Remanufacturing food - does anyone use this phrase?
Hello,
A year ago I found the word 'remanufacturing' in regulatory/guidance documents and started using it to describe a facility's activities. This facility is taking big blocks of cheese and cutting them down into smaller ones for retail.
But now I can't find any documentation using the word remanufacturing in this context, and I am questioning my usage.
Does anyone use this word? Anyone seen it in regulatory/guidance documents?
Thanks for the help.
Hi jdlack,
It is not a phrase I have encountered frequently in the food industry, if used it has been to describe a process of product development.
Remanufacturing is "the rebuilding of a product to specifications of the original manufactured product using a combination of reused, repaired and new parts".[1] It requires the repair or replacement of worn out or obsolete components and modules. Parts subject to degradation affecting the performance or the expected life of the whole are replaced. Remanufacturing is a form of a product recovery process that differs from other recovery processes in its completeness: a remanufactured machine should match the same customer expectation as new machines.
In the food industry rework, reprocess are more common terms.
The situation you describe I would say is further processing. Cutting and packing of large cheese blocks for retail is very common and I’ve never heard it referred to as remanufacturing.
Kind regards,
Tony
agree with Tony
The process your doing is further processing (but i would hesitate to call it even that as your not processing, your portioning)
Remanufacturing is rework and /or reprocessing
where
Rework is a straightforward step like opening packaging because the wrong product went into it and you simply are repackaging
reprocessing would be something like, cooking to kill step again or the addition of more/different ingredients to create a different finished good
what is/was the worst that your company put back in the re-work batches.
I have worked with a company that allows re work for dropped meat, by using it into highly processed food,
so, rinse/ wash with sanitizing agent, (one that is safe for consumption), then mixed into a huge batch of other re-work meats, that is clean, then finaly cooking process
This is a great question. It highlights that this facility does not perform 'rework' remotely similar to your old company.
This facility simply cuts down 40lb blocks of cheese into smaller sizes and vacuum seals them in plastic.
I have since transitioned to using the phrase 'cut and pack' as suggested above by Tony-C.
Similar to the realm of science and scientific jargon, it almost always depends on your location and the unique set of personnel you work alongside. As far as industry terms... I agree with Tony, seems reprocessed is a better adjective regardless... more descript. "Remanufactured" almost makes me thing of pharmaceuticals.