< PreviousFood forthoughtWith as much as a third of food produced worldwide endingup in the bin, the food service and hospitality sector remainunder growing pressure to tackle professional food waste. 30 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netFOOD SERVICE / HOSPITALITYThe food industry has made greatinroads into reducing the amountof food sent to waste, but much ofthe emphasis has shifted to recycling theirwaste rather than reducing it. In the UKalone it is estimated that some 2.5 billionpounds are attributable to food waste,whilst in the Nordic region some 25% ofall food waste is said to come from thefood service and hospitality sector . But,while some businesses have grasped thatparticularly thorny nettle and amendedtheir practices, some remain reluctant todo so, arguing that customers might lookelsewhere if their food choice or portionsize were diminished. It’s a delicate balancing act, and whilewe’ve all seen someone walking awayfrom a buffet with their plates stacked to ahigher capacity than their appetite couldpossibly withstand, for many of us it’s thequality of the food that counts rather thanthe quantity. Let’s just take a look at the figures,relating to food waste – each year, some 4million tons of greenhouse gas emissionsare associated with the problem and over200 million cubic meters of fresh waterare wasted. This doesn’t take into accountthe tens of thousands of tons of fertiliserthat were needed to spread on very sameproduce that is simply being thrownaway. Some catering companies, canteens,restaurants and other big kitchens areinstalling lean practices and processoptimisations which is payingdividends. It is worth recognising that,a large proportion of the food waste inan establishment is generated outsidethe kitchen – i.e the service andconsumer stage. Similar to othersustainability issues, technologicalsolutions alone will not do the job – achange in attitude, behavior and cultureis essential for achieving any substantialchange and to that end it is encouraging tosee leading celebrity chefs influencingcustomer attitudes.As we know, in any business sectorclients are prepared to pay the premiumfor goods and services that come fromenvironmentally managed sources and insome countries, diners are already listingfood waste as one of their concerns whenchoosing an establishment to eat at.According to Unilever Food Solutions, 4out of 10 Danes would prioritise eating ata restaurant that acts toward minimisingits food waste, and almost two thirds ofDanes are willing to pay more for productsand services from a sustainable andresponsible company. In the US thenumbers are said to be a staggering 50%and in Europe over 80% of people areconcerned with professional food waste. These figures illustrate the importanceof tackling the issue head on, rather thanavoiding the issues in the belief thatclients will go elsewhere. Cutting businessoperating costs by switching from demanddriven to supply driven ordering andreducing ingredients whilst using what isin season are all great ways to contributeand may even provide more attractivepricing for customers. Given the dramatic increase in foodprices of late, such changes are essential toa company’s reputation and its futuresurvival. 30-31_Layout 1 27/03/2015 11:56 Page 1Food & Drink International 31www.fdiforum.netIf you haven’t already, do an audit toidentify where and when you generatewaste. Look at specific times of the day(breakfast, lunch, dinner and keep trackof the amounts of waste from each)Analyse separately for spoilage,preparation and customer plate wastereturns and weigh each at the end ofeach serviceCalculate the amount of savings byweighing the entire food waste andmultiplying by the same cost per kg asfood arrivingSet an action plan to reduce waste by10-20% to begin with in each area andmonitor resultsGet the team involved and rewardprogress between teams – make itcompetitive but remember to make it funtoo as people always operate betterwhen they want to do it for themselves,rather than wanting to do it becausethey’ve been told to . Ensure accurate ordering and stockrotation in order to avoid ingredientsgoing out of dateBe creative with vegetable trimmingsto make tasty soups, such as pea podsoupFresh v frozen – fresh is always thebest but short term freezing of greatingredients far surpasses using secondrate fresh produce.Write menus with a consideration forthe use of offcuts. For example, pork andchicken trimmings can be turned intopâtés and terrinesUse every part of a herb (stalk and all)remember if you throw away the stalks,which are perfectly edible you’re wastingabout 25%!Fish dishes can be exorbitantlyexpensive and with their incrediblyshort shelf life can eat into