< Previous20 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netCLEANING AND MAINTENANCEproduction lines aren’t part of thesupply chain that crosses over withconsumer experience. So much of theequipment, spaces and surfaces herewill appear outwardly simple, thoughtheir design is anything but.The product of years of testing, re-design and innovation, hygienic designascribes a number of key attributes.Perhaps the most pressing is the needto minimise open spaces and othercavities where food stuffs andparticulates can gather, decompose andcompromise an entire product batch.These spaces can also allow cleaningsolutions and disinfectants to pool,which can become equally detrimentalto consumer health if they come incontact with food. Achieving a reliableand functional design, whilst keepingdead space to a minimum, presents achallenge to equipment makers. Onesolution is to keep the number ofcomponents down. Even a stool ismade up of multiple parts, be it thelegs, supporting struts and, of course,the seat. Rather than relying on rivets,screws or bolts where contaminates cangather, manufacturers instead weld theparts together. This creates a strongand reliable seal without any recesses,which can be quickly and thoroughlywashed.The materials themselves play anintegral role in hygiene, with stainlesssteel the most sought after andpreferred material for making foodequipment. Other metals corrode overtime or in contact with certainfood/beverage products – think citricacids – which can contaminate foodwith harmful pathogens and fragmentsof metal and rust. Though stainless steelis most common, it first needs to becorrectly processed. It’s all well andgood to have a stainless metal, but thatdoesn’t count for much if food orcontaminates can gather in grooves orwelts in the metal. To that end, thesurfaces are typically finished throughpolishing or grinding to obtain asmooth finish. Most hygiene standardsdictate that all food contact surfaceshave a roughness of average of 0.8micrometre or less. There’s a number ofother ways to treat these surfaces tobolster their hygienic profile, with someof the latest developments seemingpositively space age. For example, theUniversity of Parma is leading a groupof European researchers to developwhat it claims is the first ever fluid-repellent, antibacterial metal surfaces inthe food and beverage industry. © shutterstock/Kosarev Alexander19-23_Layout 1 26/04/2017 09:13 Page 2CLEANING AND MAINTENANCEUK-based hygienic furniture and equipmentmanufacturer Teknomek specialises in equipmentdesigned to operate in hygienic environments. Aswell as providing steps, stools and matting, thecompany is also meeting customer needthrough innovation. Adulteration can occurthroughout the supply chain, though ittypically takes place during the productionprocess where plastic, metal or any otherforeign object can become entrenched in afood or beverage product. Thoughinspection and detection systems exist tohighlight these contaminates, it’s no goodscanning for metal if the foreign object isplastic. For manufacturers, it’s a matter ofdetecting these objects in-house rather thanhaving it discovered by a customer who couldpursue legal action which could lead to heavyreputational and financial damage. Though a pen might seem innocuous enough, itspresence in a food product could spell disaster. To thatend, Teknomek offers a range of metal detectable pensdesigned to minimise contamination risks and improve foodFood & Drink International 21www.fdiforum.netDHS cleaning of coolers &evaporators saves money The cost of having your coolers/evaporators cleaned twice a yearactually saves you money. Recent experiments have proven that bya modest improvement in air-flow of 12% following a DHS Cleanresulted in energy savings of more than £1,400 per annum percooler.At the same time, a thorough cleansing of the condensate linesensures that the build-up of biological slime can be reducedsignificantly.Also available from DHS is a service of ‘Deep Cleaning’ of whitewall production/packing chambers and warehouse distributioncentres.These services have all been packaged into an EECo CleaningPlan which allows the cost to be spread over twelve months. For more information, visitwww.distributionhygiene.co.uk.23 Á© shutterstock/Phovoir19-23_Layout 1 26/04/2017 09:13 Page 3HYGIENIUSThere’s no hiding place for contaminants, germs or bugs with our tough and hygienic furniture and equipment. That’s hygienius.QUALITY OF SERVICEQUALITY THROUGH MANUFACTUREQUALITY BY DESIGNT: 01603 788 833 | W: