< Previous10 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net IMPORT AND EXPORT Asignificant exporter of produce including citrus fruits and market vegetables, fish and other processed and local produce, Morocco has a long heritage in agriculture and agribusiness. With 33,000 square miles of arable land, an advantageous position on the Strait of Gibraltar, strong ports and airports, and a temperate Mediterranean climate, the country is targeting further food and drink export growth, promoting itself as an important location for quality agriculture, beginning an awareness initiative through Morocco Foodex. The food export control and coordination organisation is also modernising, simplifying, and digitalising processes under the ‘Easy Food Export’ programme to save time, costs, and boost competitiveness. Expanding its audience, Morocco recently launched its first food and drink export campaign in the UK to inspire British businesses and Morocco makes its place Actively looking to expand its food exports, Morocco has embarked on a mission to grow awareness of its quality agriculture and reliable logistics. Morocco makes its place 10-13.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2021 12:33 Page 1Food & Drink International 11 www.fdiforum.net IMPORT AND EXPORT © Shutterstock /Aleksandar Mijatovic consumers to explore Morocco’s food products, whilst also promoting itself as a quicker, reliable, and credible trading alternative. Building on an 800-year long relationship, the multi-channel campaign, utilising B2B and B2C creative assets, highlights the importance of Moroccan agriculture and foodstuffs, with a heavy focus on the quality and diversity of its food and drink sector, in addition to its sustainable farming practices, secure and high-quality manufacturing processes, competitive prices, and reliability of the logistics involved to transport goods between the UK and Morocco. The campaign also coincides with the opening of a new direct shipping route between Tangier in Morocco and Poole in the UK, minimising journey times from over six days by road to under three. Before this new route was established, maritime trade between the two countries took place via two crossings, with the shipping route passing through Spain. Beneficially, emissions will now be significantly reduced compared to previous logistic chains by road. Morocco’s food exporters have already seen success in the UK, thriving with 25% of the tomatoes, 20% of the soft fruit and 60% of the sardines consumed in the UK coming from Morocco at the start of 2020, and of course in 2019, against heightened Brexit tension, Morocco and the UK 12 Á Morocco is the world’s top sardine producer and exporter. 10-13.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2021 12:34 Page 212 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net IMPORT AND EXPORT signed agreements to activate and regulate trade between the countries. The framework agreement provides trade perks including the liberalisation of trade in agricultural, agri-food, and fishery products while British consumers will continue to enjoy preferential rates on products imported from Morocco, like fruits and vegetables, whereas Moroccan consumers will continue to benefit from advantageous rates on products such as dairy products, meat, fruits, and vegetables from the UK. Morocco already seems to be capitalising on Brexit, with exports of agri-food and fishery products rising sharply and all Moroccan exports together to the UK increasing by 51% between January 2020 and January 2021 as Britain turns to new partners outside of the EU. According to From Morocco to UK, Morocco has succeeded in positioning itself ahead of some countries - for example South Africa or the Netherlands - in terms of exports, with exports surging by 459% for strawberries, 822% for zucchini, 57% for citrus fruits, and 14% for tomatoes, compared to the previous year, seeing the UK become more reliant on Morocco for fruits and vegetables. Meanwhile, in another boon for Morocco, officials have reported an increase in crop yields, with wheat the crop most recently bolstered thanks to abundant rains. Spain is a growing market for Morocco too, with fruit and vegetable exports picking up slightly during the first half of 2021, by 2%, worth 562 million, compared to 548 million in 2020, according to the Spanish Federation of Associations of Producers and Exporters of Fruits, Vegetables, Flowers and Live Plants, and as reported by Morocco World News. This reflects the acceleration of Moroccan fruit and vegetable exports in European markets over the past few years. Morocco’s relationship with Spain and the wider EU however has seen friction in 2021 with tomato producers in Spain, France, Italy, and Portugal raising concerns over the growth of Morocco’s exports in Europe, which is said to be threatening European-produced © Shutterstock /argus 10-13.