< PreviousHandle Applicators SMART. SUSTAINABLE. SIMPLE. SIMPLE SMART SUSTAINABLE Easy to Carry, Remove & Apply. Grab & Go. Highlight Brand with Color Accent Handles. Attractive & Innovative. Value Added. Smart Form & Function. Cost Effective. Made from 100% Post-Consumer Content. Repurposed from Milk Jugs. Recyclable. 08-13.qxp_Layout 1 28/06/2019 12:21 Page 3www.fdiforum.net PACKAGING 11 the sustainable packaging market having held a 55.1 per cent share in 2018. It’s easy to see why it’s such a popular option thanks to its relatively low cost, ease of recycling in domestic and commercial settings, its versatility, ease of transportation and compatibility with printers. Yet in the highly competitive food-to-go market, products have seconds to resonate with busy consumers and that means showing off the product they’ll be getting. A transparent plastic film is part and parcel of a boxed wrap or sandwich meaning such packages are always mixed and difficult to recycle. Rather than removing this importing selling feature, manufacturers and supermarkets are instead creating packages where the cardboard can be more easily separated from the film. A simple solution such as a peelable tab can allow consumers to separate both components with relative ease, the better for both parts to be recycled. One packaging concept that has proven particularly popular in recent years is that of corrugated. With a wide range of benefits, including an inherent flexibility, corrugated can be modified for different crops and misshapen produce, thereby reducing the potential for bruising and skin damage that can sometimes occur with rigid packaging. Because over eighty per cent of corrugated is recycled, while new boxes are made from recycled material, the environmental footprint is very low. Where new fibre is used, it typically comes from sustainably managed forests. This commitment to responsible forest management has made a huge contribution to the increase in the size of Europe’s forests – up by thirty per cent since 1950. Although it has been used in one form or other for many years, the corrugated packaging industry is continually investing in new technologies to ensure it retains its top table place. Pouch packaging has also become an increasingly popular option over the last few years with many of the industry’s biggest players moving into the market. The lack of rigidity in the packaging is a big selling point. Cans, cardboard and paper packaging are all very susceptible to damage and harm because they need to conform to a rigid © Shutterstock / lighthunteralp 12 Á 08-13.qxp_Layout 1 28/06/2019 12:21 Page 4www.fdiforum.net PACKAGING 12 shape and so cannot flex when pressure is applied. This leads to cans being malformed in transit or cardboard being punctured. Pouch packaging is typically made of multiple layers of puncture-resistant laminated film. This allows the material to flex and bend, taking on water-like properties to avoid being damaged. While it does not offer the same protection to the food inside, certain foodstuffs such as soups, ready meals or rice, do not fear being jostled or malformed. They will simply flow back into shape. All of this works together not only to reduce the chance of damage, but also to offer longer shelf life and ensure the product remains attractive on the shelf and does not fade or become misshapen. Stand- up pouches can also be made from 100% recycled materials, adding an environmental appeal to the design. When it comes to the environmental impact of packaging, recycling rates are still being impacted by consumers confused over labelling and semantics. Renewable and sustainable packaging, for example, aren’t interchangeable terms. The latter refers to materials like paperboard which can be continuously and easily recycled, while renewable packaging is made from materials such as sugarcane. Biodegradable packaging, meanwhile, refers to organic material that can be broken down into carbon dioxide and water etc. within a couple of months. All that seems simple compared to the myriad of different plastics used to make packaging with consumers often confused over which ones can be recycled as well as being able to easily identify which products are free of plastic at a glance. Flexible packaging, used for many single- use products which are mostly non- recyclable, is a particular bugbear for British consumers, with one in five consumers admitting to throwing flexible packaging in the recycling bin because they didn’t know it wasn’t eligible for recycling. It’s little wonder that as well as clear labelling, almost four in ten consumers think retailers should be made to have a plastic-free aisle in every store. But replacing plastic is by no means easy. New product development has yielded a number of worthy contenders with plastics produced from seemingly renewable sources such as sugarcane, cellulose and starches. But it’s a more complex issue than simply swapping petroleum produced plastics for those made from plant matter. For example, what good is plant-based packaging if vast swathes of endangered rainforest must be cleared to grow crops to produce it? Yet it’s clear that there is a massive shift taking. Boosting recyclability, switching to more sustainable materials and improving labelling will all help to improve the environmental impact of food and drink packaging and create a greener supply chain. © Shutterstock / i viewfinder 08-13.qxp_Layout 1 28/06/2019 12:21 Page 5LUX CR 50% PCR film now available գ Up to 50% PCR (Post Consumer Recycled) content գ Utilising URRC cleaned rPET flake sourced from European deposit return schemes գ Carbon footprint saving of approx. 