Food & Beverage Industry News - Feb 2020

FEBRUARY 2020

Apple flour a rising star in the ingredient world PLUS: GS1 - pushing better traceability | Compostable vs Biodegradable | Lean manufacturing

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pples have many uses. They are a nutritional snack, great in a pie, and even when not at their best, can be turned into crisp-tasting cider. Now there is a new use thanks to some thinking outside the box by Australian ingredients specialist Forbidden Foods.

The company was initially formed to manufacture its low-GI, gluten-free black rice. The company founders, Jarrod Milani and Marcus Brown, started a new enterprise under the Forbidden Foods umbrella, Sensory Mill, whose brief is to provide alternative products to use in the manufacture of food stuffs. Apple flour came under its purview.

What makes this even more interesting,

is that it covers two bases – a new basic ingredient for food manufacturing, and reducing food waste by using parts of the apple that otherwise would have been thrown away.

Another story that will create interest is from the Australian Institute of Packaging where its president, Carol KilcullenLawrence, takes readers through the differences between biodegradable and compostable packaging. It is an issue that needs attention as food and beverage manufacturers try and reduce their carbon footprint, while also addressing growing consumer expectations for environmentally sound products.

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www.foodmag.com.au | February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 3

NEWS

Banana plants an a-peeling alternative for packaging B

iodegradable “plastic” bags made out of banana plants sounds a bit…bananas, but a couple of UNSW researchers have found a way to do it, and it could solve two industrial waste problems in one.

Two researchers at UNSW Sydney have discovered a novel way to turn banana plantation waste into packaging material that is not only biodegradable, but also recyclable.

Associate Professor Jayashree Arcot and Professor Martina Stenzel were looking for ways to convert agricultural waste into something that could value add to the industry it came from while potentially solving problems for another.

A good contender was the banana growing industry which, according to Arcot, produces large amounts of organic waste, with only 12 per cent of the plant being used (the fruit) while the rest is discarded after harvest.

“What makes the banana growing business particularly wasteful compared to other fruit crops is the fact that the plant dies after each harvest,” said Arcot, who is from UNSW’s School of Chemical Engineering.

“We were particularly interested in the pseudostems – basically the layered, fleshy trunk of the plant, which is cut down after each harvest and mostly discarded on the field.

Some of it is used for textiles, some as compost, but other than that, it’s a huge waste.”

Arcot and Stenzel, who is from UNSW’s School of Chemistry, wondered whether the pseudostems would be valuable sources of cellulose – an important structural component of plant cell walls – that could be used in packaging, paper products, textiles and even medical applications, such as wound healing and drug delivery.

Using a reliable supply of pseudostem material from banana plants grown at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, the duo set to work in extracting cellulose to test its suitability as a packaging alternative.

“The pseudostem is 90 per cent water, so the solid material ends up reducing down to about 10 per cent,”

Bananas are being looked into as a source of packaging material.

Arcot said. “We bring the pseudostem into the lab and chop it into pieces, dry it at very low temperatures in a drying oven, and then mill it into a very fine powder.”

“We then take this powder and wash it with a very soft chemical treatment,” said Stenzel. “This isolates what we call nano-cellulose, which is a material of high value with a whole range of applications. One of those applications that interested us greatly was packaging, particularly single-use food packaging where so much ends up in landfill.”

When processed, the material has a consistency similar to baking paper.

Arcot said depending on the intended thickness, the material could be used in a number of different formats in food packaging.

“There are some options at this point, we could make a shopping bag, for example,” she said.

“Or depending on how we pour the material and how thick we make it, we could make the trays that you see for meat and fruit. Except of course, instead of being foam, it is a material that is completely non-toxic, biodegradable and recyclable.”

Arcot said she and Stenzel have confirmed in tests that the material breaks down organically after putting “films” of the cellulose material in

soil for six months. The results showed that the sheets of cellulose were well on the way to disintegrating in the soil samples.

“The material is also recyclable.

One of our PhD students proved that we can recycle this for three times without any change in properties,” Arcot said.

Tests with food have proved that it poses no contamination risks.

“We tested the material with food samples to see whether there was any leaching into the cells,” Stenzel said.

“We didn’t see any of that. I also tested it on mammalian cells, cancer cells, T-cells and it’s all non-toxic to them.

So if the T-cells are happy – because they’re usually sensitive to anything that’s toxic – then it’s very benign.”

Other uses of agricultural waste that the duo have looked at are in the cotton industry and rice growing industry – they have extracted cellulose from both waste cotton gathered from cotton gins and rice paddy husks.

“In theory you can get nanocellulose from every plant. It’s just that some plants are better than others in that they have higher cellulose content,” Stenzel said.

“What makes bananas so attractive, in addition to the quality of the cellulose content, is the fact that they

are an annual plant,” Arcot added.

The researchers say that for the banana pseudostem to be a realistic alternative to plastic bags and food packaging, it would make sense for the banana industry to start the processing of the pseudostems into powder, which they could then sell to packaging suppliers.

“If the banana industry can come on board, and they say to their farmers or growers that there’s a lot of value in using those pseudostems to make into a powder that you could then sell, that’s a much better option for them as well as for us,” Arcot said.

And at the other end of the supply chain, if packaging manufacturers updated their machines to be able to fabricate the nano-cellulose film into bags and other food packaging materials, then banana pseudostems stand a real chance of making food packaging a much more sustainable proposition.

“What we’re really wanting at this stage is an industry partner who can look into how this could be upscaled and how cheap we can make it,” Stenzel said.

Arcot agreed. “I think the packaging companies would be more willing to have a go at this material, if they knew the material was available readily.”

www.foodmag.com.au | February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 5

NEWS

Wine company achieves 100 per cent renewable electricity P ernod Ricard Winemakers has become the first large wine company in Australia to achieve 100 per cent renewable electricity. The commitment was achieved ahead of schedule and will ensure that all wines from the iconic Australian wine brands Jacob’s Creek, St Hugo and Wyndham Estate will be produced using electricity from renewable sources.

All of Pernod Ricard Winemakers’ Australian sites are now using renewable electricity thanks to the completion of Australia’s largest

combined winery solar installation and a 10-year agreement to source renewable electricity.

Energy company AGL has installed more than 10,300 solar panels across the company’s two Barossa Valley wineries, with a predicted annual generation of 4,000 MWH, enough to power the equivalent of nearly 800 South Australian homes.

Pernod Ricard Winemakers has also become connected to both offsite wind and solar farms as a result of a 10-year Virtual Generation

Agreement (VGA) with wholesale electricity retailer Flow Power.

The agreement means that the remainder of the business’ annual electricity requirements will be met by solar and wind.

Sustainability and responsibility is an important part of Pernod Ricard’s global strategy, with the group recently launching its 2030 sustainability and responsibility roadmap, which sets out eight ambitious goals aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Brett McKinnon, who is Pernod

Pernod Ricard has installed more than 10,000 solar panels across the company’s two Barossa Valley wineries.

Ricard Winemakers’ chief operations officer, believes that the completion of the project demonstrates that the company is committed to being a leader within the industry when it comes to sustainability and responsibility.

“Pernod Ricard Winemakers is excited to be the first large wine company in Australia to produce wine using electricity sourced entirely from renewable sources, well ahead of our initial goal,” he said.

“Being sustainable and responsible is an important part of our business, particularly as producers of wine – a product that takes its character from the land where it was grown.

We want to minimise our impact on the communities where we operate, responding to the local climate and preserving the environment for future generations to come.

“Our journey began in 2016 with a pilot solar installation after we recognised that we had a huge opportunity across our wineries to harness the power of the sun through solar panels.

“Three years later, we are exceptionally proud to say that we are now sourcing all electricity from renewable sources, in alignment with our global ambition,” he said.

$4m grant announced to enhance food chain traceability T

he Department of Agriculture is inviting applications for grants worth $4 million to fund projects to enhance traceability in the food supply chain, enhancing trust in Australian-grown products and boosting the competitiveness of agricultural exporters.

Australia’s reputation as a source of clean, green and safe products has helped secure a strong foothold in Asian markets seeking healthy, nutritious food.

Effective traceability systems are critical for continued access to these export markets, responding to demand from consumers domestically and internationally, for greater transparency and real-time convenience around the origins and safety of food in modern digital marketplaces.

An initial $4 million round of Traceability Grants Program (TGP) funding will be available to individuals, communities,

6 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

government or private sector organisations, as well as agricultural export industries, to enable them to enhance traceability in supply chains.

The program will provide opportunities for successful applicants to carry out projects that enhance product traceability and the competitiveness of Australian produce.

For example, by supporting assertions around organic or location-specific production.

The TGP is part of the Modernising Agricultural Trade agenda announced by the Australian Government to support the target of a $100 billion agricultural sector by 2030.

The program will run over a minimum of two rounds from the end of 2019 to June 2023.

The TGP Opportunity Guidelines set out how the program will operate. The round will close on 21 February 2020.

NEWS

Platform allows farmers to sell lamb direct to consumers I n a time where Australian farmers are being challenged by adversity in every direction, a new e-commerce platform has been developed to bridge the gap between customer and farmer with a buy direct system.

The PDLmarketplace e-commerce platform has been developed to provide lamb consumers with quality-assured Prime Dorper Lamb directly from Australian farmers, with proceeds going directly to the farmer.

The advantages of an e-commerce system like this are twofold – farmers get better returns by selling premium product directly to customers and customers get a better range of choice when buying lamb delivered directly to their homes. Each PDLmarketplace delivery is traceable to a farm and production system. It allows consumers to select their lamb based on preferences including ethical farming, sustainable farming, as well as quality and flavour ratings based on previous customer reviews and farm

PDLmarketplace offers a direct route to selling lamb to consumers. location. All Prime Dorper Lamb has to meet strict quality specifications about size, conditions and genetic background to be available for sale through the system. When purchasing Prime Dorper Lamb through the PDLmarketplace, customers can learn about the farms and meet the farmers behind their lamb selection.

PDLmarketplace project director, Joe Barnewall, believes that it is critical

to develop a much closer customerfarmer relationship. Tim Stevenson, president of the Dorper Sheep Society of Australia, said supporting Australian farmers is important now more than ever.

“With the drought in Eastern Australia, any way for professional producers to become more efficient must be a great thing.”

Stevenson also shared that the

Beamex MC6-T

project, endorsed by the Dorper Sheep Society of Australia, is one of the first of it’s kind. “The livestock industry in general has been left behind in its uptake of technology. The DSSA is excited for and proud of the PDLmarketplace.”

Prime Dorper Lamb Farmers, like Donna Emmerton of Downs Dorper Lamb, are excited by this new opportunity to sell their product.

“I think I speak for the majority of Prime Dorper Lamb farmers when I say things have been really tough for the past five to 10 years, and having a potential system like this that could give us some stability and the prospect of a better outcome is really exciting.”

The PDLmarketplace is a project operated by a Brisbane-based team with support from The Dorper Sheep Society of Australia. The initial launch is for the South-east Queensland consumer market with expansion to Victoria in early 2020 leading up to Australia Day.

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www.foodmag.com.au | February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 7

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NEWS

Bubs opens corporate headquarters in Victoria

Danny Pearson, Gabrielle Williams, Mark Edmonson, Dennis Lin, Kristy Carr, Wayne Zhu.

T

he official opening of the corporate headquarters Bubs Australia Limited was held Friday 13 December at its Australian Deloraine Dairy canning and packaging facility in Dandenong, Victoria.

Danny Pearson, State Member for Essendon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier of Victoria, and Gabrielle Williams, State Member for Dandenong and Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, Minister for Women and Minister for Youth in the Victorian Government, signed the Official Certificate of Recognition commemorating Bubs establishing its headquarters in Victoria.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier Danny Pearson said: “We were delighted to support Bubs move to Victoria, which will add considerable weight to our reputation as Australia’s gateway to China. As well as creating jobs, this investment is yet another vote of confidence in our farmers and the Government’s work promoting Victoria as an export hub.”

Williams welcomed the arrival of Bubs Australia to area.

“Melbourne’s south-east is the heart of Victoria’s manufacturing industry and having Bubs choose Dandenong for its headquarters is important to local jobs and the broader supply chain.”

Commenting on the occasion, Bubs executive chairman, Dennis Lin said, “We are honoured by the presence of two state members.

Their participation recognises the contribution of Bubs to the state economy.

“Our relocation to Victoria was a vote of confidence in the state, its goat dairy farmers and its strategic position as a key export hub for Australia. We are truly excited that the management operations of Bubs Australia and its strategic supply chain partners are now so close together.”

“We see integrating supply chain, production and management in Victoria as a natural progression which will help bring greater agility and scale efficiencies to

our business,” said Bubs founder and CEO Kristy Carr. “The move underlines the Company’s recently announced plan to increase investment in boosting cross border e-commerce with China, both for its existing portfolio and new products.

“By expanding the scope of our portfolio to new demographics, we expect to generate further opportunities for growth among our Victorian farming partners who collectively represent the largest aggregation of milking goats in Australia.

The Victorian goat dairy farms contracted to Bubs are capable of providing some 20 million litres of fresh goats milk from an aggregate herd of around 20,000 milking goats.

“Importantly, most of our other Australian based supply chain partners are also located in Victoria,” said Carr. “In addition to our Deloraine canning and packing plant in Dandenong, Bega’s Tatura Industries in Victoria provides onestep goat’s milk blending and powder production and Fonterra’s

facility in Darnum, also in Victoria, processes our grass-fed organic cow’s milk for packing at the Deloraine facility.”

Also present at the ceremony was Mark Edmonson, one of Bubs’ Victorian goat farmers, based in Echuca, Victoria, whose goat farms provide Bubs with important domestic supply of goat milk under an exclusive supply agreement.

Edmonson said that he was passionate about the goat industry and happy to be doing what he loves – supporting Australia’s Goat Industry, which has been a lifetime goal.

“I’m very proud to be one of Bubs exclusive suppliers. With Bubs we now have the guaranteed off-take that gives us the security we need to put this passion into practice. With Bubs support we know we have a partner that understands our business model and how sustainability can make a difference as well as a partner committed to enabling us to have access to skilled, capable people and supporting the gaining of those skills for generations to come.”

www.foodmag.com.au | February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 9

NEWS

Image credit: Alessia Pierdomenico / Shutterstock.com

Consumers willing to pay for extra-healthy edible oils

T

he edible oils market is witnessing growth from the past few years, which will continue through the foreseeable future, mainly driven by increasing popularity of edible oils with extra-added health benefits. The global edible oils market is set to cross $233 billion by the end of 2019 and will showcase stable market growth of 4 per cent over the next decade-old period of projection.

Consumers are ready to pay premium prices for healthy food products because of the increasing food-based health issues such as increase in blood cholesterol as well as obesity. The increasing attractiveness

People are becoming more discerning about the types of oils they consume. about edible oils with added health benefits in many economies is influencing to buy edible oils, which are high in omega 3, vitamins, oryzanol, natural anti-oxidants, and others.

Additionally, the increasing awareness of health is driving consumers to experiment with various edible oils to find the best and healthiest choice for cooking in their kitchens.

