< Previous30:Layout 1 22/6/12 12:06 Page 1FOOD SAFETY & HYGIENE - BYOTROLwww.fdiforum.net31Following a partnership with one ofthe UK’s leading food manufacturers,Byotrol have launched a nationalcampaign to educate and assist the foodand drink industry to challenge listeria –the prolific and often prevalent bacteriawhich hospitalises 95% of its victims,affecting predominantly pregnant womenand their unborn children, people withvulnerable immune systems and thoseover sixty. Byotrol’s unique capacity for powerful,long-lasting protection against listeria iscoupled with products much gentler thantheir traditional alternatives, withoutusing alcohol or bleach whichcompromises the structure of skin andsurfaces. In comparative tests, Byotrol’shand and surface sanitisers outperformedall leading industry disinfectantsproviding 24 hour residual protectionagainst listeria on surfaces and eight hourprotection on hands. For those combatingreal-world conditions in foodmanufacturing, this represents a seriousreduction in risk as well as host ofbenefits including reduced damage tomachinery, shorter cleaning times and abetter quality of product for the UKconsumers.Following extensive work and successin listeria control throughout the UK,Byotrol have been called upon by theSociety of Food Hygiene and Technology,in conjunction with Morrisons and ArlaFoods UK, to draw upon their enviableexpertise and extensive knowledge basein Campylobacter intervention.Campylobacter is the most commoncause of food poisoning in the UK,responsible for an estimated 321,000cases in England and Wales alone in2008, resulting in more than 15,000hospitalisations, 76 deaths and anestimated cost to the economy of morethan £583 million. Byotrol have recentlylead an update discussion with foodmanufacturers and retailers with a viewto raising hygiene standards and workingin partnership to reduce risk forconsumers, retailers and manufacturers.Byotrol’s success has been emphasisedby its honour as University of LiverpoolKnowledge Business of the Year at theLiverpool Post Regional BusinessAwards. Byotrol competed against strongcompetition and the achievement resultsfrom years of dedicated research anddevelopment, coupled with technicalexcellence and commercial success forgedfrom partnerships with leadinginternational businesses includingRentokil Initial, Boots, PZ Cussons andTesco. Stephen Falder, Business DevelopmentDirector at Byotrol accepted the awardand said, “Our commitment toinnovative technologies and our positionas thought leaders within the industry isabsolutely the key to our business and welook forward to further success in thefuture.”Byotrol raises hygienestandards for UK foodAward-winning hygiene technology company Byotrol have been making a life-saving impact on UKfood manufactures in an effort to raise standards against Listeria and Campylobacter31:Layout 1 22/6/12 12:45 Page 1The professional food testing approach from ILSILS has the enviable reputation of being one of the finest equipped and most professional foodcontract laboratory testing facilities in Europe. Based in purpose built facilities on one site inDerbyshire, ILS provide a total quality service to their clients. ILS has fully equipped food andpharmaceutical Microbiology and Chemistry laboratories with the backing of professional andknowledgeable staff in both fields.The services ILS offer are of the highest standard and the emphasis placed on quality can not be toohighly stressed. Since achieving UKAS accreditation in 1991, ILS have expanded the range of tests they are accredited for and now have one of themost extensive scopes in the UK.ILS is also Tesco, M&S and DEFRA accredited and MHRA and FDA inspected. Working in partnership with their clients, ILS provide a qualityservice which is second to none – giving clients an all round one stop service from a single site for the provision of food testing and analysis.ILS Ltd, Shardlow Business Park, London Road, Shardlow, Derbyshire DE72 2GD Tel: 01332 793000 www.ils-limited.co.ukA new standard of professionalism in laboratory servicesALcontrol’s vision is to set a new standard of professionalism, commitment to service performance and customer care in laboratory testing. Their corevalues are aligned to your needs...Integrity first– data integrity and confidentiality is essential to customers and every ALcontrol employee is judged first on their commitment to integrity.They have a wide scope of ISO17025 accredited food and water testing at