your profits,so why not create a menu that usespre-cooked fish dishes. The cook andchill method fish safely in top condition.Leaving the skins on potatoes canreduce waste and improve your GP byup to 15% and that’s without thesavings on peeling time.Dehydrate - unused fruit andvegetables can be dehydrated to createintensely flavoured powders which canbe sprinkled on desserts, sorbets orice-creams. Similarly a sauce can beseasoned with a mushroom powdermade from drying out fungi in a lowoven and whizzing in a processor, Simple changes like moving fromstandard salad leaves to curly saladleaves on garnishes, ensures thecustomer gets the same volume butreduces plate waste returns.Turn any excesses of home-grownproduce into chutneys, pickles andjamsTOPTIPSPHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/PAN_KUNG30-31_Layout 1 27/03/2015 11:57 Page 232 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netBOTTLING AND FILLINGThe bottling industry has become anincreasingly complicated one in the pastfew years. But design of bottles now seemto have come full circle, with higher perceivedvalue now being placed not on the unusual shape,colour or contours of bottles. But the clarity andelegance of the packaging or presentation. In factmany luxury drinks and goods are now sportingthe most simple of bottle designs. In essence, lessis more when it comes to creating a certain level ofperceived value in a product. Glass bottling is also making a comeback in theluxury-drinks sector, where going back ten years itwas more sited towards alcoholic goods. Onecompany who has recently followed this trend isKingsdown Water, who recently launched a newShapeandformIn many cases it is still the bottle and packaging thatsell the beverage, with some markets only beingaccessible if the drink conveys a certain image. PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/ALAETTIN YILDIRIM32-33_Layout 1 27/03/2015 11:54 Page 1BOTTLING AND FILLINGrange of five single serve pressés with anew packaging design by Lewis Moberly.Kingsdown required designs whichwould clearly convey product quality,while particularly being refined enoughto sit comfortably on a restaurant tablealongside a bottle of wine. Particularlyimportant since the drinks are sold attop hotels including The Savoy and TheWolseley. Kingsdown’s rebranding andalteration of their bottle design andpackaging saw an increase in sales of34% in the first eight months,highlighting the huge impact that theindustry can have. It’s not just the glass bottling industrythat has seen such innovation however,as the plastic and PET industry remainsstrong – especially in the market ofenergy and sports drinks. In such acompetitive industry the design of thebottle and packaging can mean thedifference between failure and success. ScorCreative, the structural designstudio arm of the Amcor Group recentlywon a BrandPackaging People’s ChoiceAward for their own redesign of theHoist sports drink bottle from HoistLLC in America. The history of Hoistshows the effect of packaging on theperceived value of a product, as theoriginal 120z container saw the productpick up steam in themedical market, but beunable to achieve adeeper penetration inthe sports drink sector. The newer packaginghowever has beenchanged to specificallytarget the sportsmarket, including gym-goers and athletes, andthe very shape of thebottle itselfcommunicates that, byimitating the silhouette of anathletic individual. This simple change inbottle design has completely rebrandedthe product towards a specific industrysector, and highlights the complexmessages that consumers perceive whenchoosing a product for any givenpurpose. Of course the contents of the bottle arethe same, whether one might look topurchase the product that is becoming acontender in the sports drink market, orthe one which has long existed in themedical market. It is simply the design ofthe bottling, and the packaging attachedto it, that determines how consumersassociate with the product. A complete rebranding of an existingproduct as undertaken in both of theabove cases can be a difficult task.Existing bottling systems and automatedprocesses can be costly to change andadjust – but it is possible to work withdesign companies to make alterationsthat can still be manufactured on anexisting line. The important thing is toconsider not only what potential newincome or market share one might beable to gain with a bottle redesign, butalso to look at the associated costs of anydramatic alterations. PHOTO: AMCOR RIGID PLASTICS In such a competitiveindustry the design ofthe bottle andpackaging can meanthe difference betweenfailure and success32-33_Layout 1 27/03/2015 11:54 Page 234 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netCONTROL & AUTOMATIONA combination of complex supplychains, large production facilities,changing legislation and the need to gaina competitive advantage throughtechnological innovation are allcontributing to driving investment inautomation and control solutions. And,while manual set-up and recording ofproduction line outputs may have servedthe industry well in the past, manycompanies are being increasingly let downby reliance upon these now outdatedmethods.Manual systems and manual recordingwere fine when production line speedswere typically 30 or 40 packs per minute,but today, some production line speedsare ten times this amount and more.Coupled with this has been the shift awayfrom long batch runs to shorter andshorter batch runs, brought about byincreased consumer choice, leading todramatically increased productioncomplexity and frequent productchangeovers.Given this scenario, any companyrelying totally or largely upon paper-basedsystems faces huge risks in operator error.In this highly charged environment, withthe need to maintain some semblance ofefficiency amongst the increasedcomplexity and frequent changeovers, it isnot so much a question of if somethinggoes wrong, but when….it can only be amatter of time.For example, one high volume dairyproducer reported having at least sixpeople individually checking each datecode for compliance, but still managed toget it wrong, on one day alone, havingtwo date code batch failures recorded,before breakfast. On another occasion, a multi-nationalpharmaceutical manufacturer, producing arange of well-known products, recountedhaving a date code failure on part of aproduction batch, but their records didnot show which part. Consequently, thewhole batch had to be recalled and sent tolandfill at a total cost in excess of£250,000. Worryingly, the decision takento avoid a repetition in the future was todismiss the individual responsible.These examples, while true, are onlythe tip of the iceberg. Fortunately, mosterrors are detected before being sent tothe customer and causing the cost of anentire product withdrawal, but even then,the internal cost of rework, the lostefficiency and the inevitable waste ofsome product/packaging as a consequenceof ‘wrong first time’ can still have a hugeimpact upon the bottom line.As Roy Green of Harford Controlexplains, “Sadly, many companies whohave decided to automate their processeshave often been disappointed with theoutcomes. In part this is doubtless due tothe seductive desire for a quick fix at aknockdown price. On other occasions, it’sdue to a piecemeal approach often broughtabout by external pressure or a singlefailure event. This might be throughautomating one line or it might bethrough automating one thing (e.g. labelverification across all lines), whilst doingnothing, in the moment, to automate therest of the process or even to improveefficiency. This creates two problems. Firstly,operational vigilance is often reduced inthe area which has been automated. Thedanger here is that vigilance may also berelaxed in the non-automated areas and,even in the automated areas, total relianceupon automation without independentvalidation of the automated process, canalso lead to problems, such that theNEVERLOSINGCONTROLWith constant changes in regulations surrounding traceability and thepressure on the industry to maintain its profit margins, control andautomation in the food and drink industry needs to be the number oneinvestment. 34-37_Layout 1 27/03/2015 12:09 Page 1Food & Drink International 35www.fdiforum.netCONTROL & AUTOMATIONactually achieved and delivered.• Ensure that your supplier can backthe whole project with after-sales servicesupport, including hardware, software andtraining, on a 24/7 basis if necessary, withguaranteed, proven response and fixtimes.• Ensure that your intended supplierknows your business requirements wellenough to take you the extra mile. Oneexample of this would be in Average Lawwhere expertise from the supplier canensure that your materials utilisation is atleast 0.5% better than your competitors,whilst making fewer process adjustments.This alone saves one of our users£0.5million per year.