Digitalisation in Food & Beverage: Enhancing Safety, Traceability, and Efficiency

Wikipedia now hosts more than 41 million articles across 294 languages. If the English entries were printed, they would span an estimated 2,512 volumes—an impossible task without digital technology. In this context, Robert Glass, global food and beverage communications manager at ABB, outlines how digitalisation is reshaping the industry.

Digital transformation changes every facet of industrial operations. For food and beverage companies, it means stronger compliance with evolving regulations through connected systems, smart sensors, comprehensive traceability, cloud‑based analytics, and continuous monitoring.

According to Pamela Baily, president of the Grocery Manufacturers Association in the U.S., “food, beverage, and consumer‑product manufacturers are harnessing innovation to better serve customers and partners.”

Legislation

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that one in six Americans contracts a food‑borne illness each year, resulting in 3,000 deaths. In such a high‑stakes environment, precision in traceability is non‑negotiable.

Both the U.S. and EU have strict record‑keeping mandates. The EU’s General Food Law Regulation (EC) 2002 obliges operators to maintain detailed logs of supplied and received food. Digital tools automate the capture of critical data—such as temperature throughout production—ensuring compliance and rapid recall when needed.

Smart Sensors

Accurate traceability records paired with real‑time sensor data enhance transparency for manufacturers, distributors, and consumers alike. This visibility allows plant managers to respond swiftly to emergencies and rebuild trust after recalls.

Cloud storage makes it straightforward to archive and retrieve raw and processed data, eliminating human error and triggering instant alerts when anomalies arise.

Smart sensors serve two core functions: they boost automation accuracy and capture essential manufacturing metrics—time‑temperature history, physical shocks, and more—synchronised across the plant via IIoT.

During production and distribution, sensors embedded in smart containers or deployed standalone monitor products continuously. Future containers may self‑diagnose and self‑regulate temperature, staying above safety thresholds such as those set by Regulation (EC) 852/2004. Crown Cork & Seal’s collaboration with Tempra Technologies on self‑chilling beverage cans exemplifies this trend.

As connectivity costs fall, integrated solutions like these will become standard across many sectors.

Connectivity

By 2016, internet access reached more than half of the world’s developing population. The continued expansion of connectivity and the decreasing price of networked devices—particularly Wi‑Fi‑enabled temperature sensors—will amplify data volumes in industrial settings.

To manage this influx, Wi‑Fi‑connected motion and temperature sensors combined with cloud storage enable instantaneous data transfer, archival, and real‑time analytics, providing actionable insights into traceability, cost, and predictive maintenance.

Cloud

Nearly 60% of U.S. food and beverage manufacturers use IoT to track ingredients, yet less than half exploit advanced analytics. Cloud‑based solutions—real‑time monitoring, virtual commissioning, digital twins—enable plant managers to cut unplanned downtime, enhance safety, and mitigate food emergencies.

Cloud platforms also support adaptive production strategies, allowing quick reconfiguration of setups, layouts, and staffing in response to seasonal demand shifts without disrupting operations.

Monitoring

The data flood from a connected factory unlocks numerous applications. For instance, analysing why one machine runs hotter than another or why a picker is less efficient can reveal maintenance needs and drive process improvements.

Some facilities are deploying private mobile networks to elevate monitoring. On farms, soil‑condition sensors predict animal estrus cycles and alert farmers via text. PwC foresees that agricultural machinery will evolve into rolling data centers, providing real‑time insights—yet the key challenge remains the intelligent integration and data management.

Food retailers like Ocado have built high‑speed 4G networks to coordinate thousands of robots, illustrating how bespoke connectivity can streamline operations.

Raw technical data gains real value when combined with maintenance logs or financial metrics, enabling robust predictive models and optimisation strategies.

While digital transformation may appear daunting, it delivers a tangible competitive edge. Plant leaders must not only recognize the shift toward digitalisation but also seize its opportunities—just as the 70,000+ active contributors to Wikipedia embrace the benefits of collective digital collaboration.

Author: Robert Glass, global food and beverage communications manager at ABB