1.4kg for every kg of virgin PET www.wrapid.co.uk Wrapid Manufacturing Ltd. 250 Thornton Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD1 2LB, United Kingdom +44 (0)1274 220 238 www.wrapid-converting.com filmsales@wrapid.co.uk from DuPont NEW The world leaders in top seal lidding technology www.fdiforum.net 13 DIGI Europe is the World leading Weigh Price Labeller suppliers for Industry and Retail Applications. Specialising in manufacturing and supplying Weigh Price Labellers, we offer comprehensive customer solutions to the global retail and industry markets. We can offer a diverse range of machinery to suit all food production environments from red meat, poultry, and fish to bakery, ready made meals and dairy. Sign up to our Newsletter to hear the latest updates! DIGI House, Rookwood Way, Haverhill, Suffolk, CB9 8DG Tel: 01440 712175 Email: sales@uk.digi-group.com 08-13.qxp_Layout 1 28/06/2019 12:21 Page 6© Shutterstock / El Nariz www.fdiforum.net HEALTH, SAFETY & HYGIENE 14 INDUSTRY A protected INDUSTRY 14-17.qxp_Layout 1 28/06/2019 11:18 Page 1www.fdiforum.net HEALTH, SAFETY & HYGIENE 15 T he fallout from a health, safety or hygiene scare can be difficult for any company to manage. Depending on the severity of the case it might mean fines, media attention - or worse - loss of a major contract. Despite this, proper health and safety management is considered a nebulous concern, one to be adhered to at a bare minimum level, leaving many companies left off-guard and out of place when someone eventually goes wrong. In the food and drink sector, hygiene is harder to manage than many others, and the consequences can reach much further. This added pressure is one which necessitates swift action. Most obviously, companies that aren’t able to point to clear health and safety regulations will usually find themselves unable to win contracts from major customers. The importance of security and speed across the supply chain means retailers demand manufacturers and distributors reach the highest standards and must be able to illustrate their commitment to quality - and a formal health and safety policy, with full information on potential flashpoints and the measures in place to deal with them, is usually required. Due to the differing nature of hygiene risks and how they can occur, it is often a requirement to bring in outside help to judge and identify potential flashpoints. These can come from any number of aspects, be it the ingredients themselves, the way employees work or simply the atmosphere of a given facility. The latter is one such aspect that many companies might overlook. Clean air is of paramount concern for the food and drink industry, not only due to the stringent requirements involved in the manufacture of food produce, but also to avoid the reputational crisis of any incidents occurring. With a variety of harmful microbes and particles able to travel via air, there is great potential for harmful microbes to interact with the process at a crucial stage, possibly leading to contaminated products. A benefit to the food market however, is that many health and safety products also work Matters of hygiene are paramount in the food and drink industry, as is health and safety. Innovations in the sector are less about reinventing the wheel, and more on making those processes more efficient. 16 Á 14-17.qxp_Layout 1 28/06/2019 11:18 Page 2www.fdiforum.net HEALTH, SAFETY & HYGIENE 16 towards improving hygiene - allowing a company to effectively kill two birds with one stone. Non-slip and hygienic flooring is one such example that can both reduce the risk of accidents within the facility? while also adding a clear hygienic defence against contaminants. When it comes to hygiene itself there are actually many things that can be done to minimise both cost and downtime, some of which can be quite simple. In food manufacturing in particular, build up inside machinery can prove a major source of contamination, requiring regular cleaning and downtime as workers scramble to clear this away. Small changes in how a site is set up, however, can help to minimise this. Hard corners and right angles, especially inside storage tanks and mixers, can be problem areas, as it provides a sharp corner for food to get stuck in. Simple changes to make these rounded corners or to blunt them can help reduce levels of build up significantly. Changes to materials are also commonplace, along with initiatives that may seem painstakingly obvious at first, but which have been proven to have profound effect. Take for instance the case of cleaning apparatus, from brooms to mops and everything in between. While it may seem obvious to say that tools from one part of a plant should not be used in another, owing to the potential for contamination, it does not mean it always works. If a mop is misplaced or left in the wrong spot, then staff may not know which section it came from. Developers now have taken to producing cleaning apparatus which is brightly coloured and coded, allowing workers to know that purple mops belong in the meats section, or that red are only allowed in the red- zone. Again, it may seem common sense and an obvious solution, but if it makes the lives of employees easier, then how hard is it to implement? This also brings into question where hygienic material is kept and how easy it is to bring to bear if there is a problem. Sanitation stations are commonplace in food and drink production facilities and yet for many they are locked away out of reach, wasting employee time as they need to leave an area entirely to ensure they are properly sanitised. Moving these facilities, as well as any others that employees might make use of, closer to the actual production line can improve efficiency. This might