teknomek.co.uk | E: mail@teknomek.co.uk19-23_Layout 1 26/04/2017 09:13 Page 4Food & Drink International 23www.fdiforum.netCLEANING AND MAINTENANCE© Teknomeksafety. All pens across the range aremade from a unique compoundoptimised for metal and x-ray detection,and have a ‘one piece’ design thatreduces germ traps and makes it almostimpossible for pieces to break off. Thereare three types of Teknomek metaldetectable pen: the retractable versionfeaturing a fully encased spring-freemechanism; the pen for coldenvironments – designed to performbetween -20°C and +5°C, and the lowercost disposable version with itshexagonal profile to stop it rolling fromsurfaces. All pens incorporateantibacterial technology that’s effectiveagainst E-Coli, MRSA and Salmonella,are made from EU and FDA compliantmaterials, and come in a range ofcolours to work with a customer’sHACCP procedures.Cleaning, of course, falls under thewider umbrella of maintenance, whichoversees the smooth running of afactory, production line and the widersupply chain. Much of this is achievedthrough software, governing everythingfrom asset management and workscheduling, to stock and inventorychecks. Shire Systems, the UK producerof maintenance and facilitiessoftware, offers all these servicesand more. Its Pirana CMMSsoftware is an easy-to-use,affordable and fully integratedmaintenance managementsystem. It allows companiesto extend asset life, cutcosts, meet complianceand move closer to theirsustainability goals. As part of a company’soverall maintenance,cleaning is indispensable inthe supply chain. The needfor hygiene at all times isspurring on designinnovations to reduce and worktowards eliminating contaminatesin food and beverage products.Leaps in software are likewise makingit easy for companies to manage theircleaning under one advantageousbanner. © shutterstock/Marcin Balcerzak19-23_Layout 1 26/04/2017 09:13 Page 524 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netFUNCTIONAL INGREDIENTSThe food industry has alongsidehuman evolution reached a transitionalperiod. Much like the old argument ofthe chicken and the egg, one wonderswhether it was evolution that influencedour diet, or the food and how weprepared it that enabled our trajectory.The beginnings are amorphous, but thefuture is clear. Political uncertainty andsocial unrest make much of the worldstage foggy at best; the food industry,however, is tackling some of the world’sbiggest issues with innovation. By their very nature, functionalingredients fulfil a particular role in afood process, or product. It could be anadditive such as xanthan gum toachieve a certain substance or texture,or it could be fortified additions toproducts that might otherwise benutritionally lacking. Rather thanoffering a value- or nutrition-addedalternative to consumers, foodmanufacturers and scientists are insteadexploring new ways of solvingimpending crises. The issue is three fold,and broken down into its simplestcomponents sees rising obesity levels;the rising global population andinnovation itself driving this invention. As sweet as sugar Those who are worse off areincreasingly turning to food banks or tocheaper options, many of which arelaced with high sugar, salt, saturated fatand myriad other additives. The spike inobesity, diabetes, heart disease andother associated illnesses is nocoincidence, and while this issue isn’tthe preserve of the working classesalone, deprived and poverty strickenareas report higher levels. The issue has become a political hotpotato in recent years, and ‘sugar tax’has become a familiar buzzword both inthe media and in political rhetoric. Thelong and short of it is that by taxing theprice of carbonated drinks and highsugar snacks, consumers will be lessinclined to buy them, opting instead forhealthy alternatives or to go without.Though simple in essence, it has provednothing short of controversial. Billed asa quick fix to a chronic problem,politicians have leapt on the idea, muchto the chagrin of the food and beverageindustry. Manufacturers argue that thetax will eat into their profits like somuch sugared soda on teeth. Of course,they’re right to defend their industryand indeed their livelihoods, but withbig soda companies shown to havefunded studies moving the blame awayfrom sugar, it’s hard to maintain muchsympathy. The first such tax in the UShas resulted in a 10 per cent drop in thesale of sugary drinks, proof enough forsome that the tax works. Drinks makers have been encouragedto reformulate their recipes and explorehealthier options. Politics