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2021 12:34 Page 3Food & Drink International 13 www.fdiforum.net IMPORT AND EXPORT D Davies Turner Celebrating 150 years of pioneering service Your worldwide freight and logistics partner T: 01709 529709 www.daviesturner.com YEARS products. Additionally, more recently, the North African country has shown itself to be a strong competitor to The Netherlands for tomato exports. Arguments have been put forward for stricter import rules for Moroccan tomatoes in the EU, but COMADER (The Moroccan Confederation of Agriculture and Rural Development) has stated that Moroccan fruit and vegetable exports to the European Union market represent only 2% of this market, with its president, Mohammed Alamouri, noting that “it is a pity that the difficult conditions for all operators in the Mediterranean agri-food sector are used by interest groups to challenge a free trade agreement that benefits the EU even more than Morocco.” Away from the UK and Europe, furthering its reputation worldwide, in September Morocco organised a communication campaign in the US. Promoting flavours of Moroccan products, highlighting agricultural and seafood offerings, an event was held in New York with the theme ‘Morocco, Kingdom of Taste’. Looking to take the world by storm as one of the top suppliers of fruits and vegetables, Morocco is set to expand its food exports as it aims to achieve a target of doubling exports by 2030 under its ‘Génération Green 2020-2030’ strategy. © Shutterstock /ABDELALI MAHRIR 10-13.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2021 12:34 Page 414 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net PACKAGING AUTOMATION Q&A Established in 1963 this British family manufacturing business has been leading the way in top seal packaging for nearly 60 years, providing a range of packaging solutions predominantly for food products and supporting customers to minimise the amount of packaging material required to reduce their impact on the environment, whilst still benefitting from extended shelf life and improved product presentation and protection. Can you tell us a bit about this new tray sealer the evolutions S and how it came about? It’s been 4 years in development, but we believe that this machine is groundbreaking, there really is nothing like it currently on the market anywhere in the world. The ultimate goal with this machine was to develop the fastest, most reliable tray sealer but without all the costly smash ups and downtimes that can come with high speed packing. Often high speed impacts reliability but not with the evolutionS. In the development stage, we Initially looked at existing technology used in tray sealing machines but quickly realised we couldn’t improve outputs more than 10-15% with this existing technology. For that reason, the R&D team developed and introduced new syncrotechnology resulting in a super- fast tray sealer taking packing speeds up to 250 packs per minute. That’s 3 times faster than other top seal technology while operating in a continuous motion to have the highest output rate and in single lane format. Tell us a bit more about the technology you have used and what makes it so special? We developed syncrotechnology to give added precision control and reliability to the machines and optimize every stage of the packaging process. Syncromotion is the latest in robotic technology and for this type of application, the first in the world. It makes intermittent stop - start a thing of the past, removing the need to decelerate or stop to position the packs, taking complete control of every pack and giving you optimum reliability. Syncrowave gives true continuous controlled movement and allows the evolution S tray sealer to synchronise all elements of the moving phases. This provides the ability to load and unload a complete cycle of packs whilst not affecting the overall output of the machine. Syncrodrive eliminates the need for transfer arms which can be heavy and awkward to move and set up and can also be difficult to store. It facilitates transporting packs three times faster whilst maintaining optimum accuracy and accommodating all pack formats without the need for a tool changeover. Essentially, the machine self-adjusts when you change a pack / punnet size. Syncroflow enables high speed feeding of the film for accurate and consistent printing as well as optimising every operation required to seal a tray, accurately, reliably and efficiently. Q&A Packaging Automation We spoke to Packaging Automation about tray sealing and the forthcoming launch of their latest and most innovative high speed tray sealer to date – evolutionS With the Evolution S Packaging Automation has created the most advanced tray sealing solution in the world, they have raised the bar for accuracy and high sealing speeds while reducing the required footprint for the packaging area in a single lane format! This technological breakthrough exceeds industry standards and will help our clients optimize the high production rates they require.” Stuart Jackson, Vice President of Produce, Crawford Packaging “ “ 14-15.