Statistical Process Control (SPC) in the food industry - A systematic review and future research agenda

This paper presents a systematic review on the reported implementation of Statistical Process Control (SPC) in the food industry. The final selection comprehends 41 articles selected and comprehensively analysed to assess SPC development in the food industry through its motivations, benefits, challenges and limitations. Key outputs indicated from the review include: reduced process variability and conformance to the food regulations are the biggest motivations; resistance to accept SPC is the most cited challenge; lack of statistical knowledge is the most common limitation and the biggest benefits for implementing SPC in the food industry are improved food safety and reduced process variation.