Internet of Things in food processing and its potential in Industry 4.0 era: A review

Abstract

BackgroundFood processing is a technique to convert agricultural produce into a consumable food product with enhanced shelf life. The advent of Industry 4.0 greatly facilitates the adoption of several digital approaches in the food processing industry. Food manufacturing and processing industries need to accelerate and shift towards using technology like the “Internet of Things” (IoT) to meet demand, produce extremely safe food and sustain the organization's goal. Scope and approachThis paper aims to pinpoint several aspects and potential areas of application of IoT in the food processing industry. This review acts as a technical manual for the food processing sector to enable the data stream of the IoT system. With these prospects, smart factories can be created by merging IoT and processing technology. Key findings and conclusionsIn the food processing industry, IoT has the potential to improve overall sustainability practices, reduce energy consumption, reduce manufacturing costs, enhance worker health and safety during food manufacturing, create eco-friendly products and improve working conditions. Meanwhile, a new era of food processing has ascended with the application of the Internet of Things (IoT) and converting the aging process into a smart process by better controlling, real-time data detection and optimization, as well as efficient production and monitoring.