The Bulletin
M EM BER NE W S Updates from BFFF members
Leading chef to transform Iceland offer
Neil Nugent, the man credited with feeding half the population via his roles at Waitrose, Asda and Morrisons, recently turned his attention to Iceland and looks set to take the retailer’s food and produce offer on to another level.
Key to the turnaround at Iceland is its Power of Frozen initiative as well as a renewed focus on the quality of the frozen food offer that Iceland has built its name on.
Nugent’s initial challenge was to improve and build on the retailer’s sourcing capabilities and look to find the very best suppliers to work with. Particularly around fish and meat, Nugent stressed: “If you get it right then you really can’t tell the difference between fresh and frozen.”
Freezing fish or meat just after it has been caught or killed means Nugent and his team at Iceland can source quality produce from all over the world.
Shaun Foley has been appointed as operations director at Oakland International.
Nugent added: “We have to break a few of the myths around frozen food. That is part of my job. Be it with journalists or customers.”
Oakland Chief Executive and Co-Founder, Dean Attwell said: “Shaun brings 35 years of experience at the highest levels in the retail, food and FMCG sectors across Europe – I am delighted to welcome him to the team.
● iceland.co.uk
“Shaun’s expertise will ensure we continue to deliver value added services and help drive and support our customers’ success.”
Unicarriers, the globally active developer and manufacturer of industrial trucks has extended its range with the new TERGO UHD 160.
A wide range of safety features are offered as standard including the S3 Soft Motion System.
New man for Oakland
“We are selling sea bass that is farmed in Turkey, and within 24 hours can be scaled, gutted, frozen and with us here at Iceland,” he said. “It has all the same nutritional benefits.”
UniCarriers extends TERGO product family Set to become the preferred choice for demanding warehouse applications in logistics and industry, it can handle pallets of 1,000kg and offers excellent lifting and lowering speeds. The standard UHD 160 has a maximum speed of 12.5 km/h and can be adapted to accelerate to 14.5 km/h.
ADBA releases second edition of The Practical Guide to AD
The Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association (ADBA) has released the second edition of The Practical Guide to AD, a key guidance document for developing and operating AD facilities in the UK. It contains content from over 50 contributors and expert stakeholders to include the latest regulatory, policy and technological developments in the AD sector.
The focus on frozen food is also a new challenge for Nugent (pictured) who in his previous roles would have been much more focused on the retailers’ chilled offers. But it also gives him and his team an advantage in that Iceland is not just well known in the UK for being the leading frozen food retailer, but with food producers all over the world.
Working with frozen food is very much part of a chef’s every-day life – the freezer is a chef’s best friend, is how Nugent describes it: “If you get a delivery of fish in to a restaurant the chances are you will freeze some of it. You really can’t live without a freezer as a chef.”
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Taking into account numerous factors such as the current lifting height, this technology analyses mast reach and mast tilt as well as side shift, ensuring optimum stability.
Distribution deal for Seahawk Bantry Bay Premium Seafoods have entered into a distribution agreement with Seahawk Marine Foods Ltd, for the exclusive supply of their branded products into the UK and Irish foodservice markets.
As part of the ergonomic TERGO product family, the UHD 160 is also specified to a high standard to provide a comfortable, safe working environment. ● unicarrierseurope.com
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