This inclination is prompting edible oil manufacturers to offer various types of oils targeting to consumers specifically looking for edible oils, which are good for a

healthier heart, making immune systems strong, and many other health benefits. Offering of these types of edible oils is anticipated to support the growth of the edible oils market during the forecast period.

Key features of the study include: • The increasing rate of urbanisation in developing as well as developed economies, and changing lifestyles of the customers, has increased the demand for edible oils.

• The increasing popularity of edible oils with added health benefits among customers are providing profitable opportunities to edible oil manufacturers and for market growth.

• Leading edible oil manufacturers are implementing various strategies such as cold-pressed and refining among other technologies to showcase their products on various platforms.

• The strategy of having products and brands endorsed by celebrities and chefs is facilitating manufacturers in the edible oils to ensure that their product is positioned firmly in the minds of their target audience.

Production test, on-board device programming, and design

verification require the usage of boundary scan controllers An increasing inclination of consumers towards specialty restaurants will remain one of the strongest factors driving the growth of edible oils market.

The analysis reveals that such factors will boost profits of domestic market players, driving expansion of local edible oils market in the long run.

Edible oils with a dash of health Manufacturers of edible oils are evolving their marketing approaches according to the ongoing market trends. Most prominent suppliers of edible oils are now targeting the nutritional enhancement of the edible oils offered by them.

Manufacturers have started offering various edible oils with various health benefits. Apart from that, the quality of the edible oils is kept at a high priority.

In March 2018, Bunge acquired Loders Croklaan. After this acquisition, Bunge became an important player for businessto-business in the oil ingredients segment with its product portfolio of tropical oils and softseed.

Four ANZ entries tipped for Special WorldStar Packaging Awards T

he Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) has announced that four Australian and New Zealand companies have been shortlisted as finalists for three of the WorldStar Packaging Special Awards, which are run by the World Packaging Organisation.

What makes this recognition even more meaningful is that no

ANZ packaging innovation has ever been recognised or shortlisted in the President’s Award and two of the three finalists in the Sustainability Award are also PIDA 2019 Award winners.

ANZ finalist for the President’s Award is Plantic RV Skin Packaging Materials (PlanticTechnologies, Aust).

ANZ finalists for the Sustainability Award are Woolworths Bakery Plant

10 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

Fibre Tray (Woolworths, Australia) and LewisRoad 100 per cent rPET Milk Bottle (#Pact, NZ).

ANZ finalist for Packaging that Saves Food Award is Hazeldene’s Chicken Farm and Sealed Air for its Cryovac Darfresh on Tray (SealedAir, Aust).

The winners of each award will be announced during the 2020 WorldStar

Packaging Awards at Interpack in Duesseldorf, Germany on the 8th of May. Winners from ANZ also received the third highest amount of WorldStar Packaging Awards in total in the world behind Japan and China. This brings the ANZ total awards to 17 for the 2020 WorldStar Packaging Awards.

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NEWS

Néstle is investing $375 million into sustainable packaging.

Néstlé creates market for food-grade recycled plastics N

estlé has announced that it will invest up to $3 billion to lead the shift from virgin plastics to food-grade recycled plastics and to accelerate the development of innovative sustainable packaging solutions.

Building on its 2018 commitment to make 100 per cent of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025, Nestlé will reduce its use of virgin plastics by one third in the same period while working with others to advance the circular economy and endeavour to clean up plastic waste from oceans, lakes and rivers.

Food quality and safety are paramount, and packaging plays a major role in assuring this. Most plastics are difficult to recycle for food packaging, leading to a limited supply of food-grade recycled

plastics. To create a market, Nestlé is committed to sourcing up to two million metric tons of food-grade recycled plastics and allocating more than $2.5 billion to pay a premium for these materials between now and 2025. Nestlé will seek operational efficiencies to keep this initiative earnings neutral.

Packaging innovation, including new materials, refill systems and recycling solutions, is another key challenge on the path towards a waste-free future.

In addition to its inhouse research through the Nestlé Institute of Packaging Sciences, the company will launch a $375 million sustainable packaging venture fund to invest in start-up companies that focus on these areas.

These two initiatives come

12 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

in addition to Nestlé’s ongoing efforts in research, sourcing and manufacturing to make its packaging recyclable or reusable and contribute to its goal to achieve zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

As part of the company’s packaging commitment and to increase transparency, Nestlé will continue to outline further initiatives and provide regular progress updates.

“No plastic should end up in landfill or as litter,” said Mark Schneider, CEO of Nestlé. “Making recycled plastics safe for food is an enormous challenge for our industry. That is why in addition to minimising plastics use and collecting waste, we want to close the loop and make more plastics infinitely recyclable. We are taking bold steps to create a wider market

for food-grade recycled plastics and boost innovation in the packaging industry. We welcome others to join us on this journey.”

“We are pleased to see Nestlé commit a $3 billion investment toward creating a circular economy for plastics, alongside a reduction of its use of virgin plastic in packaging by one third by 2025,” said Andrew Morlet, CEO, Ellen MacArthur Foundation. “By eliminating the plastics we don’t need, innovating in areas like reuse models and new materials, and circulating the plastics we do need – also in more challenging food grade applications – we can create an economy where plastic never becomes waste.

Achieving the commitments announced today will contribute towards realising this vision.”

New trade opportunities for red meat

!

New

Queensland beef contributes more than $5 billion to the Australian economy.

M

ember for Capricornia, Michelle Landry, said the Government investing $3.9 million in the Beef Australia 2021 Expo to be held in Rockhampton in May 2-8 2021, was designed to allow farmers to grow their businesses by facilitating new trade opportunities.

“2021 is an important opportunity to champion Australia’s fantastic beef products domestically and internationally,” Landry said.

“Rockhampton’s contribution to the industry is central, with Beef Australia facilitating new trade and export opportunities by connecting the local supply chain to international industry leaders.

“Preparations are well underway for the next event, which will feature more than 5,000 cattle from over 30 breeds, a trade fair promoting more than 500 businesses; a symposium, seminars and property tours to deliver new research information to producers.

“And let’s not forget Queensland is the epicentre of beef production in Australia, with more than 12,000 businesses contributing $5.47 billion to the national economy.”

Minister for Agriculture, Senator

Bridget McKenzie, confirmed that the $3.9 mn was designed to help showcase quality Australian beef to the world.

“This is an investment not only in Rockhampton, but in an industry that’s delivering economic benefits to Australia, to regional economies and to farmers’ hip pockets.

“We’re backing Australia’s beef producers by helping to improve returns by maintaining and securing new export markets, and achieving lower tariffs through our free-trade agreements – particularly with Korea, Japan and China.

She said they were backing an industry that creates direct and indirect employment opportunities for around 400,000 people.

“The beef industry is a powerhouse of Australian agriculture, with cattle and calf production valued at about $10.8 bn, and beef and veal exports valued at almost $9.5 bn.

Anything our government can do to support and sustain this significant contributor to Australia’s economy and the many thousands of people who work in it, especially during drought, is an investment in the future of agriculture.”

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www.foodmag.com.au | February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 13

NEWS

It is illegal to import products that are harmful to humans.

Importers of high dose caffeine products on notice A

nyone who knowingly tries to import pure and highly concentrated caffeine products into the country for retail sale could end up facing up to 10 years jail if convicted.

Minister for Agriculture, Senator Bridget McKenzie, has made it clear that it is an offence to import food into Australia that posed a risk to human health.

“Our government has amended imported food legislation to target and prevent entry of pure and highly concentrated caffeine products, intended for retail sale,” McKenzie said.

“This is in support of Food Standards Australia New Zealand’s (FSANZ) action to amend the Code to ban the retail sale of these products, which are a threat to human health.

The ban applies to food intended for retail sale where total caffeine is present at a concentration of five per cent or more in solid or semi-solid foods, like powders, or one per cent or more if the food is in liquid form, McKenzie said.

“This is a significant dose at which the risk of serious health effects start to increase and should not be available for retail sale – let

alone be allowed into Australia.

“The safety of Australians is paramount and that’s why I have amended the Imported Food Control Order 2019 to classify pure and highly concentrated caffeine products as risk food.

“It is an offence to import food into Australia that poses a risk to human health. Importers who knowingly import food into Australia that poses a risk to human health can face a penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment.”

The government tightened regulations following the death last year of a New South Wales

man, which was attributed to acute caffeine toxicity associated with the consumption of a caffeine powder product.

Minister McKenzie said the ban would not affect caffeinated products like coffee, energy or cola drinks, which had much lower concentrations, or the import of commercial quantities by manufacturers for use as ingredients in these types of products.

FSANZ will soon be starting a campaign to educate Australian consumers about the risks of pure and highly concentrated caffeine products and the dangers of purchasing these products online.

v2food confirms $20m Wodonga factory investment V

2food, Australia’s newest plant-based meat company, has announced the purchase of a 55,470 sqm site in Wodonga.

The purchase of the dormant building represents a chance to inject new life into the site, which will form the cornerstone of the company’s plans to change the way the world thinks about and consumes meat.

The company secured $35m in funding from investors, representing one of the largest ever Series A

fundings for a plant-based company.

More than $20m will be invested in refitting the Wodonga site to be a world-class, food-grade facility including the installation of new equipment using the expertise of local contractors.

The factory is expected to begin operations in Q2 2020 with plans to employ 40-50 local workers. Once up and running, the factory will enable v2food to scale-up at speed to produce the plant-based meat

14 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

that customers will soon find in supermarkets and restaurants across the country. v2food surveyed over 50 locations before confirming the Moloney Drive site.

It is critical that v2 can locally produce plant-based meat in order to make the most of Australia’s expertise as one of the leading global meat producers and export an Australian success story across the globe.

The world’s appetite for meat is growing too quickly for this to be a threat to local farmers.

Instead, there is an opportunity for Australian farmers to become part of a growing industry that could add $6 billion to our economy by 2030.

The Wodonga factory will form part of v2food’s supply chain enabling local farmers to supply this growing industry with Australiangrown ingredients.

NEWS

Protein technology detects hidden gluten A new study has the secret ingredient to improve the safety of common breakfast foods.

Professor Michelle Colgrave, a researcher based at Edith Cowan University and CSIRO, is using revolutionary protein technology

A new technology is looking for hidden gluten in foodstuffs.

to detect hidden gluten and other proteins causing food allergies.

Most recently, she has focused her investigations on food commonly found on the Australian breakfast menu including cereal, breakfast bars and drinks, powdered drinks and a popular savoury spread.

“We were pleased to find that products that were specifically labelled as gluten-free were on the whole safe to consume,” she said.

“However, it is often another story for many foods that should be gluten-free, such as oats or soy flour.”

Colgrave said her team was looking to improve the safety of all Australian food, and deliver tools to industry and regulators that can ensure compliance to Australian and international standards.

“Coeliac disease affects up to two per cent of the Australian population and despite this group carefully avoiding gluten in their

diet, many of them report associated symptoms at least once a month,” Colgrave said.

“We are interested in discovering whether they are unwittingly consuming gluten through hidden traces in their diets.”

Colgrave said contamination can occur at many stages during manufacture – from harvest to processing.

“Commonly used tests might be sensitive enough to detect small amounts of a contaminating substance in a raw ingredient, but might be challenged to detect the same contaminant in a processed food. Yet the human body was still able to detect it and react to it,” she said.

“The technique we use has been successfully deployed to test heavily processed products and it will provide a way to ensure that foods actually contain what it says on the label.”

Ultimate

www.foodmag.com.au | February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 15

NEWS

Non-alcoholic wine and beer market size worth $43bn by 2025 T

he rising prevalence of coronary diseases and heart related health risks has fueled the non-alcoholic wine and beer market, which has grown exponentially in the past few years along with improved living standards of consumers. Owing to the notable concerns of consuming excess alcohol, worldwide efforts to explore the benefits and production techniques for making alcohol-free or low-alcohol beverages, have escalated. The nonalcoholic wine and beer industry has profited from an incredible shift in preference by millennials and the disease-prone geriatric population, who wish to lower the probability of cardiovascular diseases.

Compared to alcoholic beverages, some studies claim to show that non-alcoholic beers exhibit boosted anti-oxidants, increased Vitamin B6 and slower blood coagulation, all of which help to prevent heart conditions.

Additionally, benefits such as effective stress control have endorsed the global non-alcoholic wine and beer market.

A major cause of obesity and heart issues is unrestrained consumption of calories from beverages containing high sugar content.

Boasting annual earnings of over $23 billion in 2017, the non-alcoholic wine and beer market consists of

products with less proportion of calories than alcoholic options.

Consequently, a number of institutions and national level events have been promoting less or non-alcoholic beers and wine in their demonstration portfolio to support companies that aim to brew craft beers and non-alcohol wines. Representing the industry penetration of the non-alcoholic wine and beer market, the Great British Beer Festival, happening every year since 1977, has recently confirmed that it will offer alcoholfree beer for the first time that is produced by Netherlands-based craft brewer, Braxzz.

The company sells both low and no-alcohol beers and the festival organisers expressed an interest due to the increasing importance of such products in the market, which has caused the sale of alcoholic drinks to decline.

Referring to 2018 statistics, the UK non-alcoholic beverages market grew by more than 15 per cent over the previous two years with healthconscious consumers looking for lower-alcohol content in drinks.

Aldi, a major supermarket chain, in July introduced two non-alcoholic wines in response to the upsurge in demand. These wines are said to have less than half of the calories found in other alcoholic wines Non-alcoholic wine and beer are gaining popularity among consumers.

16 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

and are also cheaper.

With the presence of several prominent liquor producers and having one of the highest consumption rates, Europe generates huge revenues for the non-alcoholic wine and beer market and registered a demand in the excess of 1 billion litres in 2017.

UK, Germany, Ireland, France and Italy are some of the biggest consumers of alcoholic drinks and the growing intensity of health problems in these countries will encourage the development of the European non-alcoholic wine and beer industry.

A number of popular brands such has Carlsberg, Heineken, Bernard Brewery, Erdinger Weibbrau, among others have dominantly stepped into the non-alcoholic wine and beer market. Seeking to capitalize on the swift expansion of the non-alcoholic wine and beer market, the world’s second largest beer producer Heineken has launched a non-alcoholic lager for the Irish market.

Beer is the more preferred alcoholic beverage in Ireland having a 46 per cent market share in 2016 and contributed close to $2.7 billion to the country’s economy in the same year. The company claims that the alcohol-free lager, Heineken 0.0, has half the calories of regular beer and taster better than most other products in the category.

As the Heineken 0.0 experiences strong sales in Spain, Netherlands, Russia and many other countries, the non-alcoholic wine and beer market will undergo a significant transformation with other brands also attempting to sell healthfriendly low-alcohol beverages through retail stores and ecommerce platforms. Over the past few years, research has continuously been conducted to compare the effects of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks on the human body, primarily inspired by the explosion of cardiac disorders globally.

A study performed on 67 men, who had diabetes or displayed three

or more risk factors of heart diseases, involved observing the effect of red wine containing alcohol and one without alcohol. Interestingly, when the men drank alcohol-free red wine their blood pressure lowered down to levels that reduce the risk of heart diseases by 14 per cent and chances of stroke by 20 per cent.

