product. At Quantum, our technology guarantees that each product is made according to brand specifications to avoid failing QC and being thrown out. Creating consistent products reduces a brand’s negative environmental impact.
Ingredient ways, resource overuse, and products that fail QC are significant detriments to the environment but are easily minimized with automated food equipment. Let’s focus on target and waterfall equipment from quantum technical services, both of which are designed to limit these ecological impacts.
Quantum Target and Waterfall Equipment
At Quantum, we understand that different food assembly lines require different technology, which is why we offer both target and waterfall equipment. Frozen food manufacturers can minimize their impact on the environment with either type of topping applicator. Here’s how:
Target Equipment
Quantum target equipment, like our Sauce Applicators and Meat/Pepperoni Slicers, allows brands to specify the amount of ingredients added to a meal. In doing so, frozen food labels are preventing ingredient and resource overuse. Because our target equipment applies the same amount of ingredients per meal every time, it also significantly reduces the number of meals failing QC. Quantum Target equipment ensures quality and consistency between products, minimizing waste.
Waterfall Equipment
Quantum waterfall equipment also reduces environmental impact. Unlike target applicators, waterfall applicators continue to apply an even layer of ingredients to meals as they pass under the applicators on the conveyor. At Quantum, we offer waterfall Sauce Applicators, Cheese/Topping Applicators, and Dry/Granular Ingredient Applicators. Yet at Quantum, our waterfall equipment has reclaim capabilities to catch and reapply any ingredients that fell off the meals during assembly. While your brand can’t specify the amount of ingredients that these applicators dispense, it can still conserve ingredient usage by minimizing waste through reclaim. These machines are also designed to save water and energy resources where possible, and the even application of ingredients increases the quality of the products.
Quantum target and waterfall ingredient applicators reduce the environmental impact of the frozen food manufacturing process. In addition to automation, strategizing the automation in your frozen food warehouse can also improve the sustainability of your production process.
Strategizing Your Frozen Food Warehouse
Strategizing the automation of your frozen food warehouse can maximize the productivity and efficiency of your operations, in addition to increasing the sustainability of your manufacturing process. At Quantum, we recommend assessing areas for improvement and streamlining workflows when implementing automation to optimize your sustainability.
Assessing Areas of Improvement
When implementing new technology to improve manufacturing, assess where this new tech can help your company grow. Is your team having to throw out missambled products or expired ingredients? Is your team ready to increase production rates or incorporate new assembly lines? At Quantum, the equipment that improves sustainability also helps brands increase efficiency and production rates.
Streamlining Workflows
One financial waste that food manufacturers experience is redundant machinery. Not only is extra tech expensive, but it can lead to workflow confusion and downtime. The versatility of Quantum equipment allows brands to streamline workflows by being able to apply a wide range of different ingredients. This is especially helpful for less ingredient waste and low-risk R&D. Because Quantum equipment requires minimal oversight, frozen food labels can centralize effort and resources, further enhancing assembly line productivity.
Make Your Manufacturing Sustainable With Quantum
Our experts at Quantum Technical Services understand how important it is to have a sustainable manufacturing process. From saving on overhead costs to reducing resource usage, sustainable manufacturing processes are invaluable. We’ve designed our automated food equipment to be eco-friendly, streamlining production in the meantime. Give us a call today to make your food manufacturing process sustainable as soon as possible.