By Eamonn Ryan
In the final installment of their Apple podcast cross-functional discussion, Alyse Thompson-Richards of Food Engineering joined Bob Garrison of Prepared Foods and Kelley Rodriguez of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods to explore one of 2025’s most consequential shifts: the acceleration of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) across food manufacturing.
For South Africa’s cold chain sector, the acceleration of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) in food manufacturing is more than a global talking point – it is a strategic imperative.
South Africa operates within a uniquely complex environment: long transport distances between production regions and urban markets, port congestion challenges, energy supply instability and increasing regulatory scrutiny around food safety and traceability. At the same time, demand for refrigerated and frozen products continues to grow, driven by urbanisation, modern retail expansion and rising consumer expectations for quality and convenience.
While labour shortages have challenged processors for years, the conversation has evolved. Automation is no longer just a cost-saving tool – it is becoming essential to food safety, throughput and long-term operational resilience.
Labour gaps persist
Despite a steady wave of plant openings and expansions, manufacturers continue to struggle filling production roles. Food processing environments can be physically demanding – from high-heat cook rooms to sub-zero freezer facilities – and competition for skilled workers remains intense.
Thompson-Richards noted that even facilities bringing hundreds of new jobs into a region report difficulty maintaining full staffing levels. The result is a dual strategy: reduce reliance on manual labor where possible while elevating remaining roles to higher-skill, higher-wage technical positions.
Automation moves upstream
Historically, automation investments in food plants concentrated on end-of-line packaging and palletising. In 2025, Rodriguez observed that automation is steadily moving earlier in the process.
In refrigerated and frozen facilities, robotics and automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) are increasingly common in cold storage environments. Removing workers from extreme cold improves both safety and retention, while automated systems improve inventory accuracy and throughput.
Processors are also automating ingredient handling, portioning and quality inspection steps. However, as Garrison emphasised, not every product lends itself easily to full automation. Foods made from variable raw materials – such as fresh produce or chocolate – often require human judgment and experience.
“There’s still an art to food manufacturing. Even the most advanced facilities rely on veteran operators who understand subtle process nuances,” the panel noted.
AI expands its footprint
Beyond robotics, artificial intelligence is gaining traction in both operations and product development.
In manufacturing environments, AI-driven systems are being deployed for predictive maintenance, analysing equipment data to anticipate failures before they occur. Vision systems enhanced by machine learning improve quality inspection, detecting defects with greater speed and consistency than manual checks.
On the formulation side, AI tools assist R&D teams in modeling ingredient substitutions, optimising nutrient profiles and accelerating product development timelines. As health trends drive rapid reformulation cycles, speed to market becomes a competitive advantage.
The integration of AI does not eliminate human expertise, but it augments decision-making with data-driven insights.
Food safety and throughput
Automation’s value proposition increasingly centres on food safety and consistency. Reduced human contact in sensitive processing zones can lower contamination risk. Automated systems also deliver more repeatable outcomes – critical as regulatory scrutiny and traceability expectations increase.
In cold chain environments, automated monitoring systems provide real-time temperature tracking and documentation, supporting compliance while reducing manual recordkeeping burdens.
Throughput gains are another key driver. As SKU counts expand and product life cycles shorten, facilities must handle more changeovers and smaller production runs without sacrificing efficiency. Flexible automation platforms are becoming essential to managing that complexity.
Preparing for 2026
The panel agreed that automation and AI adoption will continue accelerating into 2026. However, technology alone is not a silver bullet. Successful implementation requires workforce training, cybersecurity safeguards and thoughtful capital planning.
Manufacturers must balance investment in advanced systems with the realities of variable raw materials, evolving formulations and consumer expectations.
What distinguishes this moment is not simply the presence of new tools, but the urgency behind them. Labour pressures, food safety demands and speed-to-market expectations are converging.
For food manufacturers, automation and artificial intelligence are no longer experimental upgrades. They are becoming foundational infrastructure for the next generation of plant operations.