Food May 2021

MAY 2021

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MAY 2021

Roma Foods leading the charge on plant-based foods

PLUS: Traceability | Sustainability | Wastewater regulations

WELCOME

CEO: John Murphy Publisher: Christine Clancy Group Managing Editor (Northern): Syed Shah Editor: Mike Wheeler

X-Ray vision to the fore

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F

or years I’ve collected comics. I’m more of a Marvel man than DC. However, one of first memories is of DC hero Superman, and all his attributes – one being his X-Ray vision.

Unlike his super-strength, penchant for flying, and super speed, the X-Ray part of his superpowers is something that us mere mortals managed to coral in 1895.

X-Ray technology has been used in the food industry for some time, and in some cases (Japan), it is mandatory when it comes to exporting food.

In this month’s issue, we talk to a company that specialises in X-Ray machines and why they play a role in traceability.

With this month’s Meet the Manufacturer, we speak to Sam Schachna from Roma Foods.

Schachna believes that the company is set to make a big splash in the plant-based food category. Not that long ago, the “better-for-you” category of products was at periphery of the food sector. Over the past 5-10 years, there has been an increase in the consumption of such foods for a variety of reasons, including a lot of them being allergen and gluten-free, as well as the moral stance taken by some vegetarian consumers.

He is certain that not only will the category grow, but will become mainstream in the near future as people start seeing the benefits of these products.

Bunzl is a company that tells an interesting story of how it is embracing the call to reduce plastic waste by producing a range of palletwrapping machines that are designed to reduce the amount of plastic needed to wrap foodstuffs and other goods. The company believes that if it

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4 Food&Beverage Industry News | May 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

works with its customers it can find solutions to the end-use of plastics. Take the aforementioned plastic wrap designed for pallets. These wrappers offer a variety of solutions that help reduce the amount of wrap needed to cover a pallet without affecting the strength that the plastic needs to do its job in keeping the goods safe.

As manufacturers and processors of meat, and those in the beverage sector already know, gas plays an important part in making sure drinks stay carbonated and meats stays fresher for longer on the supermarket shelf. One of the issues that gas providers have when manufacturing the product is getting a reliable supply.

As its names suggests, Supagas is in the business of producing gas for many industries including food and beverage. In order to get a reliable supply, Supagas knew it had to create mutually beneficial collaborations within the industry. It did just that, which enabled it to not only find a reliable source of carbon dioxide, which is a by-product of the food producer’s main activity. It is a win-win for both companies.

Finally, we have a piece on a nifty piece of equipment that helped solve a tricky situation for a company that provides bottling services to a range of food and beverage enterprises. One of the issues it was having discoloration of bottles in the production line. It was a job that required manual labour to look into each bottle to see if the discoloration was occurring. Like a lot of solutions, automation was the key. Read the story on page 26 to find out how it was resolved.

Have a great month.

CONTENTS INSIDE

6 NEWS

16

16 MEET THE MANUFACTURER

Roma Foods’ Sam Schachna and the growth of plant-based foods.

20 WASTEWATER

A new standard needed for wastewater regulations.

22 TRACEABILITY

Why the new 2DBarcodes matter going forward.

24 SUSTAINABILITY

22

Addressing the end-use of plastics.

26 FOOD PROCESSING

Removing defective bottles from a production line.

28 FLOWMETERS

Improving product quality and reducing food waste.

30 GAS SUPPLY

Supagas found a way to get a high-quality supply of CO2.

32 TRACEABILITY

X-Ray technology with laser vision – how it works.

34 HYGIENE

26

38

Synthetic oils and their place in food machinery.

36 INSTRUMENTATION

VEGA’s range of products have made life easy for an ingredient manufacturer.

38 DIGITISATION

44

When the manufacturer of Absolut Vodka needed to digitise its operations, it knew who to turn to.

40 BEARINGS AND HOUSINGS

How a range of bearings and housings keep a macadamia harvester on the go.

42 AIP 44 DAIRY REPORT 45 NEW PRODUCTS

www.foodmag.com.au | May 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 5

NEWS

New supply chain director appointed at Mars Wrigley Australia M

Chris Georgiou is the new supply chain manager for Mars Wrigley Australia.

ars Wrigley Australia has appointed Chris Georgiou as the new supply chain director. This change is aimed to progress Mars Wrigley’s supply chain transformations while advancing its Australian manufacturing sector.

Georgiou’s role will be leading the supply chain headquartered in Victoria while increasing customer focus and improving integration and agility of the supply chain.

“Chris’ energy, resilience and strategic capability, coupled with his hands-on operational experience, make him a strong fit to lead our

supply chain function that is critical to supporting our ambitions to produce more locally made treats and snacks,” said Andrew Leakey, general manager of Mars Wrigley Australia.

Georgiou has had more than a decade’s experience working in FMCG and hospitality sectors supply chains including Grill’d and Coles Supermarket. At Coles Supermarket he worked as the head of supply chain fresh (meat, deli, seafood, convenience meals) between 2015 to 2018.

Prior to that he worked at

Grants for food and beverage industry open under $1.3bn initiative P roject funding applications are now open for Australian food and beverage manufacturers as part of the Australian Governmen’ts $1.3 billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI).

“Investing in our food and beverage manufacturers will ensure they remain on the front foot and maximise every opportunity to tap into global markets and create jobs here at home,” said Karen Andrews, Minister for Industry, Science and Technology.

The initiative aims to scale up production and aid manufacturers to commercialise their product and operations on a domestic and international level.

Currently, food and beverage is rated fourth out of six of Australia’s national manufacturing priorities.

“To strengthen our economy, we need to make the most of our natural advantages in agriculture,

and that means adding as much value as we can to raw materials through manufacturing,” said Andrews.

David Littleproud, Minister for Government funding initiatives aims to scale up food production.

6 Food&Beverage Industry News | April 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

Agriculture, said the support will have positive flow-on effects on Australian farmers and agriculture producers as well.

Accenture in London for 10 years where he lead transformative business operations with clients such as Unilever, Airbus, Shell and Telstra.

“I’m delighted to be joining the Mars Wrigley Australia team and the opportunity to work with a talented group of associates while shaping the future of the treats and snacks business,” said Georgiou. “I look forward to collaborating closely with our customers and supply chain partners to deliver excellence in our supply chain with a focus on efficiency and delivering for our customers and consumers.” F

“This funding will open up further opportunities for the development of new products and the expansion of existing product lines beyond the farm gate,” said Littleproud.

“That’s good for our farmers, our transport industry and the regional communities they all support.”

This announcement comes alongside the release of an industry-led road map that will help guide government investment. This map sets a 10-year goal for the food and beverage manufacturing sector. The map focuses on opportunities including smart processing and packaging methods, products based on health and wellbeing with higher nutritional value, as well as increased food safety and traceability systems.

Funding is currently limited to translation and integration streams of the MMI, with larger collaborations becoming available in the following months. F

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NEWS

Nestlé opens new plant-based manufacturing facility in Asia N

estlé has doubled down on its commitment to invest heavily in plant-based food products across Asia after opening a new plantbased manufacturing facility in Malaysia.

The new manufacturing plant, located in Shah Alam, Malaysia, has the capability to produce 8,000 tonnes of plant-based food annually.

The move aligned with results from a GlobalData survey, which found 40 per cent of Asian respondents were consuming more plant-based foods.

Of those surveyed, 11 per cent said they had transitioned to a wholly vegan or vegetarian diet.

Chris Johnson, Nestlé CEO for Asia, Oceania and Africa, said the move to invest heavily in the plantbased market was driven by a growing consumer base and a move towards more environmentally friendly methods of production.

“That’s why we are at the forefront

The new plant has the capability to produce 8,000 tonnes of plant-based food every year. of this shift and investing for the future,” Johnson said.

The manufacturing facility is the first of its kind for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the second on the Asian continent.

The facility will address local

demand for plant-based food as well as exporting to other markets.

Nestlé’s plant-based product line, Harvest Gourmet, has already made inroads into the Asian market, having inked deals with global and regional restaurant chains such as Element

Fresh in China, KyoChon in Malaysia and Carl’s Jnr in Singapore.

Up to 300 research and development scientists and engineers have been working on and developing the plant-based products for Nestle, with more expected in the near future.

The Sensational Burger Patty and the Schnitzel were some of the first plant-based products to be produced at the new facility.

Harvest Gourmet products are made using a range of fresh ingredients including soy, wheat, beetroot, carrot and blackcurrant.

Thomas Hauser, head of global product and technology development at Nestlé, said the company was also committed to helping innovate the plant-based food market.

“Our local innovation capabilities in Asia enable us to accelerate the innovation of outstanding plant-based alternatives that Asian consumers love,” Hauser said. F

Food and Beverage National Manufacturing Roadmap

The National Roadmap will look at automation of control systems.

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eleased as the fourth out of six key areas under the Australian Governments ‘Modern Manufacturing Strategy’ (MMS), the food and beverage roadmap looks to double the value of Australia’s food and beverage manufacturing by 2030 while

increasing the sectors agility, scalability and resilience.

The Modern Manufacturing Strategy, released on Monday, identifies six key areas for both industry and government to focus and invest in.

“Now, driven by both imperative

8 Food&Beverage Industry News | April 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

and opportunity, we are adopting a whole-of-government strategy that will see Australian manufacturers scale-up, become more competitive and more resilient,” said Karen Andrews, Minister for Industry, Science and Technology.

The roadmap lists goals for the next two, five and ten years, stating that each goal is to be achieved through “a focus on smart food and beverage manufacturing, innovative foods and beverages; and food safety, origin and traceability system”.

Smart manufacturing will look at automation of control systems with use of robotics and monitoring systems for hygiene, temperature and other variables.

The map defined innovative foods as products with higher nutritional value and the ability to improve

health. It stated that consumer preferences would shift to convenient pre-packaging meals and high value products, such as products with high proteins.

The use of digital labelling, such as QR codes and blockchain technologies, were listed as solutions to increase food safety and traceability systems.

Other visions for the industry include adoption of Industry 4.0 and a focus on collaboration between industry, government and research for both global and local development.

“By playing to our strengths, strategically investing and harnessing our world-class science and research, we can open up new markets and take more of our quality products to the world. Making us more prosperous,” said Andrews. F

EU tries to restrict haloumi production T

he European Union (EU) has ruled to restrict the manufacturing of haloumi cheese for any companies outside Cyprus, due to marketing under that name.

This could have negative impacts for trading between Australia and the EU with the union wanting Australia to adopt its Geographical Indications (GIs) systems that assists Europe in protecting certain products and their associated regions.

The Australian Dairy Industry Council (ADIC) is campaigning against adoption of the EU’s GI system for haloumi, stating that this change could cost local products upward of $650 million, based on their aggregated sales value.

Currently, the request is not pending under the Australia-EU free trade agreement (FTA).

According to ADIC, this would also impact Australian

dairy manufacturers through decreased sales with marketing costs potentially costing $70 to $90

million annually.

“The EU has already made a list of unreasonable demands to stop

The EU believes the haloumi name should not be used on those cheeses produced outside of Cyprus.

Australian cheese manufacturers using common cheese names,” said Terry Richardson, ADIC chair.

This issue follows 2019’s incident where the EU tried to list feta, Parmesan and haloumi under the GI system.

“Now they have opened up the possibility of adding to that list once the agreement is finalised, and it is simply going too far. We need to prevent this FTA from allowing the EU to take over our cheese names,” said Richardson.

According to Richardson, haloumi can be produced anywhere in the world due to the association belonging to the cheeses “taste, texture and functionality”, not its origin.

“Geography doesn’t enter into it,” said Richardson. “Claiming there is a special knowledge that only producers in Cyprus possess is absurd and will lead to an unfair and anti-competitive outcome.” F

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NEWS

$450m industrial precinct built at Bankstown Airport H

ellmann Worldwide Logistics, Sydney Freezers and Beijer Ref are to construct a purpose-built facilities at Bankstown Airport in South West Sydney.

The new $450m industrial estate, named Altitude, is owned in partnership by Aware Super and Altis Property Partners. The property comprises of 162,000sq m, which will house warehouses and office accommodation, allowing its tenants to integrate with rail, sea and air freight hubs. It will have access to the M5 motorway, Sydney CBD, Port Botany and the new Western Sydney Airport.

Beijer Ref, a refrigerator and air conditioning wholesaler and OEM, will make Altitude its new manufacturing, distribution and corporate headquarters in Australia.

Its facility will be 22,000 sqm in size.

“Being a part of the complete development process has allowed us to accommodate all aspects of our business and maximise the technology and sustainability opportunities,” said Paul Campbell, director of operations

The new industrial precinct comprises 162,000 sqm. at Kirby & Beijer Ref Australia.

“As a key part of the Beijer Ref sustainability strategy, the site includes a Beijer Ref Academy that will showcase an array of natural refrigerant solutions and offer natural refrigerant systems technology training to the broader industry.”

Hellmann Worldwide Logistics is a German-based logistics provider who has committed to building a 13,111 sqm facility within the Altitude precinct.

The move allows the company to consolidate its two existing facilities at

Ingleburn and Mascot.

“By consolidating two of our facilities into one purpose-built site at Altitude, we can improve our competitive position, offer shorter delivery times and further strengthen our service to our growing customer base in Australia,” said Ray Vella, founding director at Hellmann Worldwide Logistics.

