Read how LIMS can aid Production Effectiveness

An article By Roy Green, Harford Control Ltd. March 2024

It’s frustrating to witness the frequent recalls of products in recent years, causing significant wastage, all testimony to the need for paramount control of food safety and quality. One example was the recall of four cheese products due to potential contamination with E. Coli bacteria. Tragically, one person in Scotland died from the infection, whilst 11 others were hospitalised.

Ensuring food safety and quality is crucial in the food and drink manufacturing industry. Most factories already carry out laboratory testing to assess the quality of materials, checking for compliance with specified tolerances and ensuring they are free from contamination.

Despite these precautions, a significant challenge can arise in bridging the gap between laboratory tests and the busy factory floor. This gap manifests in issues such as isolation, rejects, rework and costly product recalls, the inability to track raw materials, human errors, lost documentation, delayed data and downtime. The breakdown in communication poses a considerable risk to both the efficiency of the manufacturing process and, more critically, to consumer safety.

A Brewery’s Struggle

We visited a brewery and observed that they were encountering significant wastage and product recalls. The factory would extract multiple samples from various vessels and stages such as malting, mashing, boiling, fermenting and filtering. These samples were then taken to the laboratory for tests on factors including alcohol percentage, pH, colour analysis and clarity to ensure material quality and safety.

Everything seemed well-controlled until the gap between the laboratory and the factory floor became apparent. When the sample results were released from the laboratory, it was discovered that the sugar concentrations in the wort was too high, resulting in an alcohol percentage exceeding the tolerance limit. Unfortunately, the laboratory department couldn’t promptly communicate the failed samples to the production line, preventing operators from halting the materials in time.

As a result, the materials had already been transformed into finished products, leading to the disposal of multiple pallets of beer. At 800 cans per minute produced, it doesn’t take long to produce an impressive pile of scrap.

The occurrence of product recalls and wastages can often be avoided with the implementation of a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), capable of capturing data at all stages, encompassing laboratory testing across the entire production process. This way, both the laboratory department and the factory floor could track and trace raw materials, accessing laboratory test results in real-time. Early warnings could prompt necessary actions, preventing potentially large losses.

Whilst laboratory testing serves as a proactive measure to ensure food safety and quality, its full potential couldn’t be realised without the full traceability of materials.

The Crucial Role of LIMS

Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) play a crucial role in optimising processes, whilst ensuring quality and compliance. Here are some key benefits of implementing LIMS:

Ensure Quality Control

LIMS facilitates real-time monitoring and control of various parameters and tolerances such as temperature, taste, colour, pH and contamination throughout the production process, ensuring product safety and quality consistency. Automated data collection and analysis help identify deviations from quality standards, enabling timely corrective actions to maintain highquality standards.

Track and Trace

Whether it’s raw materials (e.g. fish) or a group of materials that have already been transformed (e.g. fish pie), the laboratory team can track and trace materials from start to finish.

Ensuring food safety and quality is crucial in the food and drink manufacturing industry. The foundation of these finished products lies in the raw materials used in the production process. Most factories already carry out laboratory testing to assess the quality of materials, checking for compliance with specified tolerances and ensuring that they are contamination free.