By Dr. Bernhard Reichenbach

Foreign bodies, such as metal or plastic particles, as well as impurities do not belong in food, because they can endanger the health of consumers. If they enter, manufacturers must take back or recall the products in question. This is not only costly, but also image-damaging. Our special “Inspection & Control” presents proven solutions to avoid such occurrences and the associated loss of image.

The main topic in the “Technology” section is a study by Munich Strategy on food and packaging machinery. It examines the factors behind the future success of European manufacturers and identifies two fields of action: digitization, which helps companies generate new value, and verticalization, which focuses on integrating various process steps along the value chain.

In our series “sp portrait”, this time, we report about a traditional milling company: the Rubinmühle in Lahr/Germany, which dates back to 1352. The supplier’s main products for the international food industry include more than 100 types of cereal flakes, as well as extrudates and muesli mixtures.

You will also find interesting information in the “IT/Logistics” section: the consulting companies DataSweet and Arsandis recently organized a workshop on digitization in the confectionery industry. Among other things, an augmented reality tool was presented with which service technicians and support can exchange information on service cases in real time using smartphones and tablets.

Dr Bernhard Reichenbach, Editor-in-chief