< Previous20 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netFROZEN AND CHILLED FOODSThe rise of frozen and chilled foodshas remained constant in recent years,with steady growth within the UK andEU, and rising growth in Asia and furtherabroad. In fact the cold chain accountsfor roughly 9% of the £187 billion of salesin the food and drink industry. At theend of last year figures showed thatapproximately 41p of every £1 spent inthe retail industry was in food stores,with a large share of the goods movingthrough the cold chain. As a consequence of changes in theglobal economy, the public are spendingless on perishable foodstuffs. This haspresented opportunities tomanufacturers of cheap frozen foodsand ready meals, but there arechallenges, too. Market analysis suggeststhat today’s consumers, particularlyyoung people, are demandingexperimental frozen foods that gobeyond the bog-standard pies, chips andpeas orthodoxy of yesteryear. As peopletravel more they are being exposed tonew flavours, and this is one factor thatis driving product diversification withinthe industry. Another is healthy living. The key questions for manufacturers,then, are how to make production moreefficient, and how to introduce newproduct lines without increasing costs?The answer lies with innovativerefrigeration technologies. Manufacturersare using Individual Quick Frozentechnology (IQF) to ensure the freshnessand taste of their products. Eachcomponent of a ready meal is sprayedwith a stabilising agent (usually acombination of Guar gum and Xanthangum) prior to freezing. Liquid nitrogen,which is far more powerful thanconventional refrigerants, is then usedto freeze the product. IQF can be usedto safeguard the freshness of anyproduct line, but it is especially useful incases where exotic components thathave already travelled a long distanceform part of a ready meal. One of the most unusual newapproaches to freezing food, known asAcoustic (or “Stirling”) refrigeration,involves the use of sound waves tomodify the pressure in refrigerant gases– fluctuations which in turn causechanges in temperature. Although it isstill in development, this technology islikely to become popular in the future ascompanies look for more flexible waysto freeze their products; flexibilityduring the preparation stage being thekey to a diversified product line. For companies dealing in frozen fruitand vegetables, dehydro-freezing is agreat option: large quantities of waterare removed from a product before it isfrozen, which helps to concentrate itsflavour and speeds up the freezingprocess.There is a wealth of developmentwithin the frozen and chilled foodssector, particularly with the recentupturn in refrigerated ready-meal sales.As such, new technologicaladvancements in temperature controlare being focused on by many, withdevelopers looking at new ways ofachieving old tasks. The Cold ChainWith the demand for food and drinkin the UK rising by 3% year on year,according to the ONS, many foodretailers and supermarkets are facingdifficult questions on whether theyshould increase the size of theirtemperature-controlled transport fleet,or whether they should look to invest inmore temperature-controlled storagefacilities closer to home. For many in the industry the choice isnot a simple one. While investing in alarger transport fleet at first might seemthe cheaper choice, it does carry thebigger environmental impact and ofcourse has costs dependent upon theprice of oil. On the other hand, storagefacilities require a larger amount ofinitial capital investment, and would alsorequire more staff to man and maintain. In addition energy consumptionremains a key concern for many in theindustry, not only due to the increasedtravel lengths associated with the foodand drink industry – but also increasingcosts in the case of keeping a storageA coolchallengeThe frozen and chilled foods market has boomed inrecent years, and looks set to continue doing so. Butwhat challenges face manufacturers within theindustry – and how are they navigating these? 20-22_Layout 1 01/02/2018 10:39 Page 1Food & Drink International 21www.fdiforum.netFROZEN AND CHILLED FOODSfacility at a certain temperature. It’s easyfor the costs of temperature controlsystems to quickly scale out of control.Therefore it’s important at all times tofocus on methods of efficientlymaintaining temperature levels, with aslittle ambient loss of temperature aspossible. At the end of the day, it’s farmore expensive to keep air cool, then itis to warm it up.Ultimately however, it becomes adifficult balance between energysavings, and throughput. Wherein thefinal focus must always be on theefficiency of a distribution centre at itscentral goal – the storage anddistribution of goods. Energy savingsmust come second to this, thoughshould still be pursued at everyopportunity. It’s more than just energyconsumption that is putting pressure onthe supply chain however, hygienecontinues to play a key role, particularlywith many accidents taking place instorage and distribution centres. With the costs of warehouse spaceexpected to increase, and availablespace decreasing, it is perhaps morelikely then, that manufacturers will beforced to turn to investing in largerfleets of refrigerated transport. Eithertheir own fleets, or investing in logisticsspecialists to provide