< PreviousappointmentsVikan strengthen sales teamVikan, a provider of hygienic cleaning solutions for the food andbeverage industry, hasstrengthened its UKsales team with theappointment of RossEldridge as Area SalesManager for the SouthEast and East Anglia.Mr Eldridge brings awealth of experience ofthe food and beverageindustry to his new role.“I am thrilled to bejoining a company withsuch an enviable globalreputation forconsistently deliveringinnovative high qualityproducts combinedwith fabulous service,”he said.His ambition is togrow Vikan’s currentbusiness by building strong relationships with key distributors andend-users.A profound knowledge of cleaning methods and tools, coupled withinnovation delivered through collaboration with customers, makesVikan the hygienic cleaning specialist.UK Sales Manager, Andy Freer, added: “The appointment of RossEldridge will enable us to take the UK business to the next stage of itsdevelopment.”Century Snacks taps MondelēzInternational alum for new CEO California’s Century Snacks has found its new CEO in MondelēzInternational’s former President of North America Confections ValarieOswalt. Ms Oswalt boasts over twenty years of consumer package foodexperience. In her former role at Mondelēz International, she led a $1.5billion portfolio of brands. Previously, she held successively more senior positions acrossmarketing, sales, finance and supply chain functions. Over the courseof her 21-year career at Mondelēz International, Ms Oswalt consistentlyexceeded financial plans and profitability goals.“The opportunity in the nut and trail mix market is tremendous, andCentury Snacks is poised to capitalize on it,” she said. David Lowe, Chairman of the Board of Century Snacks and CEO ofInsignia Capital Group, added: “On behalf of the entire team atCentury Snacks, I’m thrilled to welcome Valerie to our organisation.”Don’t forgetyou can now readFood & Drink International Digital Editionsnow available on iPad & iPhonewww.fdiforum.netIdeal for those who spendtime away fromthe officeonthego!10 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.net© Shutterstock/CookiesForDevo04-11.qxp_Layout 1 30/07/2018 14:28 Page 7MATERIALS HANDLINGFood & Drink International 11www.fdiforum.netThe demand for fresher food has placedan incredible strain on the supply chainindustry, with manufacturers rushing tomeet the stringent time frames of largerretailers. In many cases there are just a fewdays allowed between the completion of aproduct, and its delivery to the retailer – soit should come as no surprise thatdistribution centres and warehouses arefeeling the pressure. With such irregular schedules to followand a wide variety of products to shift, themanual element of the workforce remainsas important as ever. While factories aremoving towards almost full levels ofautomation, within the warehouses it is stillindividual staff shifting goods about. Be itthrough forklifts, trolleys, conveyor belts orother materials handling equipment – thefocus is on speed, efficiency andultimately, safety. The three factors are more varied thanthey first seem, and in some cases can© Shutterstock/HalfpointEfficiency andspeed are thekeywords ofmaterialshandling, andeach needs tobe kept in mindwhenmonitoring yourdistributioncentre. 12 ÁSpeed vs efficiencyconflict with one another. Speed andefficiency are often mistaken for the samething, and while it’s forgivable for a workerto attempt to fulfil an order by using alittle extra haste, there can be risksinvolved, not only to personal safety, butalso the efficiency of the entire warehouse. Forklifts, for instance, are a staple of thematerials handling industry, with almostevery warehouse or distribution centre inthe country operating a few at least. Whatcan cause confusion however is the widearray of forklifts available on the market,and what roles they might best be suitabletowards. Industrial reach forklifts are bestsuited to taller racking systems, verycommon within the food and drinkindustry due to the sheer quantity of stockthat is kept in a warehouse, oftennecessitating that operators stack theirproducts tall as well as wide. If your11-13.qxp_Layout 1 30/07/2018 10:16 Page 112 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netMATERIALS HANDLINGwarehouse has unusually thin aisles,possibly because of even higher levelsof stock, then a 3-wheel forklift canoffer more manoeuvrability, allowing itto operate in these thinner aisles. What a company needs can dependon a hundred different factors, from thewidth of the aisles, the height of thestacking, weight of palletised goods –or even how far back on a rack they arestacked. Almost all forklifts will comewith health and safety precautions suchas shielded roofs as standard, but theremight also need to be considerations interms of user accessibility, or evenergonomics. While many may scoff atthe idea that ergonomic design shouldwarrant a more expensive forkliftsystem, one should remember that inan average day an operator mightmove their arm over a thousand timesan hour, and their head twice thatnumber. Dragging that out over aneight-hour day is going to causeserious strain and fatigue on workers,and while this might not lead to injury –it will certainly have