The global non-alcoholic wine and beer industry are driven by rapid technological development and innovations across the beverage sector.

Industrialisation and changing consumer lifestyle in the emerging economies of China, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brazil has stimulated the demand for the product.

Rapid improvisations in the brewery industry for alcohol content reduction including improved membrane-based technologies and vacuum distillation is enhancing the quality of the beverage.

Also, rising demand for low alcohol content in various alcoholic beverages regarding suitability for occasional and health-concerned consumers will foster the product portfolio expansion. Developing economies such as Mexico, India, China, Brazil, and Indonesia will substantially impact the product development owing to a larger customer base coupled with increasing preferences for low and no alcohol beverages.

All in all, the need for healthier drinks with enhanced antioxidants and electrolytes that can be incorporated in daily life has stimulated the non-alcoholic wine and beer industry, accentuated by disorders like liver cirrhosis, CVD and certain cancers that originate from alcohol abuse.

Offering a solution for people who want to socialise without consuming alcohol, or those who are restricted from drinking alcohol-infused beverages, the non-alcoholic wine and beer market is anticipated to record 7.6 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2018 to 2024.

NEWS

Bosch Packaging Technology changes name to Syntegon S yntegon Technology is the new name for Bosch Packaging Technology, and it is now an independent enterprise.

Syntegon Technology’s business focus is on intelligent and sustainable technologies for the pharmaceutical and food industries.

Extending the service range is a priority for the company. Syntegon Technology employs 6,100 people at more than 30 locations worldwide. It posted $2.1 billion in sales in 2019.

Bosch disclosed its plans to sell the packaging machinery division to a newly incorporated entity managed by CVC Capital Partners (CVC), a leading private equity and investment advisory firm, in July 2019.

The transaction was completed according to plan, with the company gaining full independence at the turn of the year.

The sale of Bosch Packaging

Technology was completed on January 2, 2020, as envisioned.

Bosch had announced in June 2018 that it intended to sell its packaging division, finding a buyer a year later in CVC. Bosch Packaging Technology then expanded its headquarters in Waiblingen, Germany, augmenting it with new departments required for the switch. Business developments remained stable in the interim, bucking the trend in the sluggish machine engineering sector.

Sales in 2019 came to $2.1 bn, matching the previous year’s figure.

CVC, aims to vigorously develop the company as a whole and expand intra-group synergies.

Commenting on the closing of the sale, Marc Strobel, a partner at CVC said, “CVC is delighted to see the transaction completed on schedule. Syntegon Technology has

Bosch Packaging is now known as Syntegon Technology. a strong presence in many market segments, great technological know-how, and innovative power.

We want to build on these strengths jointly with management and the entire workforce.”

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17/01/2020 5:13:36 PM 17 www.foodmag.com.au | February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News

NEWS

Fast-food chicken growing in popularity C

hicken has become the second most popular item in Australian Quick Service restaurants (QSR), approaching burgers number one spot – a traditional fast food leader, according to research by The NPD Group. Over the past three years, the consumption of QSR chicken has increased by 2.8 per cent while the QSR burger increased by 1.6 per cent. The entire foodservice industry grew by 0.5 per cent since 2017, and the entire QSR channel grew 0.8 per cent in the period from October 2017 till September 2019.

Millennial consumers (those aged from 18 to 34 years old) are the main buyers and consume 42 per cent of chicken servings in the foodservice industry.

“Chicken is getting even more attention from millennials who have increased their share of visits to

QSR chicken outlets by 4.6 per cent above any other age group in the last three years,” said Seton Leung, head of Australia Foodservice, The NPD Group Australia.

Millennials are quite sensitive to prices and feel the economy stagnate more stronger than others.

The survey found that this was the reason that some younger consumers were ordering chicken wings or nuggets instead of a beef burger with French fries.

The average cost of a QSR chicken visit is $9.38. which was an increase of 1.5 per cent in the last three years. By comparison, the average QSR burger spend has risen by 2.7 per cent.

QSR chicken has always sold more chicken than any other restaurant or foodservice outlet.

It has generated 36.6 per cent of chicken servings consumption in the

foodservice industry, commanding 8.4 per cent of foodservice visits.

Chicken consumption is most likely to happen during the main meal, with more than one in two servings of chicken going at lunch, while dinner generates 40 per cent orders in the year October 2018 to September 2019.

The survey also stated that consumers saw chicken as a healthier and lighter option than beef because of many widespread beliefs with regards to white meat being healthier than some other alternatives, with some doctors suggesting that consumers should limit red meat to a few meals a week.

According to The NPD Group, 8.8 per cent of customers mentioned that they had chosen a QSR chicken outlet because it offers healthy options compared to 7.5 per cent of all fast food outlets in the

Chicken is now the second most popular fast food.

18 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

foodservice industry.

Families with kids are also ordering chicken more often.

Consumption by families in QSR grew 14 per cent compared to a year ago.

Kids are key influencers on where the family is going to have lunch or dinner.

They often choose chicken QSR because fried chicken is easy to share and served alongside a variety of condiments like BBQ or mustard sauces.

QSR chicken operators have been effectively targeting families with group bundle promotions for most of 2019.

In addition to special promotions, value packs and seasonal menu items have helped operators to generate traffic.

Thirty-seven per cent of QSR chicken consumers mentioned that they utilised some form of deal in their visits, compared to 27 per cent of deal-led consumers in the food service industry.

The top five chicken dishes (ranked by servings share of total chicken dishes) in QSR (October 2018-September 2019) are listed as follows: 1. burger and sandwiches (46 per cent); 2. nuggets and strips (17 per cent); 3. wraps (14 per cent); and 4. fried chicken pieces (9 per cent) 5. grilled and roast chicken (8 per cent) Another reason why millennials and other consumers are switching to chicken is their concern about climate change.

“This generation sees climate change as their challenge and believe that the impact of each individual counts towards the societal whole,” said Seton Leung.

‘Chicken has a much lower carbon footprint and requires ten times less energy and resources in production than beef.”

According to the NPD Group, beef consumption by millennials has fallen by -2.3 per cent in the last three years.

NEWS

Global sugar market faces largest supply deficit in five years T

he global sugar market is facing its largest supply deficit in five years – in the vicinity of 8.2 million tonnes – following production cuts in India, Thailand and the EU, according to Rabobank’s latest global Sugar Quarterly report.

The supply deficit is now shaping up to be three million tonnes more than anticipated just three months ago, largely due to early-season dryness in India, and subsequent flooding, which

is expected to drive a 21 per cent drop in Indian production.

Thai production is expected to drop by a similar percentage, due to drought earlier in the year, while in the EU, planted area has been scaled back due to lower price signals.

These fundamentals have driven a “notable adjustment in market sentiment”, the report says, with NY futures (basis March) rising above 13 USc/lb.

And, it warns, “any move above the 14 USc/lb level in the coming months could well trigger a shift in the mix back towards sugar (from ethanol) in the next Brazilian campaign.”

In coming months, the report says, the progress of the Indian and Thai harvests will be subject to close scrutiny, while broader macroeconomic and political factors will also have the potential to impact the sugar market.

In particular, world oil prices will be a key influence on the sugar/ethanol arbitrage in Brazil and exporters are still awaiting an outcome on the WTO’s investigation into the ongoing dispute over India’s export subsidies.

Australia Sugar output is set to be lowest since 2012/13.

For the Australian sugar industry, the report says the pace of harvest has now caught up with last season, after lagging throughout, with the harvest

now essentially finished.

However, sugar output, according to Rabobank’s commodity analyst Charles Clack, is forecast to fall to its lowest level since 2012/13 to around 4.2 million tonnes.

“The dryness we have seen throughout the season, particularly the lack of in-crop rainfall, has significantly impacted yields,” he says, “and this could have a bearing on next season if rains are not received in coming months.”

Clack says despite the lower output, over three million metric tonnes of raw exports are still forecast in the current season, with Japan, South Korea and Indonesia remaining key markets for Australian sugar.

“In terms of the price outlook, global fundamentals are expected to see prices trade in the vicinity of $440/tonne in the first quarter of next year before rising to around $475/ tonne by year end,” he said.

www.foodmag.com.au | February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 19

NEWS

The Australian food landscape could change rapidly over the next two decades.

Grant to study Australian food landscape in 2050 U

NSW Built Environment senior lecturer Dr Joshua Zeunert has received an Australia Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) of $417,128.

The aim of his project is to forecast scenarios of what Australian agriculture might look like and entail in 2050, and to ensure Australia’s food supply landscapes and systems remain sustainable.

Zeunert became a full-time academic around 10 years ago after working in award-winning landscape architecture and urban design offices as well as casual teaching. He completed his PhD by publication in 2018 which, he says, gave him a “track record” for his first DECRA application just a year later.

“There are various narratives around what the next three decades might hold for the agricultural community in Australia,” Zeunert said.

“It’s quite alarming how different

these stories are – and it’s not very common within areas of study for there to be such polarised views on what the future might entail.

My goal is to understand these narratives and to forecast, test and illustrate them as potential scenarios to help inform stakeholders, politicians and decision-makers.

“The government’s existing narrative is that Australia feeds 60 million people and thus, because we produce a lot more food than we need ourselves, our food security isn’t seen as a concern. But there’s certainly literature out there challenging that as we look ahead several decades.

“And the tragic recent [bushfire] events, which perhaps demonstrate how widespread change can quickly occur, will also make us want to look at that claim a little more closely.”

To synthesise the wide array of existing information, Zeunert will use a conceptual framework that draws on established and

20 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

overlapping processes – sieve mapping, Geographic Information Systems and geodesign. These will enable him to extract key indicators from text, data and mapping – which is often isolated – into spatial datasets and overlays.

For the project, Zeunert will also interview 40 experts to canvass their views on future likelihoods.

The experts will include federal and state government ministers, key government decision-makers, heads of relevant departments like agriculture and primary industries; university-based, CSIRO and independent researchers; national and state leaders of key representational bodies such as the National Farmers’ Federation; NGO, volunteer, advocacy and not-for-profit organisations like Landcare and the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance; and key figures in agriculture and the media.

In addition to a literature review and “crunching” the existing data, he will conduct an online survey

targeted at farmers and people directly engaged in agriculture.

Based on the information Zeunert collates, he will create scenarios and use a technique called “scenario testing” to seek feedback from the experts previously consulted. This provides the opportunity to refine the scenarios if necessary.

“Then I’m going to use a technique called ‘projective design’ which is found in spatial design disciplines such as architecture and landscape architecture. So, as well as text, data and numbers, we can make visual representations of the scenarios using graphic, illustrative and spatial techniques.”

Zeunert is hoping the project will help inform politicians, natural resource managers, environmental planners, primary producers and the agricultural community, and also the wider community.

“It’s key that these forecasts of future scenarios reach as wide an audience as possible,” he said.

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& INFRASTRUCTURE

INGREDIENTS There has been a lot of waste reduction since Ben Furney Flour Mills starting the Lean manufacturing journey.

Research fundamental to Lean manufacturing journey Ben Furney Flour Mills is a successful ingredient manufacturer that has embraced Lean manufacturing. Mike Wheeler explains why it has taken the journey.

L

ocated in the heart of the New South Wales’ wheat belt, in the town of Dubbo, Ben Furney Flour Mills is a family-run business that has been going for more than three generations.

With the company motto being “big enough to matter, small enough to care”, like a lot of family-run businesses it makes up a core part of the local community with more than 80 plus employees helping make the business tick. Being located in regional Australia doesn’t mean the company isn’t open to big ideas.

Recently it has taken on board many of the principles associated with Lean manufacturing as it realised that streamlining processes and training staff in more than one aspect of the business was a win-win situation for the company and its employees; it cut down the costs for the company while offering diversity to its labour force.

Linden Kotzur is Ben Furney’s service operations manager and is a keen endorser of many of the Lean philosophies utilised by the company.

He was there when the company first instigated the process and he has three main pieces of advice for those thinking about starting the journey – the first being research.

“As a company, we had been discussing the different options available and looking at ways of continuous improvement,” he said.

“We started to research more and more into Lean manufacturing and look at what the advantages were and where we could then apply this.

We spoke to people in the industry and talked to many different parties.

We then aligned ourselves with a consultant in the field who was experienced and had also worked with the implementation into the workplace.”

The second part is to implement

22 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

it into small steps. Do not go all out and try and convert the whole production process at once. It will not work.

“My biggest point would be to say that you need to start with some small tasks first,” he said. “Isolate one small particular area. Go through the exercise and consult with all involved. Let people evaluate the change and find their own benefits in it. If you try and implement it too big, too wide, too far over too many tasks, people will lose the input and motivation because they are not seeing a return.

“Your first attempts at the Lean process need to be very carefully planned. They need to be small achievable tasks. You need to see how it will go right from the beginning. It might be something as simple as reorganising the spare parts cupboard of the workshop.

Once the company started

Lean manufacturing has allowed Ben Furney Four Mills to produce flour to a customer’s individual needs.

INGREDIENTS

implementing Lean, it reviewed what it had done so far and looked at the different pros and cons.”

Kotzur said it is important for a company to keep on top of things – and if you are not doing that – you will start to fall behind. And he sees some very serious consequences if you do start to fall behind with the implementation.

“We started the journey to streamline processes and keep our all-around advantage – and to do that you have to be on top of your game all the time,” he said. “If we hadn’t done that, we could have continued on for a while, but I can see that we would have eventually begun to fall behind in the marketplace. We wouldn’t be as competitive as we could be and with the way the world is at the moment, you need every advantage and efficiency that you can achieve.”

As with any change in structure to a business, there can be resistance, and it was no different with Ben Furney when it started to implement

Lean. However, Kotzur said that as long as management communicates well, then there shouldn’t be too many issues as most workers on the ground will soon begin to see the advantages. And it’s not all about streamlining processes but making the tasks easier for all.

“With anything new, or changes going on, you have some resistance.

I think it is important to openly communicate to staff what is happening and taking small steps at a time, which is key to the success,” he said. “You have to communicate well with your staff and let them know what is going on and explain why you are doing what you’re doing.

And you need to emphasise the advantages of going down this track for all involved.

“At the end of the day, it is making the employees work easier.

It’s making it more systemised and easier for all to follow. It allows for the rotation of staff and they are confident taking on new tasks

"We started the journey to streamline processes and keep our all-around advantage – and to do that you have to be on top of your game all the time,"

Streamlining processes is key to Lean manufacturing. knowing we have good processes in place that they can easily pick up or review. It also gives them the opportunity to rotate through the different sections knowing that we have systems in place that they can easily adapt to. In this aspect, also make sure there is ownership at all different levels of the business.”

And what have been some of the main outcomes of the implementation? What about from a practical point of view when dealing with customers? There has been a lot of waste reduction and therefore increased production capacity. This is because the company has become more efficient in its processes. For example, it’s only producing what it needs for individual customers.

It can do so by using the history of dealing with a particular customer and the records it has of those dealings means it can combine all that knowledge with the level of product it produces.

