< Previous20 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net BENEO Q&A What are the latest developments in digestive health? Consumers are increasingly paying attention to their digestive health, with more than two-thirds of consumers worldwide saying digestive health is very important to them. As understanding of digestive health grows, consumers are now recognising the wider benefits a healthy gut can have on their overall state of wellbeing. In fact, research shows that 63% of consumers recognise that digestive health plays an extremely important role in their physical health and 57% in relation to their mood. As a result, feeling good is now the main driver for consumers wanting to improve their digestive health with 1 out of 3 consumers doing so to either feel more active or more relaxed. These findings illustrate how consumer mindsets are changing, with many having a much greater understanding of the wider benefits associated with digestive wellness. What ingredients are key for promoting digestive wellness? Dietary fibres promote intestinal health by increasing stool volume, for example, and by supporting regular bowel movements. The role of the colon, however, goes far beyond digestive health. This means that the influence of fermentable fibres, in particular ones that lead to a prebiotic fermentation pattern and positively support the microbiota, reach out to other parts of the body and e.g. influence hunger-satiety (energy intake), mood and much more. BENEO’s chicory root fibres, inulin and oligofructose, are natural, non- GMO, and clean label. They are derived from the chicory root via a gentle hot water extraction method, unlike some other fibres that are artificially or chemically made. Being clinically proven prebiotics, they are the preferred nutrients for beneficial gut bacteria and therefore encourage positive modulation of the microbiota composition to take place. This in turn improves digestive health and inner well-being by supporting normal bowel regularity and a healthy gut microbiota by increasing beneficial bacteria. There are many human intervention studies confirming these aspects. With transparency and natural formulations continuing to fuel consumer trust, it is not surprising that ‘clean’ and ‘more natural’ product launches have attained a world average annual growth rate of 15%. As plant- based clinically proven prebiotic fibres, BENEO’s Orafti® Inulin and Oligofructose, allow food and drink manufacturers to create products that support a healthy microbiome in a natural way. Which product applications are proving most popular? The results of a consumer survey conducted in Europe on behalf of BENEO show that breakfast is the key occasion to choose food and beverages that support digestive health. Applications such as breakfast cereals, yoghurt, fruit juices, cereal bars, bread and breakfast cookies are all considered to be appealing to consumers in this respect. While consumer interest in digestive health is certainly increasing, taste remains the most important factor. Being soluble and having a mild sweet taste, BENEO’s Orafti® Inulin and Oligofructose deliver an appealing mouthfeel, texture and taste in applications such as dairy, bakery, cereals, and many more. This presents food manufacturers with the opportunity to help consumers keep their digestive systems healthy, naturally and with ease, without having to make any major changes to their diet or sacrifice on taste or texture. How can manufacturers tap into this trend? This rising focus on inner well-being presents an opportunity for manufacturers to innovate and Q&A Thomas Schmidt, Marketing Director at BENEO We spoke with Thomas Schmidt, Marketing Director at BENEO, about the importance of dietary fibre and how food makers can capitalise on the growing trend for digestive wellness. 20-21.qxp_Layout 1 19/08/2019 15:40 Page 1Food & Drink International 21 www.fdiforum.net BENEO Q&A capitalise on the trend by offering products that promote digestive health. Whether added fibre or prebiotic benefits, there are a number of ingredients available, such as BENEO’s Orafti® Inulin and Oligofructose, that will help manufacturers develop successful products. Our experts at the BENEO- Technology Centre and the team for Market Insights and Consumer Intelligence are constantly conducting research into latest market trends and most popular ingredient applications worldwide. This insight is then used to develop new recipe concepts that package functionality and health benefits into favourable products that consumers will enjoy. Importantly, these concepts then undergo trials to ensure that BENEO ingredients can deliver in terms of performance, taste and texture. Taking into account rising consumer demand for products that promote digestive wellness, the team at the BENEO-Technology Centre most recently created a fibre-enriched, prebiotic ready-to-drink coffee, that