An overview of the IPA exhibition in Paris reveals a number of emerging trends within the food production sector, claims professor Gilles Trystram, director of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Industries Agricoles et Alimentaires (ENSIA).
Trystram says that the most significant advances are to be found in packaging equipment.
"The distinction between process operation and packaging operation sometimes becomes blurred, as the functions are incorporated in the same technology. Compactness, cleanability and assisted control are then generally improved."
One current trend appears to be the re-engineering of existing equipment, which testifies to the emergence of increasing expertise in design departments, according to Trystram.
"This also suggests that more flexible and more compact new technologies are incorporated in processes. One objective is to reduce the machines size and to incorporate, at least partially, end-of-process and packaging functions."
In the food processing industry, this has resulted in a few technologically interesting achievements. Some operations are now concentrated in a single machine, such as heat transfer, shearing and mixing.
This however remains occasional, and professor Trystram suggests that this does not form a trend in itself.
"For a great number of processes the aim is to keep a versatility and flexibility capability. This remains a strong trend, and it no doubt results in reduced innovation management and research."
Another trend introduced several years ago that is still strongly developing is mechanisation. Kinematics in particular - all that relates to solid product motions - remains a key path, according to the professor.
"A great number of these innovations are isolated, they are introduced in a single factory, or even on a line in a factory. Conversely, special machines which were a strong factor of specialisation in product manufacturing lines and of competitiveness between producers seem to be slightly on the decline."
As a result, manufacturers are increasingly designing machines with a fair degree of flexibility built in. But control of these machines, says Trystram, remains unsophisticated, with few elaborate incorporated sensors.
Automation and food process control remain promising approaches. However, only a relatively small number of new sensors have been developed and have reached the industrial stage.
"On the other hand, old technologies have been modernised, and automation-related advances are largely unseen, because they arrive with the equipment in the factories and are not clearly visible as advances."
There is still a great number of process control software covering a wide scope from traceability to quality management. The latter functions are no doubt the most developed at the moment, says Trystram.
Robotics is also relatively stable. "The food industries remain a sector where robotics is more designed to assist man than really replace him," said Trystram.
"In conclusion, technology developments are characterised by a re-engineering of existing equipment, with the key objective of equipment size reduction and the partial incorporation of end-of-process and packaging functions."
IPA runs from the 22 to the 26 November 2004 in Paris, France.