Food process automation

For the conversion of agricultural commodities into consumable and marketable food products, science and technology are now enabling amazing advances in food process automation. Mechanization has achieved startling reductions in the labor requirements of processing operations between farm and fork, and now automation has begun reducing the considerable human sensory input component involved in many food processing operations. Automation allows processors to satisfy high-volume demand and distribution needs with greater efficiency while also providing greater flexibility and responsiveness in maintaining and improving food quality and safety. Food safety remains bigger than ever in consumer awareness, with incidents of contamination and outbreaks of food borne illness rooted in problems ranging across the food system, from the fields and livestock of producers to the operations of processors, distributors, and retail establishments. Solutions to many of these problems can be effectively implemented through automation, provided that new sensing technologies are appropriately developed for specialized applications in the food production and distribution system, and that both technical knowledge and understanding of food safety and security needs are shared between those who develop the automation technologies and those who will implement them. Food process automation will depend on both fundamental and applied research in sensor technologies for process control and monitoring, as well as data management strategies for product tracking and traceability, packaging and distribution, and sanitation and inspection. This special issue of Sensing and Instrumentation for Food Quality and Safety highlights some of the new technologies, ideas and research findings currently being developed for food process automation by researchers from academia, government, and industry worldwide. The articles in this special issue cover recent advances in different aspects of food process automation, and also provide overviews of spectroscopy-based monitoring technologies and of systems, standards, and interfaces for automated food processing operations. Ghoush and Jayas first present the basic working principles of a broad spectral range of techniques currently used for automated food process monitoring, ranging from ultraviolet spectroscopy to nuclear magnetic resonance. Significant quality and safety improvements in food processing have come about from the integration of these nondestructive techniques. Next is a broad review by Mahalik of systems, standards, and interfaces for advanced automation in the food process industry, covering a variety of technologies for processing and packaging and the current state of the art. The use of radio frequency identification (RFID) is a significant and growing trend in food distribution system management. Amador et al. present the use of RFID technologies for process traceability, with particular focus on real-time monitoring the environment of food products along the supply chain to enable rapid decision making and the capture of long duration temperature profiles. Laniel K. Chao (&) M. S. Kim Environmental Microbial and Food Safety Lab, USDA, ARS, Beltsville, MD, USA e-mail: kevin.chao@ars.usda.gov