RS, a trading brand of RS Group plc, a global provider of product and service solutions for industrial customers, offers an extensive portfolio of electrical and electronic products engineered to help organizations in the food and beverage manufacturing industry overcome challenges related to the expansive and evolving slate of safety and compliance regulations designed to keep consumers and workers safe.
In 2022, the U.S. food and beverage industry was worth about $1.4 trillion, a roughly 5.5% share of the national GDP, largely due to contributions from the food and beverage manufacturing industry, which is consistently the second-largest contributor to overall industry value behind food service. This segment employed around 1.7 million people in 2021 across market segments ranging from meat and dairy processing to baked goods, prepared foods, and beverage manufacturing. And while each of these markets has its own unique demands, each also features machine designers and builders, manufacturers, engineering managers, and maintainers who must contend with stringent safety and compliance regulations pertaining to food safety, equipment and facility sanitation, quality control, labeling and packaging, environmental stewardship and sustainability, and employee and equipment safety.
Establishing and maintaining compliance with evolving food and beverage manufacturing regulations, like the FDA’s new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) updates, is driving organizations throughout the supply chain to embrace digital transformation and futurize their facilities with smart IIoT and automation technologies. It’s also driving significant growth in the global machine safety market, which is projected to grow from an estimated value of $10.3 billion in 2022 to $11.5 billion by 2031, due in large part to rising demand for packaged foods, worker safety, and strict regulatory standards.
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The RS portfolio of electrical and electronic products designed to help food and beverage industry organizations adhere to the challenging and continually changing regulatory landscape extends from connected technologies, like RFID systems, that are essential for satisfying the new FSMA tracking and tracing requirements to machine safety solutions — including safety sensors, pneumatic and fluid controls, motors and motor controls, safety switches, and enclosures — that are essential for mitigating various risks, preventing accidents, and complying with other industry regulations. The vast majority of these solutions also offer additional advantages ranging from hygiene, sanitation, efficiency, and employee morale improvements to reduced workspace clutter and equipment downtime — all of which are key to success in this highly regulated and competitive industry.
Smart, connected technologies like RFID systems support full supply chain transparency, allowing manufacturers, regulatory bodies, and customers to track the journey of products from farm to table, which is essential for compliance with the new FSMA tracking and tracing requirements. The Balluff BIS M Series Industrial RFID System is an excellent choice for food and beverage manufacturing organizations because it’s rated for washdown environments, compliant with global ISO quality, safety, and efficiency standards, and quick and easy to install, which saves times and money and ensures proper commissioning. It’s also compatible with IO-Link components and various bus systems and available with high-temperature, metal-mount, hardened, and disposable tagging options and a variety of data carriers and read/write heads, which supports broad application suitability.
SOURCE: PRNewswire