more of their own.For these companies, the falling price ofoil should be a fortunate boon, allowinglogistics companies some good newsafter the repetitive fuel rates rises theyhave been experiencing for the lastdecade. Soon they might even be ableto offer some kind of cuts or benefits totheir own customers as well, either inlower costs or higher quality service.Temperature ControlWith specific temperaturerequirements for individual productsand food types, it is more importantthan ever that strict temperature controlbe observed at any stage of theprocess. Traditionally this is easiest toachieve within a manufacturing linewhich might see a product kept on asingle automated line. However, thewarehouses and distribution centres areregularly areas where this is breached,causing product loss and deterioration. Doors and loading bays create animmediate but necessary breach in awarehouse’s defences, allowing thecooler air inside to escape viaconvection currents. What’s more, this isan inescapable consequence, as theultimate goal of these facilities is tostore and ship out goods as quickly aspossible to their final destination. Assuch while it might be result in energysavings to install a number of doorsbetween the cold storage facility, andthe loading bays. This only slows downthe productivity of the workers within,and how soon they can have the stockshipped out. The battle for efficient temperaturecontrol quickly becomes a difficultbalance between energy savings, andthroughput. The final focus must alwaysbe on the efficiency of a distributioncentre at its central goal – the storage22 Á© Shutterstock/Niloo20-22_Layout 1 01/02/2018 10:40 Page 222 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netFROZEN AND CHILLED FOODSIce, frost and fog in cold stores can create slippery, dangerous conditions for staff. While many accept that ice is simply part of the cold store, it doesn’t need to be so. Munters IceDry® is a specially designed dehumidifier that targets moisture in manufacturing facilities, cold rooms, cold stores and process freezers to:• Reduce & prevent ice, frost and fog build up on floors, walls and ceilings• Reduce defrosts by up to ⅓ - case studies available • Lower maintenance costs • Improve safety for staff & forklifts• Increase productivity• Improve evaporator efficiency01480 432243 dryair@munters.co.uk munters.com/icedryseries Improve Safety in Cold StoresFree CPD SeminarsProven global installations“The cold store is the best it’s ever been for excessive ice & snow” - Kitchen Range Foods FREE site surveys and distribution of goods. Energysavings must come second to this,though should still be pursued at everyopportunity. But it is all too easy tofocus on one to the detriment of theother. Perhaps a company is able toensure their temperature control, but ata heightened cost to themselves due topoor energy efficiency and the need forhigher gas usage. Of course there is more to efficientlyrunning a temperature controlledstorage facility than plugging up theentrances. Managing stock within thedistribution centre can becomeincreasingly more complex, as thetemperatures are kept lower. Forinstance, machinery and systems thatrely on battery power can come underrisk, as continued exposure to the coldhas a negative impact on batteries –typically resulting in 50% degradation tobattery life. This can become a largerconcern with the recent move towardselectric lift trucks and fork-lifts, whichcan see vehicles running out of juice atinopportune moments. When it comesto workers within these facilities as well,there are a host of new concerns andproblems to be aware of, many of whichwill require some remedial training forcompanies moving employees to coldstore facilities. In the above example ofelectric vehicles staff need to be madeaware that a vehicle which is markeddown as having an eight hour batterylife, might struggle to manage morethan four or five. Changing the labellingon these vehicles can go a long way topreventing problems, alternativelyinvesting in batteries with largervoltages can help minimise theproblems.© Shutterstock/Vladimir Nenezic20-22_Layout 1 01/02/2018 10:40 Page 3Food & Drink International 23www.fdiforum.netSOFTWAREThe increasing diversity of productsand product packaging has made a bigimpact on the technology used in foodproduction in recent years. Companiescannot now function correctly withoutsoftware packages being used at allstages of the production anddistribution process – but the challengeis to work out what systems are themost suitable for any given company.It’s now easier than ever forcompanies to make use of bespokesoftware that can be fully integratedinto the production process, rather thanhave to change your ways of workingto incorporate an off-the-shelf option.The added advantage is the exceptionaltraceability, which is of particularimportance as the supply chain isextended.ERP solutions are now commonplacethroughout the industry – and that’s notsurprising given how effectively theyhave changed the way in whichcompanies can work. The presence ofreal time information means downtimeis drastically reduced, with a perpetualinventory – which is accurate –replacing the requirement for regularstock takes. The solutions ensureconfidence in the accuracy of theinformation the companies provide toall parts of