their seven UK laboratories and approved under the Tesco and Marks and Spencerschemes at all food laboratories. Service to customers– as well as ALcontrol’s extensive test range, they offer a full range of reporting options, a relationship founded on opencommunication. Its in-house transport fleet provides the most extensive coverage in the industry. Striving for excellence– beyond ALcontrol’s competitively-priced routine service, they add value and reduce your time and cost through technical advice,bespoke reporting, training and simplification of the registration process. To learn how ALcontrol can meet your needs, email contactus@alcontrol.com32www.fdiforum.netLABORATORY SHOWCASENCIMB Microbiology ServicesNCIMB Microbiology ServicesThe NCIMB Microbial Identification Service provides fast, confidential and accurateidentification of bacteria and certain common fungi to Good Manufacturing Practice standards.NCIMB’s Identification Team isolate and identify bacteria from diverse sources including industrialand process contaminants, factory or plant slimes, process and cooling waters, clean areacontaminants, isolates from personnel monitoring and from final products.As custodians of the UK’s major reference culture collection for environmental bacteria, NCIMB are ideally placed to provide an Identification Service withimmediate access to a unique source of authentic reference material for comparative purposes. They service a wide range of blue chip companies both from theUK and overseas who regularly inspect and audit their facility. Clients can have a wide range of analytical needs and they specialise in offering tailoredsolutions to client specific problems. NCIMB apply three core techniques in their Polyphasic approach to bacterial identifications – Genotypic identification,Phenotypic characterisation, and Strain to strain comparison and differentiation. NCIMB also provides Referencemicrobial cultures, QC cultures, contract freeze drying, and a secure, confidential safe deposit back up facility for clientstrains.Tel: 01224 711 100 Email: enquiries@ncimb.com www.ncimb.comEstablished experts... exceeding expectationsWickham Laboratories have been UKAS accredited since 1993. Their knowledge and advice is backed up by a completerange of laboratory testing services and can be imperative in supporting your manufacturing processes. They now have anexpanded new site boasting upgraded and impressive laboratory facilities. Specialising in Microbiology testing, Wickham Laboratories undertake a wide range of product testing for small start-ups tomajor retail suppliers alike, operating seven days a week. Services available include routine Microbiological QC testing for duediligence, shelf life testing and process validation trials, environmental swab testing and validation of cleaning processes andpotable water testingAdditionally, Wickham Laboratories offer a refrigerated collection service across South Central and South East England,including London and surrounding areas, foreign body examination and sub-contracted nutritional chemistry.The long serving personnel have developed an extensive knowledge of customers’ products and are committedto providing a high quality service that is flexible and responsive with total integrity for all customers. Wickham Laboratories would be delighted to discuss testing requirements with businesses interested invisiting the Food Microbiology facilities at Hoeford Point, Gosport.Tel: 01329 226600 Email: mail@wickhamlabs.co.uk www.wickhamlabs.co.uk32:Layout 1 22/6/12 12:46 Page 1LABELLING, CODING & MARKINGwww.fdiforum.net33Labelling, coding and marking food and drinkproducts can be fraught with problems. Gettingthat balance between consumer appeal and keepingyour packaging up to legal standards and oftengovernment-enforced safety guidelines can be achallenge. Environmental guidelines concerningwaste are also of increasing importance to many. Changes made in recent times though, haveimproved things exponentially. Figures recentlyreleased by WRAP, the Waste and ResourcesAction Programme, have revealed that foodmanufacturers have helped consumers makesignificant cuts to the £12 billion of food they wasteeach year. Among other elements, clearer datelabelling and easier-to-follow storage and freezingguidelines have helped on the environmental side. WRAP have suggested that increasing theamount of products that contain freezing anddefrosting guidance and a “freeze before” date markwould make a difference