an impact onefficiency levels, as workers begin topause to loosen muscles or take quickrests. This is a clear example of thedifferences between speed andefficiency within the materials handlingindustry, and to a degree can mimic thestory of the tortoise and the hare. Andwhile no one can endorse tortoise-likespeed in the warehouse, it is preferredto be able to maintain a pace ofindustry through the day, rather thanlag towards the end due to fatigue. One obstacle to efficiency can oftenbe locating and accessing productswithin the warehouse when they needto be shipped out. While most productsof a particular brand or batch will likelybe stored with each other, theindividual size of the packaging canvary greatly. Pallet-wrapping machinescan help maximise on this, by safelyensuring a wider range of boxes can bestored together on a single pallet. Thisalso provides added safety to theproducts if they need to be stored atheight, as there is no risk of individualpackages being knocked loose. Evenwhen it comes to these machinesthough, there is a staggering amount ofoptions available on the market, withvarying prices What becomes obvious however isthe need for a structured planregarding the warehouse, or specialisedsupply chain management software, tohandle day-to-day operations. With thepallet wrapper for instance, asupervisor would not want to bebeholden to each delivery for them todecide what variables to use. A SCMsystem in place could let the workerson the floor know exactly what settingsto use for each delivery, allowing themto get started immediately rather thanwait for specific direction. Similarly, agood software system can prepare stafffor upcoming arrivals or departures,and also arrange shifts and forkliftallocation so that there are no clashes. A well-structured supply chainmanagement system can also helpwhen it comes to the unexpected, andundesirable, situation of dealing withproduct recalls and traceability. Thoughno company expects to have thathappen to them, several high-profilecases in supermarkets have made itinto mainstream media, and it’s veryimportant that the supermarkets have a11-13.qxp_Layout 1 30/07/2018 10:16 Page 2Food & Drink International 13www.fdiforum.netMATERIALS HANDLINGquick resolution to the issue. In somecases, the larger supermarkets mightgive only give a number of hours for asupplier to trace the problem back andcome back with an answer. A survey ofover 250 companies found that 11% ofcompanies felt that they would need atleast a day to accurately trace where afault had originated from, and thiscould easily lead to a loss of a largecontract. Keeping track of all these variablesobviously has an impact on the speedof a warehouse, even though the overallefficiency of the operation is higher. What is always important toremember however is that while speedand efficiency are the two majorconcerns for directors and managers,especially when it comes to choosingwhat products to use. The safety of theoperators on the floor must always bekept in mind. Materials handlingremains one of the most accident-prone sectors in business, and this ismore the fault of the work involvedthan the industry itself. The very needfor materials handling equipment isbecause human workers are dealingwith loads too heavy for their bodies. Even the smallest accident in theworkplace can have a devastatingeffect, not only on those involved, butalso the entire supply chain. Manyworkers will down tools to come to theaid of anyone in danger, and the entiredistribution centre might be haltedwhile the accident is dealt with. Theimpact of this follows on down the line,in terms of lorries arriving for stock thatis not ready for them, to deliveries tocustomers arriving late, or not at all. Incorporating health and safety intothe forefront when selecting materialshandling equipment will notimmediately improve the efficiency ofthe operation in many cases. But it willreduce the chances of an incidentwhich will completely halt all efficiency,and in the end, that can be moredramatic than any savings. © Shutterstock/industryviews11-13.qxp_Layout 1 30/07/2018 10:16 Page 314 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netIMPORT AND EXPORTStop andsearch© Shutterstock/noinaDespite its vast verdant farmland andworld-leading industry, the UK still importsmore than half its food. Be that to cater toincreasingly exotic tastes, or to circumventdomestic growing seasons, there’s a hugeamount of food and drink products passingthrough the nation’s ports day in day out.Ensuring that these foods meet strictsafety criteria is paramount, this includes theproducts themselves as much as the way inwhich they’re packed, transported andunloaded. So any product entering the UKmust comply with European Union law oncontaminates. Any products found wantingwill be denied entry. Though Brexitnegotiations have finally picked up the pace,it’s unclear at present what effect leavingthe EU will have on these stringentmeasures. The Food Standards Agency (FSA)identifies high risk foods as containingcontaminates such as mycotoxins andaflatoxins, pesticides and salmonella.Readers will recall the recent controversywith eggs entering the UK from theNetherlands contaminated with the pesticideFipronil