“When we’ve reviewed our customers’ purchasing habits; by and large the majority of them were pretty predictable,” he said. “When staff started looking at their average purchasing quantities, they weren’t varying that much. By integrating that history into our programming, we’re manufacturing in a lean method; we’re combining what we need into minimal runs, and we know that we are going to have that stock ready for that customer.

“We’ve sat down and analysed it. For example, we might have eight people buying one of our particular products, they buy X amount of quantity. Instead of making that batch up four times a month, we might only make it once or twice a month, making sufficient quantity to address the needs of our regular customers.”

He said there will always be a company that might suddenly require an abnormal quantity of a product, but because Ben Furney has become lean in its production, it has the capacity to go back and complete a special production run if required.

These wins have had far reaching positive benefits for its customer base and its position in the marketplace.

His final point, and one that any aficionado of Lean knows, but always needs reinforcing, is that it is never over.

“I look at Lean as a continuous process that is ongoing. It also needs continuous evaluation. As with many things in the workplace, you need to have communication at the right levels,” he said. “You need to isolate and look at the different areas and see where we can get improvement.

I believe that as a company we still have a long way to go, but I see continuous evaluation all the time. It is a great process in the workplace.

Our long-term goal is to go through it as we’re going. I don’t see it stopping ever.” F

www.foodmag.com.au | February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 23

INGREDIENTS Photo credit: Nick Russo and Bellevue Orchard

Wasted apple pomace from juicing is drained and ground into a thin layer to be dried out and dehydrated.

Apple flour making inroads into commercial baking applications By thinking outside the square, ingredient manufacturer Forbidden Foods has found a niche that might soon become mainstream. Food & Beverage Industry News explains.

F

orbidden Foods Group was launched in 2010 by Jarrod Milani and Marcus Brown who both share a passion to provide some of the best health foods across Australia and internationally.

Forbidden Foods flagship product of Black Rice was released to the retail and foodservice market nationally and internationally.

Since launching, Forbidden Foods have expanded into supplying a range of speciality rice flours to food manufacturers. Its bespoke rice flour range has been used in baked goods, soups, baby foods, snacking and plant-based foods. Having success with their rice flours, Forbidden

Foods explored the potential of releasing a range of Australian-made, new and exotic flours that are not offered in the global market.

In 2019, Sensory Mill was created under Forbidden Foods Group, to provide ingredients for the food enthusiast. Sensory Mill offers a range of alternative products for use in manufacturing including powders, grains and blends and its newest release of an exotic flour range.

The flour range accentuates the core belief of Sensory Mill, which is to strive towards improved sustainability and traceability of products, while providing enriching ingredients.

24 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

The company’s newest standout product – which was released in January 2020 – is its apple flour, which is available in the retail and foodservice market.

To promote the idea of Farm-toPlate, Sensory Mill has collaborated with Bellevue Orchard and Australian Dehydrated Food (ADF) to promote and introduce Australia’s first apple flour to the market.

Bellevue Orchard is a thirdgeneration, family-run apple orchard located in Victoria, Australia and have been producing apple juice since 1998.

The orchard is owned by two brothers, Robert and Joe Russo, who

The final product - apple flour.

INGREDIENTS “Our aim is to work with natural, unadulterated raw material inputs, resulting in the most aromatic, tasty and nutrient rich powdered foods on the market, which I believe we have achieved with the apple flour."

There are many nutritional benefits to apple flour.

make use of every part of the apple.

Working with Forbidden Foods and ADF is the final piece of making this a reality with Bellevue being a zerowaste facility,” he said.

“We hope to divert over 800,000kg of wastage per year, into a premium product for market,” said Russo.

Bellevue worked alongside Forbidden Foods and ADF, to initiate production of apple fibre from the pomace in a patented process.

Bellevue realised the apple pomace wastage remaining after the juicing process was becoming costly to re-distribute to farmers for feed, or to move to landfill.

Moving the apple pomace was starting to take a strain on the local environment surrounding the orchard, with potential of having widespread effects.

After 18 months of trials, technology was developed for efficient dehydration of apple fibre to produce a food ingredient for human consumption.

The wasted apple pomace from juicing was drained and ground

into a thin layer to be dried out and dehydrated. Once the pomace was efficiently dried, it enters the multistep milling process that produced a fine flour ready for packaging and manufacturing.

Incorporating apple flour into products on an industrial scale can reap many nutritional benefits to the population.

Finished products with apple flour acting as a core ingredient will provide a nutritionally rounded profile.

Due to the high dietary fibre content of the flour, it has a wide range of antioxidants that are believed to assist in the reduction

Photo credit: Nick Russo and Bellevue Orchard

continue to work there, however now run by Joe’s daughter Bernadette and Robert’s son Nick.

ADF is an Australian company that specialises in advanced and rapid dehydration technology to produce the dried foods sourced from Australia.

ADF’s Chris Mamas worked alongside Forbidden Foods and Bellevue to meet outlined requirements and specifications.

“Our aim is to work with natural, unadulterated raw material inputs, resulting in the most aromatic, tasty and nutrient-rich powdered foods on the market, which I believe we have achieved with the apple flour,” he said.

Forbidden Foods, Bellevue Orchard and ADF all have a strong ethos against food wastage, which was the basis upon their collaboration for Forbidden Foods to release, market and promote the apple flour to the retail and foodservice market.

Nick Russo indicated that food wastage avoidance has always been a priority of theirs.

“Our goal has always been to

Forbidden Foods’ founders Marcus Brown and Jarrod Milani.

of cholesterol. The soluble and insoluble fibre within the flour will regulate the digestive system while promoting bowel health and growth of beneficial gut bacteria.

Milled apple flour is extremely fine, allowing it to be versatile in manufacturing and production.

It has many applications ranging from acting as a thickening agent in sauces and mixes, to being incorporated into bakery and snacking products.

The by-product flour is a great absorber of liquid causing this product to be an efficient binder in recipes, particularly in raw snack products that undergo minimal heat exposure.

Having a low sugar content accompanying the high soluble and insoluble dietary fibre, this flour can help control blood sugar levels.

Having low-fat content, it is a suitable ingredient when manufacturing low fat products for consumption.

The properties of the flour allow it to act as a replacer while extending shelf life for long-lasting and shelfstable products when stored in ambient temperatures.

Apple flour is said to have a naturally sweet flavour that is not overpowering to the palate.

The inclusion of the apple flour in baking may avoid the need for additional sweeteners.

Being gluten free, apple flour can be blended with all-purpose glutenfree flour to become a baking staple for the gluten intolerant community.

This product can be blended with an array of flours for usage in baking to create high fibre goods. F

www.foodmag.com.au | February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 25

SAFETY Due to some plants running 24-hours-a-day, sometimes maintenance is put on the backburner.

Keeping food processing plants safe Processing plants need to develop strategies that keep their workers safe from the ever-increasing automation of plant. Food & Beverage Industry News gets the lowdown from ABB’s Darcy Simonis.

I

n 2014, a large UK food manufacturer had to pay an $1.5 million fine after a serious industrial accident. An engineer was trapped by the machinery while examining a conveyor belt and suffered major injuries and ongoing nerve damage. Accidents such as this are widely reported, but many people are unaware of the number of hazardous areas found in food and beverage processing plants. Darcy Simonis, industry network lead for ABB’s food and beverage segment, said the safety procedures that must be developed in these processing plants.

“Across the globe, there are a variety of different regulations for food processing plants. In particular, North America and Europe have strict regulations for safety in these potentially dangerous environments,” she said. “This also applies to the safety of employees in the processing plants and employers who fail to make adequate safety considerations can face large fines. Not only can these authorities enforce these in the case of accidents, they can also be enforced during regular inspections.”

In Europe, the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC requires machinery to be designed and built

so that it can be used safely. In food processing plants, there are many dangerous machines for which plant managers should follow safety regulations, or the plants may face closure or high fines. Machines such as decanters exhibit high centrifugal forces during operation, and it is not unknown for the machine’s g-forces to reach more than 2000 times gravitational force. This is clearly a dangerous environment for employees to work in, however as these machines are essential for production, the key concept is the management of risk.

“In the 1970s, the increase in heavy machinery such as the creation of the steel press led to increased safety guards,” said Simonis.

“Since then, many safety conscious companies undertake a risk analysis in the initial stages of machine development. In the case of decanters, it is not possible to remove the risk, but it is possible to mitigate the risk to an acceptable level by putting safety guards such as enclosures or emergency stops into place.”

The hazardous nature of a food processing plant is especially affected by the need for hygiene, the continuous working of the plant and the high turnover of staff. To comply

26 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

with hygiene regulations, plants need to be constantly washed down, meaning that despite safety guards, equipment needs to be accessible, which adds additional risk.

Due to the high demand on food and beverage production facilities, plants often run 24 hours a day and continuous operation means there is little time for maintenance and repairs to be carried out. In the food industry, it is during breakdowns when injuries occur. Workers, faced by high targets and strict deadlines, may attempt to repair equipment themselves or even override safety guards to reach into machines and risk injury in the process. It is therefore vital that, regardless of high production targets, employees are well educated in the company’s safety policies and the equipment`s safety features.

Despite overall labour turnover falling in Britain over the last five years, there is a notoriously high turnover of staff in food and beverage processing plants. This presents an additional complication to the hazardous areas. Employers are often reluctant to spend time training staff on safety procedures, but then run the risk of having employees who are not sufficiently up to speed.

“The UK’s food processing industry employs 117,000 migrant workers from the EU, which supplies the sector with the necessary labour.

However, language barriers and a high turnover of staff can indirectly create safety hazards,” said Simonis.

“It is vital that plant managers communicate safety measures more effectively to reduce the risk to non-English speaking employees – all of which can be done by using visual displays or by placing new staff members alongside more experienced employees.”

Wherever you look across the food processing industry, hazardous areas exist. Safety guards need to put in place from the very start of the food chain, such as in the milking process. In milking parlours, exposed platform rollers must be guarded to avoid clothing or employees becoming trapped.

Hazards are present throughout the plant, from the handling of the raw material, to production – where industrial ovens can often reach very high temperatures – to the final packaging of the product ready for transportation.

Breweries are a particularly strong example of the hazards present in the

SAFETY "In the beverage industry, particularly in breweries, packaging and filling is one of the most dangerous places in the processing chain. The speed of operation and high quantity of goods being moved increase the risk of things going wrong." food processing industry. The dust generated in the conveying, sieving and milling of malt grains can form flammable dust clouds. This creates a potentially explosive environment, officially classifying the environment as a hazardous area. This means that ATEX ratings must be observed on all equipment used in these facilities.

“Later down the line, carbon dioxide, a dangerous by-product of the fermentation process, can be fatal if inhaled. Workers have died while trying to perform repairs or checking fermentation tanks, becoming overwhelmed by CO2 almost immediately,” said Simonis.

“This means that companies should use suitable sensors and locks to separate workers from the tanks, while also educating workers on the associated dangers.

“In the beverage industry, particularly in breweries, packaging and filling is one of the most

dangerous places in the processing chain. The speed of operation and high quantity of goods being moved increase the risk of things going wrong.”

In the beverage industry, glass bottles are commonly filled at high speeds and at high pressure, meaning the bottles could explode if the machines are incorrectly programmed. As these beverage plants are operating under high time pressures, it is not possible to completely stop the production line for receptacles to be changed. Instead, the filler operates at a slow speed, allowing the operator to change the bottle or can. By integrating sensors that can monitor the speed of the machine, companies have the ability to implement emergency stops in the case of a breakdown or safety issue.

Often, organisations find it too difficult to manage the complex world of safety regulations and

procedures alone. In this case, it is always better to consult a professional rather than fail to comply with the regulations, as this will work out to be a costly mistake. ABB’s experts can provide detailed advice on regulations in specific countries, which also takes into account the needs of food processing plants.

“As companies become more knowledgeable about regulations and regulations become more stringent, the need for retrofitting old equipment with additional safety measures will rise,” said Simonis.

“Although it may seem instinctive, where there is a dangerous moving machine, the safest answer is not always to shut it away behind an enclosure or barrier.

“In the food processing industry, companies should consult with functional safety experts that have experience in the sector. The experts will, for example, suggest equipment such as a light grid, which performs a local controlled safe stop when the light grid is actuated. These devices are more appropriate for the food processing sector than using physical guards or barriers, as they allow easier access for maintenance and washdown, which is essential for

hygiene in food processing plants.”

Functional safety experts are also able to advise on the use of safety programmable logic controllers (PLCs), rather than traditional PLCs. Safety PLCs, such as ABB’s Pluto, are designed to help companies comply with functional safety regulations such as IEC61508 and IEC61511.

Safety devices can be connected directly to the PLC, which monitors equipment such as light curtains. By using the PLCs, companies can meet the rigorous standards required in the food industry.

Managers of food processing plants across the globe, regardless of the country’s regulations, should prioritize plant safety. Not only must plant managers comply with regulations to avoid the plant being closed by authorities, they also have a duty to protect their employees.

“Plant managers are aware that they manage very hazardous areas and the risks cannot be completely avoided,” said Simonis. “By working with specialist safety consultants, plant managers should be more aware of what they can do to mitigate risks, all the while considering the specific needs of the food and beverage industry.” F

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www.foodmag.com.au | February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 27

AUTOMATION

Speed main feature of new controller for automation processes Siemens latest controller via APS is suitable for high-end machines in the automations space.

Food & Beverage Industry News explains.

S

iemens latest controller is suitable for high-end machines in the automations space.

Heres’ why.

To remain competitive both now and in the future, machines and plants must be continually adapted to meet the latest requirements and leverage the latest technologies. If an automation system is no longer up-to-date, then there is no better time to consider an upgrade that will bring a company advantages in productivity, efficiency and availability.

No matter what the automation application is, every machine or system has its specific demands on system performance and complexity of application. The Siemens range of SIMATIC controllers, which are now available from APS Industrial, has the right controller for a range of automation tasks enabling seamless solutions for individual requirements. The basic, advanced, distributed, and software controllers within the SIMATIC family of products offer a lot of scalability and integration of their functions.

And when it comes to high demands on performance, communication, flexibility, and technology functions, the S7-1500

The trace function is supported on all CPUs. advanced controller within the SIMATIC family of controllers deliver results for medium-sized to high-end machines.

It is the latest controller generation from Siemens and is future-proof. The controller enables users to turn sophisticated machine designs into reality due to the modular structure of the controller, which provides assistance to users as they work their way through the digital transformation.

It features a modular design and can be scaled in terms of its

functionality, so users can adapt assemblies and functions to suit a machine’s design. This makes the SIMATIC S7-1500 controllers a suitable solution for all aspects of production automation and applications for medium-sized and high-end machines.

Fast and precise The SIMATIC S7-1500 has fast backplane bus, PROFINET performance, short reaction times, and a command processing time of up to 1ns in the central processing

unit (CPU). The PROFINET interface with deterministic time response ensures reproducibility and precision in the range.

Optimised handling It offers good handling and user friendliness in numerous new details: Integrated potential bridges, shielding elements requiring no tools to assemble, uniform front connectors, and ergonomic terminal marking. Easy expandability, customised assembly, and upwards compatibility offer cost efficiency and investment security.

