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Artificial intelligence is getting a lot of attention these days, and many are wondering how it can be harnessed to help today’s bakers. While it’s too soon to understand the full extent of AI’s capabilities, this technology is already being used to reduce product loss, boost quality assurance, and much more in bakery plants.

In this episode of BAKED in Science, host Mark Floerke is joined by five bakery experts to discuss the future of artificial intelligence in the baking industry and how it can be used to improve yield and productivity, as well as minimize waste in bakery plants. 

As a Certified Executive Coach with over 20 years in the bakery manufacturing industry, Dr. Lin Carson has pioneered the way for knowledge sharing through BAKERpedia. Starting with a BSc degree in Food Science & Technology from The Ohio State University, and a MSc and PhD from the Department of Grain Science at Kansas State University. She has led teams for bakery manufacturing companies like Wendy’s International and Dave’s Killer Bread. 

A career baker, Jim Little has more than 30 years of experience in a wide variety of products and production methods within the baking industry. Currently, he is the Senior Vice President of R&D and CI at CraftMark Bakery in Indianapolis, he has been challenged to develop an even deeper knowledge of formulation and production across frozen bread dough, cookies, muffins and flatbread.

Yuegang Zhao is the Chief Commercial Officer for KPM Analytics, a global quality assurance and food safety solutions provider serving food, agriculture, and environmental industries. Yuegang has over 20 years of extensive global experience creating, developing, and growing enterprise value in various industries ranging from aerospace to fluid analysis.

Phillip Stringer is the founder of Comprehensive Process Solutions, LLC, and an accomplished Engineering and R&D professional with 14 years of experience in the Food, Agriculture, and Pharmaceutical industries. His global expertise, gained from working in over 30 countries across six continents, equips him with a deep understanding of diverse client needs.

Tremaine Hartranft, Vice President of Technical Growth and Strategy, is responsible for supporting the development of the vision, value and organizational structure at Reading Bakery Systems. Prior to joining Reading Bakery Systems, Tremaine worked at Brentwood Industries as a Research & Development Engineer, and at Lucent Technologies as a Process Analyst.

How AI Can Help the Baking Industry

Some topics covered include:

• Utilizing artificial intelligence to automate standard operating procedures
• Leveraging AI during the formulation process
• Vision inspection systems for improving quality 
• The opportunity to use data for predictive maintenance
• Training AI to keep production standards up while experts are away
• The challenges of confidentiality around data sharing
• Developing an AI strategy for your bakery