< Previous30 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net INGREDIENTS Evolving 30-33.qxp_Layout 1 22/11/2022 09:35 Page 1Food & Drink International 31 www.fdiforum.net INGREDIENTS © stock.adobe.com/JPC-PROD I ngredients define a broad cross- section of the food industry – as much about the raw farmed fruit and vegetables, to value added ingredients further down the production line. Increasingly, consumers are demanding more of their products, leading to the widespread normalisation of fortified additions to products that might otherwise be nutritionally lacking. Fortified foods provide a nutritional boost to food and beverage products, whether it’s a protein packed bread, a botanical loaded soft drink or a vitamin-enriched breakfast cereal. Many of these products purport to play a key role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, so the logical next step is to develop foods which can actively assist or medicate the body. Nutraceuticals refer to products or ingredients derived from food sources that come with extra health benefits on top of whatever basic nutritional level is already found in those foods – such as the abundance of pro- and prebiotics on store shelves. Harnessing these benefits and developing products that can cater to specific illnesses has led to the coming together of big pharma and food over the last ten years. The writing is already on the wall and the future of food is intrinsically tied to health and lifestyle, and rather than contributing towards illnesses, our food choices can help to cure and maintain it. Ingredients aren’t created equally and, increasingly, they’re being used to fortify and enhance products that would otherwise be lacking. Food and Drink International explores how wellbeing is evolving the industry and how manufacturers can respond to global concerns. 32 Á 30-33.qxp_Layout 1 22/11/2022 09:35 Page 232 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net INGREDIENTS An increasingly pressing issue that the agriculture sector is having to grapple with is population growth. November 2022 saw the global population reach 8 billion, while data forecasts the figure to reach 9.9 billion by 2050. Statistics show that with our current diet, the world simply can’t support these kinds of numbers, and so our entire food system needs to evolve. Studies have shown that there isn’t enough landmass to grow soybeans in order to feed our current population, never mind one which is set to add another 2 billion to its ranks over the coming decades. That same landmass can’t support the level of animal protein it would take either, never mind the catastrophic affect that the up-scaling of industrialised agriculture would wreak on the climate. We’re at a crucial juncture when it comes to climate change, with some estimates saying we have as little as ten years to change our ways or reach a point of no return. The solution is finding a protein source which can be easily farmed, scaled up and one which has as minimal a carbon footprint as possible. That could very well be insects. Insects represent one of the biggest disruptive forces in the food industry in decades. Perhaps the main advantage of insect protein is its versatility; it can be served whole or ground up into flour for a nutrition added ingredient to other food products such as bread and other baked goods, as well as being added to smoothies for a protein loaded post-gym shake. This makes them not only a foodstuffs in their own right, but an ingredient. Although still classed as a ‘novel food’ by the European Commission, in January 2021, the European Food 30-33.qxp_Layout 1 22/11/2022 09:35 Page 3Food & Drink International 33 www.fdiforum.net INGREDIENTS Safety Authority (EFSA) declared the yellow mealworm as “safe for human consumption”. Since then, products based either wholly or in part around these mealworms have become increasingly visible in the UK and European markets. The edible insect market is reported to reach $9.60 billion by 2023 – a drop in the ocean compared with the $467.7 billion global beef market, but an encouraging sign none the less. With more widespread regulation, and a more receptive marketplace, insects as food could conquer the mainstream in as little as a decade. Aside from said regulations and the capital required to scale up this nascent industry, the biggest hurdle facing the market is psychological. Consumers have already expressed disgust at the thought of eating insects in any form, so overcoming these hurdles is hugely important to bringing the market into the mainstream. Transforming insects into functional ingredients will be key to introducing consumers to this new protein and moving away from beef, pork and poultry. In many cultures the world over, insects are widely consumed and in the generations to come, it will be like second nature for western consumers. In the meantime, the once separate channels of big pharma and food continue to come together as consumers turn to wellness from their food products. However, with the cost of living crisis, manufacturers will need to offer wellness products at competitive prices to keep the trend afloat. Whatever the next evolution of the industry is, one thing is certain – it simply couldn’t exist without ingredients. © stock.adobe.com/Natalia Lisovskaya 30-33.qxp_Layout 1 22/11/2022 09:35 Page 434 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net END OF LINE PACKAGING E nd of line packaging is rarely at the forefront of manufacturer’s minds, yet it is often the forgotten items and processes that lead to a lack of innovation, out of date practices, and unnecessary costs. Packaging in general is a hot button issue, given its link to environmental issues such as pollution and climate change. Businesses must weigh up the importance of moving towards sustainable manufacturing processes, with the stringent health and safety requirements for food and beverage packaging and transportation. Fortunately, those two issues are not mutually exclusive, and investing in updated end of line packaging could positively impact both criteria. End of line packaging, also referred to as tertiary packaging, is the case or carton that finished, shelf-ready products are placed into for transportation. It is the last step before the product leaves the manufacturer for distribution. The purpose of end of line packaging is to protect the finished product from damage during transportation. End of line packaging is rarely a single item, and may involve pallets, shrink, or stretch wrap, crates, or cartons, to name a few. Rather than seeing the packaging as an item in and of itself, it is useful to evaluate the elements that it comprises of, to see if any of these could be updated. Updating elements of process is more cost effective and reduces manufacturing down time. Technological