Blog Articles

Digital transformation is changing how we do business across the globe, and the food industry is no exception as emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and robotics are revolutionizing everything from food processing to service to sustainability.

In a global economy companies need to navigate different standards across borders and that can be tricky in the food and beverage industry where there are significant differences between Europe and the United States.

Even those that are not close followers of Judaism probably know that kosher food pertains to Jewish dietary laws regarding food and beverage.

What exactly makes kosher food kosher, however, is a mystery to many.

When it comes to food labels, there is the fine print and the not so fine print. Both are equally important when it comes to food safety and the sustainability of food we purchase and consume.

“Reading labels can help you make informed food choices,” says the National Institute of on Aging

The fine print includes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Nutrition Facts, which includes key details such as calories and nutritional make-up per serving size, and the product’s ingredients list, vital information, especially for those with food allergies.

While the fine print is normally found on the back of a product, the not so fine print can be found anywhere with “sell by”, “use by” and “best if used by” dates printed discreetly in random spots.

When it comes to “Food Fiascos” you need to start with the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) where lax sanitary conditions and unethical actions led to a 2008-09 salmonella outbreak that not only led to illness and death but bankrupted a $25 million company in months and sent its CEO to prison for 28 years in the stiffest penalty ever in a food-borne illness case.

In a final report issued in April 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that a strain of Salmonella serotype Typhimurium, linked to peanut butter sourced back to PCA processing plants, had sickened 714 people across 46 states with nine deaths reported.

Just when folks thought the pandemic was winding down, another variant occurs, and folks are suddenly wondering if they will be able to eat out again like they used to. No surprise, a lot of the food trends and approaches for 2022 are expected to be influenced by social distancing and everything we had to do for the last year and a half adjusting lifestyles. Fortunately, some of the trends are definitely focusing on why food is such a draw, and bringing the experience to people's doorsteps.

Staying on your projected growth pattern for 2022 means identifying the latest food service software industry trends. After all, tech is where it is at in terms of getting customers the food choices they want when they want it. A couple of new trends are especially beneficial to businesses of all sizes right now. Check out how online food delivery and ghost kitchens are increasing growth for businesses in the food service industry.

Rising food prices, along with escalating energy costs, helped push U.S. inflation to a 31-year high in October with the Consumer Price Index jumping 6.2 percent.

“Food prices for both groceries and dining out rose by the most in decades,” The Wall Street Journal reported.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Nov. 10, 2021, that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.9 percent in October on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.4 percent in September.

A decade ago, the U.S. Grocery Manufacturers Association estimated that food fraud cost the global food industry between $10 and $15 billion per year and the problem has only accelerated since then.

“Fraud drains an estimated $30 to $40 billion every year from the global food industry. The Consumer Brands Association claims that roughly 10 percent of commercially produced food and beverage products are affected by fraud,” wrote TraceGains content marketing specialist Denis Storey in 2020. “But these figures only point to the initial economic cost of food fraud. There are the health costs to consumers poisoned by tainted food, not to mention the cost of the reputation hit on a brand when adulteration occurs.”

The global supply chain’s mission of moving food from farm to market, and onto our nightly tables, sounds simple but can be quite complex with government regulations, transportation, communication, and other logistical issues at play.

A call for more transparency and tracking, previously pegged to food safety issues, has been reinforced as the food supply chain is challenged to creatively meet new sustainability goals and initiatives.