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2021 12:37 Page 1Food & Drink International 15 www.fdiforum.net PACKAGING AUTOMATION Q&A Syncrovision gives the ultimate in precision control avoiding any costly errors. Alongside syncrotechnology the new evolution S also benefits from the all new Miassist operating system. With clear visuals and prompts the evolution S does the thinking for you, giving you the optimum output possible with minimal operator input, “it basically runs itself”. Using new syncrotechnology this machine optimises every operation required to seal a tray, accurately, reliably and efficiently and it is by far the most technically advanced machine they have ever produced. This machine does the thinking for you and has been designed for ease of use during operation. But also, and as importantly, when it comes to cleaning and maintenance attention has been paid in the design to making this as simple as possible. With Miassist the machine intuitively adapts the rate of operation to suit the rate that the product is being fed, reducing bottlenecks, simplifying the operation and maximising the machine output. So, you really can seal smarter with the evolution S. We are launching this machine in November in the Netherlands but the first thing to do is simply contact your sales representative at Packaging Automation or email: sales@pal.co.uk In the meantime, follow Packaging Automation Ltd on LinkedIn for further details and opportunities to view this machine. Customer trial data showed: Significant labour savings as production run reduced from 11 hours down to just 8! 30% reduction in downtime for film snaps and punnet crashes 100% seal integrity every time 12-20% increase in OEE performance No rejects 14-15.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2021 12:37 Page 216 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net PACKAGING SPOTLIGHT © Shutterstock /Pawarun Chitchirachan BAG SEALING MACHINES RM Sealers remain a leading British manufacturer and supplier of high quality Bag Sealing Machines, also known as Rotary Band Sealers and Impulse Sealers. Call 01442 843387 to speak to a member of our team SEALERS © www.rmsealers.co.uk 16-24.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2021 12:40 Page 1Food & Drink International 17 www.fdiforum.net PACKAGING SPOTLIGHT BENCHTOP BAG SEALING MACHINE IMPULSE BAG SEALING MACHINE HORIZONTAL BAG SEALING MACHINE VERTICAL BAG SEALING MACHINE One of the greatest challenges in the food and drink sector is replacing single use packaging with sustainable alternatives. This is further confounded by the need for replacements to not only be made from sustainable sources, or recycled materials, but which themselves can be recycled or composed by end users, thus creating a closed loop system. This has been keenly felt in the takeaway and food-to-go sectors where problem packaging is rife. Despite the advances that are taking place with bio-plastics and packaging produced from waste streams, it has been a challenge to supplant the polystyrene foam that has reigned supreme for decades in the takeaway food sector. Yet the packaging material that is having one of the most significant impacts here is actually one that has been a staple for well over a century – corrugated paper. Corrugated paper provides numerous structural advantages to suppliers and food companies – namely its inherent durability, flexibility and versatility. Where takeaways are concerned, it’s also cost-effective and can provide similar levels of protection and heat insulation offered by foam. The key difference however is that it can be made from entirely renewable sources and be easily recycled by the end user at kerbside. Outside of single-use plastics, the most problematic packaging is any that are made from mixed materials. The iconic tube packaging of the Pringles brand, which the Kellogg Company purchased back in 2012, has become emblematic of this issue. With its mix of a metal base, plastic cap, metal tear-off lid, and foil-lined cardboard sleeve, it has been dubbed a “recycler’s nightmare”, leading Kellogg’s to design and a trial a simpler can last year (though commentators have said that this doesn’t go far enough). For crisps and savoury snacks which are packaged in a cardboard tube or tub, a metal base has long been the standard, and its easy to see