promotes a balanced blood glucose response, whilst promoting digestive health. The wide range of drinkable and edible product ideas available from the BENEO-Technology Center, which incorporate prebiotic chicory root fibres, Orafti® Inulin and Oligofructose, for added health benefits, provide a wealth of opportunity for manufacturers which are looking to innovate. Developing products using such ingredients can help manufacturers promote digestive health for the long-term, meet consumer demand for inner wellbeing and stay ahead of the competition. For further information on BENEO and its ingredients, visit: www.beneo.com and www.beneonews.com, or follow BENEO on Twitter: @_BENEO or LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/beneo. 20-21.qxp_Layout 1 19/08/2019 15:40 Page 222 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT SPOTLIGHT The core forces pushing food and drink producers to invest in new machinery and equipment remain the same as ever: the need for improved yield, reduced expenses and waste, improved safety and hygiene, boosted productivity, efficiency, innovation and machine reliability. The future of the food processing and packaging machinery sector looks positive in line with rising demand across the globe for processed and packaged, as well as convenience products, and with changing preferences such as for healthy alternative goods, which are seeing manufacturers alter their processes, or invest in new equipment to produce clean labels, non-GMO ingredients and other free from category products. A desire for variety meanwhile is seeing the development of technologically advanced equipment with multiple applications. According to the United Nations, food production must increase by 70% by 2050 if global demand is to be met. To make this possible food firms will need to invest in a variety of different equipment and machinery with little time lag and downtime to keep processing continuous and boost operations. Automation and robotics remain a key driver of investment in new machinery and equipment, especially as Investing in new machinery & equipment As demand rises for a wider variety of processed and packaged foods, food producers are looking to invest in the most efficient machinery and equipment. 25 Á © Shutterstock / Alex Marakhovets 22-29.qxp_Layout 1 20/08/2019 14:30 Page 122-29.qxp_Layout 1 20/08/2019 14:30 Page 224 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net Stainless steel conveyor systems Stand alone units or fully integrated Robotic and end of line equipment Bespoke engineering capabilities Turnkey and standalone solutions Integration and project management Service support and upgrades Partnered with Lita Palletising Systems for over 30 years www.kensal.com sales@kensal.com | tel: +44 (0) 1 582 425 777 Kensal Handling Systems Ltd, Kensal House, President Way, Luton, LU2 9NR Embracing the latest technology, Kensal consistently delivers improved line efficiency for customers, whilst reducing operating costs. Handling a Better Solution T: +44 (0) 118 946 1900 E: sales@appliedweighing.co.uk www.appliedweighing.co.uk FOR GENERAL, PROCESS, PHARMACEUTICAL & FOOD WEIGHING APPLICATIONS Load Cells Silo, Tank & Vessel Systems Weight Indicators & Control Systems Platform Scales Drum Filling Systems Dynamic Check Weighers The UK’s leading load cell & process weighing system manufacturer. When you use any product from Applied Weighing you will have absolute accuracy and total peace of mind. Comprehensive National Service Organisation Accurate weighing - whatever your industry MANUFACTURED IN THE UK 22-29.qxp_Layout 1 20/08/2019 14:30 Page 3Food & Drink International 25 www.fdiforum.net MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT SPOTLIGHT firms look to increase production flexibility to respond to competitive market dynamics, demand and efficiency concerns. Increasing automated and robotic equipment in production can help create more cost- effective operations, higher quality and consistent goods, improve output, allow for more uptime, speed up packaging and reduce waste. Further, the adoption of robots/machines that automate routine tasks has become essential in the labour shortage affecting the food and drink industry, where the amount of employees required to meet demand cannot be matched, and is only set to become more difficult as changing immigration policies affect worker supply. With automated machines, less employees are required for repetitive tasks and current staff can be reassigned to more value adding tasks, and beneficially with less human interaction with products and machines comes reduced chance of hygiene breaches, contamination, human error and injuries. Advanced automated packaging equipment and end of line checking equipment are also in demand as food firms look to streamline these processes and reduce wastage - with intelligent automation, products can be packed quicker and