Sydney Freezers, an Australian food distributor, has committed to building a 10,000 sqm warehouse, which includes a 2,000 sqm

temperature-controlled area.

Construction is expected to be completed in August 2021.

Building 2, Altitudes second warehouse, will offer a further 19,200 sqm of industrial office and warehouse space, which is available for lease upon its expected completion in September 2021.

The facility can be split into two 9,500sq m warehouses. Construction has already begun on one of the buildings and will feature nine-tonne point loads to the internal slabs, six recessed docks and seven on-grade docks, with a 46m-wide hardstand.

Savills and CBRE are joint agents to lease the site at 2B Murray Jones Drive, Bankstown Airport.

Altitude will also be able to accommodate a further 100,000 sqm of industrial accommodation for pre-lease enquiry across the remaining pads. Altitude will also have sustainable and environmental elements introduced including a 1.9-mW solar system, rainwater harvesting, LED lighting and smart meters throughout. F

Sydney International Wine Competition returns in 2021 T

he Sydney International Wine Competition will return after last year’s cancellation due to COVID-19, with entries open from 12 of July and judging occurring late October. Award and trophy winners will be announced on November 8, 2021.

“This is a very important year for the Australian and New Zealand wine industries as they come out of COVID and have to face additional issues with international distribution,” said Brett Ling, co-convenor of the Sydney International Wine Competition.

Entries are open internationally with previous years seeing up to

12 different countries competing.

Maximum entries are capped at 2,000 with the top 400 wines proceeding to be re-judged with the appropriate food and narrowed down to 250 wines. These wines will either be awarded the Top 100, or a blue gold or gold medal. Twenty-five trophies will also be awarded.

“While there will be greater emphasis on wines from Australia and New Zealand this year because of logistical issues, our region has never been more open to competing against other international producers, so we expect very keen interest in the competition from across the world,” said Ling.

The panel is expected to have 13 judges chaired by Warren Gibson and including four masters of wine from Australia and New Zealand. Due to international border uncertainties, no judges have been appointed from the global region.

According to Ling, the competition has hopes for the trans-Tasman travel ‘bubble’ to be operating by judging time in late October.

The Sydney International Wine Competition distinguishes itself from other international wine shows as it is the only one that pairs a food dish with the wine to ensure winners are technically excellent and also customer relevant. F

The Sydney Wine Competition has a 2,000 entry cap.

www.foodmag.com.au | April 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 11

NEWS

Mars Wrigley and Danimer Scientific partnership in biodegradable packaging S nack and confectionary maker Mars Wrigley has revealed a new, two-year partnership with Danimer Scientific that aims to apply sustainable packaging across Mars Wrigley’s products while testing the viability of home compostable packaging. The first product expected to boost this new packaging is the US brand of Skittles, due in late 2021 to early 2022.

“The impact of plastic on nature is one of the major sustainability challenges of our generation.

There are no simple solutions and transformational innovation is necessary, we have to think and act

differently,” said Alastair Child, Mars Wrigley vice president of global sustainability. “Collaborating with Danimer to advance this breakthrough technology represents a major step to creating positive societal impact and better environmental outcomes across the full lifecycle of small, flexible packaging.”

Danimer Scientific is a developer and manufacturer of biodegradable materials. Its main packaging used is Nodax polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA). This packaging is produced through a natural fermentation process that utilises plant oils and is

able to degrade in soil and marine environments making it a circular material.

The partnership will see Danimer Scientific introduce the Nodax PHA into Mars Wrigley’s flexible and rigid packaging that will allow the packaging to be broken down in both home compost units and industrial composting facilities.

“PHA provides a versatile platform for manufacturing material that is renewably sourced and leaves a minimal impact on the environment upon disposal. We look forward to working with Mars Wrigley in fighting the global crisis of plastic

waste,” said Stephen Croskrey, CEO at Danimer Scientific.

Mars Wrigley plans to introduce the biodegradable packaging into its smaller and single pack products, citing that they were more likely to be littered and less likely to be recycled. The company looks to expand this to other packaging and to locations outside of North America with poorer recycling infrastructure.

Alongside Nodax PHA, Mars Wrigley is also testing other materials such as mono material and paper-based alternatives under their $1 billion Sustainable in a Generation Plan. F

Coles moving from coal to renewable electricity C

oles has announced its commitment to switch to 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2025. As part of this announcement, the company also revealed a new power purchase agreement with Lal-lal windfarm, Victoria.

According to Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Coles is responsible for one per cent of Australia’s total electricity

consumption.

“Coles making the clean energy switch will put a big dent in Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, inspiring confidence in towns and cities across the country that even the biggest and most complex businesses can run on renewable energy,” said Lindsay Soutar, REenergise campaign director.

Coles has also agreed to reduce 75 per cent of emissions by 2030, in line with

Coles intends to reduce 75 per cent of its emissions by 2030.

12 Food&Beverage Industry News | April 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

its Scope One and Two emissions.

This will be the third renewable electricity deal Coles has made after its agreement with Queensland CleanCo in 2020. Coles has been sourcing 20 per cent of its power from CleanCo’s wind and solar farms since that time.

Coles first renewable energy deal was made in 2019 with three solar farms in NSW providing 10 per cent

of Coles overall energy. This decision placed Coles as the first major retailer to sign a power purchase deal.

Woolworths and ALDI have now also committed to shift to 100 per cent renewable energy.

“Australian businesses have so far committed to enough renewable energy to power 1.6 million homes – that’s almost every house in Sydney,” said Soutar. F

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Humans and robots are working more closely together. Sensors help robots make more intelligent decisions and give them the ability to sense objects, the environment, or their own position. Thanks to sensors from SICK, robots perceive more precisely – the prerequisite for close collaboration. For all challenges in the field of robotics: Robot Vision, Safe Robotics, End-of-Arm Tooling, and Position Feedback. We think that’s intelligent.

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NEWS

Mondelēz acquires Gourmet Food Holdings M

ondelēz has acquired Australian cracker company Gourmet Food Holdings (GFH). Melbourne-based GFH creates cracker and biscuit products including Crisbic and Olinas Bakehouse. This agreement also sees GFH’s seafood prepacking business, Ocean Blue, being acquired.

“This is a great strategic asset for

us in a very important market,” said Dirk Van de Put, chairman and CEO of Mondelēz International. “With our...biscuit brands such as Oreo and belVita, as well as our...chocolate [business] with the Cadbury brand, this acquisition will accelerate our broader snacking [integration] in Australia and New Zealand.”

Oliver Flint, the current COO will

be appointed as GFHs managing director while existing Mondelēz CEO, Todd Wilson will remain as a business advisor.

“With fast-growing premium and well-being products, strong customer relationships and agile, local manufacturing, these brands will be a great complement to our local portfolio,” said Maurizio Brusadelli,

EVP and president of Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, Mondelēz International.

By 2017-18, the company had grown to approximately 80 SKUs, Then, in August 2019, GFH opened a 12,500 sqm facility in Dandenong, Victoria, which is where it manufactures its premium brand of crackers. F

Fact MR reports an increase in global demand for Citrus Fibre A ccording to Fact MR, a global marketing insight company, the demand for citrus fibre is a forecasted to increase globally over the next decade based on their

ESOMAR-certified findings in the Citrus Fibre market.

The report found that the global citrus giber market is predicted to increase close to five per cent CAGR

Citrus fruit has great gelling and thickening qualities.

14 Food&Beverage Industry News | April 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

over the period between 2021-2031.

This increase in popularity is due to its nutritional benefits as well as the fibre’s gelling, thickening, waterbinding and stabilising properties.

This comes in line with the rise in heath-conscious consumers opting for low-fat food and beverages with higher natural and nutritional value.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), consumers meal consumption behaviour is also rapidly changing. Pre-packaged and convenient meals are becoming a preference among consumers with citrus fibre playing a crucial component in these meals.

“Rise in requirement for natural sources of vitamin C is significantly aiding in the growth of stakeholders in the citrus fibre industry,” said a research analyst from Fact MR. “Additionally, growing application of citrus fibres as a water binder and fat replacer in diverse end-use industries is further catering to market expansion.”

Fact MR’s report found that citrus fibre from oranges were the highest in demand, with the food and beverage industry increasing the most in requirement for citrus fibre demand.

Worldwide, Germany maintains the largest citrus fibre market while the United States continues to have a hold over the North American citrus fibre market. The Asian-Pacific region exhibits the most growth from 2021 to 2031, with countries such as Japan, China and Canada maintaining positive market outlooks throughout this time period. F

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MEET THE MANUFACTURER

Local Manufacturer in right place as consumers push for more plant-based foods Roma Food Products’ CEO Sam Schachna talks to Adam McCleery about why plant-based foods are on the rise, COVID’s impact on the company, and relationship building.

Roma Foods exports to more than 70 countries

F

or Sam Schachna, CEO of Roma Food Products, the COVID-19 pandemic has created new opportunities and highlighted the importance of the local supply chain.

Schachna said the reality of the pandemic, with supermarket shelves being stripped bare, highlighted the importance of local manufacturing and a stable supply chain in order to meet demand.

“I think when you start looking at the local sector you can say COVID has sparked a renaissance in the Australian manufacturing process and Roma is part of that renaissance,” Schachna said.

The family-owned business was founded in 1984 and moved premises five times before finding it’s home in Carrum Downs, Victoria, where the company’s facility remains today.

The CEO, appointed just days before Australia’s first confirmed

"My initial response was to stabilise the business to respond to the pandemic and then we undertook the strategy...

It included investing in our people and our brand and our infrastructure to respond to the growth in the market."

COVID-19 case in January 2020, brought with him more than 20 years of experience in the consumer goods, financial and IT advisory services industries. This included six years at KPMG and seven years at family food business Menora Foods. “(Now) my role (at Roma) is to support the team on implementing the strategy to take the business to the next horizon of growth,” Schachna said.

The unforeseen pandemic meant Schachna had to pivot his approach in order to successfully implement the new direction.

16 Food&Beverage Industry News | May 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

“My initial response was to stabilise the business to respond to the pandemic and then we undertook the strategy,” Schachna said. “It included investing in our people and our brand and our infrastructure to respond to the growth in the market.”

For almost four decades, Roma Food Products has been a dedicated manufacturer of allergen and glutenfree food, distributing to 3,000 local customers and exporting to 70 countries.

All of the company’s facilities are free of the seven major allergens, milk, eggs, fish, tree

nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybean.

The CEO said the company was able to navigate the obstacles created by the pandemic due to a number of factors, including its dedicated local team who stepped up during a challenging period, strong relationships along the supply chain and customer base, and the capability to scale up production.

Roma saw limited interruption in its manufacturing process as a result of that capability.

“Importantly, we were able to accelerate innovation and respond to market demand. We have the ability to significantly scale up our response, given our dedicated workforce and really strong relationships and supply chains,” Schachna said.

“I think when you look at supply chains, it sort of took the pandemic for Aussies to realise and appreciate what has always been

MEET THE MANUFACTURER A stable supply chain is key to any food enterprise’s success.

in their back yard.”

Roma met the demand for products because it was running on a one- to two-shift rotation prior to the pandemic.

Schachna said demand for products they already manufactured, along with demand for inventory they were developing, resulted in huge orders.

“At the peak of the panic buying, we were getting one month of orders in a day,” Schachna said.

“And for us, our customers and our consumers are everything, particularly when you are dealing with people who have dietary requirements. You truly become an essential service.”

The growing awareness around support for local manufacturers also played a part in Roma Food Products having a record year during a global pandemic, with company growth of over 20 per cent, coupled with a 30

per cent increase in employees.

Schachna continues to reemphasise the importance of strengthening the local food manufacturing sector.

“You’ve got stable supply chains within the country, you support local farmers, you can support local jobs,” Schachna said.

“Out of COVID, local manufacturing has never been seen to be more important, and it’s the great local manufacturers that have stepped up to respond.”

Conditions created by the pandemic have presented opportunities for manufacturers who are equipped to take advantage.

“This isn’t a temporary shift, COVID has forever changed the dynamic of the grocery supply chain,” Schachna said. “A more stable local supply chain means retailers and shoppers can access what they want when they want.”

As a result, the CEO said he welcomes support from the government created initiatives designed to help the food manufacturing sector, such as the Modern Manufacturing Initiative.

“The Modern Manufacturing Fund creates a platform for Aussie manufacturers, such as Roma, to continue to invest, to be more competitive, more resilient,

more scalable, more innovative,” Schachna said.

“And you’re seeing that support of food and manufacturing to be a key platform for growth. The food and manufacturing sector is one of the fastest growing parts of the economy.”

The rise in government support has come off the back of a realisation that local manufacturing channels

www.foodmag.com.au | May 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 17

MEET THE MANUFACTURER

The food and grocery sector has been under pressure lately, said Schachna.

Spliits snacks are at the heart of Roma Foods push into peoples’ palates. are important, especially in a post COVID world.

“The Australian food and grocery sector has been under pressure for many years,” Schachna said.

“While the industry is benefiting from all these policies, we need to recognise we are only at the starting blocks. Now is the government’s chance to really build a sustainable industry right here in our own back yard.”

The record year couldn’t have come at a better time for Roma, with the launch of two new brands into mainstream categories,

complementing its existing strong positioning in the health food aisle.