to shelf-life. This wouldno doubt boost sales - if consumers had moreconfidence a product could be used for longer byfreezing, they would no doubt consider purchasinga product more often. The often-confusing ‘sell-by’date has become outmoded and many retailers andmanufacturers now find that offering a fewparagraphs of guidance from the time the food isopened is much more effective. Those still using sell by dates are perhaps erringon the side of caution only, as consumers seem tobe much more clued up on when food can beconsumed. Defra, who also have responsibility forfood labelling in the UK, still state that using a‘best before’ or ‘use by’ date is still required by law,but making things clearer as to use can only be astep forward. One example would be the ‘Consumewithin X day of opening’ on most fresh food anddrink - often a more effective instruction. Keeping up with changesIt can be difficult to keep up with the particularswhen it comes to food and drink labelling34 The markof successWhen presenting products for market, labelling,coding and marking often plays second fiddle toaesthetics. Although important, on-shelf appearancecould be ruined if your labelling is not up to standard.FOR AFFORDABLE AUTOMATIC AND SEMI-AUTOMATIC LABELLING SYSTEMSTel: +44 (0)3330 1234 188 email: sales@3dlabellingsystems.com www.3DLS.uk.comSTICK WITH US33-36:Layout 1 22/6/12 12:48 Page 1legislation. Changes can often come in quicklyand to be not prepared can leave you withmodifications to make to products with shortnotice, affecting print runs, product life cyclesand can cause chaos for you and your clients.Clare Thomas, head of Food and Drink at lawfirm Addleshaw Goddard says, “It’s fair to saythat the most problematic area of food labellingfor food manufacturers is the creation and use ofcompliant health and nutritional claims. Therules relating to what can and can’t be said abouta product’s ability to deliver specific nutritionalor health benefits are fairly complicated andbrand owners often fall foul of these rules.” Clare recommends FSA’s Compliance withEuropean Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 onNutrition and Health Claims made on FoodsGuidance as it contains a number of elementsthat can come in useful when planning a newproduct and its labelling in general.35www.fdiforum.netLABELLING, CODING & MARKINGConsumers can be put off if packaging doesn’t display information easily33-36:Layout 1 22/6/12 12:48 Page 2The FSA Guidance, together with copiesof The Food Labelling Regulations 1996and the EC Regulation on Nutrition andHealth Claims 1924/2006 should provideanswers to questions about compliance,font sizes, typefaces and the legalramifications involved, but manufacturersneed to think beyond the product itself too;if they are advertising the product thenCAP’s Broadcast and Non-broadcast Codesmust be met.Clare says, “If the manufacturer complieswith the legislation, then they should bydefault comply with these specific rules.The ASA adjudications are published eachWednesday and I recommend thatmanufacturers sign up to receive freeweekly adjudication updates as it’s a greatway of seeing what competitors are up toand understanding whether themanufacturer’s activities or proposedactivities could be problematic.”Although the ASA’s remit does not extend to labels, it isimportant to appreciate that if an ad features a product and thelabel is visible, if a consumer or a competitor were to complainabout the label, then the complaint would be considered by theASA. It is important to ensure that internal and external marketingand design agencies understand the legal constraints applying tothe label’s artwork and text before any work is undertaken so asto avoid incurring unnecessary expense and losing valuable timein a product launch timetable. They must also understandwhether any product specific labelling requirements also apply.For example, does the product contain nuts? Is the product ajam or a preserve? Is the product a HFSS product? Creating aproduct launch checklist to address labelling issues would bewise in many cases.Appearance still countsInnovation has taken a hold in the drinks market when itcomes to appearances, Spear, for example, have come up withpackaging that ‘comes alive’ on the shelf. Intended for theclub and bar market, one of their latest products is a labelwhich ‘glows’ under a UV light. This makes the productstand out on the shelf, but also gives consumers a visualsignifier. Use of tactile