more precisely. Meanwhile advanced technologies like ultrasonic sealing are being adopted to reduce seal size, decreasing material use and growing profit. Packaging equipment is also due to change in response to the use of sustainable packaging materials, where equipment innovation is required. Maintenance and the high fixed costs associated with adopting automation however continue caution, especially due to budget constraints. However, automation implementation does not have to mean complete machine redesigns and complex infrastructures, gradual integration is more common where instead of automating an entire line one might begin with an individual component. Fortunately the automation of processes has never been easier with for instance numerous plug-and-play solutions, and equipment that can now handle even the most delicate tasks like slicing. For those unsure of where automation is required, a site audit is the place to start. It is anticipated that the food processing equipment market will see growth and innovation in design with the further incorporation of smart sensors and the Internet of Things (IoT), which allow for remote equipment monitoring and maintenance which has the potential to reduce © Shutterstock / muph 26 Á 22-29.qxp_Layout 1 20/08/2019 14:30 Page 426 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT SPOTLIGHT maintenance costs. Machines and equipment with sensors enable automated predictive maintenance, where AI systems and sensors can monitor equipment health constantly, predict when it might break down and initiate maintenance, to ensure an operation continues to run smoothly, boosting efficiency. With automated predictive maintenance, food facilities, which usually consist of continuous production processes conducted by connected machines where the breakdown of one piece of equipment can result in an entire operation being shut down, can avoid costly downtime and product loss. The need to replace high energy consuming equipment is also driving investment in new machinery and equipment for food firms. Outdated equipment and bad processes have a major impact on energy waste in food facilities and can be costly. Smart and eco-friendly technology, therefore, is becoming popular, with manufacturers looking to replace current processing equipment with green, energy efficient options with reduced operation costs to boost their sustainability, aiming to reduce a facility’s carbon footprint as awareness of the harmful effects of old machines on the environment rises. Food and drink manufacturers are also seeking versatile equipment in order to produce the wider variety of products and packaging required today. Expanding product line-ups are seeing changes in the production process where equipment that can produce numerous types of products is desired to increase output without major changes needing to be made to facilities. If a food producer can make multiple items like soups and sauces with one unit, each product will not require a custom solution. Meanwhile when packaging, food firms are looking for efficient equipment that doesn't require time consuming changeovers so that machines can run different products. Food and drink is an industry hosting facilities full of sophisticated, but also hazardous, machinery and equipment, and it is therefore important to ensure machinery new or old is safe for use. Injuries are unfortunately not uncommon in food production and packaging, due to the close interaction between humans and machines - the industry is one of the most accident- prone manufacturing industries. Costly fines from lawsuits and a damaged reputation as well as fatalities can result from poorly managed machine safety. In the UK alone, according to the HSE, machinery in the food and drink industry causes over 30% of fatal © Shutterstock / muph 22-29.qxp_Layout 1 20/08/2019 14:30 Page 5Food & Drink International 27 www.fdiforum.net MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT SPOTLIGHT injuries and over 10% of major injuries. Most of these are caused by conveyors, which account for 30% of machinery accidents. Disappointingly, 90% of these incidents involve well known hazards and occur during regular operations like clearing blockages. The HSE highlights that hazardous parts of conveyors can by safeguarded by design with for instance lift out rollers, preventing the trapping of fingers, and the use of fixed guarding or hinged and removable interlocked guards. Interlocked guards in the food industry are beneficial in making the machine easier to hygienically clean on a regular basis. AZZURI BLUE [food blue] GEARING Davall DSG supply transmission parts in stainless steel gears sprocket motor-gearbox SICK reflex array sensors are on the leading edge SICK has unveiled its next- generation family of smart photoelectric 2D light array sensors – the RAY10 and RAY26 – to detect difficult- to-see products moving on