“The launch of these two new brands is the first of a number of brands that will be going into that mainstream category,” Schachna said.

“We have launched these first with the independent channel and that responds to the DNA of our family-owned business.”

While continuing a strong presence in the independent sector, Roma also has strong relationships with all major retailers including Coles, Woolworths, and Aldi, further

18 Food&Beverage Industry News | May 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

helping with product growth.

“For us it’s providing the right offer to the market,” Schachna said.

“Being pioneers within the space we have seen significant growth; I think what you’ll see in the next decade is continued promotion and dedication to healthy lifestyles.”

The two new products, the allergen- and gluten-free Pasta roma, and vegan-based snack, Spliits, are the first of a series of new brands to be introduced into the market, as the company continues to put emphasis on innovation.

“For us it is about being good corporate citizens and responding to market trends,” Schachna said.

The release of Spliits was in response to the ever-expanding ‘better for you’ snacking subcategory, one of the fastest growing sectors in the market. The company is also proud that Pasta roma is the first and only Australian made pasta range in the mainstream category.

“It’s a significant development because our business is very well known, now we have launched, and they are in market, they

are performing very well,” Schachna said.

Schachna said Roma Food’s manufacturing facility has a solar grid attached to the roof as part of the company’s move towards a more sustainable future.

More than 600 solar panels were installed at its Carrum Downs facility in 2019, with the capability to yield 276,000 kWh per year.

As part of ongoing sustainability initiatives, the company is reviewing programs around recycling, waste reduction, responsible sourcing of raw materials and the use of rainwater tanks.

Meanwhile, the Carrum Downs site has no animal derivatives.

“We are also a vertically integrated operation,” Schachna said.

“We do everything from milling the grain as it comes in, to blending it and then production through to packing. Across our sites we have seven production lines.”

In 2016, prior to taking on the role of Roma Food Products CEO, Schachna was also appointed as a director of SecondBite - a food

MEET THE MANUFACTURER

"The Australian food and grocery sector has been under pressure for many years...

While the industry is benefiting from all these policies, we need to recognise we are only at the starting blocks. Now is the government’s chance to really build a sustainable industry right here in our own back yard."

Pasta Roma is the new plant-based food on offer from Roma Foods.

rescue organisation. SecondBite aims to solve two problems, ending food waste, and ending hunger in Australia.

“What’s quite startling is over 25 per cent of the food we produce actually goes to waste. And before COVID, 20 per cent of Australians experienced some form of food insecurity,” Schachna said.

“We collect food, minimising waste, and redistribute it free of charge as a charity. Over the last 12 months we have redistributed the equivalent of over 50 million meals.”

In FY20, SecondBite managed to rescue over 26 million kilograms of food across Australia, equating to 53 million healthy meals per year, or 145,000 healthy meals per day.

With more than five million Australians experiencing food

insecurity every day, there is still much more to be done, he said.

Schachna said the increase in people choosing to either eat less meat or go wholly vegan was also a positive sign for further growth and investment in the future for Roma Foods.

“Plant-based diets are driving a reduction on the intake of dairy or meat. Plant based is not a category, it is a movement that is here to stay,” Schachna said.

Roma’s ability to know what its customers want is an important aspect of the company’s success, according to Schachna.

“Our long-term success of Roma has always been underpinned by our respect for our people, our customers, our business partners and our suppliers,” he said. F

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www.foodmag.com.au | May 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 19

WASTEWATER

The rising need to improve Australia’s wastewater regulations

Non-contact equipment is often easier to install in wastewater environments.

Australia’s water quality and management systems are yet to reach regulatory levels as comprehensive as UK standards. This needs to change. Shanna Wong speaks to Pulsar Measurements to find out why.

H

ow wastewater, or trade effluent, is treated can be an issue many companies face as they try to lessen their impact on the environment. Commonly produced as a by-product of business operations, it can be in the form of fats, oils, and greases through to chemicals, detergents, and food waste.

Regulation of this trade effluent is crucial for a range or reasons from ecological to health and safety to business costs and operations.

In Australia, trade effluent is managed state by state under national guidelines. However, certificates or regulations to ensure compliance and quality of monitoring equipment are needed to keep waterways, such as the Murray Darling Basin, healthy.

“It seems like we do things a little bit differently to how they do it in the UK, especially around

the MCERTS scheme which is the Monitoring Certification Scheme of the Environment Agency,” said Tim O’Meagher, Oceania regional manager of Pulsar Measurement, a global instrumentation supplier. “There’s some overarching principles or guidelines from a national perspective but it’s very much state regulated by the environmental protection agencies or water utilities themselves.”

MCERTS The UK scheme O’Meagher is referring to is the Environmental Agency’s ‘Monitoring Certification Scheme’ designed for regulating industrial emissions in the UK. With the government enforcing all UK flow measuring equipment for trade waste measurement to be certified, the scheme has been successful

In the UK, if a company discharges more than 50m3 of trade treated waste a day, they must a MCERTS-approved measurement system.

20 Food&Beverage Industry News | May 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

in monitoring and inspecting measurement equipment for industrial waste and ensuring compliance with the national waste guidelines.

“With the MCERTS legislation that the UK industry follows, we’re able to say that many of our instruments have gone through the MCERTS certification process,” said O’Meagher.

“It really reflects just how accurate our products are and really is a quality assurance stamp.”

The certificate is issued by The Environment Agency, which is the key body responsible for UK’s environment and regulating operators.

“If a water company or food and beverage plant is discharging over 50m3 of treated trade waste into a watercourse a day, then they must have an MCERTS-approved measurement system. If not, there’s a warning issued then a fine,” said O’Meagher.

“The MCERTS certification process works in three ways. First, it ensures that the installation is correct, second it indicates the instrument has been through MCERTS process and is traceable; and thirdly, that the overall installation has been audited by an independent MCERTS inspector to reach an accuracy of plus or minus eight per cent,” said O’Meagher.

Despite having this MCERTS quality assurance and being a global operator, a key difference between operations in Australia and the UK is the use of mag flow meters as an industry standard, when discharging to a sewerage network.

“After extensive research into Australian water utilities, we’ve found the overarching difference between the two markets is the preference for mag meter equipment. The issue with mag meters is that they are a contact-based product. That means these instruments can become coated with fat and grease, which can affect their performance,” said O’Meagher. “Pulsar Measurement focuses on non-contacting technologies, that require no shutdown time for installation, and don’t require ongoing maintenance or cleaning regimes.”

Without adopting a standard of flow monitoring, it can be difficult to compare the quality of different measurement systems. Having one mutual certification could add additional reassurance to existing permits or licenses already held by manufacturers, enabling Australian water utilities to better understand what is being discharged into the sewer network, to avoid future ramifications.

Impacts of trade effluent “If trade effluent was to get discharged directly into a natural watercourse like a river or stream, there’s massive ecology issues such as damage to the environment and wildlife,” said O’Meagher. “Especially if food and beverage industries are discharging grease and fats and it’s released into the sewer network, this can impact equipment throughout the pipelines and can potentially cause a blockage or overflow.”

As O’Meagher describes it, if these ‘fatburgs’ or fat clumps in the trade effluent build they can block a sewer completely.

“And when I say sewer, I mean a main trunk sewer about several metres in diameter. If you block one of those, it is possible for the liquids to overflow into streets and natural water courses,” said O’Meagher. “It will cost the water industry hundreds of thousands of dollars to clear those sewers alongside possible fines, and on top of that, it causes major ecological problems and public health risks.”

According to O’Meagher, wastewater that gets caught in blockages due to trade effluent caused obstructions can overflow through ‘spill points’ and out into the natural water course. This has the potential to kill wildlife and cause a real disaster to these bodies of water and the surrounding environment,” said O’Meagher.

In addition to the snowballing effect that mismanaged wastewater can have, fines from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), both Australian and worldwide, would be significant.

Solutions With the potential implications of trade effluent in mind, Pulsar Measurement is able to provide measurement solutions both during wastewater management and pre-release.

Pulsar Measurement offer a range of technology, specialising in radar and ultrasonic solutions for all aspects of the food and beverage industry. From plant inflow, tank level, sludge interface level, and waste discharge volumes.

In addition, Pulsar offers sewer network monitoring solutions in the form of dBi transducers which are low power sensors that monitor sewer levels to provide operators with the data required to identify potential

blockages before they occur.

“These low power sensors are scattered throughout the network at various junctions, and they provide data back to the water utilities system which measure the levels,” said O’Meagher. “Any irregular trends seen in the data can give utilities an early indication of blockages.”

A benefit of using Pulsar Measurement is that most of the product portfolio is non-contacting and non-invasive, having such a vast selection of technology means that there is a solution for almost every application.

“Non-contact equipment is often easier to install, for example if an in-line mag flow meter has to be installed, removed for service or replaced this may involve a complete plant shut down which depending on the operation can cost tens of thousands of dollars not to mention the loss of productivity,” said O’Meagher.

“With Pulsar Measurement’s non-contacting options it’s common for the plant to run as normal while the installation goes ahead. Once its completed, the maintenance is minimal as we don’t come into contact with the fluid.”

What Pulsar Measurement has that is comparable to mag flow meters is its non-contacting Ultrasonic and Doppler type clamp-onflow meters that operate on a range of fluids from clean water through to heavily contaminated fluids with a high solids content.

The transit time meter is ideal for cleaner fluids and works by measuring the time of flight of an ultrasonic sound pulse between two transducers.

The Doppler option is ideally suited to dirtier fluid applications and uses high frequency sound wave which reflects back off moving particles, gas or bubbles in the fluid, this frequency shift is used to calculate volumes, the same technology that can be found in many speed cameras.

With Pulsar Measurement confident in the abilities of their equipment, backed by the MCERTS certification, it could provide real economic and environmental benefits to both food and beverage manufacturers and water utility businesses. With an ability to provide real-time data while reducing down time, Pulsar’s instruments have the potential to reduce costs associated with clean-up regimes, fines and installation costs across Australia. F

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www.foodmag.com.au | May 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 21

TRACEABILITY

50 years since the birth of barcodes – where to next?

The humble barcode has turned 50. Now is the time for a change and GS1 CEO Maria Palazzolo gives the low down on the new 2DBarcode and its place in traceability.

D

espite how established barcodes are in Australian’s way of life and within the global economy, it’s hard to believe the concept was introduced just 50 years ago. Maria Palazzolo, CEO of GS1 Australia explained.

“It’s one of the great untold stories in history that has changed the modern economy,” she said.

According to Palazzolo, it was one of the first times competitors truly came together and put their differences aside.

“They were able to create a global solution that worked for everyone,” she said. “This ultimately led to the creation of barcode numbers and the linear barcode we know today.”

Now, history is repeating itself as entities like GS1 look down the same path, planning for the next 50 years where 2DBarcodes will come to replace the linear barcodes of today.

“We have to move from something they have embedded into their organisations today, to something totally different they will need to do in the future, which is no small feat and needs to be well planned and executed,” said Palazzolo. “We need industry to

you’re not using one single standard across the entire value chain, then full traceability is not possible.”

According to Palazzolo, this is part of a larger problem. A key issue with introducing the 2DBarcodes is also encouraging industry to adopt a global standard of barcodes, as once was the issue with introducing barcodes 50 years ago. With the link now created between 2DBarcodes and the unique GS1 identifiers, the perceived need for stand-alone systems and challenges with the amount of information available to users will disappear.

“2DBarcodes with more, standardised information, will allow for full visibility across the whole value chain with everyone using the same system,” said Palazzolo.

GS1's role GS1 CEO Maria Palazzolo. collaborate in the same way it did 50 years ago.”

Linear barcodes A wealth of pressures is pushing for

New barcode technology is here to stay and collaboration is needed to make the most of what it has to offer.

22 Food&Beverage Industry News | May 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

this change. As linear barcodes have limitations in respect to additional data – such as with traceability – it is apparent that consumers’ demand for more information and full transparency have increased, which means more industries will feel the need for 2DBarcodes.

The current linear barcode’s traceability capabilities are hindered by the restricted amount of information that can be stored.

But also, organisations across many industries have developed their own proprietary, stand-alone barcode systems that do not talk to other businesses. Only an open standard, like GS1, can do that properly.

“It’s those limitations that have not allowed the full traceability journey to be embraced across the supply chain,” said Palazzolo.

“With traceability, you have to have a seamless flow of standardised data throughout the supply chain. If

GS1’s role in this transition is not insignificant. The company aims to foster collaboration and encourage businesses around the world to plug into the same system.

Through bringing all parties to the table, facilitating conversation and ensuring everyone understands what the process is, and what the change means, Palazzolo believes they can encourage the much-needed transition.

“We need everyone to understand, it’s about making a decision for the greater good of industry and not just about a few companies,” she said.

“GS1 has been working with major Australian retailers to identify how 2DBarcodes can provide them with the ability to capture additional, valuable data about the products they buy and sell,” said Palazzolo.

Globally, GS1 has working groups, as Palazzolo describes them, who are designing and developing 2DBarcodes under GS1’s global program The Future of On Pack Coding. This program works as a transitional initiative that coordinates global and

TRACEABILITY

local changes.

“This helps us manage all parts of the project and ensures that each move occurs when the agreement has happened across the whole industry,” said Palazzolo. “It won’t work if it’s just one retailer changing their systems.”