surfaces is also something that appeals toalcoholic beverage producers, Miller, Desperadoes and BombaySapphire have all created dynamic labelling that gives it that‘feel’ of quality. With so many products in the market, it is easyto see why companies are looking for more interesting options.LABELLING, CODING & MARKINGwww.fdiforum.net3536 Calls for moreinformation aboutfreezing and storageguidelines have beenmade to help preventconsumer food wasteGLPLinerless ...Over double the amount of labels on the same rollLess down-time due to changing rolls (rolls last twice as long)Variable label length; no need to change the roll for a different label lengthFaster roll changes with no waste liner to be removed from the printerExcellent synergy with Bizerba equipment (longer life span on print heads)Reduced cost of stock (no need to hold stock of different label sizes)Minimal waste - only the core is thrown awayCost of packaging waste disposal reducedExcellent print quality - barcode readabilitySafety - no slippery liner on the floor ....Bizerba UK Limited, 2-4 Erica Road, Stacey Bushes, Milton Keynes, MK12 6HST. 01908 682740 E. info@bizerba.co.uk33-36:Layout 1 22/6/12 12:48 Page 336www.fdiforum.netLABELLING, CODING & MARKINGEven heat-sensitive labels are seeing use, withhidden messages or images being revealedwhen the bottle reaches a certain temperature.What may seem initially gimmick-drivenoptions can plant brand awareness and evenincrease sales. The more unusual, it seems, thebetter. Linerless future?On the packaging front, it seems that anew culture in minimalistic labelling isgradually becoming the norm the world over.Where backing-free labelling started as aniche idea, the concept is now being adoptedfor widespread use around the globe as iteliminates the waste paper product that is leftbehind with standard pressure sensitivelabels.Newly-implemented legislation on wastemeans liners will no longer be landfilled orincinerated. They will now be collected andrecycled, changing the way traditional labelsSpear haveworked withSan Miguel tocreate a mattvarnish andcoarse ‘feel’ totheir labels fortheir Frescabeer bottles, a‘no label’ look.are viewed. The linerless label solutiondispenses with backing paper altogether saving30% in the overall production process.Savings can be made in the productionprocess as the new style labels allow for morethan a 50% reduction in the need for labelchange over and the costs associated withtransporting the labels are lower as they arelighter and less bulky.It has been predicted linerless systems willbecome increasingly mainstream around theworld as new solid waste legislation comesinto place, as most recently introduced inLatin America. The Brazilian governmenthas also just passed some of the mostrigorous legislation yet which has maderelease waste liner a new global challenge. Itwill be interesting to see what route theindustry takes in order to meet thischallenge. In the meantime, keep up to datewith the latest news via our website atwww.fdiforum.net.PHOTO: SPEAR33-36:Layout 1 22/6/12 12:48 Page 437:Layout 1 22/6/12 12:49 Page 138www.fdiforum.netROBOTICSThe use of robotics in the food anddrink industry is famously hugely variedacross the world. Germany, for example,has long been established as the home ofrobots for many years, while the UK hasoften lagged far behind much of the restof Europe. Increasingly, though, the useof automation is becoming a familiarsight wherever you look.Much work is going on in the UK toencourage increased automation, mostnotably thanks to the government-fundedAutomating Manufacturing programme.156 applications for funding werereceived from UK manufacturers by theend of March, substantially more thananticipated, as take-up was expected tobe in double figures. The scheme – whichinvolves an independent automationexpert visiting factory premises andassessing where automation can help – isstill open but its success meansbusinesses are being encouraged to applyas soon as possible.Mike Wilson, Chairman of the BritishAutomation and Robot Association, says,“We are delighted with the uptake fromindustry so far. The UK is one of thenations within Europe that has been slowto adopt the use of automation with amere 25 robots per 10,000 employees –as opposed to 127 per 10,000 employeesin Germany. One of the keys to successin addressing the UK’s budget deficit isincreasing export output and the way todo this is by making UK manufacturingas efficient as possible.”Introducing automation