alone won’tshift public taste, as food makers arebeholden to consumers. Thoughconsumption of fizzy drinks is dwindling(with sales of bottled water overtakingsoda for the first time in Americanhistory) there is still a profound thirstfor the fizz. Reformulating is one option,Food’sfinalfrontier The last five years are perhaps the most exciting in thehistory of food production, with the industry taking on someof the biggest issues with innovation, and functionalingredients have taken a starring role. 26 Á24-27_Layout 1 26/04/2017 09:20 Page 1Food & Drink International 25www.fdiforum.netFUNCTIONAL INGREDIENTS© shutterstock/ADragan24-27_Layout 1 26/04/2017 09:20 Page 226 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netFUNCTIONAL INGREDIENTSEvolva developing next-gensweetener with CargillEvolva and Cargill are collaboration on a next-generation stevia sweetener,earmarked for a 2018 launch.EverSweet is a next-gen stevia sweetener that solves both the stevia taste andReb M & Reb D saleability challenges.The sweetener is brewed to produce large quantities of the most sought-aftersweetness ingredients found in the stevia leaf, Reb M and Reb D. The stevia leafcontains only minute quantities of these ingredients.Evolva will receive up to 30% of the EverSweet business, determined as afunction of the strain efficiencies achieved.The sweetener will initially be produced at a fermentation facility on Cargill’sBlair, Nebraska campus that will be retrofitted for this purpose.The facility will be operated by Cargill and additionally be used for thefermentation of other Evolva products.In parallel, Evolva will build and operate a new state-of-the-art bioprocessingfacility on adjacent land leased from Cargill. This bioprocessing facility willmanufacture Evolva products such as nootkatone and resveratrol and is expectedto come online in 2019.© shutterstock/Pat_Hastingsthough in the UK, Lucozade Ribena Suntory hasrecently attracted negative press after their newlow-sugar recipe was lampooned and criticisedby consumers. The feedback has since beenpassed on to its development team. Another option open to manufacturers is toexplore functional ingredients and add nutritionalvalue to what is otherwise considered a badhabit or guilty pleasure. In the Land of the RisingSun, Coca-Cola Japan has added the Coca-ColaPlus brand to its portfolio of Food of SpecifiedUse (FOSHU) drinks – a significant segment ofthe county’s competitive beverage market. Thelaunch follows a decade of research anddevelopment and, as the name might suggest,offers something more in the bubbles. As well ascontaining no calories, the drink boasts fivegrams of indigestible dextrin – a source of dietaryfibre – per each 470 millilitre bottle. Thecompany claim that drinking one bottle dailywith food will help “supress fat absorption andhelp moderate the levels of triglycerides in theblood after eating”. It’s strange to think of a fizzydrink as containing any sort of fibre, but in orderto compete with cold pressed juices, soups andan assortment of other healthy alternatives, sodacompanies need to explore functional additionsto their recipes. It might satisfy the regulatorsand politicians, but lowering sugar alone is notenough. © shutterstock/wasanajai24-27_Layout 1 26/04/2017 09:20 Page 3Food & Drink International 27www.fdiforum.netFUNCTIONAL INGREDIENTSAnchor breaks ground onpea processing plantIngredients supplier Anchor Ingredients has broken ground on a pea proteinfacility in North Dakota.The facility will expand Anchor’s capacity and help address the growing customerdemand for plant-based proteins.It will be strategically located in Buffalo, positioned near the origination of peas aswell as being within proximity of Anchor’s end customer base.With construction having begun, the company plans to commission the plant in late 2017.The global demand for plant proteins – specifically pea protein – continues to grow in boththe food and pet food markets as consumers turn to alternative protein sources.Pea protein is unique in as much as it is a non-allergenic, gluten-free, grain-free, non-animal based proteinsource, produced from a sustainable and environmentally friendly crop.Anchor said it will maintain its ongoing relationship with Vestkorn Milling, the European supplier of pear protein concentrate. By having theability to supply both importing and domestically produce protein, Anchor added it will be uniquely positioned to service its diverse customerbase.