why: it provides durability, easy stacking for transportation and ensures that the tub/tube doesn’t fall or tip over. However, by switching to an innovative paperboard end, these packages can be made easier to recycle whilst also maintaining their functionality key to the brand and expected by consumers. While corrugated paper and paper-based packaging in general can have a transformative effect on the supply chain, paper alone is unable to satisfy every packaging requirement, especially where plastic is concerned. There are myriad reasons why plastic enjoys the position it does – it’s cheap, versatile, reliable and durable. Studies have shown that plastic Finding the right solution Food and drink packaging has undergone a seismic shift over the last few decades as environmental pressure builds. Yet as well as the sustainability of packaging materials themselves, companies must also be cognisant of their production lines. 18 Á 16-24.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2021 12:40 Page 218 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net PACKAGING SPOTLIGHT • Plain / Printed Labels • Thermal Transfer Ribbons • Lasersheets • Fanfolded Labels • Barcode Labels Self adhesive labels and labelling Tel: 01482 506560 • Email: sales@datamarkuk.com • Website: www.datamarkuk.com actually extends shelf life – especially for fresh fruit and produce – and helps to prevent damage, which would in turn mean it is discarded, meaning that it can be utilised to help stem food waste (another sustainability issue which is blighting the food industry). Truly plastic is a marvel but given the environmental impact it has had – leading scientists to say in 2016 that the Anthropocene epoch is the ‘Age of Plastic’ – we need to significantly reduce our reliance. But rather than changing the functionality of packaging, then, the onus in many cases is on swapping out the materials for more eco-friendly options. A case in point is films. From © Shutterstock /UvGroup 20 Á Advanced recycling closes the loop on food packaging An entire supply chain has worked together to recycle soft plastic collected from Tesco customers into new food-grade packaging. Plastic Energy, SABIC, Sealed Air and Bradburys Cheese partnered with Tesco to conduct this trial to prove that soft plastic, that would typically go to waste, can be recycled multiple times into new food grade plastic as a part of a closed loop recycling system. To prove the closed loop concept, soft plastic material collected from Tesco customers was sent to Plastic Energy who converted the used packaging into oil, through an advanced recycling process called pyrolysis. This recycled oil was used by SABIC in their production process as an alternative to traditional fossil materials to make new plastic pellets that are just as safe and effective as virgin plastic. The pellets were used by Sealed Air who developed one of their existing plastic packaging designs to include this recycled plastic content. Rigorous testing was completed to ensure it met all the performance requirements of Tesco’s cheese supplier, Bradburys, for safe and effective use in food packaging. The packaging contains a minimum of 30% recycled materials from this new recycling process. Including recycled material in food grade soft plastic packaging has been a challenge for the industry up until this point due to the limitations of traditional recycling techniques. This advanced pyrolysis recycling process overcomes this issue. Steve Garland, Chief Innovation Officer at Sealed Air said: “This project demonstrates the results that come from taking a leadership position and committing to investing in the type of innovation that ultimately eliminates plastic waste. As we redesign our plastic packaging to be recyclable, we are working with key collaborators to recover the same materials before they become waste and keep them circulating through the value chain.” 16-24.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2021 12:40 Page 3info@macpac.co.uk Tel: 0161 442 1642 www.macpac.co.uk THERMOFORMED PACKAGING SPECIALISTS We design, produce tooling and manufacture packaging all under one roof, at our AA grade BRC accredited factory. We use responsible manufacturing processes and raw materials with up to 100% recycled content as well as being 100% recyclable. UP TO 100% RECYCLED 100% RECYCLABLE Innovative, Economical & Responsible. UK MANUFACTURER Food & Drink International 19 www.fdiforum.net y raweaakw ts ne’agingacke PKit agingo packOn the g our to all of yect partner te is the perfangr g business with our complete tseaty trast Kit out your b at y takeaway pack p kaging range powered by employee share-ownership 02476 420 065 kitepackaging.co.uk 16-24.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2021 12:40 Page 4Next >