can besomewhat controversial, especially at atime when businesses are often having tomake tough decisions on the number ofstaff they employ. However a recentsurvey has suggested that theintroduction of robots, if it’s donecorrectly, should have no impact on staffnumbers. The latest study publishedrecently by the International Federationof Robotics in Tokyo says that threemillion jobs have been directly created inrecent years by the use of robots and afurther million positions are estimatedglobally by 2016. The report found that between 2000and 2008 – albeit, of course, before thedownturn – manufacturing employmentincreased in nearly every majorindustrialised country, even as the use ofHelping handsSchemes such as the UK’s Automating Manufacturing programme areclosing the gap when it comes to introducing robotsWMH is in the final stages of commissioning asix-robotic packing system for a vegetableprocessing and packing plant38-39:Layout 1 22/6/12 12:50 Page 1ROBOTICSwww.fdiforum.net39industrialised roboticsincreased sharply. Thistrend is now being seen inChina, Brazil and otheremerging markets as theyrapidly increase their use ofrobotics. Indeed, in Brazil,the number of robots almostquadrupled during the studyperiod with both productionand employment rising byover 20%.The obvious advantages of the rise inrobotics come with their ability to carryout work that is often unsafe or evenimpossible to be carried out manually,and that which isn’t viable in a high wageeconomy. By taking on these tasks, staffcan be deployed in more creative andvaluable roles across the company.Indeed, investment in robotic andautomation applications is often essentialto businesses to allow them to remaincompetitive and – increasinglyimportantly reduce an environmentalimpact. It also allows better use of labourresources and improvement of qualitycontrol right across the board. However,to achieve this, the right partnership isessential. Rather than installing robotsfor the sake of it or purchasing an off-the-shelf solution that may not beadaptable to the specific requirements,it’s vital to ensure the project isimplemented effectively and achieves thetargets set out by the business.Processing and packing facilities arebenefiting from the introduction ofrobotics. For example, WMH is in thefinal stages of commissioning a six-robotic packing system for a vegetableprocessing and packing plant.WMH took on the project toreconfigure two previously unsuccessfulpacking cells to enable the factory torobotically pick and place sweetcorn cobsand cobbettes into the infeed of two FujiFlow Wrappers for punnetless packing.The system takes a random flow of cobsfrom a manual peeling and deleafingprocess and roughly aligns the cobs intopockets on a flighted belt. A series ofthree ABB flexpicker robots guided by acamera inspection system then picksindividual cobs from thepockets and places theninto the extended flightedinfeed of a Fuji FlowWrapper.Each cell of three robotsis programmed to pick andplace up to two hundredcobs per minute and loadthem into the FlowWrapper in for eitherpacks of four or two. The system has abuilt in buffer to enable the robots tostore up to six cobs each for short periodsuntil there is space in the flow wrapperinfeed for all the products. When thesystem is operating at lower capacities theflow wrapper infeed will wait until flightsare filled sufficiently before beingreleased for wrapping. The introductionof this new system means that the twolines packing up to 24,000 sweetcorncobs per hour can now be comfortablyoverseen by two operatives per shift – avaluable contribution to the plant’sgeneral efficiency.Companies have to be able to trust therobots they introduce. It’s of paramountimportance that operating the newequipment is relatively easy anduncomplicated, hence the introduction ofuser friendly interface that allows theoperational team to have completeconfidence in the control of oftencomplex systems.Robotics have led to faster moving andmore effective supply chains in theindustry’s leading companies, and as theirvalue is continually demonstrated, thegulf in numbers across the world isgetting smaller and smaller.Laidler Associates,part of themachinery divisionof TÜV SÜDProduct Service, isamong thecompanies lendingits support to theUK’s newAutomatingManufacturingProgramme‘A recent survey hassuggested that theintroduction ofrobots, if it’s donecorrectly, shouldhave no impact onstaff numbers.’38-39:Layout 1 22/6/12 12:50 Page 2Next >