Major retailers are driving these changes. Eventually, the 2DBarcode will be used at POS and potentially right throughout the supply chain in manufacturing and distribution channels. GS1 also plays a role in informing these suppliers that they can include key information such as batch numbers and use-by dates to link products back to their brand and encourage food safety.

But coordination of the transition is only half the battle. As Palazzolo points out, even if 2DBarcodes were to be printed on products and shipped out tomorrow, what information would they hold? And what systems would be in place to actually read the data? “It will be a slow process,”she said. “This is the discussion within industries that we need to have. We need to discuss what data will be put in and how we are actually going to use this data.”

The systems that scan the updated barcodes must be able to decipher and

consolidate the information to be able to improve global traceability said Palazzolo. “This is one of the biggest hurdles we face; it isn’t printing the 2DBarcode on the packaging itself or the decision to do it, it is ensuring that the systems in place are able to manage and read the data that comes from the barcodes,” she said.

COVID-19 Despite Palazzolo’s preparation for the long road to change, it’s nowhere as long as it used to be, thanks to COVID-19. But it didn’t just begin with the pandemic – this change has been snowballing for the past two years, with consumers at the helm.

A trend towards sustainability and traceability saw consumers wanting more information than what was available. Where the product came from and what happened on its journey were suddenly being demanded, with price points no longer enough to sell a product.

“And retailers and even manufacturers are aware of this,” said Palazzolo. “Because it ultimately leads to brand loyalty. If you can provide that kind of data to your consumers, they’ll keep coming back because they know they can trust you.”

And what COVID-19 did was provide that extra push.

The introduction of “check in” systems as part of health regulations encouraged a level of comfortableness, awareness and understanding with barcodes that had not been seen before.

“And why would we see resistance?” asked Palazzolo.

“It’s easy when we have scanners right here on our phones, in our pockets, at our disposal. Why would we say no to information that has the potential to help us?”

Fifty years forward According to Palazzolo, it’s likely we’ll see a hybrid of barcodes in the near future, perhaps to the displeasure of marketers. With barcodes being described in the past by some marketers as ‘visual pollution’, they are now seeing the benefit of a single barcode that can work in the supply chain and also interact with consumers. The end result is predicted to be a standardised industry endorsed, singular 2DBarcode.

“It won’t be a big bang situation,” said Palazzolo. “It’s a transitional program and it will take a number of

Key information can be included in the new 2DBarcodes.

years to fully complete, but I do think we’ll definitely see a faster uptake of the 2D technology than we did of the linear barcode, particularly in the food and beverage industry.”

What 2DBarcodes enable is for products to morph into communication channels with a wealth of information.

“Fifty years ago, when they watched the first barcode being scanned, somebody said ‘it was like watching magic’ because no one had ever seen anything like it,” said Palazzolo, when asked what she saw for the industry in the oncoming years. “And I’m going to say, we’re going to be creating a lot more magic over the next 50 years.” F

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For a free demonstration, contact info@pulsarmeasurement.com. www.foodmag.com.au | May 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 23

SUSTAINABILITY

Experience helps industry make right decision for sustainable solutions

Bunzl’s new Jandakot distribution centre has three new SIAT ProWrap pallet wrappers.

Bunzl has a wealth of experience when it comes to sustainability, and making sure customers get the right information is one of its keys to success. Mike Wheeler explains.

W

Bunzl is focusing on using less plastic when wrapping pallets.

24 Food&Beverage Industry News | May 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

hen you’re a global business that specialises in, among other things, selling plastic wrap, it is important to know what your customers want, especially when it comes to sustainability.

Bunzl is a company that services many industries including those in the food packaging space. With more than 150 years of heritage behind its name, the company takes its responsibility in the sustainability arena seriously.

Being a distributor in the food processing and packaging industry means it has a lot of experience in making sure the right products are not only doing the job they were designed to do, but also comply with the various legislation – both at state and federal levels.

“We have seen recently that most state governments are putting policies in place to phase out some singleuse plastics,” said Bunzl Australia’s sustainability specialist Felicity Kelly.

“Before the bans, Bunzl was already transitioning away from some plastic products. As a part of the packaging

supply chain, we are always looking for innovative alternatives to singleuse plastics. We want to support our customers to minimise any negative impact on the environment.”

People are one of the investments the company has taken on board. In recent years it has appointed several sustainability solutions leads around the globe to ensure the company is not only taking sustainability seriously, but meeting the needs of its customers.

The company realises that the products it sells need to have a solution to their end use. Part of that was Bunzl investing in finding answers to these issues.

“We see ourselves in a unique place where we can work with our customer to understand their situation and then provide a solution,” said Kelly. “We spend the time to understand what is important for customers. That might be reducing waste to landfill from their manufacturing sites, reducing carbon impact, or complying with single-use plastics legislative requirements.

SUSTAINABILITY

“Responsible and ethical sourcing of products is also often a key focus for many customers. Many customers are bound by modern slavery legislation or they simply want to partner with a business that has an extensive social audit program, like Bunzl.”

One of the products the company distributes is Advantage Plastic’s Stretch Wrap, which is designed for wrapping pallets of food and beverage products. However, not all wraps are created equal.

“Advantage Plastic’s wrap is unique because of its high quality and when it’s applied correctly you don’t need to use as much. It is also recyclable through soft plastic recycling,” said Mimmo Audino, general manager of Bunzl’s Processor & Industry sector. Audino has more than 35 years’ experience in the packaging industry, and sees sustainability around soft plastics as a positive game changer.

Where Bunzl comes into play is to make sure that customers are using the product in the right way, minimising the amount of plastic being used, which not only saves on the environment but also saves money.

Then there is the wrapping machinery itself. For example, Bunzl’s Western Australian distribution centre, in Jandakot, has three new SIAT ProWrap pallet wrappers that feature 12 programs and five wrap modes, a 1650mm turn table with 2400kg turn-table capacity, a 2200mm wrap height, and size variable wrap zones up and down the pallet.

Utilising the machine with its Precision Wrap Platinum stretch wrap, the company believes it can save up to eight tonnes and $20,000 in the amount of stretch wrap being used, as well as a reduction of more than 600 wrapping hours.

“We conduct cut and weigh tests for many of our customers,” said Audino. “That’s the process of analysing the amount of film needed. This process is essential in understanding the true cost to wrap a pallet and measuring the amount of film needed to do the job effectively.

In many cases, the focus is on the cost per roll, which often works out to using more plastic than is needed and a higher cost overall. Our focus instead is on using less plastic, which means a lower cost per pallet wrapped and less plastic used as well. The

result is some incredible cost savings and reductions in wrap used.”

Through its supplier and manufacturer partners, Bunzl is able to offer a range of solutions and provide access to many packaging technologies. The company’s advice is based on what is best for the customer.

“As a distributor we are not wedded to any particular product or material type,” Kelly said. “If there is an innovation or particular type of material or technology that a customer thinks will reduce the environmental impact of their operations, through working with us, then we’ll work to source it.”

One area where Kelly’s expertise comes to the fore is making sure that clients understand the intricacies of plastic and its role in the food and beverage industry.

“We talk with our customers about sustainable packaging, helping them navigate through that space,” said Kelly. “We often receive queries from customers about new packaging technology, and then we’ll do the research to understand it. I’ll often reach out to Bunzl colleagues in the UK, US or Europe and we’ll discuss the merits and suitability of the technology. We’ll also make sure that we are supporting our customer to make an informed decision. We need to understand the implications of using such a product, any regulatory

requirements, recyclability in Australia, or any other feature that’s important.”

Sometimes clients are surprised at what they can and cannot use in terms of plastics and other packaging materials, said Kelly.

“There are some misconceptions out there, particularly about what’s problematic and what isn’t,” she said.

“I often spend time with customers going through their product range to identify problematic and unnecessary single-use plastics as well as opportunities to transition to more sustainable alternatives.

We distribute a lot of products that are used in medical and food hygiene space. They’re not the kind

of plastics that are banned, and if a plastic can be recycled, then that is a great solution.

“For businesses in Australia there are certainly pockets of excellence,” said Kelly. “I have spent my career working in sustainability within industry and have seen many changes in that time. The biggest though has been the attitude of business and their mindset on what can be achieved. Most individuals want to do what is right by the environment and are hampered by the diversity of requirements, solutions and even the ever-evolving terminology. Once that has been explained in a clear way, most people are off and running.” F

Advantage Plastic’s wrap is of high quality, so less is needed when being used.

Bunzl has invested in minimising the amount of plastic wrap being used. www.foodmag.com.au | May 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 25

FOOD PROCESSING

Looking down the barrel of a bottle FPC Food Plastics was struggling to look down the neck of every bottle in an attempt to identify discoloured stock. What they needed was an optical solution.

Hugh Donelly said that there is an expectation from customers for the company to increase quality and reliability.

A

s a primary supplier of cap closures and bottles, Australian brand FPC Food Plastics (FPC) has been supplying bottling services to the dairy, fruit juice and food service markets for more than 20 years. With a focus in dairy, its bottles range from 150mL to 5 litres in capacity.

The issue FPC Plastics was facing was a yellow tint that became more saturated at the base of the bottles.

FPC needed a reliable system that could detect this issue and remove it from the production line.

“The yellow tint had been occurring infrequently,” said Patrycja Chrobak, quality manager at FPC. “It was mainly due to issues with the grinder that happened between batch productions. Even with procedures and regulations in place, we still saw a small number of bottles with this yellow tinting.”

“The difficulty was that the discolouration was so small that we weren’t too sure how to consistently stop this issue from occurring again,” said Ron Woolard, site

The camera was set up 140mm above the bottles and adjusted to pick up yellow tones. electrician at FPC. “If you put a product within specification and the discoloured product side by side, it’s extremely difficult for the human eye to detect.”

Due to the limitation and high cost of human inspectors, and the demand of reliable and consistent checking abilities that human labour simply couldn’t satisfy, the team knew they needed to turn to machine vision.

The idea to introduce sensors as a solution came during one of FPC’s team quality meetings.

“I knew SICK was a leader in optical sensors,” said Woolard.

“Having worked in this industry for quite a while, I’d encountered them a lot and previously used their equipment across different jobs.”

Once contacted, SICK asked for samples to get a better idea of the extent of the issue and the quality of camera that would be needed. As a global manufacturer of sensors and sensor solutions for industrial automation applications, SICK was able to come back with a solution for the company.

26 Food&Beverage Industry News | May 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

MidiCam and app handling “SICK was able to sort us out with a package,” said Woolard. “Rather than selecting products we weren’t entirely sure about, we simply gave them the problem and they came back to us with a turnkey solution.”

The solution was SICK’s MidiCam, designed specifically for complex image processing tasks, such as FPC’s issue with bottle discolouration.

The camera was easy for the FPC team to plug-and-play, and combined with the provided photoelectric sensors, was able to provide highquality optical vision. SICK also provided a sensor integration machine (SIM1012) and sensor display screen (SID120), along with power supplies and an external pilot light.

The sensor machine allowed interface between the camera, illumination and sensors to ensure the process ran smoothly while the integration display screen worked to integrate all the data into a visual display.

“The process really started with one of SICK’s installation specialists, Amit Shinde, who was instrumental in getting the project started, organised the personnel to work on the project and keep it on budget,” said Woolard. With contact beginning in mid-July last year, the entire process was finished by March 2021.

After FPC set up the equipment, two more installation specialists came out to ensure that the adjustments and setup were correct, and to coordinate the devices.

“They even brought their own lunches,” recalled Chrobak laughing.

“They were so committed, staying at least four to five hours adjusting everything.”

The final setup looked like a photoshoot for bottles. Since the bottles would be moving along the conveyer belt at a rapid pace, a light source was needed to identify the discolouration in a short period of time.

“What we got from SICK was a box of parts, including a large screen, mounts for the camera, and

FOOD PROCESSING

bright lights to highlight the bottles,” said Woolard. “The lights provided the brightness and short exposure we needed.”

The camera was set 140mm above the bottle and specifically adjusted to pick up yellow tones. Its hue was set to specific level with minimal tolerance allowing the camera to pick up more pixels in bottles that had the yellow discolouration, which was how it distinguished between “pass” and “fail” bottles.

Since the bottles were on a conveyer belt, illuminating the bottles from below wasn’t an option.

Instead, the light was placed on the side of bottle, focusing on the lower portion. This setup enabled FPC to digitalise the process of identifying any bottle discoloration.

“There’s now no need to have a person standing on the production line, looking down the neck of every bottle just to spot the issue and remove it,” said Woolard. “And you really can’t have someone sitting on the line looking into every bottle going past because they’d go mad, and we couldn’t afford it.”

With this setup, each bottle passes through at a rate of about 60 to 70 milliseconds. The sensor display screen also functions in another way: it enables multiple bottle pre-settings.

“We run multiple bottles of all different shapes and sizes through the line as well, so if we ever need to change the bottle it’s as simple as a click and we can change of the settings on the screen,” said Woolard. “It’s that easy. The hardest part of the process was setting it up and adjusting it specifically to every bottle. But we had Tim to assist us, which was great.”

“What happened was it changed the way we looked at the process,” said Woolard. “Rather than looking for discolouration, we realised, ‘why don’t we look for a lack of colour?’