• Make sure that your supplier has ahealthy track record through which theycan prove that they have done the thingsthat you are asking for and delivered theresults you expect.37 ÁPHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/JORDACHEautomated system develops a fault withoutanyone realising or taking responsibilityfor fixing this.The second problem is that, whereautomation is done in a piecemeal fashion(believing that this is keeping down thecost), it is frequently done without thebigger picture in mind, inevitably findingon some occasions that few or none of the‘satellite’ automated projects actuallyintegrate or communicate with each other.Therefore the ideal holistic approach tolarge scale factory automation becomesimpossible without spending more timeand money to achieve the desiredoutcomes or even, in the worst casescenario, starting again from scratch. There is no doubt that automationprojects done well can deliver hugebenefits and we at Harford have, duringour more than four decades experiencewithin the food industry, developed a topten checklist for those wishing to get thevery best from their automation projectsand also who want to be assured that theyspend the money once and end up with alltheir objectives at least satisfied, and atbest exceeded.These are:• Never start an automation projectwithout the end in mind. • If this project needs, due to financialor other constraints, to be partial in itsimplementation, then ensure that it is partof the overall bigger picture.• Create a user requirementspecification of the total project from theoutset, even when the overall project is tobe implemented on a piecemeal basis.• Ensure that the chosen supplier hasthe capability (in house) to meet the totalproject objectives and guarantees todeliver the agreed results.• Ensure that the supplier will have thecapability to train and coach your peopleduring the change management process, toensure that the intended benefits are34-37_Layout 1 27/03/2015 12:09 Page 2Many companies have alreadyimproved efficiency with the Harford Paperless PerformanceImprovement System …… you could do the same oreven betterFind out how onemajor milk bottling site reduced operating costs by more than £2.5million per annum whilst simultaneously improving compliance and quality consistencyFind out how a whisky distiller/bottlerimproved quality consistency, customersatisfaction and bottom line profits bymore than 500%Contact Harford Control Ltd.Tel: +(44) 1225 764461sales@harfordcontrol.comwww.harfordcontrol.com Anyone can achieve similarly stunning results through implementing the proven Harford integrated systems and improvement methodologies.We don’t just write the software and install the hardware, we train and support your people through the change process todo what they do even better and faster than before.Share your objectives with Harford and we’ll guarantee to provide a rapid payback, well in excess of any costs incurred33FROMPHARMACEUTICALSTOPERFUMESFROMMALTWHISKYTOMILKFROMSMOKEDSALMONTOSMOOTHIES34-37_Layout 1 27/03/2015 12:09 Page 3Food & Drink International 37www.fdiforum.netCONTROL & AUTOMATION• Don’t fall into the trap of believing thatsome newcomer can meet all your objectivesjust because they are willing to say they can(at an attractive price) in their attempts togain a valued order.• Make sure that your system is future-proofed and that when you return to thesame supplier a few years later to completeyour big picture automation, you don’t findthat large parts of your investment to dateare now redundant and that you areconsequently expected to stump up largeadditional costs for upgrading or retro-modification.One of our smaller customers in whiskybottling, when they started this journey withHarford, were making a net profit of£2million per annum. Six years later, havingdeveloped and expanded the capability of thesystem to include materials management, lineefficiency/OEE, paperless quality, outer casecoding, roving quality audits and Health &Safety checks, are turning in a net profit of£15million per annum on the same turnover. As this whisky bottler readily admits, suchimpressive results were not obtained purelyfrom the installation of a leading edgeautomated system, but through ensuring thatthe necessary improvement actions,prompted by the system were actually taken.This takes time, patience, training, re-training and coaching in order for theoperational personnel to trust the system andlet go of out-dated methodologies, in favourof something demonstrably better. Our own bottom line is that no Harfordautomated project should ever cost morethan it saves within a maximum two yearpayback period. Therefore, such successfulprojects require no new money as the moneyneeded to finance them is already beingspent/lost through mistakes and/orinefficiency.”PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/REDTCManual systems andmanual recording werefine when production linespeeds were typically 30or 40 packs per minute,but today, some productionline speeds are ten timesthis amount and moreBenefit from improved efficiencies in processapplications with HBM trainingSuitable for all personnel working in a field where fast weighing and high accuracy is demanded,‘Fundamentals of dynamic weighing and strain