The challenges of manufacturing bakery products
Bakery is a crucial food processing sector, accounting for many products found on supermarket shelves or in the hospitality industry. It is also a sector in demand, with a reported worth of £8.7 billion in the UK.
However, baked goods, such as bread, cakes and pastries, pose challenges to manufacturers. Specific criteria need to be met to align with customer expectations and deliver quality.
In most cases, meeting the requirements of bakery products means investing in suitable equipment and processes while understanding the barriers you need to overcome.
This guide explores the challenges of the bakery sector and what plants must do to process them for optimised results.
- The requirements of the bakery sector
- Challenges when processing bakery products
- How to effectively process baked goods in your production line
The requirements of the bakery sector
You need to fulfil specific requirements when working with baked products.
The first of these is presentation. Bakery products need to look appetising to sell, so most customers (especially supermarkets and similar retailers) will expect items that look good.
When working with multipacks, this includes ensuring size and presentation uniformity across the batch. You must be able to process in a way that minimises damage and creates appealing output.
Next, you need to meet the pre-agreed specifications of the product, which may vary between projects. If you are working with output that mixes ingredients (for example, baked products with icing or other additions), you will need to ensure each component meets the correct parameters.
You will also need excellent portion control across packs, creating uniformity and managing cost per product. This will also support accurate labelling for every item.
Finally, and perhaps most crucially, you need to deliver quality across your bakery projects. Alongside the outstanding presentation of every product, you need to prevent anything that could compromise taste, integrity or safety. Doing this will meet customer expectations every time while complying with industry standards and protecting the public.
Challenges when processing bakery products
To meet the requirements outlined above, you need to understand the barriers that stop you from achieving them. Bakery goods come with unique characteristics that, if mishandled, will disrupt your production line and compromise results. We’ve listed the most significant challenges below.
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Delicate handling
Some bakery products, such as pastries, are prone to damage and breakage. During the production process, manual handling and equipment can compromise the integrity of such products and harm presentation.
To maintain product quality, you must find ways to incorporate delicate handling into your production lines.
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Sticky materials
Bakery goods are often dense or feature ingredients that leave a residue, such as fillings, fruit or icing. This residue can lead to stickiness that sees materials get trapped in the production line, slowing down the process and preventing tasks from being completed.
A stuck product takes time to remove and usually results in damage. It may also increase waste if the materials can’t be salvaged.
It also slows down turnaround times as extensive equipment cleaning will be required to prepare for the next batch.
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Contamination
Contamination may be a risk depending on your production processes and where your materials stem from. Common examples of contamination include metal from broken machinery, plastics or glass from transportation and packaging and cross-contamination from other materials processed in the same plant.
If left unaddressed, contamination threatens customer satisfaction and safety. It could lead to complaints or, in extreme cases, legal action and expensive product recalls.
Every plant needs to do its utmost to eliminate product contaminants – including those in the bakery sector.
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Quality and portion control
An integral part of processing bakery products is consistent quality. With products commonly sold in packs, you need to make sure every item looks and tastes the same. If not, you risk customers feeling cheated or dissatisfied.
The issue links to portion control. Many bakery products are made up of different components, such as icing, fillings, toppings and other additives. The amount of each element needs to be consistent across batches to ensure uniformity, cost management and adherence to agreed limits (thereby making labelling easier).
This requires accuracy across the production line to prevent deviation from the set specifications.
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Speed of production
Most manufacturers in the bakery sector will need to process large volumes of products at a time for maximum productivity. Doing so can lower costs and enable you to meet deadlines.
However, it’s important to balance speed with quality, especially given the delicate nature of some bakery products. This means finding equipment compatible with your raw materials while still enabling optimal speed.
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Packaging
Most baked goods, especially those found in supermarkets, require packaging. Packaging will occur at the end of the line, but you will need to include a final inspection to ensure they are no issues that have been missed.
This also affects presentation, ensuring only the right amount of product has been included in the packet and that they are positioned correctly.