From there, it was easier to highlight and find discoloured bottles.”

The future Moving forwards, FPC is looking to increase the amount of SICK automated solutions in its system.

“It’s an ongoing process to keep evolving,” said Woolard. “We’re looking at putting in other SICK units of a similar nature on other lines as well, to cover related quality issues and to help increase the

Each bottle passes through at a rate of between 60 to 70 milliseconds.

accuracy that we have now.”

The benefits of working with SICK, as Woolard explained, was the locality offered despite having a large knowledge base overseas that SICK was able to tap into.

“You can call them and say, ‘hey we’ve got this issue’, and they have the ability to come and assist in person,” said Woolard. “Besides their wealth of experience in the industry and knowledge of optical sensors, we The MidiCam has been designed specifically for complex imaging tasks.

know going to them would provide a fast and effective fix.”

With the new system, Chrobak is confident that the quality issues found in the bottling business decrease, leading of course, to happier customers.

“Every year there’s an expectation that comes from customers to increase quality, service and reliability,” said Hugh Donelly, managing director of FPC. “With SICK, we’re able to meet those demands.”

According to Donelly, consumers are pushing companies within the food packaging industry to reach new hygiene levels unlike every before. FPC is very close to achieving “100 percent” as Donelly calls it. However, the “one per cents” the company still have to do is being helped along through technology providers like SICK. “Here at FPC Food Plastics we don’t use our technology to sort our quality. We focus on root cause analysis and fixing the problem at the source. But something you need to check, and we can’t do it with manual labour because it’s too expensive and sometimes impossible, because of the line speed. The big thing for us in improving quality is automation,” said Donelly. “We are continually striving to get better at what we do and SICK’s technology is helping us get to that 100 per cent.” F

www.foodmag.com.au | May 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 27

FLOWMETERS

Digital dosing – the future for food standardisation Bronkhorst Coriolis Flowmeters, represented by AMS Instrumentation & Calibration, offer many benefits in the dosing technology space. Unfortunately, not all within the food and beverage industry understand this.

T

he role of digitisation is not always seen as necessary, or needed, despite improvements in product quality. Bronkhorst Coriolis, a Dutch company specialising in low flow instruments, has seen this problem largely within the dosing industry.

“Many of the customers nowadays still think that dosing, because of the small nature of the task, isn’t worth a digital upgrade,” said Wendy Upasena, project engineer at AMS. Upasena is one who experienced the pushback from companies unwilling to digitalise, having worked on two of Bronkhorst’s high-precision, batch dosage technologies. The CORI-FLOW and ES-FLOW Ultrasonic are technologies that work to improve product quality and data logging while reducing food waste and labourintensive time.

The concept of dosing, however, is not new. As Upasena said, even in the earliest food preparation, measuring ingredient quantities was crucial.

Imagine baking a cake – you have to measure the correct quantities to yield the desired end product. Dosing technology helps regulate this on a grand production scale.

In today’s world though, it is not as simple as just baking a cake, said Upasena. With increasing consumer demand for “natural and organic” products and ingredients, it is hard for companies to consistently source true natural ingredients depending on location and season.

Thus, begins the rise of more accessible gas or liquid additives that can range from dyes to food colouring to vitamins and food flavour. These additives become the new ingredients that must be measured correctly through quality control means, such as dosing reliability and reproducibility.

These are critical to decreasing variation in tastes and colours to create a standardised, high-quality product.

But overhauling previous dosing methods is not easily accomplished.

“Customers don’t usually do continuous dosing. What they often opted is fill a bucket and weigh it, then tip it into the mixers or blenders.

Without precise measurements, this can lead to many complications,” said Upasena.

“We’ve been trying to educate customers on our products and how they can save thousands of dollars on

The CORI-FLOW is designed to help reduce food waste in food processing applications.

28 Food&Beverage Industry News | May 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

expensive additives through reducing overdosing, while improving the quality of the product through correct dosages,” said Upasena.

The CORI-FLOW and ES-Flow ultrasonic flow meters While both the CORI-FLOW and ES-FLOW Ultrasonic are flow meters has features to support batch-dosing, they have different features and purposes depending on the client’s product and needs.

“The CORI-FLOW meter is a direct mass flow meter whereas ES-FLOW is

a volumetric flow meter,” said Upasena.

In the standard process of dosing, customers have a tanks where the liquid additives are stored. The flow meters that control the dosing can be installed in there.

“There are a couple ways to control this dosing,” said Upasena. “One is through valves and the other is through a pump. A standard flow meter will not automatically control either; the benefit of a Bronkhorst Coriolis’s flow meters is that it can integrate into existing systems and directly control

FLOWMETERS

these valves and pumps without additional controllers to increase precision of dosing.”

What Upasena is referring to is the on-board PID control function that is built into both technologies. This function enables direct, fast control of the valves, proportional valves and gear pumps within the dosing machinery that allows a complete control loop. This means response time is faster, increasing overall production efficiency and quality control.

“It can help customers who are concerned about the quality of their product and wastage. All they need to do is indicate the flow meters for the pump or valve, and once it’s at the designated point in the flow meter, our technologies will work with the valve or pump to dose exactly that amount, saving additive wastage and improving the quality,” said Upasena.

This differs from the traditional gravimetric method of dosing, which sees the dosage measured in mass and volume on a scale. Once the scale registers the correct weight, it sends a signal to an external Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), which will then correspondingly shut the valve.

This system leans towards a higher variation of dosing between products and slower production time.

“Our new technology can save a lot of time for clients,” said Upasena.

“They can focus on the recipe quality and the product quality rather than worrying if they’ve added the correct amount of flavour.”

Features A defining feature of the CORIFLOW is its integrated batch dosing technology that allows a 0.2 per cent accuracy reading. It also comes with a “learning” function that enables the machine to correct the smallest variation, such as when the machine is started. Besides the CORIFLOW’s ability to measure the direct mass flow of the additives, it can also measure the temperature and density that are designed as extra quality parameters.

The ES-FLOW differentiates from the CORI-FLOW through its high hygiene capabilities. These are achieved through its self-drainable straight sensor tube, comprising of calculated surface roughness and an absence of dead volume.

“We recently got the approval for hygienic use for our ES-FLOW series enabling it to be used anywhere

"The flow meter can help customers who are concerned about the quality of their product and wastage."

These flow meters help the manufacturer save money. within the plant,” said Upasena. “It’s reliable with its quality and flow rate range, and the ability to handle any type of liquid given the parameters.”

A benefit both of the technologies also boost is their independence from fluids. This means re-calibration is not required in between different liquid dosing, resulting in lower maintenance costs. According to the technicians at Bronkhorst Coriolis, re-calibrating the CORI-FLOW and ES-FLOW annually should be suffice for efficient functioning.

Another feature, which is becoming increasingly important the further a company progresses into Industry 4.0, is the increased amount of data that can be logged by the technology.

Traceability Upasena is well aware of what data logging requires, and the best practices for it.

“All the flow meters are equipped with signals for digital communication with standard analogue outputs that allow them to communicate externally with customers, PLC systems or SCADAS (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems),” she said.

“These help to meet customer’s needs while logging data digitally.”

Across the Bronkhorst products, software tools are also available to

help with performance including data logging to separate files, as well as abilities to create visual graphs to present gathered data.

“Data logging is done to keep a track of which material goes where and for quality product purposes, especially for quality assurances, food hygiene and safety,” said Upasena on the importance of data. “Regulation purposes are also very important.

This ensures manufacturers have to comply with quality procedures and regulations, and this is all done through having quality, accurate data.”

In this way, the functionality and technology of both these products work not only to improve the quality of products and reduce overhead costs, but streamline the process through data logging and production efficiencies.

“It’s time for customers to look at digital technologies and how they can integrate it into their current system.

If they are interested, our team is happy to discuss the possibilities” said Upasena. “I think the future for dosing technology will only continue to evolve and improve the performance of the existing technology, so now, more than ever, is the time to upgrade.” F

The ES-FLOW is a volumetric flow meter. www.foodmag.com.au | May 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 29

GAS SUPPLY

Creating a circular system with CO2: The Bombaderry Plant Creating the Bombaderry plant in partnership with Manildra represented more than just a shift in plant location for Supagas, it was a way it could gather sustainable CO2. Food & Beverage Industry News explains.

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ecently, the ability to source reliable, clean carbon dioxide (CO2) has been an urgent issue for Australian gas supplier Supagas. Burning natural gas was the main method Supagas

Supagas needed to find a more sustainable source of CO2.

30 Food&Beverage Industry News | May 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

had been utilising to make it.

“We previously had three CO2 manufacturing plants around the country that burned all this natural gas for us to produce the CO2,” said Anthony Gstalter, supply chain manager of Supagas. “When we burned the natural gas, we created CO2 and moisture, which we then captured, purified and converted to food grade CO2. However, there were some issues with this.”

With the price of natural gas, continuing to increase, as well as concerns for greenhouse emissions on the rise, Supagas knew there

GAS SUPPLY

must be a better way to source the product.

“We realised we’d been burning natural gas for the product, when there was so much potential from larger, sustainable sources,” said Gstalter. “We also wanted to be able to meet consumer demand for CO2 due to growth in the market, and burning natural gases was no longer feasible. We needed to find a larger, sustainable source.”

A big requirement for them, however, was the need for reliability.

“We wanted to choose a site that had a good up time, so we weren’t letting our customers down,” said Gstalter.

One issue that is found with CO2 production from plants is the downtime required for maintenance by feed suppliers during which CO2 isn’t being produced and companies can’t meet their customer’s needs.

“A lot of sources that produce CO2 have the issue where they don’t have a great up time. You’re getting about a month where you don’t have any CO2 because the plants are undertaking maintenance or are experiencing unplanned shutdowns,” said Gstalter.

Manildra makes a move Manildra came in at the right place and the right time. As an Australian producer of food and industrial products, such as wheat, proteins, fats and syrups, it also produces one key product that was the jackpot for Supagas – ethanol.

“What happens is Manildra either grows or ships in grain, which they use to create ethanol by fermenting the wheat,” said Gstalter.

“And one of the by-products of that is high-quality CO2; at that stage it is already around 90 per cent pure CO2.”

Supagas then captures the by-product CO2 through a coldwater scrubber and blower that dehumidifies the CO2 and removes any remaining alcohol. The blower then pushes the CO2 gas through an underground pipeline that funnels it to another processing plant. Any residual alcohol captured by the cold scrubber is refunneled back to the ethanol processing plant.

The CO2 then goes through a range of processes including a compressor, which raises the gas pressure to 18 bar, as well as a NOx and sulphur removal beds.

“We also run the CO2 through a Catox, which burns at about 330˚C and removes any impurities such as hydrocarbons,” said Gstalter. “It’s basically a CO2 refining plant.”

From there, the CO2 is further dried, liquified then turned into food-grade CO2 that is used in Supagas’s products. One of the key applications of CO2 is to produce Dry Ice. This dry ice is used for a range of purposes across the cold chain including freezing foods, transportation of cold goods and increasing shelf life. The CO2 is also used in MAP gases for food packaging, in gases for the carbonation of beer and soft drinks, as well as delivered in bulk to many customers who use it internally for their manufacturing processes.

An estimation done by Supagas before the plant was completed found that the Bombaderry Plant would reduce, on average, about 18,000 tonnes per annum of CO2 emissions during its initial stages, ramping up, over time, to double the quantity. Without the Supagas plant, the CO2 wouldn’t have an alternative use and would be a direct emission to the atmosphere.

The plant was built at

"We are no longer having to invest more power, water and gas to produce the CO2 that we need, it’s coming to us as a by-product,” said Gstalter. “So now what we have here is a reliable, clean source of CO2 with a really great up time that can supply our current market demand and allow growth within the CO2 space."

The CO2 goes through a rangeof processes.

Manildra’s Shoalhaven Starches integrated manufacturing facility in Bombaderry, NSW. The construction took approximately eight months with a majority of the building occurring offsite then being brought on and assembled on site.

“The biggest obstacle was the need to work with the ground structure,” said John Palmer, operational manager of the Bombaderry Plant. “There is a significant amount of underpinning supporting the plant and the transport of the 200-tonne storage vessel to site from Port Kembla was a challenge.”

But the result was worth it – a closed-loop production facility.

A circular system Beside the ethanol to CO2 production abilities, the Bombaderry plant also operates in other environmentally friendly ways.

Every material processed at the plant has multiple uses, such as the starch being sold to produce food and paper, or further used in syrup

production. Leftover materials from the processes, like the gluten and syrup, does not become waste either.

Instead, it is all put towards the ethanol production that creates the CO2.

The CO2, which is left over from Supagas’s processes also get a second life. The leftover water from these processes is reused either in the plant’s starch processes or in local farmland irrigations to create fodder crops, pastures and cattle grazing.

Wastewater created by the processes are also treated and recirculated at the Manildra’s Wastewater Treatment Plant located on site.

During this process, 97 per cent of waste in the water is removed, with the water then being reused either for processes at the plant or for crop irrigation.

“What we realised was that we could operate in an environmentally sustainable way,” said Gstalter. “We could reach the same high-quality end product while operating in a way in which we were removing excess CO2 rather than producing it.

It really is almost a complete loop.”

With two out of three of the plants shut, Supagas has also experienced the added benefits of decreased utilities usage.