seem a small factor, especially if it only saves a minute of an individual employee’s time a day but considering it over a longer period of time can make for more savings. That single minute might also become more important if a problem happens during it, along with a product recall because that staff member was unavailable to solve the problem at the instance it happened. Nowadays, most process machines, storage containers or trolleys will made of stainless steel, and for good reason. The material itself is highly hygienic, although 14-17.qxp_Layout 1 28/06/2019 11:18 Page 3www.fdiforum.net HEALTH, SAFETY & HYGIENE 17 © Shutterstock / wavebreakmedia Microsearch Laboratories Ltd, Unit 1b Moderna Business Park, Mytholmroyd, HX7 5QQ Tel: 01422 405678 Email: sales@micro-search.co.uk MICROSEARCH LABORATORIES, UKAS ACCREDITED AND APPROVED BY THE RSA SCHEME Providing analytical services to the food and drink industry Testing includes: Microbiological analysis Nutritional declaration Allergen and Speciation testing Rapid DNA services by PCR and LAMP Our brand new Microbiological facility at Brearley is now open it’s worth remembering that there are numerous grades and types of stainless steel, some better suited to different foodstuffs. This is an aspect many forget however, and it’s not uncommon to hear of corrosion on material, which should not be possible if the correct grade is chosen, as smooth surfaces reduce the risk of it. It’s important to remember that this can be caused by various different things, from stress corrosion to crevice corrosion, so getting someone in to investigate would be a good idea. Despite all of this, and whatever methods are taken to reduce the risks of contamination, a stringent quality assurance line will always be necessary. There is only so much that human inspection can achieve in any production environment. 14-17.qxp_Layout 1 28/06/2019 11:18 Page 4www.fdiforum.net NPD & INGREDIENTS 18 F unctional ingredients can be separated into two different camps. The first comprises additives that contribute towards a products’ texture, shelf life or stability such as a thickening or raising agent. The second includes those with a nutritional benefit, be it an added protein boost or a recipe fortified with vitamins. There’s a social and political motivation in pursuing these kinds of added benefits, with the obesity epidemic and its related illness skyrocketing in the US, UK and Europe. Even emerging economies such as Latin America and Africa are experiencing expanding waistlines due to the prevalence and low cost of foods high in fat, salt and sugar. Yet discovering an alternative to sugar that delivers on taste with few of the calories hasn’t been easy. Natural sweeteners made from the stevia plant are at the forefront of the quest for a healthier alternative but are a long way off usurping sugar in terms of taste and functionality. Artificial sweeteners such as sucralose may come with fewer calories, but there’s uncertainty around its potential impact on human health and its long-term effects on the body. Researchers at the Federal University of Sao Paulo conducted a study and discovered a link between artificial sweeteners and low fertility rates – evidence, if it were needed, to move towards more natural alternatives. The miracle berry (or Synsepalum dulcificum, to give its Latin name) has the remarkable ability to make sour foods taste Meeting needs The development of new products, particularly confectionery and snack foods, are increasingly favouriting functional ingredients that bring with them some kind of nutritional or health benefit. Prudent in a climate where foods high in salt, saturated fat and sugar have been demonised and consumers turn towards healthier alternatives. 18-21.qxp_Layout 1 28/06/2019 11:19 Page 1www.fdiforum.net NPD & INGREDIENTS 19 © Shutterstock / Valerii_Dex 20 Á sweet. It contains Miraculin, a protein which suppresses sourness to draw out a sweet flavour and is renowned for making Guinness taste like chocolate milkshake and vinegar taste like sweet sherry. While this phenomenon is certainly entertaining, the berry has numerous uses that extend well beyond its novelty factor. It could, for example, give healthier foods a more appealing flavour profile, whilst lowering sugar in others and all without the need for sweeteners, artificial or otherwise. Fortified foods provide a nutritional boost to food and beverage products, whether it’s a protein packed bread, a soft drink loaded with botanicals, or a vitamin enriched breakfast cereal. Many such products purport to be a key part in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, so the logical next step is to develop foods which can actively assist or medicate the body. Nutraceuticals refers to a product or ingredient that is derived from food sources that comes with extra health benefits on top of whatever basic nutritional level is already found in said foods. Harnessing these benefits and developing products that can cater to specific illnesses is leading to the burgeoning pharma foods market. Gluten-free foods can enable sufferers from celiac disease to enjoy foods they would otherwise be unable to, while speciality sweets allow diabetes sufferers to enjoy a treat without causing a spike in their blood sugar levels. Imagine then, a food product can help to treat and maintain a disease like diabetes. Big food companies are already investing millions of dollars in research and development in this very field, making a fringe idea very much a reality. Already, there is a convergence between big pharma and food, with many of the top food brands actively engaging in the sciences. 18-21.qxp_Layout 1 28/06/2019 11:19 Page 2Next >