5.1 FOOD PRODUCTION INDUSTRIAL VS ARTISANAL PRODUCTION The processing and manufacturing stage of the food supply chain includes all processes adopted to transform raw food materials into products suitable for consumption, cooking, or sale. With increasing awareness of the food impact on human health and the environment, consumers have started to be more attracted to artisanal products, which convey a more virtuous image of being less processed and more authentic than industrial products. ONLINE RESOURCES Dirty secrets Industrial production The adjective “industrial” is in fact opposed to “artisanal” and defines those products made through defined and standardised continuous processes. This allows the consumer to find the same organoleptic characteristics and constant quality over time. Industrial products are obtained through fully automated processing cycles, with perfectly calibrated recipes for weights, methods, and execution times. The ingredients of industrial food can be both fresh and preserved, and supplementary food additives must be declared on the label by law. Industrial food products are characterised by long and high hygiene standards . Once the safety and cleaning requirements have been guaranteed, the possibilities of contamination are reduced to a minimum since the food comes into contact with the outside only at the end of its production cycle, when it is already packaged. shelf life 1 MORE Food safety management procedures should be based on HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) principles. There are three main types of food safety hazards: microbiological, involving harmful bacteria; chemical, involving chemical contamination; and physical, involving objects getting into food. 1 What exactly is artisanal food? There is no one definition of artisanal food, but broadly speaking, it is essentially food produced locally in a traditional or non-industrialised, non-labour-intensive way, and using high-quality ingredients. However, the term has become a marketing that some companies or businesses use to make their products sound better than they are. Some also use the term to indicate one part of the process but not the entire process. Though some countries may classify artisanal products differently from one another, they usually meet at least one of the following criteria: buzzword they are produced in small batches; they are not standardised, but differ from each other; they are created from older traditional recipes without preservatives, colourants, sweeteners, or chemicals; they use local ingredients, typically grown in organic, environments; free-range they are made using carbon-neutral methods that support sustainable agriculture and encourage seasonal eating; they are made locally with easily traceable ingredients. 1 Moreover, some processing cycles are carried out strictly by hand, the ingredients used are almost always fresh, and the final products are usually “tastier” than industrial ones. DO Do you know what an ingredient traceability system is? 1