“We are no longer having to invest more power, water and gas to produce the CO2 that we need, it’s coming to us as a by-product,” said Gstalter. “Now what we have here is a reliable, clean source of CO2 with a really great up time that can supply our current market demand and allow growth within the CO2 space.”

Supagas is now moving onto greener pastures, or wheat fields, said Gstalter.

“We are working with other sources to expand our markets,” he said. “And using sustainable, reprocessed CO2 is high on our agenda.” F

www.foodmag.com.au | May 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 31

TRACEABILITY

X-Ray technology with laser vision for the future of food packaging Heat and Control’s IX-GA X-Ray series has been designed to meet food industry safety standards on a range of levels, quite literally. Shanna Wong explains.

F

ood hygiene and safety have always been important factors within the food and beverage manufacturing sector. However, as packaging and processing lines become increasingly complicated, new technology is needed to upkeep food safety on a global scale.

“X-Ray technology is needed for the safety and security of food supply.

Sales of this technology have been increasing since the contaminated strawberries incident,” said Robert Marguccio, packaging and inspection

systems manager of Heat and Control, a distributor of Ishida X-Ray technology.

The incident Marguccio is referring to is the 2018 intentional contamination case in which a disgruntled picker hid needles in punnets of strawberries destined for retail supermarket shelves. The nationwide recalls that followed were damaging to a number of Australian Strawberry brands and shocked the food industry, prompting a new approach.

“Over the years we’ve seen all

Demand for X-Ray machines in food processing plants has increased.

32 Food&Beverage Industry News | May 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

kinds of sabotage from disgruntled employees. We’ve seen bakery lines where razor blades have been put into cakes,” said Marguccio.

Incidents like this are prime examples of the crucial role that X-Ray technology plays in ensuring food packaging safety. But, it isn’t just about food safety. Changes to packaging materials in ready-to-eat meals are another factor in the growing demand for this technology.

“Traditionally people used metal detectors at the end of their production

lines. But as soon as you start working with metalised film, or foil trays for pre-packaged meals, you have no choice but to use X-Ray inspection technology,” said Marguccio.

Coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the closing of restaurants and increased demand for pre-packaged and takeaway foods, the demand for X-Ray technology has been further exacerbated.

According to Marguccio, Heat and Control clients saw increased demand for products, which in turn led to the

TRACEABILITY

X-Ray machines can play a crucial role in ensuring packaging safety. need for additional production lines and X-Ray machines.

“In some instances, X-Rays are a requirement for export,” said Marguccio. For example, in Japan they will not buy a product, unless it has been through an X-Ray machine.

Heat and Control takes many orders from Australian-based Japanese companies, who buy Ishida X-Ray machines.”

As a global industrial technology developer, Ishida produces a range of X-Ray machines that are at the forefront of food safety technology.

The IX-GA Series X-Ray Inspection Systems feature a genetic algorithm software with a five-level image processing software that is just as advanced as it sounds.

The technology X-Rays fundamentally work by analysing the absorption of energy.

When passing a food product through an X-Ray, a detector at the bottom of the system detects what energy hasn’t been absorbed by the food product.

“It works by looking at a grey scale,” said Marguccio. “If there is a contaminant, it will have different density to the product, and it will absorb more energy, hence coming up as a black spot on the detector.

Then the algorithm will compare all the pixels around the dark spot and determine if it really is a contaminant or product variation.”

Traditionally, in X-Ray technologies, only one algorithm is used. With Ishida’s IX-GA series, there are five.

“When we use multiple algorithms,

we can look at different aspects of the food product, all within the one system,” said Marguccio. “One level might be looking at the greyscale, the next level might be looking at shape recognition, and the next level might be looking at product breakages or missing items and so on.”

These algorithms also help with system accuracy.

Having different levels helps determine between small and large black areas of pixels and this can also include different intensities of each area.

“Rather than solely looking at it in terms of how much energy the product has absorbed, the GA series is looking at the product in many different ways.”

In Ishida’s newest range, the GN series, there are now seven levels that can be utilised.

A large cereal client of ours has been using one of the levels to detect “open flap”. That is, the ability to determine if the flap on the carton has been glued shut properly.

“The “open flap” detection was one of the main reasons this company purchased nine of these units, one for each line. Because there are so many algorithms, and this technology can look at it logically from many different angles,” said Marguccio.

free demonstration with your own product. As process and product technologists, Heat and Control engineers innovative equipment solutions and refines processes so that manufacturers can bring their best products to market.

From a single piece of equipment through to a fully integrated system with full engineering, design and food technologist input, customers enjoy the benefit of local manufacturer, total project management and aftersales service located here in Australia.

Challenges The biggest challenge posed with X-Ray installation is the regulation of radiation technology within Australia.

There is a national ‘red book’ of X-Ray standards which is open to interpretation and means each state has a different X-Ray standard and regulation.

In order to comply with state regulation, technicians must be licensed in the state they are working in and so different management and licenses are required in every state.

Choosing an X-Ray Working across the spectrum of the food industry, Heat and Control has completed countless installations and understands the numerous challenges faced by customers.

Designed to help food manufacturers and processors comply with global safety standards X-Ray inspection systems allow you to protect both your brand and the consumer.

“The most important thing is for food manufacturers to work with their supplier to understand the capabilities and what results are achievable, relative to their product because every product and application is different” said Marguccio. F

Levelling up Through the different levels, Ishida inspection systems reduce manual labour and the associated costs and time efficiencies that come with digitalisation.

“In times gone by food operators have relied on visual inspection,” said Marguccio. “With a human operator, fatigue and perceptions of the product can cause issues. But with machines you can be confident your inspection will be consistent, and be assured that your detection level will be greater than 98 per cent.”

Ishida prides itself in the reliability of its products. Looking beyond technological aspects, features such as equipment enclosure casing are built to handle high-pressure washdowns with stainless-steel finishing. Different enclosure housing is available and can be purchased for both dry and wet environments.

These inspection systems reduce manual labour.

Installation Heat and Control offers testing and trials on a range of equipment and can innovatively add value to operations.

Visit one of their test facilities for a

Many different types of food can be scanned using X-Ray technology. www.foodmag.com.au | May 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 33

HYGIENE

The series and service changing food manufacturing From meat mincing to bakery packaging, Bonfiglioli’s A, W/VF and EP gearbox series have a multitude of uses in food manufacturing. Here’s why.

Bonfiglioli’s Harry Singh spruiks the benefits of synthetic oils.

C

reating parts for food and beverage production is no easy feat. Hygiene concerns, machinery life and continuous quality assurances are all factors that every supplier must grapple with.

For industrial machine supplier, Bonfiglioli, who has been operating and refining its product creations for the past half century, it knows every product it produces is high quality.

A popular gearbox offering for the food industry is the A series,

which feature bevel-heavy gear boxes and the W/VF Series, which feature worm right-angle gear boxes.

Both boxes can be equipped with BX motors, which are a Bonfigliolispecific motor that is also new to the market. The A series gear motors offers torque range of 100Nm to 14,000Nm where W/VF offers 13Nm to 7,100Nm which can extend up to 9,200Nm with pre-stage units.

But beside these technical specs, the gearboxes maintain Bonfiglioli’s standards of reliability.

34 Food&Beverage Industry News | May 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

Gearbox for life According to Harry Singh, NSW sales manager of Bonfiglioli, each and every gearbox up to size 40 are sealed for life and filled with high quality synthetic oil. The benefits of using synthetic oil includes doubling the gearbox’s life compared to the industry standard mineral gear oils, which is half the price.

“The only gearboxes we don’t use synthetic oil in is in our mining gearboxes,” said Singh. “But this is because mineral oil is more accessible

on mine sites and maintenance are performed quite frequently as compared to general industrial applications.”

The gearboxes are also sealed for life which, according to Singh, means that they require no maintenance for its entire life cycle, even if its run 24/7, 365 days a year – a dream come true for many food producers.

The lifecycle is designed dependent on the customers’ specifications, with the gearbox expected to last the given life expectancy needed at a minimum.

HYGIENE

Alongside these two favourite gearboxes is the EP Series, which is a gearbox designed specifically for the food and beverage market’s high hygiene needs.

In the EP Series, each gearbox is closed with special sealant and coated with a two-pack epoxy paint.

These types of paints and sealants are non-corrosive, with the output shaft consisting of AISI316 stainless steel material.

“The benefits of this occur during wash downs,” said Singh.

“For example, at a meat factory a butcher will wash the machine at the end of every day. When they wash Bonfiglioli’s EP gear box, the water doesn’t stay on the gearbox due to the unique design of the housing– it slides right off through the discharge holes.

Even if they use bleach or a chemical, it won’t harm the gearbox or its coating due to the high-quality epoxy painting protecting the surface.”

What’s inside the gearbox is also equally as important. Unlike the A and W series, which contains synthetic oil, the EP series contains food-grade oil at the top of the gearbox.

As the EP gearbox is designed to be close to food processes where hygiene is critical, the food-grade oil ensures an extra safety measure if any exposure to food products occurs. EP gearboxes are fully sealed to minimise the contamination of the environment, thanks to the double lip oil seals with stainless steel frame to achieve this.

This type of gearbox is commonly found in the baking industry where raw materials run alongside the gearbox before they are packaged. These gearboxes are, however, applicable across the entire food industry; moving from biscuits and baking, they can also be used in mincing meat and packaging sausages.

In these industries, it is common for meat to be processed and packaged using two separate gearboxes that apply different volumes of force. In the first stages, the meat is ground into smaller pieces and mixed with the butcher’s choice of local herbs and spices. Here, the force is radially and axially applied, due to the wide range of formats, such as frozen or thawing, that the meat could be processed in. From there, it pushed by another gearbox, which applies axial forces to fill the meat into its casings or packaging.

“When we designed the gearbox, we made sure we considered the worst situation, so the service factor is quite

high before we select the product for the machine,” explained Singh.

“This is just one example of the many uses for our gearboxes though,” said Singh. “The raw material, which is ground, can be from any food and beverage sector. Some people use the same gearbox to mix, but it’s just the size and accessories changing between each food product.”

Each machine has the ability to conform to customers’ needs making it the answer to almost every problem in the food and beverage manufacturing.

Bonfiglioli prides itself in the process behind the scenes and the around the clock service it provides.

Support on every level “The delivery times of the A and W series is five to seven working days, and in case of a breakdown we’ll have it out to you within 24 hours,” said Singh.

According to Singh, every department, facility and branch within Bonfiglioli has an after-sales market department. This means that across the world, if a Bonfiglioli machine breaks down, a local designated service person will always be able to make the trip out to help.

An EP gearbox can be used in processes where hygiene is important.

Bonfiglioli machinery is built for scalability and integration.

“We can provide any information about the gearbox, from product serial numbers to support maintenance,” said Singh. With 14 production facilities, 21 branches globally and 150 distribution partners, this level of service is one to be reckoned with.

Bonfiglioli’s machinery are built for scalability and integration.

“It’s common for us to bring the OEMs to the factory, so we know what the demand is, what the market is and the kind of clients their dealing with,” said Singh. “We usually have a quarterly discussion with our

customers and OEMs to discuss these factors, then we can go from there.”

Putting it all together All Bonfiglioli products are available locally and pre-stocked months in advance. On average, Bonfiglioli stock levels for parts sits between eight to ten million across both Australian and New Zealand shelves. With assembly occurring in Australia itself, products can be tailored to specific customer requirements.

An example is Bonfiglioli’s invertors that go alongside the gearboxes. Produced by acquired

German brand Bonfiglioli Vectron, Bonfiglioli creates its own invertors from high-quality German material.

From there, they are shipped to Australia where they are applied to gearmotors locally.

In this way, said Singh, Bonfiglioli is one-stop shop, able to manufacture entire ranges, with international parts, all based on customer needs.

With last year’s pandemic impacting supply chains globally, how did Bonfiglioli fare?

“The effect of COVID was minimum, to be honest,” said Singh.

“We planned ahead. Even now we’re planning for 2022. That’s a company standard – planning 12 months ahead.

This is a big task, which is why we increased stock level dramatically in the past 18 months.”

According to Singh, Bonfiglioli wanted to ensure they could supply all their Australian and international consumers uninterrupted supply as they started to grow again.

“Our lead times haven’t changed, and our services haven’t changed,” Singh said. “We just want to improve the market with the products we have and give the customers the latest technology they can rely on and a product they can trust.” F

www.foodmag.com.au | May 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 35

INSTRUMENTATION

Technology tantalising our tastebuds When producing ingredients, ensuring the right taste, texture and sensory experience is key when it comes to quality. Food and Beverage News explains.

Reliability and price were key considerations when using the VEGA range of products.

E

very ingredient that forms part of a meal plays a role in creating the sensory experience one has when they take that first bite. The Dutch company Kievit, which belongs to the FrieslandCampina Group, is a manufacturer of ingredients that specialises in the field of taste experiences.

Its products range from creams to foams found in coffees and cakes, as well as cake emulsifiers, dairy products and savoury soups.

But to achieve the exact taste and sensation of these products, accurate technologies are needed.

FrieslandCampina utilises technology such as emulsification, spray drying, microencapsulation and agglomeration to help any number of processes, such as giving textures to products, or converting liquids to powder formats.