gauge load cells’ is a two day seminar designed to improveefficiencies in your process application.The seminar shows how the demand for higher weighing accuracy determines the minimum measuringtime of checkweigher, dosing or filling applications and whythe measuring time determines the maximum through put rate of checkweighers / dosing applications,and, what the maximum measuring time required for a certain through put rate is.Participants on the course will learn how to shorten the required measuring time for check weighing and dosing applications byelectronic filtering and how the mechanical construction of your weighing scale affects the measuring time.Located at the Woodland Grange Conference Centre, Warwickshire and presented by Dr. Henrik Brutlach, this HBM seminar is aimedspecifically at technical orientated users, technicians and engineers from the field of mechanical engineering or similar, especially usersof strain gauge based load cells in dynamic weighing processes. All seminar materials required for the course are included.Tel: +44 (0)20 8515 6000 Email: info@uk.hbm.co.uk www.hbm.com/en/menu/seminar-calendar 34-37_Layout 1 27/03/2015 12:09 Page 4Record numbers flock toUK’s biggest packaging showThe UK’s biggest packaging show got bigger after closing itsdoors to record numbers38 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.neteasyFairsPackagingInnovations (incorporatingContract Pack and Ecopack), Empack andLabel&Print, engaged a huge crowd. 6585visitors, 350 exhibitors, a mass of productlaunches, six new show features and overforty seminars all packed into theBirmingham’s NEC, bringing together thevery best in packaging and print fromright across the globe.The show witnessed a hugely increasedfootfall, boasting the likes ofGlaxoSmithKline, Coca Cola, Britvic,Mars and PZ Cussons in attendance.Alison Church, Event Director foreasyFairs’ UK Packaging Events, says,“The show has grown once again and theattendance figures are absolutelyincredible. We couldn’t be happier withhow this year’s show turned out and wewant to thank all those who attended formaking the show such a success.“Having the very best and brightest ofthe packaging industry under one roof isalways cause for celebration. Every area ofthe show was heaving throughout, andthe feedback from visitors and exhibitorshas been fantastic. It is great to be part ofsuch a vibrant show celebrating its tenthanniversary. We are already deep inplanning for the 2016 show, so make sureyou stay tuned to see where we can gofrom here!”The show launched its first everDrinks Symposium which saw speakersfrom The Lakes Distillery, Diageo andGlenfiddich demonstrating the power ofpackaging. Also new to the show wereThe Pharmaceutical Symposium and TheRetail Symposium offering exhibitors andvisitors from all spheres of the packagingand print world a unique programme ofvaluable and insightful content.Show favourite The BIG Print Debatereturned with a large interactive audience,who gathered to hear an all-female panelof packaging experts discuss ‘Aspersonalisation increasingly becomes thenorm will its greatest impact be on theshelf or in the home?’.Continuing the all-female theme was‘Women in Packaging’, a brand neworganisation launching at the show,designed to connect, support andrecognise female employees within thePackaging Industry. The Founder ofWomen in Packaging Joanna Stephensonsays, “The ‘Women in Packaging’ launchwas really well received, with 50 womenfrom right across the brand, retail andpackaging sectors in attendance. I amalready looking forward to the nextnetworking event and building thedatabase of women moving forward.”The show also provided visitors withmasses of other showfloor entertainmentincluding the BPIF Carton’s Chatroom,Pack Personalisation with Xeikon, Live3D Print Demos, The Ecopack Challenge,Recoup Plastics and Packaging RecyclingClinic, The Packaging Consultancy Clinicand The Mad Hatter’s Drinks Party.Business Link and its sister publicationFood & Drink International also exhibitedand we were very pleased to meet many ofour readers and advertisers.The next easyFairs packaging event willbe Packaging Innovations London &Luxury Packaging, which moves toLondon Olympia on 16th and 17thSeptember. More information can befound at www.easyfairs.com/pi-london.38-40_Layout 1 27/03/2015 12:14 Page 1Pollard BoxesAt Packaging Innovations, rigid boxspecialist Pollard Boxes demonstrated itsrecently-developed automated technology tocreate windows in boxes that help toenhance a wide variety of luxury, gift andpresentation packs.The Pollard process allows automaticcutting of the window shape combined with aspecial pick and place system to position thefilm between the board and the