In recent years, global meat and poultry production has grown slowly. Global beef production is expected to increase by 2% in 2018 to 62.6 million tons. Pork production is also growing at a rate of 2%, with an estimated 113.1 million tons, while broiler (poultry) production is expected to increase by 1% to 91.3 million tons. China's domestic meat and poultry production cannot meet the growing needs of the people, so it has become the main import market for meat and poultry products.

In developed markets such as the United States and Europe, red meat consumption has declined in recent years, in part because consumers are concerned that such meat is not good for health, thus reducing purchases. However, despite the downward trend in meat consumption, sales have increased due to the huge sales of value-added products. Increasingly time-consuming consumers are increasingly becoming target customers of convenient and portable foods (usually in quantitative packaging). In addition, consumer demand for more product choices has led to a surge in products. In addition, consumers who have higher disposable incomes continue to purchase high-end meat products, which helps stabilize meat sales.

In order to meet the growing consumer demand, poultry processing companies must optimize their production lines – especially given the fact that the profitability of the meat and poultry industry is very low – in recent years, the automation of production to reduce the contact between production and products has become increasingly important. The more fierce. In addition, since consumers want a clearer understanding of food production processes and production conditions, cleanliness has become a key goal for meat and poultry production. For example, consumers communicate instantly through social media, so consumer dissatisfaction with public expression must not be ignored.

Compliance helps reduce the risk of recall

Damaged brand image and product recalls can have a significant financial impact on your business, often due to the sale of substandard products or mislabeled products. Strict regulatory rules are in place to ensure that processing companies protect public health in all aspects, and compliance ensures that best practices are always implemented. In addition to bacterial contamination, mislabeling and unrecognized allergen information are common causes of product recalls, which can be circumvented by using the right software during the product coding and identification phase.

As the complexity of the inventory unit increases, operational errors are more likely to result in the printing of incorrect information on the product, so advanced coding quality assurance techniques have been developed to avoid such problems.

Barcode scanners are a relatively economical way to reduce the risk of selecting incorrect coding when switching to other production lines. The handheld barcode scanner can be plugged into the bottom of a printer equipped with internal memory or networking. At the time of installation, all codes used on a particular production line, as well as UPC bar codes of various package types, can be pre-programmed to the printer or pre-programmed on the network. Then, during the conversion process, the line manager simply scans the newly wrapped UPC or related bar code from the job card to automatically retrieve the correct encoding format and content. No input is required, meaning no coding errors will occur.

In addition to using barcode scanners to load product codes in multi-product jobs, printers can be networked to ensure product coding accuracy. You can connect multiple printers together via a corporate network and an internet or Ethernet connection using common software. Networking can centralize information creation and load information into multiple printers in a single production line or a factory. Once all printers are connected to a network, the production manager can use the computer to create or load specific codes from the saved database.

Cleanliness is the key

In the area of ​​food, hygiene is a priority, for a number of reasons. First, regulations require that the production line be flushed regularly. Second, pollution risks exist at all times, especially in the meat and poultry production environment. Delivering contaminated products to the retail supply chain not only puts the company in a critical position, but more seriously, it poses a health hazard to the end consumer.

Implementing this stringent sanitation requirement is subject to downtime. Production must be stopped for disinfection, so if you want to minimize the stop time, you need to increase production speed. In terms of coding and marking systems, professional suppliers will work closely with their customers to determine the pain points such as removing the printer or covering the plastic bag on the printer during the rinsing process.

For example, current small character (CIJ) printers on the market can perform efficient cleaning operations without the need for plastic bags. For example, the Videojet 1860 CIJ printer can perform cleaning operations efficiently and restart the production line more quickly. Hygienic design follows industry specifications with a sloping surface that prevents ink/solvent or debris build-up and eliminates potential for dirt accumulation. In addition, an optional IP66 degree of protection is provided, eliminating the need for the operator to remove the printer from the production line. This design further increases the rinsing speed, ensuring that the printer operates efficiently on the production line and is designed to handle the desired flushing environment.

Reduce operating costs

The profitability of the meat and poultry industry is very low, so any measure that can reduce operating costs will significantly increase the profit of the poultry processing enterprises. Advanced coding and marking systems play an important role in this. In order to meet regulatory requirements, food must be coded and labeled. If the printer is shut down for some reason, the production line will stop running. For example, if the error is caused by incorrect coding, it will also cause the printer to stop and waste product.

In response to a variety of industry challenges, coding and marking systems are constantly innovating to reduce operating costs and adapt to harsh production environments. Smart CIJ printers commonly used in the meat and poultry industry currently have built-in features that reduce operating costs. For example, with an innovative condenser and solvent recycling design, ink consumption is reduced by up to 20% compared to older printers. The intelligent inkjet airflow system also supports intelligent temperature regulation, eliminating the need for expensive air supply systems. The intelligent inkjet airflow system directs clean, cold air into key components of the printer, extending the stable operating temperature to 0-50 °C, even in challenging environments.

The nozzle design of the CIJ printer has also been innovated, providing more installation methods and closer proximity to the product for better integration into the production line. Now, the distance between the nozzle and the package is reduced to 2 mm, the coding is clearer and the quality is better, thus reducing product waste and improving the printing effect. Ink accumulation sensors are now available, greatly reducing the main causes of unplanned printer downtime. The nozzles feature a unique sensor that allows the printer to detect ink build-up from the nozzles, alerting the user before a serious fault occurs. In addition, the built-in sensors continuously monitor the health of the printer to identify, diagnose and avoid potential problems in advance.

Keep up with packaging trends

Producers of meat and poultry products must keep up with the latest trends in packaging. One trend is to continue to increase the amount of flexible film used. Flexible packaging tends to be more durable than rigid packaging, and some types of flexible packaging can be vacuum sealed to extend shelf life. In addition, disposable packaging is easier to package with a flexible film that is suitable for both portable and small-sized packages that are more commonly used – whether for a single person or a small family.

For example, flexible packaging can be coded and labeled using a CIJ printer, but more often used is a thermal transfer printer (TTO), especially for applications requiring a large list of identification components and traceability information. Code application. They are suitable for high speed applications with significant uptime advantages. The split-free ribbon drive maintains consistent ribbon tension to eliminate ribbon breakage, and the simple ribbon cartridge design allows for quick ribbon change and minimize downtime.

The TTO coder comes standard with IP65 protection and is ideal for multi-line and thermoforming applications in flushing environments. It eliminates the need for a special protective casing and allows for quick and efficient flushing on the production line.

Achieving intelligent meat processing is the only way to maintain profitability. As automation advances, equipment manufacturers also need to provide more advanced and efficient capital equipment. By working with a professional supplier to ensure that the right configuration is chosen for a particular production line, manufacturers can start to reap the rewards from the day they are successfully installed, while ensuring high profit margins.