“Together with our customers, we develop ingredients for the food and beverage industry, such

as foaming cream agents, coffee and cocoa blends, fat powders, whipping agents, functional blends, micro-encapsulation and cake emulsifiers,” said Ger van den Berg, who is responsible for production and planning at Kievit’s Meppel facility.

However, a consistent problem that FrieslandCampina was facing was the skewing of measurements found in the emulsion line downstream from a pump. For an ingredient company, having off-values can ruin whole operations. To avoid this, this meant consistent checking and maintenance of machinery, resulting in increased costs and time.

Before VEGA, who are specialists in level and pressure instrumentation, stepped in, FrieslandCampina utilised another company’s instruments.

According to Marc ter Maat, external sales for VEGA Netherlands, the other company’s instruments, at the time, were industry standard for pressure measurements. “[The company] was price

36 Food&Beverage Industry News | May 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

favourable and had a nice stainlesssteel plumbing housing,” said ter Maat. “Now the VEGABAR39 is providing us a high level of service and continues to be price favourable.

Additionally, the quality of VEGA products are more highly regarded.”

The relationship The relationship between VEGA and FrieslandCampina has been a long and healthy one.

With contact made through ter Maat more than 17 years ago, the company was introduced to VEGA through installation of VEGA’s radars in its silos.

Even then, said ter Maat, VEGA was known as the industry standard.

From there, the range of utilised VEGA products have expanded.

“I appreciate the reliability of the instruments and know that there’s no need to worry about them,” said van den Berg. “Over the years, you simply get a feeling for whether an instrument works well or not.”

As far back as 2006, FrieslandCampina has been using VEGA’s equipment. Its 26-GHz VEGAPULS68 radar sensor was originally used in the silos that measured raw materials.

Upon the release of the next edition, the VEGAPULS69 with 80-GHz, FrieslandCampina did not hesitate to upgrade. With the new technology offering a higher frequency that was better suited to the raw materials Dk value, the company was able to achieve a more accurate measurement.

From there, FrieslandCampina’s VEGA range has expanded across all its processes from point level switches such as VEGACAP, VEGASWING and VEGAVIB to pressure measurement instruments and monitoring devices. It also uses VEGA’s instruments in post processes like wastewater treatment, which uses VEGAPULS61’s non-contact radar level sensor.

“We are reasonably well

INSTRUMENTATION

represented in the north of The Netherlands among the Division “Ingredients”,” said ter Maat on why they’ve continued to choose VEGA. “These specialist products that they produce are being further developed every day and cannot be measured with a standard simple level measurement.”

FrieslandCampina understands that to be able to continue producing these specialist products, it needs the assistance of a company that specialises in level measurement.

“Our basis for success has really been the VEGAPULS series: specifically, the VEGAPULS64 and 69,” said ter Maat. “The VEGABAR83 is also great for measuring the METEC cell that is used in the evaporators.”

What ter Maat is referring to is VEGA’s patented ceramic measuring cells. This technology allows the transmitters to be resistant to high temperature in combination with absolute vacuum (negative pressure/ near 0 barA) and pressure shock.

“The ceramic measuring cell within the METEC cell is also able to provide the desired stability in our products with the stainless-steel membrane achieving the required hygienic requirements,” said ter Maat.

During installation of the new series, the VEGA team was onsite

full time, but according to van den Berg, they’ll be able to handle everything in-house from there.

“Thanks to Bluetooth being compatible with the app or PACTware software, the setup and monitoring of the VEGA instruments is easy,” he said.

Post process, VEGA doesn’t let FrieslandCampina down either.

“Whenever I had a question, VEGA always helped me immediately – for example with the pressure transmitters and the silo measurements,” said van den Berg.

Citing the 2006 raw material silo, van den Berg initially experienced difficulty with the material being so light and low in Dk value.

“We worked closely together with VEGA’s technical service and in the end achieved a very good result. The fact that we were able to get this measuring point up and running quickly, engendered mutual trust and strengthened our long-term collaboration,” said van den Berg.

and configured on smartphones and tablets which, according to van den Berg, helps immensely at FrieslandCampina where the sensors are difficult to access in varying pipelines and production processes.

Access to these sensors through smart devices helps with sensor adjustment and operations saving both time and costs.

“The sensors also have a Bluetooth function that allows for quick and clear information transfer

on status and commissioning,” said Ter Maat. “It’s such as highend product with a very simple commissioning method.”

As a side benefit, the sensor also has a full-colour 360° status display that can be altered to suit low-light lighting conditions. This saves times as operators can detect if there is an issue based on the colour of the sensor. “I like the colour. After all, it’s also nice to have equipment that looks great,” said van den Berg. F The VEGABAR range measures the METEC cell used in evaporators.

Benefits As part of the ever-increasing demand for more data, the new VEGA series also has an IO-Link standard protocol that creates a standardised communication platform allowing seamless data transfer. This data can be read

FrieslandCampina uses a variety of VEGA instrumentation in its plant. www.foodmag.com.au | May 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 37

DIGITISATION

The Absolut Company takes a shot at digitalisation With the help of Siemens Opcenter, spirit producer Absolut Vodka was able to continue its reign as a premium supplier of vodka. Here’s how.

A

s a global supplier of vodka, The Absolut Company is proud of its Swedish heritage, hailing from small seaside town Åhus where the company still continues to produce its vodka. However, its consumer base is no small town.

Originating in 1879 with its US branch launching in 1979, it is sold in 126 countries demonstrating an ability to evolve with the ages. The beverage supplier has seen the likes of artist Andy Warhol and fashion photographer Ellen Von Unwerth, among others, as those who have worked alongside the brand’s marketing campaigns.

But, as time continued to march on, The Absolut Company realised they needed to continue to evolve in a different department – the production process itself.

The Absolut Company was beginning to realise that to maintain its world-class standard across all levels, it would have to digitalise.

The company is no stranger to technology though; all of its processes since the 1980s have been automated with the company stating, “the first time a person’s hand touches a bottle is when it is placed on the shelf for sale, the second time when the customer takes it”.

Absolut Vodka is sold in more than 120 countries

38 Food&Beverage Industry News | May 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

What The Absolut Company was struggling with was the ability to meet consistently changing customers’ demands, including providing a larger variety of flavours. According to The Absolut Company’s senior automation engineer, Emil Svärdh, the company wanted greater flexibility to create smaller batch, limited edition flavours.

With its five main lines, one flexible line and no digitalisation, production at that level simply wasn’t possible.

“We wanted less bulk production and more small batch products. But how, we asked ourselves, could we increase variety and efficiency at the same time?” said Svärdh.

With quality, efficiency and climate awareness becoming key priorities for the company to upkeep, other pressures to digitalise came from a need to comply with changing regulations, as well as the need to keep up with the many, varied customer demands developing. According to Svärdh, these range from preferences for health and wellness to a greater demand for transparency, traceability and sustainability.

“We have a production philosophy that reflects these high ambitions:

‘One source, one community, one superb vodka,’” said Svärdh.

“This slogan says a lot about our quest to always deliver world-class manufacturing, and the Industry 4.0 concept will be a crucial factor in living up to current and future production, consumer and environmental requirements.”

Opportunity through Opcenter The Opcenter software is a holistic Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) solution, created as part of Siemens Xcelerator integrated solutions. Its software enabled The Absolut Company to digitalise across its entire manufacturing operations. The company had known from the start it needed a software with enough scalability that it could begin as a foundation and expand to entire manufacturing operations.

With the Opcenter installed as a base, the company was able to digitalise the control and line configuration of the five production lines in the Åhus facilities.

“The solution fits us perfectly, because it has been developed to cover

DIGITISATION

Siemens helped the Absolut Company have greater flexibility on its production lines.

The Absolut company was able to digitise throughout it’s whole operation. the entire value chain, from receiving incoming materials to distribution of produced goods, including quality control, product planning and scheduling as well as reporting, trends and advanced analysis,” said Svärdh.

The Opcenter also provided The Absolut Company end-to-end visibility of the production process, which helped it further identify areas on the production process that needed improvement, whether in product design or in its manufacturing process.

From there, the company went on to implement the Opcenter Execution Process software, which was the first steps in digitalising all three of three Åhus factories.

“For us, it was process of building ‘modules’ for digitalisation,” said Svärdh. “Digitalisation is a journey, and we knew we couldn’t do everything at once.”

For the vodka-producing company, it was all about contextualising everything, knowing the right time to digitalise the right product and how they should introduce it to solve the concurrent issue.

“The Industry 4.0 concept is part of our production strategy,” said Svärdh.

“Like other digital investments, Industry 4.0 is important for keeping pace with developments in the market and the digital disruption that is taking place. We are convinced that we will find new types of value creation within the framework of both Industry 4.0 and digitalisation in general.”

“With good data, we can govern it (the information), raise knowledge and The company needs to keep up with demands of traceability and transparency.

awareness and pinpoint the changes going forward,” said Svärdh. “We have the ability to be transparent and flexible.”

Integration of control systems But it’s not only the Opcenter base which has Siemen’s mark on it. A majority of the control systems that manage the five automated and one flexible line are also by Siemens.

Alongside other supervisory control and data acquisition systems such as SIMATIC Win CC, which is Siemen’s visualisation software, The Absolut Company is digitalising with no plans to stop.

“We generally build the production lines by connecting components and machines from several different suppliers,” said Svärdh.

Absolut also utilises the Opcenter with Siemens enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that ensures that information coming from numerous business systems, is integrated and organised in line with specific data folders.

This forms the basis of the production line setup and the process by which products are manufactured.

“We build a dynamic digital path for each work order,” explained Svärdh. “If we want to change, add or delete any operation, we can now do it digitally. It increases our agility and allows us to meet the changes that will come.”

With Siemens technology, The Absolut Company can continue to have a high utilisation rate,

producing bulk products and small batch products while maintaining its equipment efficiency to between 70 to 75 per cent.

“We strive to maintain this level, even though the batches are getting smaller in the wake of an increasingly richer number of flavours and bottles,” said Svärdh. “We are focusing a lot on this area together with Siemens and we are building the platform to meet our future demands.”

Digital value chains With new abilities to move materials in an efficient and flexible way with large data integration capabilities, Absolut has revolutionised its product traceability and entire value chain.

“It is no longer only the physical value chain that must be managed and developed, but also the digital reflection of these flows,” said Svärdh. “It is about integrating data and information points that are in completely different systems.”

According to Svärdh, having physical value chains is not enough without an accompanying digital value chain. Through investing in these “digital replicas” of the production lines, Absolut can run better digital simulations of configured batch runs, which helps prove whether or not a product line is developed as intended.

“If something needs to be changed, we can do it digitally before we start the physical equivalent,” said Svärdh.

“In fact, it will be faster, qualitatively better and, above all, cheaper.” F

www.foodmag.com.au | May 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 39

BEARINGS AND HOUSINGS

Supporting Bundaberg’s booming macadamia industry When B Fabricated needed reliable parts of its harvesting machines, Schaeffler FAG Black Series radial insert ball bearings and housing units did the trick. Here’s how.

T

he macadamia industry in Bundaberg has been growing rapidly. After starting as a small industry in the early 2000s, Bundaberg overtook the Northern Rivers in 2016 to become the largest macadamia-producing region in Australia. In 2020, Bundaberg’s macadamia farms contributed 40 per cent to the national crop, according to the industry’s peak body, the Australian Macadamia Society.

Ben Steinhardt’s business, B Fabricated, has been heavily involved in Bundaberg’s macadamia industry since 2009, when he built the first macadamia harvester for his family’s farm.

His harvesting machines soon gained popularity and orders flew in from the neighbouring macadamia farms. Today, B

Fabricated manufactures not just nut harvesters, but all types of agricultural processing equipment, including conveyors, bucket elevators and batch weighing machines and also offers ad-hoc fabrication and repair services to the local farming industry.

40 Food&Beverage Industry News | May 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

Steinhardt said most of the company’s growth throughout the years has come through word-ofmouth recommendations.

“We have a lot of emphasis on the reliability of our equipment.

Most of our nut harvesters are custom designed to meet the

Harvesting macadamias means you need good parts for the harvesters like the Schaeffler FAG Black housing units.

requirements of individual farmers.

Our batch weighing equipment is one of the only ones in Australia that is trade registered and industry approved. Our customers don’t just come from Bundaberg. We have supplied machines up to Darwin for harvesting watermelons and capsicums. Some of our batch weighing equipment have also gone to New South Wales,” said Steinhardt.

B Fabricated currently employs eight full-time employees and Ben says the company is soon looking to expand to cater to the growing demand. For the past ten years, BSC has been a key supplier of industrial parts to B Fabricated.

BSC Bundaberg sales representative, James McFarlane, says B Fabricated’s machines are

BEARINGS AND HOUSINGS

Macadamias are an important part of Bundaberg’s economy.

B Fabricated has been supplying harvesters for the industry since 2009.

popular for a reason.

“Ben’s machines are really good.

He builds them so that he doesn’t have to see them again once they leave the door,” said McFarlane.

“His machines are also very versatile. The harvesters that Ben builds can be mounted on tractors and used to harvest nuts during the harvest season, as well as to mow between the trees throughout the year.”

With a booming business

and a growing team, Steinhardt said he appreciates when BSC representatives visit him in person and help keep him up to date with the latest products on the market.