paper. Thisprovides a neater finish than can be achievedby the more usual hand finished method.The method ensures that the window sits flush with the rest of the box, with neat edges both onthe inside and outside that mean there is less likelihood of the pack being damaged during transitor in use. The technology also enables different shaped windows to be produced, offeringadditional design flexibility.A range of decoration finishes such as gloss or matt lamination and foil blocking can be used to further enhance brand differentiation.Tel: +44 (0)116 275 2666 Email: sales@pollardboxes.co.uk www.pollardboxes.co.ukFood & Drink International 39www.fdiforum.neteasyFairsHH DeluxeHong Kong based luxury, rigid board packaging manufacturerHH Deluxe has expanded its UK creative division with a focus onincreased innovation in the premium spirits and beverage market.For over sixty years HH Deluxe has manufactured packagingfor the luxury market, with high end beverage brands such asHibiki, Kilbeggan and Glenfiddich benefitting from theirexpertise.This globally renowned manufacturing experiencehas now been complimented with UK baseddesign, prototyping and paper engineeringexperience. This service was successfullylaunched at Packaging Innovations, targeted atthe drinks market.HH Deluxe Business Development Manager Andrew Clasby says, “We havenoticed a real desire in the UK beverage industry to work with Chinese manufacturers not only forproduction, but also throughout the development process. Our investment in industry leadingpackaging designers allows us to provide an unrivalled direct service, from conception throughmanufacture to delivery with complete transparency and communication.”Tel: 02380 625684 Email: andrew@hhdeluxepackaging.com www.hhdeluxepackaging.comNational FlexibleMoo Free Chocolates is an ethical, quirky, fun UKchocolate brand who have just redesigned theirpackaging. The brand is aimed at children andadults with food allergies and intolerances.Co-founder Mike Jessop says, “We do our owndesign because we want to maintain the brand’skey attributes and keep to a minimal colour palette.National Flexible helped us to create differenteffects using the metallised base film. Theymaintained our costs even though we have movedto a far superior pack, their help was invaluable.”About 33% of the world’s population is lactoseintolerant and Moo Free have produced a tastyalternative to dairy chocolate in seventeen productlines being sold to over twenty countries. Mark Thompson. National Flexible’s SalesDirector, says, “I am not lactose intolerant but thischocolate is one of the best I have tasted. Ourmarketing team hid the bars so they could get aphotograph!”Tel: 01274 685566Email: Jacqui@nationalflexible.netwww.nationalflexible.co.ukCompact and BaleWhile people were still mulling over the Oscars, Compact and Bale weredelighted to show off their own statues at Empack, in the form of threebriquettes made from PET bottles, aluminium cans and polystyrene waste. Aswell as marvelling at the compaction ratio achieved on such materials, visitorsgot the chance to guess the combined weight. The competition got people thinking about waste materials that caneffectively be compacted to dramatic ratios and this provoked manydiscussions with visitors on what machines could condense materials down tosuch a degree. Compact and Bale were happy to discuss Strautmann’s‘Automate to Save’ range which has revolutionised manufacturing, distributioncentres, household waste recycling sites, waste contractors and other siteswith EPS waste globally.The Strautmann AutoLoadBaler as an example is the world’s only self-loading vertical baler, this machine’s ability to massively reduce labour costsand time ensures that staff may always be front facing, with no time wastedfilling a baling press and waiting for the cycle to end. Also popular with visitors was the LiquiDrainer which offers automatic, quick and profitable emptying of filled liquid containers, taking over the jobautomatically by using a rotor to perforate filled PET bottles, TetraPak and beverage cans. For polystyrene waste, the StyroPress eliminates the commonissues of screw type systems which overheat material, jam and result in costly downtime and the problems that come with storing large amounts of looseEPS until the screw has cooled down again. Some visitors found it hard to believe a briquette so compact could be produced with no heat. There were many entries for the Guess the Weight competition but congratulations go to Barry Dunne of Thamesdown Recycling who made the closestguess at 5.5kg, just 0.212kg from the correct answer!Tel: +44 (0)1732 852244 Email: info@compactandbale.com38-40_Layout 1 27/03/2015 12:14 Page 2Next >