their supply chain, and allparts of the company. As always the focus is on efficiency,with a view to reducing costs throughminimising on mistakes a moretraditional system might make.Removing the human element wherepossible can help to not only ensurethat all data is correct and accurate, butthat there are no unnecessary papertrails to try and work through.ComputingqualitySoftware systems are in use all across the food and drinkindustry and yet there are some areas where many foodmanufacturers fall behind our international rivals 24 Á© Shutterstock/vectorfusionart23-25_Layout 1 01/02/2018 10:41 Page 124 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netSOFTWAREAutomation is king, both on theproduction line – and when it comes tosoftware packages.One area where this is of particularvalue is in the supply chain, specificallyin distribution centres – which mightsee products coming in from multiplemanufacturing sites across the country,before being sent out to variouswholesale or retail outlets from that onewarehouse. Any delays at this crucialpart of the process can be catastrophic,as it is distribution centres whichcommonly deal with directly with thefinal client – introducing that age-oldrisk of failing to satisfy and thus losinga key contract. With the food and drink retail marketdominated by a few very powerfulretailers, manufacturers can ill-afford tosuffer any lost confidence with thesemajor clients. Because the warehouse is the finalport of call from the manufacturer tothe customer, systems which monitorand handle traceability are of keyimportance. Should something gowrong and require a recall – as recenthigh-profile cases have seen happen –then the retailer will need to assuagethe doubts of their own customers. Todo this, they will always come back tothe manufacturer, asking them toisolate and identify where the batchwas contaminated and how – usuallywithin a period of no more than 72hours. Some larger retailers such assupermarkets may provide even lesstime, of which the failure of meet thetarget might result in a lost contract.And it is this traceability thatcontinues to place pressure on manywithin the supply chain today. In fact arecent survey of 250 companies in theUK food and drink industry suggestedthat 26% of those surveyed wouldn’t beable to identify product recall itemswithin that timescale, while 11% wouldneed at least a day and 10% wouldn’tbe able to carry out those requirementsat all. That would inevitably mean thatthey would have little chance ofwinning contracts from blue chipcompanies whose traceabilityrequirements often go far above and© Shutterstock/Dmitry Kalinovsky23-25_Layout 1 01/02/2018 10:41 Page 2Food & Drink International 25www.fdiforum.netSOFTWAREbeyond the recommendations of foodsafety bodies and governments.Warehouse Management Systems(WMS) work to minimise that risk, byaccurately recording all products thatenter the facility – where they camefrom, and what their final destinationwill be. From that point they aretracked through the warehouse untilthey are dispatched, allowingOperations Managers to not only savetime on the tasks they need to do, butalso stay informed as to anyfluctuations in stock incoming – be it anunusually large one-off order, or a morelong-term change in stock levels. What the results show clearly is thatdespite the need for traceability beingwell-known, many companies continueto go without a proper software systemthat can monitor it. While trust inemployees and facilities is admirable, itonly takes one instance of bad luck tocripple the reputation of a companybeyond all measure. The use of software has been soingrained in the production processover the last few years that it’ssometimes hard to imagine how someparts of the industry coped without it.The next stage is for this software tobecome even more intuitive, explicitand effective – creating an even moreefficient supply chain.That said, companies will only be ableto reap the benefits of theseadvancements, so long as they continueto invest in keeping their systems up todate. It can be easy to believe theimproved traceability that comes aboutas a use of WMS should be somethingto look into when something goeswrong – but many large retailers willnot even consider a company as apotential client unless they prove theycan retrieve data within a four hourperiod. In the competitive world of the foodand drink industry, can anymanufacturer afford to be complacentabout such things?© Shutterstock/branislavpudar23-25_Layout 1 01/02/2018 10:42 Page 326 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netSORTING AND WEIGHINGA consumer might argue that apacket of crisps or their favouriteconfectionery has gotten smaller sincethey were small. Although in some casesproducts have indeed gotten smaller,nostalgia can colour the present with ashade of rose out of sorts with reality. Aquick comparison on product weightwould determine how truthful the claimin this example is. For foodmanufacturers, precision is foremostwhen it comes to weighing.Underestimating the weight and make-up of products can have problematiclong-term consequences. Not only canthis lead to companies being out ofpocket, but labelling regulations meansthere are consequences if the productisn’t as described on the packaging.Indeed, there have been a spate of foodrecalls