One particular product that BSC has introduced to B Fabricated for their harvester machines is the Schaeffler FAG Black Series radial insert ball bearing and housing units – commonly referred to as simply ‘black bearings’.

McFarlane said the FAG ‘black

bearings’ are both economical and long-lasting.

“Macadamia is not like cane that you harvest only once a year.

Depending on the crop, some growers might harvest macadamia a few times a year.

So, to improve the design of their nut harvesters, B Fabricated were looking for bearings that would last at least a whole year without requiring replacement,” said McFarlane. Schaeffler’s FAG Black

Series radial insert ball bearing and housing units are not just highly reliable, they are also reasonably priced and easy to mount.

An added bonus for B Fabricated was that the black-coloured bearings also blended well with the aesthetic look of their harvesters, which are designed with black powder coated components.”

Steinhardt said the bearings have proven their reliability in service.

“A lot of bearing failures happen because of improper maintenance.

With the FAG bearings, we have found that even if you miss greasing on the maintenance schedule, the quality of the bearing is enough to still give the equipment extended life despite poor periodic maintenance.

That goes to show their reliability.”

With BSC being a long-term supplier of Schaeffler products in Australia, Ben is also confident about the support.

“BSC is more than just a supplier to us. Their people are always helping us grow our product knowledge and giving us advice on ways to improve the life expectancy of our products,” said Steinhardt.

“With their support, we are continually striving to improve our products’ quality to help grow the regional farming industry.” F

www.foodmag.com.au | May 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 41

Australia needs to build sustainable food system – report Author

Nerida Kelton MAIP, Executive Director, Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP)

The AIP undertakes Australia’s first Industry Insight Reports for Save Food Packaging Design. Nerida Kelton explains.

S

adly, Australia is one of the worst offenders for food waste and loss in the world with a staggering 34 per cent (2.5 million tonnes) of all food wasted in the household, followed very closely with 31 per cent (2.3 million tonnes) in primary production. In economic terms, food waste in Australia has become a $20 Billion problem that sees each person waste on average 298 KG of food a year. Add to that the environmental impacts that sit behind food production including water, land, energy, labour, capital and the fact that far too much food waste is heading to landfill and creating greenhouse gas emissions.

Australia needs to build a

sustainable food system that delivers food security, considers social, economic and environmental impacts and no longer sees food waste heading to landfill. This is where innovative Save Food Packaging (SFP) Design has a role to play within the food system.

What is Save Food Packaging (SFP)?

Save Food Packaging uses innovative and intuitive design features that can contain & protect, preserve, extend shelf life, easily open and reseal, provide consumer convenience and portion control; all the while meeting global sustainable packaging targets.

To embed Save Food Packaging

Save Food Packaging utilises innovative designs.

42 Food&Beverage Industry News | May 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

Design into businesses we first need to understand whether manufacturers consider food waste and loss, how packaging technologists are designing food packaging, if marketing are ensuring that on-pack communication provides the best messaging to consumers and what the barriers are to implement SFP strategies.

As a core participant of the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre, the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) Save Food Packaging Design project has released two stakeholder industry insight reports that will help to set a baseline for current design practice and enable a path forward for areas of improvement.

The Save Food Packaging Consortium is made up of the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) as project lead, RMIT as the research partners and project contributors will be Zipform Packaging, Sealed Air, Multivac and APCO, Project Partners are Plantic Technologies, Result Group and Ulma Packaging. The Extension Network consists of Australian Food Cold Chain Council (AFCCC), Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC), and the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology (AIFST).

The consortium is made up of experts who work in Save Food Packaging Design to ensure that the project develops practical guidelines that are suitable for the industries they will serve.

The two reports are called Industry Insights Report: Stakeholder Online Survey of ProductPackaging Design Processes and Industry Insights Report: Stakeholder Interviews of Product-

Packaging Design Processes.

As Australia’s first industry insight reports for Save Food Packaging these reports represent the current landscape of the food and packaging industry regarding perceptions and practices of food waste and Save Food Packaging.

We encourage everyone to access these reports and consider utilising some of the recommended Save Food Packaging design features into your packs. F Nerida Kelton MAIP Executive Director – Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) Vice President Sustainability & Save Food – World Packaging Organisation (WPO) There are always areas of improvement for food packaging.

Too much food heads to landfill.

MAY 2021

Roma Foods leading the charge on plant-based foods

PLUS: Traceability | Sustainability | Wastewater regulations

FOOD & BEVERAGE INDUSTRY NEWS

FOODPRO PROMO FEATURE JULY

OUR BRAND PROMISES We offer you the best exposure to decision makers We provide the best platform to showcase your product We will be the best external marketing partner you’ll ever have

FoodPro is one of the premier events in the food and beverage calendar, and Food & Beverage Industry News will be at the forefront of it all. As well as having a presence on the ground, we will putting together the official showguide for the event.

Are you an exhibitor looking to engage with your target audience prior to the show? Are you looking to attract more visitors to your stand? Do you want exposure to some of the biggest decision makers in the industry?

Then the July issue is one you can’t afford to miss.

PLUS: MEET THE MANUFACTURER Every edition Food & Beverage Industry News talks to a major manufacturer about the industry – their supply chain, how they handle disruptions, their manufacturing processes, and the long-term forecast for the industry.

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7 JUNE 2021

To secure your place, or for more information contact Luke Ronca on PH: 0402 718 081 E: luke.ronca@primecreative.com.au For editorial enquiries please contact Mike Wheeler on (02) 9439 7227

DAIRY

Cold weather and drought will have an effect on dairy production in the Northern Hemisphere.

Global Dairy Commodity Update April 2021 COVID-19 is impacting on the dairy industry moving forward as world dairy producers come out of the pandemic.

T

he complexity of moving parts affecting the global dairy market outlook has rarely been greater. The world is on a path to a COVID endgame but the timelines for reducing infections to effective “immunity” are varied.

The US and UK are well into rapid inoculation programs that will ensure a steady reopening of the food service trade in coming months.

Europe has lost control of infections and a slow vaccine rollout has forced extended but uneven restrictions on movement. Meanwhile major

logistics delays have slowed trade from major US and EU ports.

Weather is also varied as the La Nina effect weaken after delivering a cool wet summer to create great seasonal conditions in southern Australia. Cold weather in the EU will ensure a slow start to spring cold, while drought creeps further across the west of the US. Volatile late-season conditions across NZ have brought a late-season lift in milk output, but that can quickly change.

Strong Oceania prices – driven

44 Food&Beverage Industry News | May 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

up by China’s dominance of the Global Dairy Trade buying of WMP and butter – will meet some pushback. Demand elsewhere for WMP and fats remains patchy and price-sensitive while SMP is more affordable with the spread of values on offer.

Strong commodity fundamentals are supported however by a firm EU-27 market with slow milk growth bringing tight butter and SMP supplies.

The late season improvements in NZ and Australia won’t alter the

global market balance in the shortterm but may present opportunities while northern hemisphere logistics remain knotted.

Milk supplies in the US will gradually slow as farm margins weaken. Meanwhile, the reopening of eating-out venues will lift cheese demand and tighten butterfat supplies as cream use picks up. US cheddar prices should improve as heavy stocks ease. Volatility in the US is assured on the way out of COVID just as we saw on the way into crisis. F

NEW PRODUCTS

Winmate’s FM10 10.4-inch Windows vehicle-mounted computer Backplane Systems Technology has released Winmate’s FM10 rugged vehicle-mounted Computer, which is engineered to endure the rigours of the warehouse and to fit seamlessly into forklifts and other warehouse vehicles.

This FM10 helps minimise errors, streamline ordering, organise inventory management, and improve operational efficiencies, thanks to its highperformance processor as well as the robust MIL-STD-810G compliance and IP65 rated enclosure.

Furthermore, to ensure constant connectivity between the operator and control center, the device comes equipped with plentiful wireless connectivity options including WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G/4G LTE, and GPS. Likewise, FM10 facilitates easy in-vehicle installation, whereby quick mounting simplifies installation, servicing, and switching between vehicles. Winmate FM10 series supports both VESA mount and RAM mounts to help you save time and ease installing the vehicle-mounted computer.

Lastly, the FM10 features a compact panel with an anti-scratch resistive touch screen. Resistant to dirt, debris, and highly sensitive touch commands make you enjoy every touch and convenience of using the device.

Key features: • Intel Quad-Core Atom E3845 processor; • 10.4-inch 1024 x 768 panel with anti-scratch resistive touch screen; • field-replaceable front panel to reduce service costs; • magnesium alloy housing; • IP65 waterproof and dustproof; and • wide range operating temperature.

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

Intellistat ion air gun for static elimination in sensitive processes EXAIR’s patented Intellistat Ion Air Gun is a handheld and lightweight solution to static elimination in clean processes or sensitive assembly work such as scientific and electronic test facilities, laboratories and clean rooms. The Intellistat is designed to consume minimal compressed air while simultaneously delivering precise blow-off and exceptional static decay rates capable of reducing 1000 volts to less than 100 in less than a second at up to 24” (610mm) away.

The Intellistat is activated with a comfortable, ergonomic short throw trigger which requires minimal effort. Constructed with a low voltage transformer converting 120V to 24V, it was designed to ensure user safety, in addition to using an EXAIR engineered air nozzle to maximise efficiency and meet OSHA requirements for sound level and dead-end pressure. It is equipped with a red/green LED to signify proper functionality, as well as a hook for easy hanging and storage. Made from durable static dissipative polycarbonate, the Intellistat also assures its usefulness in applications requiring nonconductivity such as circuit board or electronics manufacturing or testing.

Available from Compressed Air Australia, the Intellistat is a low maintenance solution that is UL listed and CE compliant, providing an excellent addition to EXAIR’s entire Gen4 static eliminator product line including Super Ion Air Knives, Ion Air Cannons, Ion Air Guns, Ionizing Bars and Ionizing Points.

Compressed Air Australia 1300 787 688 www.caasafety.com.au www.foodmag.com.au | May 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 45

NEW PRODUCTS

XP-9381-IoT 3-slot metal standard PAC with Windows 10 IoT ICP Australia has introduced DAS’s XP-9381-IoT to the market, which is a Windows 10 IoT enterprise-based PAC that combines computing, I/O, and operator interface into a single unit and provides a perfect solution to integrate HMI, data acquisition, and control in an individual PAC. XP-9381-IoT is equipped with an Intel E3845 CPU, 7 I/O expansion slots, and a variety of connectives including dual Gigabit Ethernet, VGA, USB port, RS-232, and RS-485 interfaces. Local I/O slots are available for use with our I-9K and I-97K series I/O modules. And remote I/O expansions are available for use with Ethernet I/O modules or RS-485 I/O modules. Additionally, XP-9381-IoT has a storage of 64 GB SSD and a 32 GB CF card.

Lastly, XP-9381-IoT can withstand tough conditions as it has an operating temperature of -25˚C to +60°C. Also, the XP-9381 has a dual watchdog timer, multi-language support, and supports DIN-Rail, and wall mounting.

Features include: • Windows 10 IoT enterprise (64-bit); • Intel Atom E3845 1.91 GHz; • 4 GB DDR3 SDRAM; • 64 GB SSD; • VGA and HDMI port output; • 2 10/100/1000M Ethernet ports; • audio with microphone-in and earphone-out; and • redundant power input.

ICP Electronics (02) 9457 6011 www.icp-australia.com.au

Pro-V inline vortex flowmeter VorTek Instruments Pro-V M24 multivariable vortex flowmeter offers accurate and reliable flow metering in a multivariable design. The design incorporates a high-accuracy velocity sensor, a precision platinum RTD temperature sensor, and a solid-state pressure transducer. The M24 can deliver volumetric flow, mass flow, temperature, pressure, density, and energy (BTU) measurements from a single installed device. This drastically reduces complexity, equipment costs, and installation costs in comparison to installing multiple stand-alone instruments to arrive at the same process measurements.

The M24 includes a reduced bore option. The meter’s process connections match the line size but using integrated reducing flanges, the meter body is reduced in diameter. This increases the fluid velocity through the meter.

Increasing the velocity in this fashion extends the meter’s measuring range to capture lower flow rates that might otherwise be missed in a full line size meter. This reduced bore option also shares the same face-to-face dimension as a standard M24 meter for pressure classes up to ANSI 600. So if process conditions change, the meter body size can be changed without any costly piping modifications. This is especially useful in project planning, as it allows for flexibility into the future.

The M24 flowmeter offers an industry-leading variety of communication and power options. In addition to providing traditional communication methods such as analog output signals, the flowmeter also offers the latest and most advanced serial communication options such as BACnet/IP and Modbus TCP/IP. The M24 is the only vortex flowmeter on the market to provide Power over Ethernet (PoE) capabilities. Power over Ethernet functionality delivers power and data through a single ethernet cable. Both simplifying installation and reducing installation costs.

46 Food&Beverage Industry News | May 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

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

, D E E N U T. O Y E R R E ER N. V E F O T N A O H IS H W D IT RC A N I E F ES TH

RELY ON AUSTRALIA’S MANUFACTURING, MINING AND INDUSTRIAL HUB 70,000 monthly users can’t be wrong. Find what you’re looking for with over 12,000 business listings and 8,000 specific product listings. Access relevant information and resources, empowering you to make a qualified purchase decision. You can always rely on your industry hub.

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