< Previous30 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net DUST CONTROL damaging effect. Every year, lung diseases linked to past exposure to dust from materials including flour, asbestos, silica and wood kills 12,000 workers in the UK. In many of these cases, disease take a long time to develop after exposure, so damage isn’t always easy to quantify and recognise right away, and it is only years or decades later that health issues arise. Occupational asthma, however, can occur more quickly. Although legislation exists to help mitigate these issues, obviously more needs to be done to ensure manufacturers comply with regulations and ensure workplace safety. To that end, government agency, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), last year carried out rigorous inspections focussed on dust controls in industries including food manufacturing. These examinations saw inspectors visit businesses across the UK to see what measures have been put in place to protect worker’s lungs from particulates such a flour dust. The aim was to ensure employers are fulfilling their legal duties to protect workers from harm and will therefore look for evidence of businesses and their workers knowing the risks, planning their work and using the right controls to mitigate the danger of dust. The fallout from not complying with the law can be costly, as a Yorkshire bakery business found out. In 2018, the business was fined almost £160,000 after it was found to have exposed staff to flour dust between April 2002 and April 2016. The case followed an investigation undertaken by HSE that found the business had no effective method of control in place to prevent dust becoming airborne and employees breathing it in. The first logical step in any dust control strategy will be undertaking a combustible dust hazard analysis. This important process allows a manufacturer to understand the risks facing their business, where they occur during production and gauge the severity. From there, appropriate action can then be taken to prevent and 28-31.qxp_Layout 1 25/08/2021 11:00 Page 3Food & Drink International 31 www.fdiforum.net DUST CONTROL minimise these risks. The presence of dust alone is dangerous for workers, but when an ignition source is added into the mix, it becomes a deadly combination. Manufacturers can help to minimise the risk by grounding their equipment to reduce static electricity. Some food additive powders such as maltodextrin – which is used as thickening or filler in processed foods and to preserve packaged goods – are very sensitive to static electricity. In plants where these kinds of additives are processed, grounding or bonding equipment will be a wise precautionary measure. It might seem obvious, but a thorough cleaning routine is an important step in preventing the build up of dust. Combined with the solutions outlined above and manufacturers have a robust defence against dust. But one of the best measures is air filtration systems. There’s a variety of options to choose from including, but not limited to, bagged filters which act in a similar way to a vacuum cleaner, albeit on an industrial level. There are also air cleaners which take in potentially contaminated air, remove the particles, and send the cleaned air out again on a constant cycle. Then there are specific dust extraction systems which can be fitted to specific machines on the production line, concentrating their capabilities on the likeliest source of contamination, such as the pouring of powdered foods. As well as ensuring staff are up to date with legislation and best practice concerning dust, it’s also important for manufacturers to ensure correct safety measures are in place. This means arming staff with appropriate personal protective equipment such as breathing masks and ventilations and goggles. There’s no getting rid of dust during food production, it’s an inevitable occurrence, but there are several ways in which manufacturers can help to safeguard their workers and facilities and ensure the risks of illness and explosions remain at a minimum. © Shutterstock /Syda Productions 28-31.qxp_Layout 1 25/08/2021 11:00 Page 432 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net BAKERY AND CONFECTIONARY A healthier and more sustainable sector From growing demand for healthier products to the need to boost sustainability, Food and Drink International considers the key trends impacting the bakery and confectionary sector. 32-36.qxp_Layout 1 25/08/2021 11:02 Page 1Food & Drink International 33 www.fdiforum.net BAKERY AND CONFECTIONARY © Shutterstock /kwanchai.c While bakery and confectionary brands have had to adapt to significant, rapid change in the past year - from panic buying in early 2020 and changes in how people engage with goods, to the need to alter how bakeries are run to protect employees - they continue to innovate in response to fast- evolving consumer habits. At the forefront is an issue that sees the sector stuck between two contrasting consumer desires that have both been amplified as a result of the pandemic. This is the heightened demand for sweet, indulgent comfort foods, with chocolate sales booming for example, and the increased awareness of how healthy diets can support wellness in the wake of COVID-19. The latter is becoming especially important to the public with conditions like obesity and diabetes - that can stem from dietary and lifestyle choices - exacerbating cases of coronavirus. Further impacting brands, then, is a wave of consumers looking to ‘get fit’ and improve their diets by cutting calories, sugar, and fat, after lockdowns led to weight gain due to reduced activity and comfort eating in response to stress