last year. One of the measures inplace to preserve the safety of consumers isby only allowing goods to be importedthrough designated points of entry (or DPEs,for short). Here documentary checks mustbe carried out with physicals checksrequired if necessary. According to the FSA,importers of foods which containcontaminates must ensure they importthrough a DPE which can check and verifysaid goods. These points are the proving groundwhere official controls and checks areundertaken. Official controls includemandatory documentary checks and aproportion of identity and physical checkswhich depend on the potential risk posed byfood. All consignment of controlled goodsare subject to at least a documentary check,with other inspections applied at random inaccordance with inspection quotas outlinedin EU legislation. During a documentarycheck, health certificates and anyaccompany laboratory test results arechecked for authenticity and then cross-matched with the details of the commercialdocuments to ensure they relate to thespecific consignment under scrutiny. Unsurprisingly, the identity checksdescribe the actual inspection of theconsignment. Here containers seals arechecked and, as is often the case, thepackaging of the goods themselves toensure they meet the information specifiedon the certification. Typically, labelling andhealth marking will also be checked toensure products fall in line with EU law. 16 ÁThis month, Food and Drink International looks at high riskfoods and the challenge exporters have when trying tocomply with legislation. 14-17.qxp_Layout 1 30/07/2018 10:19 Page 1Food & Drink International 15www.fdiforum.netIMPORT AND EXPORT14-17.qxp_Layout 1 30/07/2018 10:19 Page 216 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netIMPORT AND EXPORTThe foods currently restricted by EUlegislation provides an exhaustive list,broken down by country and thereasons behind the restriction. TheChernobyl disaster from 1986 still castsa long spectre over the European foodindustry, with fruits such as cranberriesand bilberries, as well as wildmushrooms, restricted from Belarus,Ukraine and Russia, among others.Restrictions have also been placed onother products and countries due topesticides, salmonella and withgenetically modified organisms, but oneof the biggest offenders is the presenceof aflatoxins.Aflatoxins are naturally found in foodand, when eaten at high levels, arelinked with cancer. Foods typicallyassociated with high levels of the toxininclude nuts, some spices, dried fruitand cereals, including associatedproducts such as breakfast cereals. Atpresent, the EU has strict limits on thelevel of acceptable aflatoxins inimported foods, meaning someproducts might need to be testedbefore entry can be allowed. This list ofrestricted foods is in constant flux,being reviewed and revised at quarterlymeetings based on evidence providedby all EU Member States where the UKis represented by the aforementionedFSA. It bears repeating that it’s still asyet unclear as to what effect Brexit willhave on the UK’s relationship with EUimport legislation. Of course, hold-ups at ports can bedifficult for food manufacturers in theUK to deal with. Delays here can meanproducts and ingredients can be laterthan expected in arriving, while demandonly increases. Should there be anyissues and products are denied entryinto the UK, it’s important that foodmakers have contingency plans in place.The time it takes for a shipment to cleara port, however, greatly depends onwhether it’s selected for an identity anda physical check. The FSA says thefrequency of these checks depend onthe level of risk related to the specificfood and its country of origin –something food makers and distributorsshould bear in mind. The speed of clearance throughchecks depends on multiple factors so© Shutterstock/MOLPIX14-17.qxp_Layout 1 30/07/2018 10:19 Page 3Food & Drink International 17www.fdiforum.netIMPORT AND EXPORTChina lifts banon exports ofBritish beefChina has lifted its longstandingban on beef exports from the UKin a landmark move estimated tobe worth £250 million in the firstfive years for British producers.The decision comes more thantwo decades after the Chinesegovernment first banned Britishbeef in the wake of the BSEoutbreak. It is the culmination of several years of site inspections and negotiations between UKand Chinese government officials.China is currently the UK’s eighth largest export market for agri-food, with over £560 millionworth of food and drink bought by Chinese consumers last year.