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Consisting of seven centers representing
core growth technologies, Ohio's Edison
Technology Centers are laying the
groundwork for the integration
of
industry and innovation.
Learn more
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 Sensing success in
food safety
One of the most active member partners of Ohio’s Center for Innovative Food Technology (CIFT) recently has been the Advanced Technology Group of Rockwell Automation Inc., based in Mayfield Heights. Rockwell Automation has collaborated with CIFT to address a variety of technical issues, including those related to food processing. The food processing industry is a vital part of the economy, and is being shaped by safety concerns, quality assurance, and new products and processing techniques.
Against this backdrop, CIFT and Rockwell Automation’s Advanced Technology Group decided to move beyond merely  reacting to ad hoc requests for new sensor technologies to proactively develop a map of all sensor needs for the food industry.
CIFT’s sensor assessment project is designed to make sensors an enabler for superior food processing performance. Rockwell Automation and CIFT enlisted the support of another CIFT partner, the Department of Food Science and Technology at Ohio State University, to collaborate in a study titled, “Food Industry Sensor Roadmap.”
 This Sensory Roadmap has also facilitated discussions between CIFT and another Edison Center, the Edison Materials Technology Center (EMTEC). The result was that many opportunities were identified to apply sensors in food service or food retail locations and to capture and relay data regarding potential food safety shortcomings. The sensors would monitor aspects such as maintenance of appropriate temperatures of products and ingredients, completeness of sanitation efforts, or exceeding shelf life to products. As a result of this research, breakthrough food safety standards are using innovative technologies pioneered right here in Ohio.
To continue Ohio’s reputation as the food technology leader, the “Roadmap” project makes perfect “sense.”
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