and uncertainty. Finding equilibrium here, to produce products that provide a feeling of indulgence but are also healthy, is therefore a crucial area for product development. Reduced sugar and calorie products are key moving forwards, with a European bakery industry research report from Tate & Lyle, released at the end of 2020, highlighting that nearly three quarters of senior bakery industry professionals state that these goods are the biggest drivers of business growth as consumers look for healthier options. However, though consumers seek healthier goods, they are less willing to accept changes to the taste and texture of products. Brands are thus combatting the difficulties of reformulating products without losing their loved qualities. Indeed finding an alternative for sugar, fats and oils that can provide the same experience for consumers is tough, as when removing these - for instance when swapping out sugar, which has myriad functions, for a sweetening agent - flavour, mouthfeel, 34 Á 32-36.qxp_Layout 1 25/08/2021 11:03 Page 234 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net BAKERY AND CONFECTIONARY colour, aroma, shape, viscosity, shelf life et al., are quickly affected. Many are turning to more natural sources of sweetness when cutting down sugar, such as honey and vanilla, and are experimenting with sweetened fruits and nuts. Inulin, meanwhile, usually extracted from chicory root, is gaining momentum in reduced-sugar treats, containing less calories than sugar. As it does not hold equivalent water-binding properties of sugar however, mould-free shelf life is impacted, though preservatives can be used to overcome this. With governments proposing further sugar and salt taxes on processed foods, setting targets, and building barriers through potential bans on bulk buy promotions for products high in fat, sugar, and salt (e.g. cakes, biscuits) and on where such goods are located in stores, it is vital that the sector commits to further NPD and reformulation. With progress slow, businesses have been falling short of current targets, with bakery and confectionary suppliers below Public Health England’s voluntary sugar reduction targets (a twenty per cent sugar reduction by 2020). The health kick is also seeing demand in the industry for products that are immunity boosting, such as those with super foods, and fortified foods with additional nutritional benefits, including those enriched with fibre, protein, Omega-3, and probiotics, with consumers prioritising these goods. High protein launches in particular are abound in the sector, with numerous sources utilised from dairy to soy, egg, pea, pulses, potato, and grains. There is additionally more appetite for and focus in the industry being placed on vegan and plant-based products as well as free-from options, with bakery and confectionary brands increasingly showcasing these claims on packaging. More consumers are adopting vegan, vegetarian, and flexitarian diets, and are expecting a wider range of choice. Responding, according to Innova Market Insights, fifteen per cent of bakery product launches in 2019/20 came with a vegan positioning, while plant-based chocolate is a major trend in confectionery as innovations improve flavours and texture. Moreover, innovation is rife to provide plant-based replacements for key ingredients like eggs and butter. Furthermore, as governments and consumers push for environmental and ethical improvements, sustainability is high on the agenda for producers of bakery and confectionary products. Sustainably sourced goods are becoming a must, with many manufacturers in the sector for example seeking to reduce their use of palm oil and use sustainable palm oil, while Europastry has committed to switching to one hundred per cen t sustainable wheat (growing wheat is a major source of CO2 emissions). Concurrently, brands are looking to deepen relationships with ingredient suppliers to encourage sustainable modes of production, stop deforestation associated with raw materials, and are promoting ethical practices and traceability as consumers pay greater attention to labels, ingredients and demand transparency over how products are sourced and made. Indeed ‘Sweet Insights: State of Treating 2021’, 36 Á © Shutterstock /DenisProduction.com 32-36.qxp_Layout 1 25/08/2021 11:03 Page 3Kecol have over 25 years of experience in handling all types of viscous products in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics markets, as well as general industrial applications. T: +44 (0)1746 764311 E: sales@kecol.co.uk W: www.kecol.co.uk Honey Petroleum Jelly Mascara Sauces Lanolin Lip Gloss Essences Eye Ointment Meat Paste Paraffin Wax Face Scrub Teething Gel Tomato Puree Medical Adhesives Veterinary Creams Fruit Paste Toothpaste Malt Jam Wax A sample of products we already pump… See us at the PPMA Total Show stand H30T: +44 (0)1746 764311 E: sales@kecol.co.uk W: www.kecolpumps.com 32-36.qxp_Layout 1 25/08/2021 11:03 Page 436 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net BAKERY AND CONFECTIONARY pladis further boosts sustainability credentials via Sonoco’s fully recyclable EnviroCan™ pladis, the global snack company behind some of the UK’s most iconic brands, has recently made steps forward to move toward more paper-based solutions – its Mini Cheddars and Cheeselets ranges now use Sonoco’s EnviroCanTM with paperboard end. Cracker Crisps and Mini Twiglets are also set to use EnviroCanTM later this year. “Sonoco’s EnviroCan™ with paperboard end meets the recycling requirements of the UK, which is great for our brand and the consumer, who can have peace of mind when disposing of the packaging in household waste recycling bins,” said