“This is fantastic news for our world-class food and farming industry and shows we can be atruly outward looking Britain outside the European Union,” said Environment Secretary MichaelGove. “Today’s milestone will help to unlock UK agriculture’s full potential and is a major step toforging new trading relationships around the globe.”it can take longer to test forsalmonella that it can for thepresence of pesticide residuesbecause the former must becultivated in a laboratory overseveral days compared to theexpediency seen when testing forthe latter. Port checks are a crucial part ofthe import process, ensuring thatconsumers stay safe and nothingillegal or dangerous is beingbrought into the country. When itcomes to high risk foods,manufacturers must factor in anypotential hold-ups and wait timesthat arise from checks and haveplans in place to deal with supply ifa shipment is restricted. © Shutterstock/Kokliang© Shutterstock/Kokliang© Shutterstock/Rawpixel.com14-17.qxp_Layout 1 30/07/2018 10:19 Page 418 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netPROCESSING SPOTLIGHTImplementing Industry 4.0 involvesnumerous components including dataexchange, automation andmodularisation, and uses technologiessuch as advanced robotics, Internet ofThings (IoT), artificial intelligence, cloud,machine learning, big data analytics,and sophisticated sensors. Through theuse of intelligent systems incombination with data collection andcloud technology, an overhaul ofmanufacturing is taking place toimprove food and drink processing.Where previously key individuals wouldmake all decisions on various problemsarising in processing, now machines,data and humans can interact easily andconstantly so that functions areautomated, informed by the datacoming from the entire production line.Improve withIndustry 4.0Industry 4.0 has been a buzzword for some time, but it is only recently that food anddrink companies have begun to seriously adopt its strategies. If a business is to remaincompetitive, one needs to get on the Industry 4.0 conveyor belt.© Shutterstock/a-imageWithin the processing sector anIndustry 4.0 strategy, due to its hyper-connectivity and the data it makesavailable, has the ability to provide theinformation required to improveproductivity, reduce costs, increaseprofitability through production control,improve quality assurance and foodsafety, enhance productivity throughthe optimisation of certain processes,offer tighter control on supply chains,and offer a chance to upskill aworkforce.Research from consultancyAccenture indicates that companies inthe UK food and drink industry alonecan unlock £56 billion within the nextdecade by utilising digital technologieslike those used to meet Industry 4.0ideals. Certainly not every food anddrink company has the capability orfinances to buy and use all theinterconnected technology listed aspart of Industry 4.0, but cloudcomputing and data discoveryplatforms are proving increasinglypopular investments as a starting pointwithin our industry as essentials for thecollection and sharing of data that is tobe analysed to find businessimprovement solutions. Big data, thecollection of data from both digital andtraditional sources in and outside ofyour business that is to be analysed,and data mining are primary in Industry4.0 to allow for more informed smartdecisions, as every step of processingcan be analysed. The interoperability of Industry 4.0means communication can be improved18-22.qxp_Layout 1 30/07/2018 10:21 Page 1Food & Drink International 19www.fdiforum.netPROCESSING SPOTLIGHT20 Ábetween departments as they have access to datadetailing the current production status of a product,creating better awareness throughout the supply chain.Adopting computer systems and software or apps allowan exchange of information between employees that canspeed up production and be used to understand wheretime is being lost, where hold-ups are occurring withinproduction and how to change that, allowing majorimprovements to be made that can have a real effect onthe bottom line. One can also alter production up ordown based on changing market trends thanks to thedata driven nature of Industry 4.0, creating a moreflexible process.When an Industry 4.0 strategy is used optimally, it canreduce downtime and in return increase productionwithout raising costs. For instance, the health of processequipment like conveyors, pumps, fans and motors canbe tracked. By using, for example, wireless sensors likevibration monitoring sensors in a factory, one can receivedata on the performance and amount of downtimecertain equipment is facing. The equipment’s conditioncan be monitored and, from anomalies identified insensor data, it can then be predicted when it will needreplacing or repairing before breakdown through earlyproblem detection, which sends alerts pre-failure. ThisWhy there is no conflictbetween wheat and goinggluten-freeKRÖNER-STÄRKE,a leading Europeanstarch specialist, saysthere does not have tobe a conflict betweengoing gluten-free andenjoying the excellenttaste and functionalproperties that wheathas to offer. Thecompany nowproduces a range ofstarches for gluten-free bakery products, sauces, batters and coatings using 100% naturallyproduced wheat starches with the gluten content washed out. In products such as cakes and biscuits, KRÖNER-STÄRKE’s gluten-freenative wheat starch SANOSTAR offers perfect sensory and functionalproperties to help create products with excellent baking properties and asuperior taste experience similar to traditional recipes. SANOSTAR, a clean-label ingredient, also works as an excellent gluten-free binding agent for sauces such as béarnaise or béchamel – ideal foruse in applications such as ready-meals or ready-made sauces in jars orcartons. It can also be used as a raw material for the production of battersor coatings.For more information, visit www.kroener-staerke.de.18-22.qxp_Layout 1 30/07/2018 10:21 Page 2Next >