How Food Packaging Plays an Integral Role in Food Safety

Best practices for food and beverage packaging can improve food safety outcomes globally. Generally food quality takes priority when it comes to food safety regulation, but storage of food and beverage product and ingredients and their packaging can play just as key a role in maintaining the integrity and safety of food products.

Safe Food relies on Safe Packaging

The best food and beverages are only as safe as their packaging. This means that glass packaging should be inspected for deformations or marred surfaces. Seals should be tested for efficacy and tightness, inks and laminates should all be food-safe to avoid contaminating the product, and cans should be free of dents or deformation. Guaranteeing safe food means guaranteeing the packaging, and only packaging automation with adequate attention to quality control can help avoid expensive recalls due to incorrect or unsafe packing procedures. Better packaging can also ensure that food and beverages are more stable, with longer shelf life.

In addition, food packaging must not undermine efforts at protecting consumers from contaminants in food. Any potential allergens should be listed on all packaging. Most recalls occur as a result of improper labeling of potential contaminates on food packaging. Processes should be in place to ensure that not only is packaging safe, but that it correctly labels ingredients and warns consumers of potential allergen presence within the food.

Supply Chain Management

Safe food and beverage packaging means management of the supply chain to ensure that suppliers are meeting the standards for food safety, such as HACCP guidelines, Safe Quality Foods (SQF), the British Retail Consortium (BRC), and Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). Programs should be developed to maintain food safety for packaging design in food and beverage products that can be used in conjunction with ISO 22000, the international management system for food safety in the supply chain.

How AVEVA Edge has played a Role in Food Safety and Food Packaging

AVEVA Edge has been used in a wide variety of food and beverage manufacturing applications, as well as in safe packaging for food and beverage. Here is one of the case studies detailing the ways better automation in the food and beverage industry can improve production, quality, and safety of food products.

La Tortillia Factory