FOOD WASTAGE AND
POWER QUALITY
Food is delicate.
Therefore, even slight
power disruptions,
from the grid, that
interrupt production
processes can lead to a lot of
food wastage. Disruption of
machines in food production
and refrigeration can mean large
quantities of food being burnt,
spoiled or contaminated, meaning
that, due to stringent health and
safety regulations, must then
be discarded. This can escalate
fast in a continuous production
system because if even one piece
of equipment goes out of sync,
and is not caught quickly, large
quantity of products will go to
waste.
Disruptions from low power
quality can cause machinery to
shut down in an unsafe manner.
Low power quality is when power
supplies are disrupted and no
longer power machinery properly,
such as voltage drops. These are
sudden increases in current that
cause voltage to drop over the
impedance of a supply network,
causing the voltage to vary. These
voltage drops result in damage to
machinery that may require parts
to be replaced or can lead to
severe health and safety issues.
For example, if a conveyor was to
break down while feeding bread
through an oven, it could lead to
the loaves igniting, which would
not only cause severe damage to
the conveyor belt and oven, but
the fire could then spread putting
the whole plant at risk. Improper
shutdowns for smart-machines
can also damage internal
systems, scrambling the data
and leading to faults and loss of
precision.
The effects of power disruptions
are also financial. The Pan-
European Power Quality Survey
reports that annual losses
from power quality issues may
amount to 4 per cent of business
Food and beverage
manufacturing is becoming
a 24-hour production
cycle. Because of this,
production lines are
now heavily automated;
however, this increased
reliance on sophisticated
automation is making
power quality issues more
impactful, especially when
it comes to food waste.
Fixing power quality can
reduce food waste in an
increasingly continuous
production cycle.
FOOD WASTAGE
CAUSED BY POWER
FAILURE RESULTS IN
PROFIT LOSS