In his presentation at the European Food Sure Summit, @Adeniyi Odugbemi looked at the impact human error can have on food safety and how automation is key to increased efficiency, productivity and most importantly, safety. In this article, we're sharing some of his key takeaways.

Why is automation crucial to the success of FSQ organisations?

Increased human touchpoints throughout the supply chain lead to increased risk. The repetitive and labour intensive jobs in food processing open up numerous possibilities for human error, all of which can have damaging effects, both to organisation profitability, and worse still, to guaranteed safety of the food we produce. 

Examples of potential human errors include: 

• Increased risk of contamination due to improper handling of ingredients/equipment
• Mistakes in labelling, packaging and storage which can lead to contamination or allergen cross-contact
• Loss of traceability if records are lost or not recorded properly 

How can automation combat these errors? 

• Increased consistency and uniformity in product quality - less chance of human-generated contamination 
• Revolutionized handling of raw materials avoiding cross-contamination 
• Traceability of your product: you can ensure your product is safe at all points of the supply chain 
• A paperless environment can increase the security of data and provide access to real-time data to understand and mitigate risks more quickly

Adeniyi also promoted the other benefits beyond the absence of human error, in particular how automation can improve food sustainability by increasing yields, thus reducing food waste.   

And what is the pay off? 

While the bottom line may not see the benefits in the short-term, the long-term mitigation against risks will increase productivity and profitability. Adeniyi highlighted that one product recall can lead to huge financial losses, adding: 

Our job in risk mitigation is not to add directly to profitability, but to ensure that our profitability is maintained and assured."