Food production lines to get smarter, safer with advanced technology

The interior of Daesang Life Science's manufacturing plant in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province Courtesy of Daesang Life Science

Gov't plans to expand implementation of smart HACCP

By Lee Hyo-jin

CHEONAN, South Chungcheong Province ― Like any other food or beverage product, the manufacturing process of My Meal, a protein drink produced by local wellness company Daesang Life Science, consists of a series of rigorous steps.

Raw ingredients are weighed, mixed and then filtered. After going through the process of homogenization and sterilization, the beverage is then poured into bottles. The bottles are carried down the conveyor belt to be scanned for defects. If no issues are detected, the products are packaged into boxes, ready to be distributed across the country.

Located in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, the manufacturing plant of Daesang Life Science produces 24,000 tons of nutrition supplement products and protein drinks per year.

During a media tour organized by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Wednesday, Park Yong-hwa, head of production management at the factory, showed reporters around the facility where almost all procedures were automated with only a couple of workers on site.

The interior of Daesang Life Science's manufacturing plant in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province Courtesy of Daesang Life Science

"From the initial stage and throughout the final steps, the whole process is operated by a computerized system. If something goes wrong or any sort of contamination is identified, the entire process shuts down automatically. And that's when direct human input becomes necessary," said Park.

A similar scene was witnessed at a CJ CheilJedang factory in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province. Since its establishment in 2018, the country's number one food producer has been manufacturing 900,000 packs of "Hetbahn" ready-to-eat rice kits per day.

At the so-called smart factory, rice was cleaned, cooked, steamed and packaged through an unmanned system. Several workers were standing beside conveyor belts to monitor the process or to check on defective products that were identified by a scanning machine.

While the production of food and beverage is a delicate process where raw materials need to be handled with great care to comply with strict hygiene standards, HACCP certification has greatly enhanced the country's food safety management capabilities over the last two decades.

HACCP, which stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, is a systematic and preventative system minimizing contamination risk throughout every stage of the food supply chain, including production, preparation, packaging and distribution.

Developed in the 1960s by NASA, the internationally-recognized food safety management system was adopted in Korea in 1995. Widely considered as an alternative to traditional government inspections, the HACCP certification is issued to facilities that meet certain standards.

Officials at CJ CheilJedang and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety speak with reporters during a media tour of the company's manufacturing plant in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, Wednesday. Courtesy of Ministry of Food and Drug Safety

As of 2021, nearly 90 percent of processed food items in the country were produced in HACCP-approved facilities, according to the food safety ministry.

However, in response to the fast-changing environment in the food and beverage industry, the ministry is now seeking to expand what is being called, Smart HACCP, a more advanced version of the certification system.

Smart HACCP is a system that enables companies to monitor the critical control points (CCP) on a real-time basis using Internet of Things (IoT) technology by digitizing handwritten records. If implemented, it will reduce the time needed to fix issues and enable the authorities to carry out predictive food safety policies using big data.

As of June, 123 manufacturing facilities, including those of CJ Cheiljedang, Dongwon F&B and Heunggook F&B, have attained the smart HACCP certification, according to the food safety ministry. Officials at Daesang Life Science said they are preparing to win the license in 2023.

Sell-by dates to be replaced with use-by dates next year

Members of consumer groups stage a protest performance during a press conference held in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, demanding the government replace sell-by dates on food products with use-by dates, June 16, 2021. Newsis

Another new measure the food ministry is currently working on is an overhaul of the 36-year-old date labeling system for food packages.

The ministry has recently announced that beginning Jan. 1, 2023, food companies should replace the current sell-by dates with use-by dates, as the latter would ensure a longer shelf time for products and lead to a reduction of food waste nationwide.

Sell-by dates means the period of time the products can be distributed and sold, while the use-by dates indicate the deadline for consumption. The latter is often longer than the former.

Although the expiration of sell-by dates does not necessarily mean that the product has gone off, many consumers in Korea tend to discard some food products, thinking that they are not edible. According to the Ministry of Environment, about 15,903 tons of food waste is thrown out daily.

Bottles and cartons of various drinks are labeled with sell-by dates at a convenience store in this combined photo taken in July 2021. Korea Times file

The ministry also noted that the new measure will allow Korea to stay up to date with the latest global trend, as most Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries employ the use-by date method, or best-before dates, instead of sell-by dates.

Food retailers agreed that the change will significantly reduce food waste. But expressed concerns about a lack of time to prepare for the change.

"Prior to the implementation of the new date system, we will have to conduct a lot of experiments to verify the safety and quality of our products in various temperature and storage conditions," Lee Ji-eun, a senior official at CJ Cheiljedang told reporters, explaining that the Jan. 1, 2023 deadline is too early for the company to fully comply with.

In response, Kwon Oh-sang, director of the food safety policy bureau, said, "Although the new measure will go into effect from next year, realistically speaking, there needs to be some more time for the policy to be fully established. We will find ways to support the companies by coming up with guidelines on use-by dates."