Christopher Owen, Marketing Controller at pladis UK&I. “We are using this new, innovative product from Sonoco for the summer launch of our Mini Cheddars and Cheeselets caddies, helping our customers to tap into the ‘big summer nights in’ from the comfort of their own homes. “In September, we’ll be utilising EnviroCanTM for our customer’s favourite festive caddies, which include Mini Cheddars, Treeslets and Twiglets.” To find out more, visit www.sonocoeurope.com. based on consumer studies by the National Confectioners Association, highlights that forty-one per cent of American consumers say transparency in ingredient sourcing and production processes influences their chocolate and candy purchases. This number jumps to forty-eight per cent for younger millennials. Cutting carbon emissions is also impacting business choices in the sector, alongside using renewable and cleaner energy sources, local suppliers to minimise food miles, electric trucks and alternative fuels to mitigate the environmental impact of transport, and manufacturers are investing in energy efficient machinery. Meanwhile bakery businesses are looking to limit and reuse waste through better planning and management with software, redistributing to those in need, and creating new products from surplus, with Marks & Spencer for instance taking leftover baguettes at its stores to produce frozen garlic bread as part of a 2030 goal to halve food waste. On top of this, firms are investing in reducing plastic packaging and utilising recyclable packaging that can still be affordable, protective and attractive on the shelf. Brands like Roberts Bakery have been using one hundred per cent recyclable packaging (made from eighty-five per cent recyclable paper and a transparent window made from fifteen per cent recyclable film) across products in its Bloomer range, and Mondel ēz International is cutting its packaging by fifteen per cent across large Cadbury share bags; with smaller bags comes less trucks required for transporting the same amount of product. Important particularly with younger consumers, the ‘Sweet Insights’ report states that fifty-one of Gen Z consumers indicate confectionery brands engaging in waste-focused initiatives (reduced packaging, biodegradable packaging, etc.) influence their purchasing decisions. © Shutterstock /mady70 32-36.qxp_Layout 1 25/08/2021 11:03 Page 5Food & Drink International 37 www.fdiforum.net MICROBIOLOGY © Shutterstock /A.Mphotos The continuous stream of high- profile foodborne illness outbreaks is seeing further demand for microbiological testing of food products and facilities. Salmonella outbreaks, for example, hit headlines numerous times last year. One incident saw Thomson International, at the beginning of August, recall red, yellow, and white onions that had been shipped all over the US and Canada since May after salmonella cases were reported across forty-three states and in Canada. Though initially only red onions were of concern, these onions were all packed and processed with the same equipment. In October, the CDC announced that the outbreak appeared to be over, and the FDA noted it had concluded its traceback investigation, showing the onions came from Thomson International Inc. in California. In total 1,642 people were confirmed to be infected and at least 167 people required hospitalisation in the US. With the potential for such outbreaks, food firms are looking to identify and restrict harmful microorganisms to prevent foodborne diseases and spoilage and protect operations with testing, while also using microbiological tests for purposes like shelf-life studies and to home in on hygiene. Food processors are now making changes to sampling and testing plans, investing more into microbiological and pathogen control, collecting more samples, as they look to find and eliminate pathogens in production The micro scale Microbiological testing is booming as companies look to address rising food safety awareness amongst consumers, comply with regulations, keep consumers safe, avoid expensive recalls, maintain brand reputation, and place more focus on environmental monitoring on top of raw material or end-product testing. 38 Á 37-39.qxp_Layout 1 25/08/2021 11:34 Page 138 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net MICROBIOLOGY plants, acting in a more preventative, proactive manner. Routine sampling, pathogen environmental monitoring, and seek and destroy programmes to assess any missed areas and indicate hazards, are growing, enabling plants to be better cleaned, sanitation methods to be verified, and facilitating elimination of environmental pathogen sources to reduce contamination, recalls, and foodborne illness. This is creating more effective testing plans, with companies not simply focusing on testing finished products, meaning a more complete picture of a processing plant and its risks can be gained. Furthermore, in testing, outsourcing is growing to remove chance of pathogen contamination from a plant laboratory and to reduce costs. While for large companies an onsite lab may be favourable economically, for SMBs the expense of a lab for a small number of samples is often not justifiable. However larger processors are also more frequently turning to outsourcing, taking into account additional factors past a lab’s daily operation costs, such as training, hiring, certifications, and a widespread desire for independent, third-party lab data. There are a variety of test methods used to identify and verify microorganisms including culture media and immunoassay, but there remains a need for improved testing and monitoring in the food chain, and better detection methods that offer rapid, easy to use, and cost-effective solutions. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and other genome sequencing techniques are increasing in use due to their fast, sensitive, and reliable pathogen detection, as well as ability to identify pathogens in low concentrations. Advances in microbiological testing are seeing the development of quicker detection methods that can keep up with the fast pace of food manufacturing - where rapid identification and response to contamination is vital - and allow for less product storing time. An international team of scientists have developed a new method that accelerates the identification process of salmonella, offering a more efficient method for food producers. Serotyping has been the conventional process for identifying the presence of Enterobacteriaceae family bacterial. For salmonella, it used to take three days and, in some instances, over twelve days to assign a final classification for complex servovars. Conventional serotyping has also been associated with high costs and complex sample preparation. Now, researchers from Cornell University, the University of Georgia, and the Mars Global Food safety Centre in Beijing have developed a method for whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to determine salmonella serotypes in two hours and the whole identification process within eight hours. In an associated study all thirty-right salmonella strains – representing thirty-four serotypes – assessed were accurately predicted to the serotype level using WGS. This solution comes as food safety regulators, authorities and public health agencies embrace WGS methods for pathogen subtyping and reliable detection, as a technique that can analyse a wider swath of the genome and with which particular strains can be more precisely identified and the origin and path of a disease’s outbreak determined. The FDA for example collects swab samples during inspections and submits them for WGS analysis. Another recent development came at the end of 2020, when Molendotech © Shutterstock /adriaticfoto 37-39.qxp_Layout 1 25/08/2021 11:34 Page 2Food & Drink International 39 www.fdiforum.net MICROBIOLOGY was awarded £250,000 by Innovate UK for a project with the University of Southampton titled ‘Development of rapid testing technology to increase food security’. While currently fresh produce has to be stored while samples are sent to laboratories for microbiology culture (typically two-five days), resulting in a bottleneck that creates additional cost, additional energy use, delays in the supply chain and a reduction in shelf life, Molendotech has developed an assay that could evaluate pathogens in produce the same day and could be performed on site by non-specialist staff. Molendotech says its novel method to select and quantify specific bacteria in four-six hours will allow identification of pathogens in a time scale that will remove the need for extended storage of produce prior to release to supermarkets. The project is a collaboration with the National Biofilm Innovation Centre at the University of Southampton, which has been exploring the effect of bacteria within biofilms and viable but non- culturable bacteria (VBNC). Currently the only way of detecting the VBNC is by feeding these bacteria to worms to assess the impact on their lifetime. Molendotech technology, to be tested in this project, will enable a faster and more precise way of detecting VBNC and identify the strain of pathogenic bacteria. Moreover, researchers at Purdue University have developed a bioluminescence-based assay, paired with a portable device that works with smartphones and laptops, for onsite testing for harmful E. coli in food samples. The silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) device uses low light from the bioluminescent assay to detect the presence of bacteria that cause foodborne illness in food samples. The Purdue team also created an electrical circuit with an amplifier, comparator and micro controller to send the data to laptops and smartphones via Bluetooth technology. Euiwon Bae, a senior research scientist of mechanical engineering in Purdue’s College of Engineering, said: “Our goal is to create technology and a process that allows for the cost-effective detection of the causes of foodborne illness using an easy, expedient and efficient process.” To show the proof of concept, the Purdue team tested the device with artificially contaminated samples of ground beef, injecting E. coli into the beef samples and using their device to analyse the sample within ten hours of inoculation. The beef is rinsed and incubated with an enrichment liquid containing a modified phage, a virus for bacteria. The phage then infects harmful foodborne bacteria so that when a substrate is added, the bacteria emit light, which is detected by the SiPM. The device is able to count light pulses or photons. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning, meanwhile, are being utilised in testing to enhance culturing. Combining cell-marking and optical technologies AI and machine learning are facilitating the identification of targeted microorganisms at their initial stage of growth (the micro colony stage). Of course, microbiological testing is only one aspect of food safety systems and thus cannot ensure product safety, however it is integral for gaining information on manufacturing processes, processing environment, and specific batches. To achieve optimum results, food processors should further build programmes such as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Recall Management, Traceability, and Sanitation Practices. © Shutterstock /luchschenF 37-39.qxp_Layout 1 25/08/2021 11:35 Page 3Next >