Time-saving engineering

SIMATIC controllers are for medium- and high-end machines.

28 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

The seamless integration of SIMATIC Controllers in the shared TIA Portal engineering framework enables the consistent storage of data, the smart library concept, and a uniform operating philosophy.

The TIA Portal provides users with access to the digitalised automation system – from digital planning to integrated engineering to transparent operation. Simulation tools decrease the time-to-market, diagnostic and energy management functions increase the productivity of plant, so users can have greater

AUTOMATION Easily detect errors Due to its uniform display concept, the diagnostics functionality integrated into the SIMATIC S7-1500 system ensures that error messages in TIA Portal on the HMI, in the web server, and on the display of the CPU are visualised identically as plain text information.

The configuration and the diagnostic reporting channels are integrated into the system in a user-friendly manner.

The trace function is supported on all CPUs.

Protection for the controller

The controllers are suitable for all aspects of production automation.

flexibility and transparency due to a connection to the management level.

Machine safety One system for standard and failsafe applications means there is one controller, one communication system, and one engineering environment for standard and fail-

safe automation. Safety Integrated means the easy connection of PROFIsafe devices via PROFIBUS and PROFINET, and data consistency between standard and fail-safe program components. It offers support for mixed operation using fail-safe and standard I/O assemblies.

The security concept of controller includes measures ranging from authorisation stages and block protection to communication integrity. Security Integrated protects investments, helps prevent the reproduction of machines, and helps to ensure a high level of plant availability.

Motion control and more It is equipped for technology functions – motion control, signal detection and output, and PID control are integrated and usable with T-CPUs to an extended degree. A matched system with the controller and the SINAMCS servo

drive system can be connected via PROFINET easily.

The CPUs are the heart of the SIMATIC S7-1500 as they execute the user program and network the controller with other automation components. Due to numerous innovations, the CPUs of the device deliver many advantages in productivity and efficiency. The hardware is compact and certified to IP20 or IP65/67 as standard. These integrated, versatile modules save space in and around the cabinet and reduce the spare parts inventory costs.

The scope ranges from standard and failsafe CPUs for small to mid-size requirements, offering compact size designs with integrated inputs and outputs, supplemented with technological functions, all the way up to high-performance applications.

From high-level controlling, testing and measuring and modelbased closed-loop controlling through to assembling, cutting, sawing, filling and more, the SIMATIC S7-1500 automates not just complete production plants but also applications that demand the greatest performance, flexibility, and networking capability. F

benfurney.com www.foodmag.com.au | February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 29

PLANT AND MACHINERY

Total quality management is key to the build of ELGi air compressors.

ELGi determined to make impact on the industrial compressor market ELGi has designs on making it big in the Australian air compressor market. Food & Beverage Industry News talks to two key players in the company who are charged with making that ambition a reality.

B

eing a lesser known brand in a competitive industry can be an issue. But if there is a sure way to prove to an industry that you are serious about being a point of difference, while also trying to build your brand, then winning a prestigious award is a good start.

That is what happened to ELGi, the Indian-based manufacturer of high-quality industrial air compressors. When the biggest competitor is German engineering in the form of Kaeser, it can be a hard row to hoe when trying to convince potential clients about the comparitive benefits of your

gear. However, winning the coveted Deming Prize for Total Quality Management – the first industrial compressor manufacturer outside of Japan to win the award – goes a long way to show how committed ELGi is to making a dent in the market, including in food and beverage manufacturing plants in Australia.

Having bought Pulford Air & Gas and its subsidiary Advanced Air Compressors in 2018, the company has an ambition to become the second biggest compressor company in Australia. It concedes that number one, Atlas Copco, is almost unreachable, but the company

30 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

is keen to get higher on the ladder.

ELGi national sales manager, Greg Gillespie, and business development manager, Brian Vegh, both know that they have a hard job ahead of them going from sixth in the pecking order up to number two.

However, they also have a belief and confidence that the product not only has the ability and technology to do the job, but the manufacturing process is second to none.

“Atlas Copco is the Empire State Building on the graph you see on a piece of paper,” said Vegh. “We are number six at the moment, but there is not much difference between

number six and number three.”

And in order to get up the pecking order, ELGi’s strategy is to espouse the benefits of its products such as the standards they are manufactured to, and the importance of the total quality management measures it has in place when it manufactures the compressors.

“ELGi compressors meet every international standard that any other company meets,” said Gillespie.

“They control 100 per cent of the manufacturing process, from the sand they collect for the castings right through to the final product.”

Both Gillespie and Vegh know

PLANT AND MACHINERY

that there is a perception that compressors not manufactured in the US and Europe are somehow not up to scratch. This is why the company introduced Total Quality Management processes, which culminated in winning the Deming Prize in 2019. Not only that, the company has so much faith in its compressors it offers a 10-year warranty, something most of its opposition don’t do. There is also the perception that their compressors are made to Indian standards, which can sometimes be at odds with Australian regulations.

“A domestic product in India will have a metal starting box on it, which is acceptable over there, but you can’t have a metal starter box here in Australia,” he said. “The ones that arrive on these shores are all up to Australian standards already.”

Two of the key attributes of the compressors are the aforementioned 10 year warranty and their operational efficiency. Gillespie said the efficiency is about 10 per cent better than most similar products that are on the market. There is a reason for this.

“ELGi manufactures all the main components themselves.

They mainly use Siemens motors and contactors,” said Gillespie.

“We manufacture our own air end, which is the most expensive part of the machine – from the sand to the finished product. The design work they put into the air end to make it more efficient is top notch.

“Then there is the efficiency.

Over a five year period, the cost of compressed air is 85 per cent of the cost of electricity/power. If you get a machine you start talking about 200kW of installed compressed air, and they run 24/5 days a week or 24/7 – which is anywhere between 5,000 and 8,000 hours a year. We can supply customers with a machine that is going to be anywhere between 3 and 8 per cent more efficient than some other machines out there. That is a lot of money over five years.”

The most expensive part of compressor is the air-end, which is important when it comes to the 10-year warranty. This is the actual screw where the air gets compressed, and in the case of ELGi, it is one the company has designed itself. It is for this reason they are happy to offer such a long warranty period

for their compressors.

“We have heard of situations where only a 12-month warranty on air-ends was offered,” said Gillespie. “The warranty ended on midnight of that day. If it failed the next day, you have got nothing.

Absolutely nothing.”

And how suitable is the company’s range for the food and beverage industry? When you’re talking its oil-free range, they are perfect, said Gillespie.

“When it comes to working in food and beverage, our compressors are Class 0,” he said. “With the quality system we use, everything is 100 per cent trackable and traceable.

If you open up a machine you will see every screw, nut and bolt hallmarked in yellow.”

over 90 per cent of it because of the environmental issues,” said Gillespie. “It is also cost-effective.

They’ve built the plant around that supply so they only have to use the minimal amount of sand they need.”

Finally, there is the back-up service that is available. Both Gillespie and Vegh point out that while the product is very good, if there are not people on the ground to help customers, then that can cause a whole range of problems.

“One of the hardest issues with industrial compressors in Australia is retaining and getting good service personal,” said Gillespie. “Most of them started out as fitter and turners.

That is what I started out as and there are not of lot of us that stay on the tools their whole career.”

machine is down, the down time is so costly to a company they want it fixed now. And some tradies are just not interested.”

Vegh reiterates that you can’t underestimate the back-up service.

“Some of the bigger air compressor manufacturers, for want of a better description, are just selling boxes. That is all they do,” he said. “Once that is done, they are onto the next customer and that’s it.

One of our biggest selling points is our after sales service. We have the Advanced Air and ELGi distribution network. We have 52 service technicians nationally, as well as New Zealand.

“If you need help at 11.59pm just before the whole country is waiting for the fireworks to go off on New

ELGi’s oil-free range of air compressors is ideal for the food and beverage industry.

“That means every part has been checked. Every single one,” said Vegh. “If you have been in the factory, everyone who works at the foundry is on a production line.

They go through a comprehensive checklist when the machines are being manufactured.”

The company is also aware of the impact its manufacturing will have on the environment and have measures in place to make the least amount of impact as possible.

“The sand they use to do their casting will only come from a reputable source and they recycle

He believes one of the reasons it is hard to employ service technicians are the specifications of the job.

“Being a service technician means you are on the road a lot,” said Gillespie. “You have to like that.

Some guys get sick of the travelling and driving. You have to be very autonomous.

“You do routine maintenance of products but then you have to walk into a business where everybody is looking at you. There’s 30 people standing out on the street like there is a fire drill waiting for you to fix it for them. When that

Year’s Eve or 9.32am on Christmas Day, we will be there to help you.

It’s the 24/7, 365 days a year help and support that we pride ourselves on. Selling a compressor is not the hard thing, it’s what you do for the customer in three years’ time that makes a difference.

“Each person who works in the plant prides themselves on the quality of the product.

“We have a rigorous checking process here in Australia when it comes to the ELGi gear we bring into the country. If it is not up to scratch we send it back.” F

www.foodmag.com.au | February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 31

CONSTRUCTION

Project brought in on budget and time despite strict conditions Total Construction had only 28 days to turn around a $3.8 million project that had a raft of restrictive conditions. Mike Wheeler explains how they did it.

M

ost construction builds have challenges. But when there are a few hardcore caveats attached that will have an impact on getting the job completed on time and within budget, it is important to have people on the ground who are not only experts but can perform under pressure.

Food and beverage construction specialist Total Construction found this to be the case when it tendered and won a contract to complete a

considerable alteration at an infant milk powder processing plant.

Total Construction’s national manager for food and beverage, Tony Tate, knew it would be a hard job, but one that the company and its staff would be up for. It would also prove that the commercial building specialist had what it took to turn a job around quickly and to the client’s specifications.

Tate and his team knew from the outset that if the job wasn’t finished

on time, it would cost not only the client, but Total Construction, a lot of money. This was due to the penalty clauses in the contract. The main issue of concern was that the plant might become contaminated during the build, which means it would not meet Australian standards when it came to producing foodstuffs. This entailed a whole raft of restrictions to be put in place that meant Total Construction had to carefully plan and execute the build so as not

to be liable for any overruns or contamination of the factory.

How does a company meet strict criteria, all the while completing a job to its own high standards?

Experience and planning were the two main components, according to Tate. They also had to persuade the milk powder manufacturer that Total’s methods of tackling the job were the best way forward.

“The plant had a shutdown period of only one month. For them to shut

Epoxy flooring helps keep contamination to a minimum.

32 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

CONSTRUCTION

down for a month, meant they were losing a lot of revenue. It was a big deal for them,” said Tate. “The key driver for us was the plan of action.

We had to incorporate building work, which can get messy, in a pharmaceutical area, which has to be spotless. The last thing that we want is any dust or contamination in a milk powder plant.”

There were five work zones at any one time with each of those work zones going from low to high care. Workers could walk around the low-care part of the facility – the warehouse – which was where the milk powder was already in sealed packaging, so there was little chance of contamination. It was the highcare areas where caution needed to be taken.

“Every day we were to make sure all the foreign matter – cable clips, cable ties, any debris that was left on the floor – was cleaned away thoroughly,” said Tate. “We had to captive vacuum every day and had to wear captive footwear. Even the builders had to change from safety boots to captive safety boots.”

When it came to making sure the project was going to come in on time some lateral thinking was required. Tate’s initial scope said the job would take 42 days. Even the independent design consultant could only see the job being completed within 46 days. The client initially thought that throwing more bodies into the project would help bring the alteration in on time. But as the Total Construction team pointed out, there were restrictions on space. Tate and his team came up with a solution that would make the job a little more costly, but not as costly to the client if they took an extra two weeks to complete.

“We started working with the design consultant and said we could expedite the process by putting two shifts on,” said Tate. “That is when we really started working with the client. You want to make sure you can take the client on the journey and build confidence with them. As you build confidence, you know what you are doing and you are then helping the client. So, we got the two shifts going as well as working Saturdays and Sundays.”

And while it was a precise process, there were a few issues that did arise along the way. At one stage, they managed to be three days ahead

Infant milk formula needs to be produced in a pristine, clean environments.

"Every day we were to make sure all the foreign matter – cable clips, cable ties, any debris that was left on the floor – was cleaned away thoroughly. We had to captive vacuum every day and had to wear captive footwear. Even the builders had to change from safety boots to captive safety boots." of schedule but the client delayed sign off on the HVAC installation, which put them back to the original schedules timeline. When the sign off was sorted out, there was an issue with the digger that was going to be used to dig out the new floor. It wasn’t cleared as a hygienic piece of equipment. It wasn’t until the Total team pointed out that the soil they would be removing would not be hygienic that it was decided that the digger – under amended conditions – could be used.

Another lesson learned was that even working under stringent conditions, the unexpected can occur.

It pays to think laterally, and help the client out the best you can, said Tate.

“After we started, the client realised that once we finished up, they would only have five days to train on the new plant,” said Tate.

“The staff not only had to be trained in the new equipment, but they had

to validate the new equipment, too.

They realised that the time they had allocated themselves to do this was not long enough. They then had to clean the facility and make it suitable to occupy.”

The client asked Total if they could use certain areas of the facility to do the training, but the penalty clauses in the contract made Total reluctant to do so. Total was within their rights to refuse but knew that it could cost the milk processing plant literally hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“So, we came up with a sequence on how to do the job and accommodate them,” said Tate.

“First, we did the epoxy floors in the different areas on different dates.

Once we completed certain areas, the hygiene teams went in and cleaned them up so they could be utilised.

They then taped off the finished areas and they could go from there.”

And when it came to commitment, nobody was more invested in the project than site manager Craig Harkins.

“Craig lived and breathed it from six in the morning until eight at night,” said Tate. “There were times when we had to make sure that he was given time off because he was getting fatigued. When you’re struggling with fatigue, you get injuries and there are mistakes.”

It was a closely monitored build.

The site manager knew at each stage exactly where the build was up to. If they weren’t up to where they should have been, all parties agreed on an action plan for the following day so they could catch up. They also had daily tool box talks to discuss contaminants and hygiene.

And the client’s reaction to the final product?

“If you look at the hygiene standards of the build, you could eat your dinner off the floor – it is that clean,” said Tate. “I think that because we have been retained for Stage 2 of the project means they were happy. It was a hard job, but we learned a lot from it.

More importantly, we came in on time and on budget in what was a challenging build, so it was good news all around. F

www.foodmag.com.au | February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 33

INVENTORY SOFTWARE

Software unleashes inventory solution for liqueur manufacturer When Mr Black liqueur started making inroads into the beverage market, it needed a hand to help keep up with increased demand. Enter Unleashed Software. Food & Beverage Industry News explains.

W

hen coffee nerd Tom Baker joined forces with Philip Moore in 2013, they probably didn’t realise within five years they would have an awardwinning product on their hands.

Moore, the distiller, and Baker, a designer by trade, both loved coffee and decided that consuming it in a liqueur form had yet to be perfected, and thus Mr Black was born.

Brewed on the Central Coast of New South Wales at Distillery Britannica, Mr Black has not so much found a niche in the coffee liqueur market but taken it by storm.