You need to find solutions that enable you to inspect goods within the packaging to ensure ultimate quality.
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Waste
The increased risk of damage associated with bakery products often means higher levels of waste. Products that do not meet the spec will often be unsuitable for selling.
However, reducing waste matters in the age of environmental pressures and careful cost management. Finding ways to tackle waste enables you to better control costs and get more out of your supplies, marking more efficient operations and improved value.
How to effectively process baked goods in your production line
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Use anti-static surfaces
One way to reduce product stickiness is using machinery and conveyor systems with anti-static surfaces. Such surfaces reduce the risk of products getting stuck or scuffed during production.
With the reduced risk, you enjoy faster production times through better product flow and remove the need for manual intervention. It will also improve quality levels.
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Find tailored solutions
Even under the bakery umbrella, different products will have varying traits you need to account for. Your machinery must be tailored to their requirements to reduce damage and waste.
An example is finding equipment that protects your materials whilst maintaining productivity if working with delicate goods. Features to look out for include machines with minimal drops or those that are only semi-automated to enable manual handling.
Whatever your needs are, finding suitable solutions will enable you to create efficient processes that enhance output quality and create optimised production conditions.
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Weigh accurately
As already mentioned, portion control is crucial in bakery processing. You will need to adhere to the weights and ingredients listed on labelling while guaranteeing uniformity across batches. This is particularly crucial if you are manufacturing doughs or similar products in which the portions will affect the outcome.
In order to meet portion parameters, you need accurate weighing. Seek to find a reliable multihead weigher that enables you to weigh precisely the amount of materials required per batch and distribute them evenly.
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A checkweigher also reviews weights for maximum accuracy across output.
With careful weighing processes, you will ensure every product meets pre-agreed limits.
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Incorporate product inspection
Product inspection is a crucial part of any production line, allowing you to identify and eliminate flaws. It’s especially vital if metal or other contaminants threaten your output. Having an adequate product inspection system is critical.
The highest standard in the industry is x-ray, which safeguards against a wide range of hazards. X-ray works with even dense products, such as those in the bakery sector. Using it protects your products whilst adhering to compliance standards and benefitting customers.
It also uncovers other issues, including unequal distribution of toppings or ingredients, to deliver high-level quality control across your output.
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Balance speed and efficiency
If you are handling a large volume of produce, you want to maximise speed across your plant. However, speed should never come at the cost of efficiency. You need to find high-speed solutions that still facilitate the delicate handling of bakery products and meet your requirements.
Ensure that any machinery you buy is compatible with your products rather than just focusing on the speed. Some machinery suppliers may even be able to conduct tests to ensure this is the case.
By balancing speed and efficiency, you will empower productivity and faster turnaround times while maintaining the integrity of your products and minimising damage.
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Have a final point of quality control
In order to guarantee quality before sending products out to your customer, you need a final point of quality control. Typically, this means having an end-of-line inspection system.
By inspecting at this point, you will capture any unaddressed issues. It will also enable you to uncover any packaging issues, such as broken seals or items not appropriately positioned in the packet.
X-ray is an ideal choice at this stage as it works even with packaged products. It examines through glass, plastic or rigid containers, allowing you to effectively review your products and ensure they are suitable for your customers.
Conclusion
Regardless of the sector, you want to get the best possible results from your output. This means creating presentable, high-quality products that meet customer expectations every time in bakery projects.
To meet these goals, you need high performing machinery to handle even the most delicate products. You also need rigorous product inspection that eliminates issues that could compromise quality.
By ensuring that you use equipment that overcomes the challenges associated with the bakery, you will create efficient processes that bring the results you want.
Yamato work with you to deliver your bakery production project. We’ve worked with countless manufacturers in the industry to optimise their plants and improve output.
Examples of high performance machinery we offer include accurate weighers, innovative inspection systems (including x-ray) and tailored line solutions that meet your product requirements.
Get in touch to discuss how we may help you.