high-speed conveyors. The new sensors create a wide 2D light band to reliably detect transparent or irregularly-shaped products such as glass bottles, or packaging with no clearly- defined leading edges, such as polybags containing fresh or frozen foodstuffs. Even when products are randomly positioned on the conveyor belt, only a few millimetres high, unevenly-shaped, shiny, transparent, high-contrast, or varied in height or colour, the sensors deliver consistently reliable detection. They will also detect perforated objects, such as plastic totes, without danger of false tripping or the need to programme multiple switching operations. Where complex configuration of multiple sensors, or costly light grids, might previously have been needed to obtain reliable results, the compact sensors achieve high levels of performance in a fraction of the space and set-up time. For more information, visit www.sick.co.uk. 29 Á 22-29.qxp_Layout 1 20/08/2019 14:30 Page 6MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT SPOTLIGHT 28 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net © Shutterstock / Phovoir 22-29.qxp_Layout 1 20/08/2019 14:30 Page 7Providing the best system for your business Paktech Services Limited specialise in the supply installation and servicing of strapping machine systems and pallet wrapping machinery. Its partnership with Movitec offers its customers the rotary ring, stretch wrapping system. The company has an experienced team of engineers who would work closely with its customers and Movitec to provide the best system for your business needs. Providing individual wrapping machines for existing production line up to complete end of line projects with specific solutions for logistics and distribution systems. Advantages of a Movitec Wrapping System • Guaranteed savings of stretch film, 300% (pre-stretch) • Low maintenance cost • Low energy consumption • The load remains static, the film reels rotate around the load • System allows conveyors at floor level • Quick installation • Electronic, self-adjusting tension control depending on the profile • No film tails thanks to an efficient cut and welding unit with a consistent temperature control The Movitec Range Saturn 2 The best option instead of the turntable machine Maximum Capacity: up to 45 pallet per hour Saturn 4 The alternative to the arm wrappers Maximum Capacity: up to 70 pallet per hour Saturn 6 The most versatile Maximum Capacity: up to 120 pallet per hour Saturn 8 The fastest one Maximum Capacity: up to 160 pallet per hour. Food & Drink International 29 www.fdiforum.net MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT SPOTLIGHT Not too long ago a case was settled in the UK in which a food group was fined £1.4m after an employee was struck by a metal stillage and crushed while dealing with a blockage on a conveying system on a poultry slaughter line. The member of staff had fractured ribs and a punctured lung because the company had not identified inadequacies in the machine’s guarding and hadn't implemented measures to stop access to dangerous parts of the machinery. In this case, just one example of an accident involving conveyors, one can see machine guards are of prime importance in machine safety, which is only re-emphasised when looking at other machine accidents in the food industry, with for instance 50% of the UK food industry’s thermoform, fill and seal machine injuries caused by failures in guarding. Guarding must meet specific standards, for instance be designed to avoid dirt traps and made from materials that are able to handle frequent wash-downs, but also meet essential health and safety requirements and allow maximum visibility. Risk analysis should be carried out to make sure machine guards are chosen based on impact levels and how fast workers need to access machinery. Forklift trucks, bandsaws, pie and tart machines, palletisers and depalletisers, mincing, grinding and mixing machines, wrapping machines, slicers, and bottling machinery are also listed by HSE as main types of machinery involved in injuries amongst others. When investing in new machinery, ensure that your health, safety, and hygienic design requirement are specified and verify that the equipment supplier has met legal responsibilities and standards such as the European CEN standards. Look for machines with a ‘CE’ mark, a claim that it is compliant with the Essential Health and Safety Requirements in supply law. After equipment is up and running ensure to implement proactive maintenance measures to keep machinery working smoothly and safely - once again sensors can be useful here. Facility managers have a responsibility to implement a solid safety strategy to not only protect staff but the business from the resulting costs if they do not do so. To find out more: visit www.paktech.co.uk email sales@paktech.co.uk call +44(0) 114 2483 160. 22-29.qxp_Layout 1 20/08/2019 14:30 Page 8Next >