Mr Black is a cold brew that has made headway into the UK and US. Five years ago it won a gold medal at the London Spirit Show and has continued to collect silverware on a

Mr Black has proven to be a huge success in the US. 34 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

regular basis. Mr Black operations manager, Rick Roper, can see only good things in the future for this Australian-based beverage.

“In 2017, Mr Black was launched in the US and has now established itself as the biggest selling Australian spirit there,” said Roper. “It is highly regarded and is developing a strong following coast-to-coast.” The product itself is cold-brew, pressed coffee using speciality lot Arabica beans from Colombia and Kenya blended with high-quality grain spirit to make the final product that you see today.”

However, with that growth came logistics issues. In order to keep on top of the bureaucracy of running the business, Roper knew the company needed something to

complement its simple inventory system, so decided to invest in Unleashed Software. Like Mr Black, Unleashed has a good reputation within its market. Roper said Mr Black needed a system that would handle the increased throughput, product size and range as it started to grow. This was because it became apparent that if something wasn’t put in place soon, the ability to keep on top of the increasing volume of product could get out of hand.

“Prior to implementing Unleashed, we were only using Xero but found it inadequate for the business because it couldn’t handle manufactured items,” he said. “Xero is a great accounting system but without a bill of material structure, it can’t assemble finished

INVENTORY SOFTWARE

product from components. There was a need to have an inventory system that integrated with Xero in the cloud that was easy to use and could handle manufacturing to grow as the company did. Unleashed immediately gave us control and accuracy of materials and costs.

“In our case, we convert varieties of coffee, speciality sugars, bottles, and packaging into Mr Black in different concentrations and sizes and we have to have accurate inventory transactions at every step,” he said. “Unleashed does that and keeps track of inventory down to batch and unit of measure with ease.”

Ease of use has been one of the key benefits of Unleashed along with the ability to be partnered with other software. This was why Mr Black management decided the software solution was the right choice for them. In addition to Xero, Unleashed has partnered with other third-party vendors. Users can use their accounting system with an easy-to-use integration module in the integration store.

“You can also custom integrate other software via programming interfaces (APIs), that Unleashed can assist with,” said Roper.

“Otherwise, to access support to use Unleashed, with clients like us, you can choose an integration

partner. Ours is Cloudsolve in Sydney. Besides providing support to get us up and running between Xero and Unleashed, they also provide ongoing support and some outsourced financial services.

“Unleashed is continually adding modules and capabilities outside of pure inventory management.

For example, the integration store offers more sophisticated material planning and eCommerce solutions.

We have also integrated Unleashed with Shopify allowing efficient online sales fulfilment and billing.”

The key to any type of integration software is not only how it can streamline processes but also the ease of set-up and use. Roper said that Unleashed was not hard to set up or use and has been ideal for getting on top of manufacturing and inventory.

These integration capabilities have made Unleashed a widely used inventory software that is adaptable to many companies’ different needs, according to Roper.

“They are not trying to be a SAP or Microsoft Dynamics or anything like that,” he said. “It is inventory management software in the cloud and is simple to use.”

Roper said the core modules are great to use when it comes to raising and completing sales and purchase orders. For example, orders can be

Unleashed is an inventory software that allows excellent management of ingredients of Mr Black liqueur.

Modules can be added to Unleashed software, which helps with the production process.

cloned from an earlier order and emailed from the screen. With some background setups in customers, suppliers, pricing, items, document templates and so on, transaction efficiency is high. Users don’t have to do excessive manual steps. In other words, there are less errors and it saves time, according to Roper.

“The dashboard set up displays

relevant data such as period to date sales revenue and margins, purchasing and sales transaction status, inventory levels and stock turn KPIs,” he said. “Data access and exports are straightforward.

Standard reports are all there and custom reports can be set up.

“While they are adding new features all the time, many features that are nice to have are there.

One is that relevant information is displayed in various formats depending on the screen. For example, in Purchases, order minimums are made visible and supplier prices auto-populate” said Roper. “It has a pricing module by group, customer and product, enabling pre-setting of customer sales terms. Again, this helps with the accuracy and efficiency in order processing. It also has min/ max stocking levels that can be set for alerts and reordering, as well as a simple replenishment function, which we use for reordering some items.

“For us it’s a one-size fits all. Set up was fast and no customisations were necessary. Even though we started small, all the modules are available to all users whether it is a one-user account or a larger multi-user account. For us, as we have grown, we didn’t need to upgrade do get additional modules.

It’s scalable.” F

www.foodmag.com.au | February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 35

AFGC Big players in the food and beverage market, like Coca-Cola and Unilever, are already putting processes in place to reduce waste.

Policy makers need to lead the way with circular economy transition There are barriers that need to be overcome if Australia is to meet its packaging targets.

Barry Cosier, AFGC director of sustainability, explains.

I

n 2020, we are going to hear a lot more about the circular economy. While it is a catch cry that has existed for years, across the globe the push to embrace circular economy principles is accelerating with unprecedented pace. And, while Australia’s food, beverage, and grocery manufacturing sector is working hard to embrace the change that comes with the circular economy, policy makers also need to ensure appropriate time frames and incentivisation schemes are in place to help business transition.

What is the circular economy?

Establishing a circular economy means much more than recycling – that is only a small part of the equation. It is restorative by design, focused on extracting maximum value from resources through continued re-use, using as few resources as possible.

Central to the concept is the idea that things should be designed to be maintained and reused and, when no longer useful in their original form, can be used for something else. The loop is closed. In terms of the food, beverage and grocery manufacturing sector, the obvious area where the concept of the circular economy can be applied is in regards to packaging, especially plastic packaging. And in Australia, the sector is collaborating to make it happen.

Food waste With a rapidly growing global population, a reduction in agricultural land, and increasing climate change concerns, reducing food waste is now a global priority. If food waste was a country, it is estimated it would be the world’s third largest carbon emitter (after the USA and China) and utilise a cropland area the size of China. Currently, Australia

36 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

generates an estimated 11.3 million tonnes of food waste per year, with 2.3 million and 2.5 million tonnes being generated on farm and in the home respectively. Currently a mere five per cent of household food waste is diverted from landfill, presenting an opportunity to embrace circular economy principles.

Food manufacturers are leading the charge and have focused on reducing food waste. Currently, they divert 95 per cent from landfill to higher order uses such as food rescue, animal feed, application to land and composting, which are already driving significant circular economy outcomes.

2025 National Packaging Targets Across the board, Australian food, beverage and grocery companies are working hard to increase the recycling rate of packaging and reducing the impacts of litter.

Many are playing an important part through their commitments to the 2025 National Packaging Targets, led by the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO).

The four targets, which were set in 2018, are: • to make all packaging 100 per cent recyclable, re-usable or compostable; • to ensure 70 per cent of plastic packaging is recycled or compostable; • to ensure 30 per cent average recycled content in packaging; and • to phase out problematic and unnecessary single-use plastics packaging.

Recent research undertaken

by APCO has confirmed that industry has already exceeded the recycled content target and is now collaborating with Government to set a more ambitious target to stimulate demand in the circular economy.

AFGC With a rapidly growing global population, a reduction in agricultural land and increasing climate change concerns, reducing food waste is now a global priority. If food waste was a country, it is estimated it would be the world’s third largest carbon emitter.

As members of APCO, companies are collaborating to reduce the harmful impact of packaging.

Membership extends across organisational size and industry and enables “the sharing of best practice resources and strategies to improve packaging design, optimise waste management processes and reduce business costs relating to packaging waste”.

There is increasing demand for packaging that includes recycled content and some of the largest companies are leading the way. For example, Unilever has committed to halving its use of virgin plastics, Coca Cola is using 100 per cent recycled plastic content in 70 per cent of its bottles, and Lion Dairy & Drinks’ Dairy Farmers Heritage 1.5L milk bottle is already made with 50 per cent recycled content, with all Juice Brothers 1.5L bottles to be made using 50 per cent recycled content by end of March. There is

also a focus on consumers, with the increasing adoption of the Australian Recyclability Label on packaging helping guide them on what can be recycled.

While the industry is wholly supportive of the national packaging targets, achieving them is not without its challenges.

Barriers to achieving 2025 National Packaging Targets The key barriers facing the industry as it strives to achieve the 2025 National Packaging Targets are many and varied. They include: the lack of clean glass from kerbside collections, which limits the recycled content in local bottles; the lack of availability of recycled foodgrade plastic packaging; a need to review quality standards of recycled content to ensure food safety is not compromised; the ability to ensure traceability around the packaging supply chain to prevent modern

slavery; and a general lack of local processing infrastructure.

Rectifying these issues requires all stakeholders to collaborate and mandating targets for one stakeholder group will not go far in achieving a circular economy.

The responsibility must be shared by the food and grocery manufacturing sector, the packaging industry, retailers, the waste sector, government and APCO. Working together the actions required to address these barriers can be adequately addressed, National Packaging Targets reached and, ultimately, a circular economy achieved.

APCO recognises an interrelated, whole-of-supply-chain approach is needed, and has established working groups, comprising of industry and other stakeholders, to address specific issues identified with the recoverability of ‘problematic’ packaging materials.

Collaboration between all levels of government and jurisdictions, all stakeholders along the packaging supply chain, and secondary processors is required. As highlighted in the recent APCO baseline report, 86 per cent of packaging is currently recyclable, yet only 49 per cent is actually recycled. This is due to a combination of factors ranging from product design, community

Case study: Unilever

Achieving Australia’s packaging targets is not without its challenges.

Unilever has committed to removing more than 100,000 tonnes of plastic packaging across its global operations by accelerating multi-use packs – such as reusable and refillable formats – and ‘no plastic’ solutions, by 2025.

The company will also accelerate use of recycled plastic in packaging and help collect and process more plastic packaging than it sells. In addition, Unilever Australia and New Zealand uses least 25 per cent Australianrecycled plastic in bottles for its key beauty and personal care brands, equating to about 750 tonnes of recycled plastic a year.

www.foodmag.com.au | February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 37

AFGC

education and collection methods, to a lack of specific local recycling infrastructure. APCO is playing an active role in facilitating this collaboration and encouraging whole-of-supply-chain enablers to meet the targets.

Moving towards a circular economy While there is ever-growing momentum within the sector to embrace circular economy principles, there are several key barriers standing in its way.

Currently, the demand for recycled plastics exceeds the supply, resulting in a lack of availability and inflated pricing. Increased availability of post-consumer plastics and increased competition in its supply is required to reduce costs for brand owners procuring recycled plastic. This will protect local manufacturing jobs and assist Australian companies to compete with low cost imports.

Incentivisation from state and federal governments through capital funding assistance will be essential moving forward.

Collaboration between all levels of government and jurisdictions, all stakeholders along the packaging supply chain, and secondary processors is required. As highlighted in the recent APCO baseline report, 86 per cent of packaging is currently recyclable, yet only 49 per cent is actually recycled.

This is because: • Recyclers need funds to install improved optical sorting equipment to increase the availability of clean uncontaminated PET and HDPE. • Packaging companies need funds to install decontamination infrastructure in order to meet food grade packaging specifications.

• Brand owners need funds to modify production lines.

Fiscal support for research and development into alternate uses of plastics, such as chemical recycling or use in roads, is also necessary.

Finally, there is need for a nationally consistent approach.

Food plastics are also an issue when it comes to food waste.

38 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

While the independence of the states allows governments to implement waste policies tailored to their needs, it can also produce adverse impacts that ultimately produce commercial inefficiencies, undermine commercial confidence for circular economy stakeholders to invest, and reduce potential environmental gains. Nationally, consistent kerbside collections will allow brand owners to design products to a national recycling specification and allow recyclers to design recycling infrastructure to sort a set of common household materials into high-value commodities for further processing and ultimately manufacturing into new products. F

Case study: Coca-Cola Amatil Coca-Cola Amatil is one of Australia’s largest users of recycled PET. At the end of 2019, 7 out of 10 of its plastic bottles in Australia were being made from 100 per cent recycled PET – which will be 16,000 tonnes of recycled plastic in a year. Amatil also ceased distributing plastic straws and stirrers, publicly supported costeffective, well-run container deposit schemes, produced the world’s first 100 per cent recycled sparkling beverage bottles and was a founding supporter of the Australian Packaging Covenant. In addition, last November the company announced it was exploring opportunities for a recycled plastic processing plant in Australia with Veolia. The proposed new plant would focus on recycling PET plastic and growing circular economy sustainability solutions.

AU STRA L AS IA’ S L A R GEST LO G IST ICS EVENT

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ASS O C I AT I O N PA RTN ERS

CO N FEREN CE S PO N S O RS

SUPPLY CHAIN

Simplifying and integrating the supply chain journey GS1 Australia account director, Andrew Steele, explains how the company’s Supply Chain Improvement project will deliver better traceability and transparency of food ingredients for manufacturers.

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onsumers’ daily lives revolve around trust. Every day, when peeling an orange, opening a can of baked beans or dining in a favourite restaurant, consumers put their trust in Australia’s food supply chain.

Behind every food and beverage product on the shelf is a supply chain journey that starts with ingredients. The Australian food manufacturing industry is

an intricate maze of ingredient and packaging suppliers, most with different supply chain management solutions.

Today, sourcing ingredients without a traceability and food safety protocol invites counterfeit products onto the food chain and an increased risk of contamination.

News of unsafe or spoilt food can impact business owner’s livelihoods and the industry’s broader

A new traceability initiative by GS1 is aiming to stop counterfeiting.

40 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

reputation, along with disruption to consumer’s lives.

“To manage ingredient safety and increase the visibility of food ingredients and raw materials in these complex supply chains,

a new initiative, the Supply Chain Improvement project, is being implemented using GS1 standards,” said GS1 Australian account director Andrew Steele.

“The project’s objective is

"The project’s objective is strengthening integration between the thousands of upstream supply chains in the Australian food manufacturing industry."

SUPPLY CHAIN

strengthening integration between the thousands of upstream supply chains in the Australian food manufacturing industry.”

An industry working group has been set up to drive the project using the GS1 global standards for product identification, data capture and data sharing. GS1’s Global Traceability Standard (GTS) is the foremost traceability framework, allowing businesses to track their products in real-time and have end-to-end visibility of the supply chain.

“The group will work to achieve consensus across the industry to improve food safety, deliver efficiencies and reduce costs,” said Steele.

Representatives from Nestlé, Ingham’s, SPC, Lion Dairy and Drinks, Sanitarium, CHR Hansen, Newly Weds Foods, FPC Food Plastics, Labelmakers, Matthews Australasia and Visy Industries make up the group.

The ability for companies to capture material movements from ‘paddock-to-plate’ provides data integrity and timeliness from receipt to delivery, with traceability back to the source. Through automation, many of the manual processes are eliminated and businesses can be proactive with inventory management and handling systems.

“As a food and beverage business it’s critical for us from a food safety perspective to be able to track ingredients all the way back to the origin,” said SPC’s national logistics manager, Christian Lecompte.

Also critical to business is the capability to support information and production flow within existing systems for integrated supply chains. The project has the capacity to eliminate waste within an organisation’s value stream, reduce non-value-added tasks and ensure cost-effective solutions for customers, leading to a ‘right-firsttime’ approach for all deliveries.