© shutterstock/Oksana ShufrychRising numbers The second issue is the staggeringrise in the global population. Earlierestimates predict the world’s populouswill reach 9.5 billion by 2050, thoughthe most recent data forecasts a figureas high as 9.9 billion. Statistics showthat with our current diet, the worldsimply can’t support these kinds ofnumbers, and so our entire food systemneeds to evolve. Studies have shownthat there isn’t enough landmass togrow soybeans in order to feed ourcurrent population, never mind onewhich is set to add another 2 billion toits ranks over the coming decades. Thatsame landmass can’t support the levelof animal protein it would take either,never mind the catastrophic affect thatthe up-scaling of industrialisedagriculture would wreak on the climate.We’re at a crucial juncture when itcomes to climate change, with someestimates saying we have as little astwenty years to change our ways orreach a point of no return. The solutionis finding a protein source which can beeasily farmed, scaled up and one whichhas as minimal a carbon footprint aspossible. The solution is insects. Not only do insects represent a viableand realistic solution, they’re also afunctional ingredient in their own right.For the sake of argument, imagine asteak. That single piece of meatembodies not only the cow but all theresources that went into rearing thatcow, such as its feed, and the waterneeded to grow that feed. Now imaginehow many insects those same resourcescould support, and it quickly becomesapparent that our future is entwinedwith the six-legged. As well as providinga protein source in their own right,insects can also be ground into afunctional powder which can be used tomake everything from breads andconfectionary, to the bases for proteinshakes and so forth. While theunderstandable ‘yuck’ factor still turnsconsumers off, it’s hard to imagine apowder as being any other than acollection of particulates. Transforminginsects into functional ingredients willbe key to introducing consumers to thisnew protein and moving away frombeef, pork and poultry. In many culturesthe word over, insects are widelyconsumed and in the generations tocome, it will be like second nature forwestern consumers. The new frontierInnovation is at the heart of the foodindustry, and a brave new frontier isdawning. What we’ve come tounderstand as binary about food andbeverages is no longer true. Meat is nolonger a matter of slaughtering ananimal, with lab meat becoming atangible reality. Though the cost ofproducing meat in this way meanscommercial viability is still distant, itdoes represent a means of continuingto offer traditional meat products, butwithout the need to rear and slaughterlivestock and incur the inevitableemissions that entails. Consumers wouldbe able to have their burger and eat it,so to speak. While innovation is a means ofcircumnavigating some of the world’smost pressing issues, it is also themother of invention. Nowhere is that asemblematic then when it comes tomarijuana. The narcotic has gone welland truly mainstream. The US electionsaw many states legalise the drug, whilethe debate rages on elsewhere. In theselegalised regions, start-ups and foodcompanies are exploring its propertiesas a functional ingredient, adding ahitherto untapped aspect to drinks,confectionary and all manner of otherproducts. The food industry has welland truly entered a brave new era.© shutterstock/chrisdorney24-27_Layout 1 26/04/2017 09:20 Page 4Tel: +44 (0)1772 323529Email: sales@dixoneurope.co.ukwww.dixoneurope.co.ukYour Right ConnectionFor Hygienic Process SystemsValvesFittingsHoseEngineered ProductsFabrication28-32_Layout 1 26/04/2017 09:23 Page 1Food & Drink International 29www.fdiforum.netBEVERAGESMake no mistake, the drinks andbeverages market is an all-powerfulone. The human body requires drink tosurvive, and we have all becomeaccustomed to the taste of fluid otherthan water. No matter the problemsfaced by the industry, it seemsimpossible to imagine a world wherethe beverages industry could die out.That’s not to say it doesn’t face its ownproblems every now and then, however,and the most dogged of these has tobe about the issue of healthy eating.There’s no denying the use of sugarsand sweeteners in drink products, ortheir necessity in many cases, for it isthose tastes which have sold brands forover a hundred years. As consumers© shutterstock/yanik88Drinkto excessThe beverages industry is one beset on all sides,yet no amount of negative press seems likely – orable – to topple their hold on the global market.30 Á28-32_Layout 1 26/04/2017 09:23 Page 2Next >