where the product inside hasn’tcorresponded to the weight listed onthe label. And there’s no shortage of sortingand weighing specialists out there forfood makers and processor to pick from,What aweighto sortThough weighing andsorting may seem likesimple steps along thesupply chain, they arecritical from everythingto ensuring regulatoryand uniform portion size,to dividing products.Food and DrinkInternational investigates. What aweighto sort26-29_Layout 1 01/02/2018 10:44 Page 1Food & Drink International 27www.fdiforum.netSORTING AND WEIGHINGsafe in the knowledge they are dealingwith the industry’s best. Take, forexample, Applied Weighing, anaccredited company that offers acomplete range of industrial weighingsystems and services. Of course, being amanufacturer, the company is able tosupply tailor made solutions to meet afood maker or packer’s specific needsand requirements. The importance of effective weighingcan be seen right across the productionprocess, starting from the arrival of bulkingredients. Each and everymanufacturing operation is essentially aconversion process, in that a companytakes raw materials and transformsthem into a finished product. Whatmany often don’t realise is that there arereally only three variables a companycan control during this process: timeand labour utilisation – or how you bestuse the workforce; energy utilisation – interms of how energy efficient a site isand how it is allocated; and the third,sorting and weighing, or as it might alsobe known, materials utilisation. The food industry is vulnerable topoor materials utilisation because of thethin profit margins which they so oftenoperate within, where ‘wrong first time’or a percentage or two of material orgiveaway can sometimes be thedifference between profit and loss.Measurement of weight and volume isimportant at every stage of themanufacturing process to ensure that© Shutterstock/Vladimir Nenezic28 Á26-29_Layout 1 01/02/2018 10:44 Page 2SORTING AND WEIGHING28 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netthe yield at each is optimised. The onlyway that this can really be doneeffectively is by highlighting, in realtime, when wastage from any particularoperation has exceeded the targets setfor it, leading to a data drill down todetermine and fix the root cause. Somedegree of variation, especially seasonal,may be inevitable, but in order to makethat judgement, greater awareness andreal time visibility of performance isessential.The biggest concern about overfill isthat, although some of the overfillpercentages might be quite small - insome cases a fraction of a per cent - theoverfilled product at this stage of themanufacturing operation often carriesmaximum ‘value added’. It’s no longerabout giving away the cost of rawmaterials, but giving away materials plusall of the value added during themanufacturing operations. Hence evensmall amounts in high volume packingoperations can have a very significanteffect on the bottom line. What’s oftennot taken fully into account is thenatural process variation whicheffectively determines where processadjustments can be safely made.Effective sorting and weighing canmake savings that might seem minimalon an individual level, but that over thecourse of tens of thousands of products,not to mention months or years ofoperation, can result in incrediblereductions in cost. As compliance andregulation continues to becomecumbersome, this also protects andprevents against any negative publicityor fines that might come about as aresult of mislabelled weights or content. When many talk of efficiency there isa tendency to believe that this refers tocost, speed and quantity - and thatimproving any of these will have theimpact on the bottom line. It seems thatmany seem to forget the efficiency© Shutterstock/Vladimir Nenezic© Shutterstock/Sergey Ryzhov26-29_Layout 1 01/02/2018 10:44 Page 3SORTING AND WEIGHINGT: +44 (0) 118 946 1900 E: sales@appliedweighing.co.ukwww.appliedweighing.co.ukFOR GENERAL, PROCESS, PHARMACEUTICAL & FOOD WEIGHING APPLICATIONSLoad CellsSilo, Tank & Vessel SystemsWeight Indicators & Control SystemsPlatform ScalesDrum FillingSystemsDynamic CheckWeighersThe UK’s leading load cell & process weighing systemmanufacturer. When you use any product fromApplied Weighing you will have absolute accuracyand total peace of mind. ComprehensiveNational ServiceOrganisationAccurate weighing - whatever your industryMANUFACTURED IN THE UKFood & Drink International 29www.fdiforum.netbenefits of accuracy, which may notimprove profits via generating moresales - but will improve profits byreducing losses across the entiremanufacturing process. That is wheresorting and weighing has its greatestadvantage, in the accurate online oroffline measurement and control ofproduce, from bulk ingredients tofinished goods about to be packaged. Owing to the impracticality of wiredconnections between load cells andtheir respective weight indicators forcertain weighing applications, wirelesssetups can offer users a more viablealternative. In addition to improvedflexibility, wireless systems negate theneed to locate and replace cables ininstances where they have becomedamaged. Such occurrences can betime consuming and costly, with systemdowntime providing a further burden.© Shutterstock/janon kas26-29_Layout 1 01/02/2018 10:45 Page 4Next >