“One of the things we found we could do to be more efficient was to look at opportunities to be able to electronically track all the product ingredients throughout the production cycle – how we identify a product coming into the warehouses, how we receipt goods, how we put our goods away, how we manage our inventory and how we deal with our suppliers,” said Lecompte.

Businesses can track their products in real-time using GS1’s Global Traceability standard.

"One of the things we found we could do to be more efficient was to look at opportunities to be able to electronically track all the product ingredients throughout the production cycle – how we identify a product coming into the warehouses, how we receipt goods, how we put our goods away, how we manage our inventory and how we deal with our suppliers."

The adoption of GS1 standards as the common language for the identification, data capture and data sharing will enable automation of key ingredient sourcing, and traceability between ingredient suppliers and food manufacturers. Using GS1 standards for upstream integration goes well beyond minimum standards and allows businesses to translate their internal processes and approaches into the one common language that all trading partners can use and understand, without having to translate data formats across

different supply chain management systems. This is the key as Steele believes interoperability is essential to the future of data sharing.

“Establishing international standards to ensure transparency across the supply chain can help lower existing barriers to the exchange of data between suppliers, trading partners and consumers,” he said.

The Supply Chain Improvement Project has the potential to deliver many benefits to industry, including increased visibility of

food ingredients and raw materials, unique identification and traceability to improve food safety, and reduced costs with automated business transactions.

Nestle Australia’s head of digital supply chain, Mandeep Sodhi pointed out the key to the project’s success. “By having consensus across the industry on how to interconnect electronically and exchange critical operational data, we can realise cost-effective solutions across the end-to-end – from manufacturers, to suppliers, to customers – everyone benefits from this improvement in standardisation,” he said.

Looking ahead, the industry working group is encouraging all upstream businesses to adopt the food safety and traceability protocol using GS1 standards.

“With an industry-wide solution in place, your trading partners will have more visibility of your products across the supply chain,” said Steele. F

www.foodmag.com.au | February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 41

Consumers are sometimes confused about the difference between what is biodegradable and compostable.

Defining compostable and biodegradable packaging AIP president, Dr Carol Kilcullen-Lawrence, gives the run down on the difference between biodegradable and compostable packaging.

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ackaging is under the spotlight, and rightly so as we progress towards achieving Australian National Packaging Targets, whereby all packaging, by 2025 should be recyclable, reusable or compostable.

So let’s have a closer look at what is meant by compostable, why it is so often confused with biodegradable and, in a packaging context, what does the consumer do with the empty package?

For compostable packaging to be utilised to its full potential, what needs to change in our waste

collection steams? Now that renewable packaging is starting to gain momentum, what does bio-based add to the supply chain and why are bio-based raw materials not necessarily biodegradable?

What is compostable?

Although not many consumers have access to one, we are familiar with compost heaps. The composting process allows us to dispose of leftover foods for example to decompose and creates fertiliser for your soil. When it comes to

42 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

compostable packaging however, we need to understand that backyard composts have a completely different set of physical conditions than industrial composting facilities – an important distinction. Industrial composting can cope with a wider range of compostable products as it involves pre-processing – where materials are ground and chipped down into smaller pieces, and in addition, industrial composting provides the higher temperatures needed for more efficient break down. Home composting takes place

at much lower temperatures and over an extended time frame, which can typically go up to a year, compared to a matter of weeks for industrial composting.

Compostable packaging will likely not break down in a landfill, as they lack the right conditions, especially in a modern landfill where there will be no oxygen.

The only desirable waste stream for compostable packaging is an industrial compost facility. And while not currently available in all regions of Australia, industrial

What is Biodegradable?

Everything will degrade over time, but true biodegradation occurs through a biochemical process, with the aid of enzymes produced by naturally occurring microorganisms, both in the presence and absence of oxygen i.e. aerobic or anaerobic, without leaving behind any toxins, yielding only carbon dioxide, water and humus or biomass.

Biodegradation is just a natural process taking its course and breaking down materials to their component parts.

Biodegradable packaging can be derived from several sources, including renewable sources – like paper or bioplastics, as well as petroleum-based plastics, which are specifically engineered, to decompose in the natural environment, which is significant at the end of life. A biodegradable plastic will be considered a contaminant in the plastics recycling stream, as on being exposed to moisture and appropriate microorganisms, the biodegradation process will commence.

So, we are clear on what is compostable and what is biodegradable, subtle but important differences when it comes to disposing of the package in the right waste stream. Now let’s not allow ‘bio-based’ to add any confusion. A package derived from a ‘bio’ source, can be designed to be compostable or biodegradable, however it is equally possible that it is not – meaning the package can be disposed of with likepackaging in a recycling stream for example.

Many different renewable ‘bio-based’ ingredients are now used

as packaging inputs. Some enable compostable and biodegradable packages, whereas others produce packaging that is identical to that from fossil-based sources hence, the bio-based packaging can be recycled with like polymers. Examples are bio-polyethylene and polypropylene derived from plant based renewable feed stocks, that have properties that cannot be distinguished by the equivalent polymers derived from petrochemicals. The following summarises the two sources of plastic – fossil based and renewable, with

their corresponding four attributes: All these packaging formats are desirable – as long as the consumer has the right information and the right facilities for proper disposal.

Currently whilst there are standards and guidelines from organisations such as the Australian Industrial Composting Standard (AS4736) and the Australian Organics Recycling Association, there is no universally recognised symbol for labelling consumer packaging.

With the uptake of the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL), this

Biodegradable Fossil-based

problem could be addressed down the track. Compostable and biodegradable packaging comes into its own where it enables food waste to be captured in the organics waste sector and this is predominantly at public events where the inputs to the waste stream can be controlled.

This is likely to be the area in which we see the most growth in compostable and biodegradable packaging and provided that growth mirrors the capacity of the organics collections to handle it, that’s a positive outcome on all fronts. F

Non-biodegradable

Some fossil-based plastics, whilst

Conventional Plastics like HDPE,

not common in packaging, are

PP and PET are derived from fossil

biodegradable. Examples are

sources and whilst not biodegradable,

polybutyrate adipate terephthalate

they are recyclable.

(PBAT) and Polycaprolactone (PCL) Bio-based

Polylactic Acid (PLA) is an example

Plastics like PE, PP and PET can also

of a Bioplastic which made from

be derived from renewable sources

renewable sources. It is also

and hence are known as Bioplastics.

biodegradable.

This does not mean that they are biodegradable. However, they are recyclable with conventional plastics.

Image credit: dcurzon / Shutterstock.com

composting facilities are becoming increasingly widespread with many more councils and private companies providing bins, where food scraps and garden waste can be disposed of together. However, with a significant amount of education required to advise consumers about what can go into such bins, many council schemes do not permit packaging of any type, in case it results in a negative impact due to the wrong packaging ending up at an industrial composting facility. As the volumes of compostable packaging on the market are relatively small, the impetus to study its compatibility with council schemes is low.

This plastic cup is ideal packaging – it is both compostable and biodegradable. www.foodmag.com.au | February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 43

PRODUCTION SAFETY

Light curtain saves time and safeguard worker wellbeing Allen Bradley GuardShield light curtains have a couple of cutting-edge features that help with worker safety. Food & Beverage Industry News explains.

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ight curtains can be the last line of defence in a food and beverage manufacturing plant, especially in operations that require cutting, chopping and packaging of produce.

Jack Wheatley is the product manager for safety, sensing and signalling for NHP, an electrical engineering company that specialise in electrical and automation products, system and solutions.

NHP offer unique products such as Allen Bradley GuardShield light curtains that help to improve the safety in food and beverage manufacturing plants. He knows how they can be used best within factories that produce food and beverages.

The Allen Bradley GuardShield range of light curtains has a few special features that are designed to make them not only cost-effective, but also reduce the investment required in maintaining spare parts.

Typically, a light curtain is used on machinery or production lines where regular access is required. Operators don’t want to be restricted by having to constantly open and close guards. They want to have access to the area, whether it is during production or during a downtime.

Being a transceiver and receiver, many light curtain installations require two separate light curtain sticks. The Allen Bradley GuardShield curtain leverages patented plug in transceiver technology where each stick can be used as a transmitter or receiver via the innovative plug-in modules.

“The concept of this design is to minimise on parts required,” said Wheatley.

“This new design reduces the number of parts required and will allow customers to better maintain production facilities with fewer

The GuardShield light curtain minimises the number of parts required to set it up.

"Additionally, the patented plug design has embedded functions which are configured quickly and easily via DIP switches or software, significantly reducing engineering effort. These include: muting, blanking, start mode, external device monitoring (EDM) and scanning ranges." spare parts. Additionally, for a supplier to keep stock, it’s about having the ability to hold a single length curtain, plug in module, and better service the market.

“Additionally, the patented plug design has embedded functions which are configured quickly and easily via DIP switches or software, significantly reducing engineering effort. These include: muting, blanking, start mode, external device monitoring (EDM) and scanning ranges” said Wheatley.

Another feature that Wheatley has highlighted is the laser alignment capabilities, which give the user an enhanced Integrated Laser Alignment System (ILAS)

44 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

for quick installation and reliable operation.

“This cuts installation alignment labour time significantly, which is a significant benefit across multiple installs,” said Wheatley. “Prior to having this embedded technology, it was a tedious task for customers”.

Wheatley said that the most exciting feature is the Allen Bradley GuardShield being the first safety light curtains on the market to be Ethernet-enabled.

“With the release of the 450L-ENETR Ethernet adapter, detailed diagnostics and status information will be conveniently available to customers when integrating into a networked PLC

system,” said Wheatley.

“At NHP, we understand that all equipment as part of a food or beverages manufacturing process is critical to its operation and maintenance crews require reliable components along with product support. This is one of NHP’s key values when going to market,” said Wheatley.

“NHP has a product technical phone service that all customers can access for engineering support,” he said. Further to that, Rockwell Automation, who manufacture the product, also have a paid service technical support hotline.

The units come in different lengths ranging from 150mm up to 1950mm – in multiples of 150mm in both 30mm and 14mm resolutions.

There are no dead spots (passive zones) at the top or bottom of the stick, which means they can be installed inside a machine frame and do not have be mounted outside/ on the machine like a traditional light curtain system. F

INTERNET OF THINGS

Smart engineering directly in the cloud Beckhoff’s TwinCAT Cloud Engineering offers a raft of opportunities for companies to unlock their production line potential. Food & Beverage Industry News takes a closer look.

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C-based control offers a central, open, and comprehensive machine control platform suitable for delivering highly efficient, IoT-based automation strategies.

It enables machines, plants, and production lines to be connected in ways that unlock their potential across entire processes. In this context, TwinCAT Cloud Engineering adds a new dimension by providing users with an easy means of engineering TwinCAT instances and controllers in the cloud.

With TwinCAT Cloud Engineering, users can instantiate and use existing TwinCAT engineering and runtime products directly in the cloud. Quick and easy to access from the Beckhoff website with a web browser and requiring no additional software, the new solution enables registered users to work with the TwinCAT development environment even from previously unsupported

devices such as tablet PCs. The TwinCAT Cloud Engineering instances generated by users can be connected to physical control hardware over a secure transport channel. Users not only have the features of the TwinCAT control

know the TwinCAT environment.

In addition, TwinCAT Cloud Engineering enables users to move their entire TwinCAT architecture to the cloud, the only difference versus a conventional TwinCAT environment being that they use a

The TwinCAT Cloud Engineering instances generated by users can be connected to physical control hardware over a secure transport channel. Users not only have the features of the TwinCAT control architecture, but distributed collaboration support through a source control repository as well. architecture, but distributed collaboration support through a source control repository as well.

For new users, having access to a TwinCAT Cloud Engineering instance in the cloud provides a suitable foundation on which to get to

virtual machine instead of a local engineering PC. One advantage is that users need not get used to a new software environment but can simply continue to work in the same, familiar development environment. Another is that they

do not have to install and maintain multiple software versions tailored to specific machine generations on their own PCs. Instead, users can run separate TwinCAT Cloud Engineering instances with different software versions, all of which they can access remotely whenever they need to. Project files are stored in a source code control repository which can be accessed directly from within TwinCAT Engineering.

Based on modern source control features, connecting to Git-based systems and managing automation projects on them is easy. The TwinCAT Multi-User functionality enables simple, seamless access to a source control repository without the need for special technical expertise.

Here, TwinCAT Cloud Engineering enables multiple users to work together on a number of instances at the same time either by integrating a Git server into the instance or using a Git-based cloud service. F

www.foodmag.com.au | February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 45

SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

Software solution assures accuracy of deliveries A new route optimisation software solution has helped a Queensland-based food delivery company streamline its deliveries. Food & Beverage Industry News explains how.

City Country Foodservice utilised RouteOptimiser to streamline its food delivery service.

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ity Country Foodservice is a family-owned company that has been in operation since 1981. Based in Queensland, City Country utilises a network of suppliers to supply foodservice operators throughout Queensland, including clubs, pubs, hotels, motels, cafes, restaurants and more.

To ensure the safe and timely delivery of high-quality food and drink items in the Queensland area, City Country operates and manages its own fleet of vehicles, including 17 trucks and other vehicles.

The challenge Ensuring the timely arrival of food and drink to customers is of vital importance to City Country. The stock needs to arrive on time to ensure foodservice operators can meet the needs of their customers – particularly when it comes to fresh dairy and food service products.

As such, City Country needed a way to accurately schedule deliveries, where drivers could complete the most amount of jobs while remaining compliant with regulations, such as Chain of Responsibility and work and rest requirements. This activity was taking the dispatcher up to an hour and a half per day to complete.

If a big order came in, it could change everything.

Additionally, to ensure City Country provided its customers with a high standard of professional service, it was critical to be able to supply accurate ETAs to its customers. However, without knowing where their trucks were and what jobs had been completed, it would take up to an hour to liaise with the customer and driver. If any issues emerged, or a change was required, the dispatcher would have to call various drivers to fulfil the order and ensure delivery.

Not only was this time consuming and frustrating for drivers and customers, but the inefficient, manual processes also were not costeffective and meant the dispatcher was constantly working on the schedule.

WebFleet PRO TRUCK 8275 installed across its fleet of 17 vehicles, to create a planning and operations execution management platform.

The combined solution has enabled City Country to optimise its delivery schedule, taking into account all restrictions, loading and delivery times, as well as vehicle weight and loads. The delivery schedule is then directly transferred to WebFleet and the drivers’ on-board terminals.

The solution enables the dispatcher to create an optimised schedule and have full visibility of the fleet; what jobs have been completed; if there are any delays; and what is left to be delivered.

If changes need to be made, the dispatcher can identify the best drivers to complete the job in the most cost-efficient manner.

Thanks to the full integration of RouteOptimiser with WebFleet, if a customer makes an enquiry about the ETA of a delivery, the dispatcher can provide a real-time update directly from RouteOptimiser. This mitigates the need to call the driver while on the road.

“The combination of WebFleet and PTV RouteOptimiser has revolutionised the way we manage our fleet operations. It has enabled us to optimise our deliveries, provide our customers with accurate ETAs and respond dynamically to their needs,” said Jason Hinkle, assistant general manager at City Country Foodservice.