innovations mean that processes can now be automated, which reduces labour costs, removes human error, and increases product output. The most common example of automation is packing robots, which use movable arms to pick products off a conveyor belt and place them into the end of line packaging. Newer robots can be programmed to evaluate available space and pack to ideal height, and to stack horizontally or vertically, depending on the product. This maximises the use of packaging space, reducing waste. This waste reduction has multiple benefits; reduced delivery costs, as less packages will need to be sent, and reduced pollution as less packaging material is being used in the first place. Furthermore, this can help to reduce operating costs, as less end of line packaging material needs to be bought. The waste reduction benefits to updating end of line packaging can be seen very quickly. For example, automatic case sealers use longer rolls of tape than hand taping equipment. Longer rolls cost less per inch, and machine tape costs on average 30% less than hand tape. Furthermore, the precision of an automatic process means that inches of tape will not End of line packaging may be the last part of the process, but it’s also the most important, where a single error can undo all the hard work before. 36 Á Safe and secure 34-38.qxp_Layout 1 22/11/2022 09:37 Page 1Food & Drink International 35 www.fdiforum.net END OF LINE PACKAGING © stock.adobe.com/Pugun & Photo Studio 34-38.qxp_Layout 1 22/11/2022 09:37 Page 236 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net END OF LINE PACKAGING © stock.adobe.com/Siwakorn1933 be wasted with each package (especially important when paying per inch of tape). The benefits do not end there – an automatic carton sealer can package the same amount in five minutes that one person can accomplish in 30 minutes, increasing efficiency of output. When packaging food and beverage, the safety of the product is particularly important. The precision of automatic sealers means that the packaging is generally higher quality, making them much less likely to break in transit. When considering that package damage averages around 10%, this could mean a huge difference to the bottom line. Less operating costs mean that higher markups do not have to be passed onto the consumer, meaning that a high quality product can be produced whilst providing value for money. This has the dual benefit of increasing the sustainability of the output by producing less waste. This is especially important as package sealants are generally non- biodegradable plastic. Investing in new end of line packaging equipment also allows flexibility and versatility across business operations. For example, huge manufacturers are still using wooden pallets for end of line delivery. Whilst this may sound better than plastic, they come with a myriad of issues. Wood can chip and splinter, causing jams in automatic packing machines, and increasing the time needed for cleaning up wood chip debris, increasing down time. The potential for wood splinters and breakages also poses a risk to employee safety. Furthermore, wooden palettes have a shorter lifespan than a specially engineered plastic, which is infinitely more durable, lighter, and less dangerous. Plastic palettes can be bought specifically for food manufacturers (iGPS is a great example). Smooth 38 Á 34-38.qxp_Layout 1 22/11/2022 09:37 Page 3Food & Drink International 37 www.fdiforum.net Leverage the power of your flexible food packaging with eye-catching graphics, engaging designs and quality pack performance. Surprise and delight your end users by creating compelling brand experiences using: • Scannable and interactive designs that boost brand engagement • Brilliant colour and graphics for superior shelf appeal • Personalised on-pack messaging that increases brand loyalty www.sealedair.com info-pack@sealedair.com Turn your customers into brand ambassadors with fl exible food packaging powered by employee share-ownership 02476 420065 kitepackaging.co.uk WĂĐŬĂŐŝŶŐƐŽůƵƟŽŶƐ for your business 02476420 Discover our range of environmentally friendly food packaging. 34-38.qxp_Layout 1 22/11/2022 09:37 Page 438 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net END OF LINE PACKAGING pallets are much easier to sanitize, and do not shed. This means that product safety is increased at each stage of the process. Depending on the end product, beverages in particular can be relatively heavy. Plastic pallets are much lighter than wooden ones (around 20 pounds lighter), thus decreasing the overall weight load of delivery vans. This can make huge fuel savings (as much as 1000 gallons) as the vans are also much lighter on their return journey, as well as their outbound journey. Making this particular change has an added benefit of visibility. New end of line packaging (like plastic pallets) is visible to suppliers and partner organisations. This is a chance to be an innovator, as once they see the ease of retrievability from the van (as it is lighter and smoother to handle) they may also want to invest. This is an opportunity to promote sustainable practices and widespread change, whilst also seeing business benefits. This has happened to huge corporations such as Walmart, who changed to plastic pallets after experiencing their benefits via a supplier. © stock.adobe.com/endostock 34-38.qxp_Layout 1 22/11/2022 09:37 Page 5Food & Drink International 39 www.fdiforum.net WAREHOUSING AND OPTIMISATION W arehouse optimisation has become increasingly important as of late due to a lack of quality warehouse space combined with markets becoming increasingly focused on door-to-door deliveries during and after the COVID lockdown. This has made the distribution game difficult, and competition high to have the most streamlined and efficient system possible. Following that with fuel shortages and increased costs of living and transport, and the situation has only gotten worse – forcing food and drink companies to make the most out of the limited resources they have. Traditionally speaking, there are seen to be five methods to optimise warehouse space. These are catch-all methods, and won’t all be relevant to every company, but understanding the principles can help to identify areas for improvement. It’s rare to start at the end of such lists, but sometimes the final point is a little vague to intentionally catch the rest, so it’s worth considering it first. That being the issue of redundant processes. Obviously, as technology expands and warehouses change, being able to spot processes or warehouse Making the most of a There are five key ways to improve the efficiency of a warehouse, and understanding these pillars is key to identifying areas of improvement. 40 Á © stock.adobe.com/panuwat 39-41.qxp_Layout 1 22/11/2022 09:39 Page 1Next >