“The ease with which we can now schedule all our routes has been a game-changer, particularly with the routes being automatically loaded straight onto the driver terminals.

It has saved us so much time and enabled the team to focus on more strategic tasks for the business, rather than being caught up on tedious administrative tasks.”

Since PTV RouteOptimiser and WebFleet have been installed, City Country has: • Reduced administration time by 15 to 20 per cent.

• Reduced fuel consumption by more than 10 per cent.

• Restructured delivery days to utilise assets across all days.

• Reduced distance travelled by 10 per cent. F

The solution City Country needed a solution that would enable it to optimise the delivery schedule based on restrictions, regulations and timings, create visibility of its fleet, as well as reduce the time-intensive tasks associated with running a fleet.

City Country selected PTV RouteOptimiser, combined with

46 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

City Country delivery drivers save time using the new software

DAIRY REPORT

Global dairy commodity update T

he fundamentals underpinning the global market outlook remain positive but may weaken with improving expansion in milk supply and a slowing in trade in milk powders. However, the outlook for commodity product values is mixed as butterfat values have stabilised, while increased cheese capacity in Europe will keep supplies abundant and may cap values.

Skim milk powder SMP fundamentals recently improved with lower EU and US output and sustained export demand.

Going forward, this is new territory with SMP fundamentals no longer driven mostly by the EU stock turn.

Prices should remain relatively firm, despite improving fresh product

availability from Europe and the US. SMP demand in Asian markets has slowed but is likely to revert to trend.

Whole milk powder China and Hong Kong helped the overall numbers look better and added the most trade in the month – up 69.4 per cent YOY or 14,000t.

YOY shipments to this key market have now increased in 11 of the last 12 months for which data is available. Demand for milk powders remained resilient with the changes in China’s internal milk use.

Cheese The disparity in cheese prices should correct. EU commodity cheese values may be influenced by SMP/ butter stream returns, but more milk

will be diverted to increased plant capacity, which will keep a lid on values. EU exports again rose more than 8,000t YOY in September – the growth in the latest month was driven by stronger shipments to the US and South Korea.

Butter Butterfat prices have remained steady with improved domestic EU seasonal demand. The EU balance sheet should improve but demand and supply growth will be closely aligned. Overall demand in developing markets remains price sensitive and may continue to pressure NZ prices. NZ exports of fats continued to shrink, but at a much slower rate – both AMF and butter were down YOY in September,

2 per cent and 7 per cent respectively.

Meanwhile, the EU expanded butter exports in September by 74 per cent, despite shipping butter at prices still higher than NZ.

Whey US exports continued to shrink, down 13 per cent in September, while the EU grew shipments by 3.2 per cent. Meanwhile, NZ trade rose 14 per cent YOY in September – this followed consecutive monthly falls and was driven by stronger sales into the North American market.

US product remains competitive as prices have weakened since September while EU and Oceania prices remained steady. F Dustin Boughton, procurement, Maxum Foods

Shipments in milk powder have increased 11 of the past 12 months.

www.foodmag.com.au February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 47

MARKETPLACE

Strong finish to 2019 Corporate activity in the food and beverage industry in November and December 2019 continued to be strong with eight transactions announced over the two-month period.

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he standout transaction was Mengniu Dairy’s $600 million acquisition of Lion Dairy and Drinks from Kirin Group. The acquisition of Lion Dairy comes after Mengniu acquired Bellamy’s Organic for $1.5 billion. The acquisition of Lion Dairy will make Mengniu Dairy one of the largest processors of fresh milk in Australia. Mengniu Dairy also owns Burra Foods, which was acquired in 2016.

Simplot has acquired 40 per cent of a seafood joint venture with South African-based AVI, for $62 mn.

Following the acquisition, the seafood joint venture with I&J International will be wholly owned by Simplot.

AVI will continue to supply seafood product to Simplot under an existing supply arrangement. v2foods, a plant-based meat business that was spun out of CSIRO, raised $35 mn in a series A funding round. The funding raised will be used to progress research and development and to expand distribution of v2food’s plant-based burger patties in Asia.

Calrton & United Breweries

announced the acquisition of craft brewer Balter Brewing Company for an undisclosed sum.

DKSH/Smollan has acquired field marketing provider Crossmark ANZ from Warburg Pincus. Crossmark is a sales and marketing services company that delivers solutions to clients in the consumer goods and services industry.

Melbourne-based Soulfresh received a $50 mn investment from True, a UK-based retail and consumer sector investment specialist with funds under management of $381 mn.

Nuchev, a company that distributes goat milk infant formula, listed on the ASX on 9 December. Nuchev raised $48.7 mn from investors through the IPO. Founders First, an investment group that invests in craft brewers and distillers, raised $15.8 million and listed on the ASX on 18 December 2019.

It looks like 2020 is shaping up to be a dynamic year across the food and beverage industry with strong investor interest in the industry from both trade investors and financial investors. F

Ben van der Westhuizen and David Baveystock are directors of Comet Line Consulting, an advisory business that specialises in acquisitions and divestments within the Australian food and beverage industry. For more information, visit www.cometlineconsulting.com.au.

Date

Target Name

Acquirer

Sector

7 Nov 2019

Simplot/I&J Seafood JV (40%)

Simplot

Seafood

25 Nov 2015

Lion Dairy and Drinks

Mengniu Dairy

Dairy

26 Nov 2019

v2food ($35m capital raise)

Investment funds

Healthy & natural

4 Dec 2019

Balter Brewing Company

Carlton & United Breweries

Craft beer

5 Dec 2019

Bubs Australia ($35m capital raise)

Investors

Dairy

18 Dec 2019

Denpack t/a Tasty Spices

Atlantic Growth Capital

Packaged foods

18 Dec 2019

Crossmark

DKSH

Field marketing services

23 Dec 2019

Soulfresh (capital raise)

True

Healthy & natural

21 Oct 2019

G&K Fine Foods

Royal Foods

Food distribution

22 Oct 2019

The Old Colonial Cookie Co

Rinoldi Pasta

Baked goods

30 Oct 2019

Dairyworks

Synlait Milk

Dairy

8 June 19

Marley Spoon

Woolworths

Meal kits

13 June 19

180 Nutrition

Bega Cheese

Healthy and Natural

17 June 19

Omniblend

Keytone Dairy

Dairy

Commodity Outlook WHEAT – While Australia’s crop is expected to be below average, global production is forecast to reach another record.

COARSE GRAINS – World course grain prices are forecast to

BEEF, VEAL AND SHEEP MEAT – The impact of drought continues to be felt across the country. Strong global demand and increased prices from almost all livestock products are providing a buffer against falling production.

be lower than average over 2020 because of the carryover of large corn stocks and an expected increase in barley production in Australia.

DAIRY – Record farm gate milk price is forecast for 2019/20, but high input will reduce the profitability of many dairy farms.

OILSEEDS – World oilseed prices are forecast to remain

Source: Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (ABARES), Agricultural commodities, September quarter, 2019.

low because feed consumption in the Chinese pig industry will be constrained following an outbreak of African swine fever.

SUGAR – World prices for raw sugar are forecast to rise by one per cent. World consumption is expected to exceed production for the first time in 10 years.

48 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

NEW PRODUCTS

New sensor design solves wet gas flow measurement problems The optional Wet Gas MASSter sensor for the ST80 series flow meters is said to deliver accurate, repeatable gas flow measurement in the presence of even more moisture and condensation droplets.

Available with the Model ST80, this new WG sensor can be applied for use in entrained moisture and rain-shielding applications.

This WG sensor configuration features a mechanical design that shunts moisture, condensation and water droplets away from the thermal flow sensor, thus maintaining an accurate gas flow measurement while minimising errors that could occur from a cooling effect on the sensor that might cause a spike or false high reading. The Wet Gas MASSter Sensor option can be used in applications that have either moisture entrained in the gas (annular mist) or for protection against down the pipe rain in larger, vertical stacks.

Eliminating the moisture from the gas stream is always the preferred, best practice when possible. Common moisture removal methods include installing gas dryers or a knockout drums or knockout pots upstream from the flow meter. Many times, however, these techniques are either infeasible due to crowded equipment areas or awkward pipe configurations. The new FCI Wet Gas MASSter Sensor option for the ST80 Series relies on standard thermal constant power (CP) technology and optimises the sensor head design and installation to minimise or prevent condensation from contacting the sensor. The wet gas sensor head mechanically shunts the condensate away and never allows it to reach the sensors, which eliminates moisture interference with accurate, repeatable flow measurement. This solution to wet gas measurement featuring the Wet Gas MASSter Sensor option for the ST80 Series Flow Meter offers a number of important advantages. First, all safety approvals remain in place because this is a mechanical solution. There is no increase in energy consumption to power the instrument, and there is no impact on sensor service life. Furthermore, there is no de-rating of

the instrument’s T-rating, and the sensor is safe to touch. Foundation Fieldbus or PROFIBUS PA can be optionally added. A best-in-class, backlit LCD provides digital and bar graph readouts of the flow rate and temperature, totalised flow, alarms, diagnostics feedback and a user defined label field is also available. The transmitter enclosure is NEMA 4X/IP67 rated, selectable for NPT or metric conduit port threading and is available in both aluminium and stainless steel and maybe remotely located up to 1000 feet (305 m) apart from the flow element.

AMS Instrumentation and Calibration (03) 9017 8225 www.ams.ic.com.au

Neousys’ IGT-30 Series ARM-based Industrial IoT gateway Backplane Systems Technology has released Neousys’ IGT-30 series, TI Sitara AM3352 ARM-based Industrial IoT gateway with dual LAN and pre-installed Debian. Neousys’ IGT-30 series, equipped with the AM3352 from Texas Instrument’s Sitara AM335x family, is an ARM-based Box PC designed for Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) gateways and Industry 4.0 applications. The IGT-30 series is supplied as a ready system preinstalled with Debian and in compliance with common industrial certifications such as CE/FCC, shock and vibration. It has a power input range of 10 to 25 V DC and an operating temperature from -25°C to 70°C to ensure the IGT-30 continues to function under harsh industrial conditions.

The IGT-30 series supports PoE Powered Device (PD) mode meaning it can be powered by a LAN cable from a PoE Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE), and at the same time transfer data via this cable. It has I/Os that are applicable to a range of industrial grade sensors. It features one USB 2.0 port, two 10/100M LAN ports, one configurable COM port (RS-232/422/485) and an optional CAN bus port.

In addition to the ports mentioned, there are 8 built-in isolated digital input channels that accept discrete signals from various sensors or buttons/ switches. There are also two built-in isolated digital output channels to control actuators and indicators.

Communication wise, the IGT-30 series has a mini PCIe slot and a USIM holder allowing it to transmit acquired data and system status via 3G, 4G or WiFi (mini PCIe WiFi module). There is an opening on top of IGT-30 Series for users to mount the SMA connector of the wireless module. In terms of storage, the IGT-30 Series has dual microSDHC slots, one internal and one external.

This design allows users to separate the system and user data which can

expedite in OS deployment for mass production. The IGT-30 Series provides six LED indicators and two function buttons that can be programmed by users.

The function buttons can act as controls for the IGT-30 Series and exclude the need for external input devices, such as keyboard or mouse.

Features: • Industrial grade ARM-based system with pre-installed Debian; • AWS Device Qualification Program (DQP) certified; • Field-ready isolated DI/O and RS-232/422/485; • 10 to 25V wide-range DC input and 802.3at PoE+ PD; • -25°C to 70°C wide temperature operation.

Backplane Systems Technology (02) 9457 6400 www.backplane.com.au

www.foodmag.com.au | February 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 49

NEW PRODUCTS

Cost reduction through efficient energy-saving motors Nord Drivesystems has launched a synchronous motor (the IE5+) that can be supplied with or without a fan. It is also suitable for wash-down and intralogistics applications when incorporating a nsd tupH surface treatment.

Managing director for Nord Drivesystems in Australia, Max Jarmatz, said that this latest generation permanent magnet synchronous motor has considerably lower energy losses than its predecessor, the IE4 series. “This unventilated smooth motor achieves a high efficiency which, at times, proves to be more efficient via a wide torque range,” said Jarmatz.

The motor is optimally suitable for operation in a partial load range and the compact IE5+ motor offers a high-power density with less installation space required. The IE5+ series will initially be launched in a size for power ranges from 0.25 to 1.1 kW, with a continuous torque from 1.6 to 4.8 Nm and speeds from 0 to 2,100 min-1. The motor can be directly mounted according to NEMA or IEC. Nord will extend this motor concept to include additional sizes and powers based on demand and customer requirements.

A drive for hygienic requirements The IE5+ is suitable for hygiene-sensitive and harsh environments because it is easy to clean and wash down and is corrosion resistant. A nsd tupH surface treatment and IP69K protection class is available as an option as well as an integrated mechanical brake. The nsd tupH surface treatment offers corrosion protection for gear units, smooth surfaced motors, frequency inverters and motor starters in wash-down optimised cast aluminium housings. The drives are easy to clean and largely resistant to acids and

alkalis. It is possible to use high-pressure cleaners or apply aggressive media.

The fanless surfaced motors prevent the spreading of germs and run quietly.

SMC’s smart thermo-chillers for peace-of-mind this summer SMC’s smart range of thermo-chillers come in an array of sizes and deliver on precise and accurate temperature ranges for peace-of-mind.

In terms of how it works, the recirculating fluid of the chiller removes the heat from the customer’s device. The heat is then removed from the fluid by an air-cooled (or water-cooled) refrigeration circuit. The coolant temperature stability is ±0.1°C within a set temperature range. When properly sized and selected, a thermo-chiller improves the quality of the final product, protects process equipment, and reduces costs. SMC offers a variety of solutions ranging from our standard type to our basic types and its high-level type triple inverter-type chillers that adapt to the variable heat and flow requirements, achieving power savings of up to 53 per cent.

Environmentally resistant type: The HRS-R series • resistant to dusty environments or environments with water splashing; • cooling capacity of up to 5000 W (60 Hz); • IP54 rated; • large capacity tank of 12L; • f eatures a metal panel and a stainless-steel panel can be selected on request; and • ambient temperature of 5 to 45°C. Series HRR (rack mount) The temperature control device is mountable in a 19-inch rack, which is great for space savings: • temperature stability: ±0.1°C; • temperature range of 10 to 35°C; • cooling capacity: 1.2/1.8/2.4/3.0 kW (60 Hz); • easy front access; and • easy to operate without removing the unit from the rack.

SMC Australia (02) 9354 8222 www.smcanz.com

50 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

Nord Drivesystems (03) 9394 0500 www.nord.com/cms/en/home-au-jsp

Dust and buildup on the antenna? No problem!

The future is 80 GHz: a new generation of radar level sensors

VEGAPULSÂ 69 is designed specifically for level measurement of bulk solids.

Even in dusty conditions, it always provides precise readings. Dust in the silo or buildup on the antenna have no effect.

This radar sensor also features unrivalled focusing at a frequency of 80Â GHz. Simply world-class! www.vega.com/radar