Food Aug 2020

AUGUST 2020

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AUGUST 2020

In from the cold Why Australia’s food cold chain needs a shake up

PLUS: Food and Beverage Awards finalists announced | NestlÂŽ gets on with it during COVID-19

We are proud to announce the renaming of the Inenco Group.

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Cold supply chain under scrutiny CEO: John Murphy Publisher: Christine Clancy Group Managing Editor (Northern): Syed Shah Editor: Mike Wheeler

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ustralia is a country with a small population relative to its physical size. When it comes to the food and beverage industry, it is a huge issue – getting products from point A to B in pristine condition. Enter the cold supply chain, which while it does its best, could improve according to the Australian Food Cold Chain Council chair Mark Mitchell.

Mitchell is optimistic by nature, but he is also a realist. This issue, we speak to him about the issues surrounding cold chain, where it fits in the food and beverage space, and also some of the constructive ideas around how some of the issues that need

fixing might be addressed. Mitchell knows those in the industry are doing a great job under difficult circumstances, but he also realises there is room for improvement, with communication between varying critical points in the supply chain being very relevant.

Also, this issue we offer a preview of the finalists in this year’s Food and Beverage Industry Awards. As has now become the norm, due to COVID-19, there will be no physical awards, however that hasn’t detracted from the record number of entries we received this year.

Have a great month.

INSIDE Copyright Food & Beverage Industry News is owned by Prime Creative Media and published by John Murphy. All material in Food & Beverage Industry News is copyright and no part may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic or mechanical including information and retrieval systems) without written permission of the publisher. The Editor welcomes contributions but reserves the right to accept or reject any material. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information, Prime Creative Media will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequences arising from reliance on information published.

The opinions expressed in Food & Beverage Industry News are not necessarily the opinions of, or endorsed by the publisher unless otherwise stated. © Copyright Prime Creative Media, 2019 Articles All articles submitted for publication become the property of the publisher. The Editor reserves the right to adjust any article to conform with the magazine format.

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6 NEWS

19 SENSORS

12 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

20 WASTEWATER

14 HEALTH AND SAFETY

22 CONSUMER

16 FOOD PROCESSING

24 EXPORT INITIATIVES

18 SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

26 AFGC 28 AIP

31 FOOD & BEVERGE INDUSTRY AWARDS PREVIEW 38 INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTION 40 DAIRY REPORT 41 NEW PRODUCTS

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

NEWS

Plant-based steak uses 3D printing technology R

edefine Meat has unveiled the world’s first Alt-Steak plantbased products, with market testing at select high-end restaurants to start later this year. Created using Redefine Meat’s patent-pending 3D meat printing technology, the company’s Alt-Steak products have the texture, flavour and appearance of beef steak and can be produced in the volume and cost to enable large-scale market launch.

Working with butchers, chefs, food technologists and the close collaboration of taste expert, Givaudan, Redefine Meat has digitally mapped more than 70 sensorial parameters into its Alt-Steak products, including premium beef cuts’ texture, juiciness, fat distribution and mouthfeel. Layer by layer, the company’s proprietary industrial-scale 3D food printers create the Alt-Steak products using Redefine Meat’s

Alt-Muscle, Alt-Fat, and Alt-Blood plant-based formulations. By printing with multiple materials, the company can create sustainable, high-protein, no-cholesterol steaks that look, cook, and taste like beef.

“Since day one of the company, we have been working on creating a tasty and affordable plant-based alternative to steaks, one of the most cherished food products and the driver of the entire meat industry,” says Eshchar Ben-Shitrit, CEO and co-founder of Redefine Meat. “To enable mass adoption, we knew that creating an alternative meat product that was both high in quality and nutritional composition would require new technologies and production processes never seen before in the food industry.

This announcement marks the start of a new era in alternative meat – the Alt-Steak era – driven by production processes that will accelerate the

3D printing helped create a plant-based steak. development of a range of alt-meat whole-muscle products and create a sustainable alternative to raising and eating animals.”

“The importance of using precision 3D printing technology to achieve texture, colour and flavour—and the combinations between them—cannot

be overstated. By using separate formulations for muscle, fat and blood, we can focus on each individual aspect of creating the perfect Alt-Steak product.

“This is unique to our 3D printing technology and lets us achieve unprecedented control of what happens inside the matrix of alt-meat.

Collaborating with Givaudan has led to the creation of an Alt-Steak product that is not only healthy and sustainable, but also offers the satisfying flavours, textures and aromas of eating actual meat,” said Ben-Shitrit.

Redefine Meat’s Alt-Steak products will be put to the test at a limited number of restaurants later this year.

Incorporating feedback from chefs and butchers, the company will then ramp up production of its 3D meat printers and alt-meat formulations ahead of market distribution in 2020.

Is Australia on track to halve food waste by 2030? – FIAL E

ach year, over five million tonnes of food in Australia ends up in landfill, enough to fill 9,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

In 2017, the Australian Government committed to halve this level of food waste by the year 2030.

A key destination in that journey has been reached.

As an independent organisation supporting the implementation of this national commitment, Food Innovation Australia Limited (FIAL) has now commenced its $400k National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Study.

Bringing together an international consortium of individuals and organisations with globally recognised expertise, FIAL’s Feasibility Study will test whether

this commitment to halve Australia’s food waste by 2030 is possible and what actions will increase the likelihood of achieving this target.

Australia’s largest dedicated sustainability consultancy, Edge Environment, has been appointed

by FIAL as the lead consultancy alongside WRAP, 3Keel and Lifecycles.

“FIAL has a demonstrated track record in building collaborations across sectors, supply chains and industry groups to tackle food waste.

“Edge Environment is very thrilled to be a part of the consortium that will see the full suite of required skills, and market-specific expertise to address these challenging feasibility questions,” said Max Van Bien, who is the head of strategy at Edge Environment.

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

The study will fill data gaps; increase understanding around the environmental impacts of food waste in production, consumption and waste management; identify food waste “hotspots” across the value chain and the solutions for their reduction; develop a number of scenarios under which the target could be achieved and the costed delivery trajectories of these; and make recommendations on which delivery trajectories and initiatives will most likely see the target achieved within the time frame given.

“Commencing the National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Study is a positive step towards Australia’s goal of halving the amount of food either lost or wasted across the food value chain by 2030 – this is undoubtedly an ambitious goal and how to

achieve this needs to be adequately understood,” said Dr Mirjana Prica, FIAL managing director.

The study was identified in FIAL’s Roadmap for Reducing Australia’s Food Waste by Half by 2030 released earlier this year, as a crucial first step in reducing Australia’s food waste.

Over the past two years, FIAL has been working closely with multiple stakeholders to identify the steps required to make the food waste reduction target a reality.

These stakeholders include food rescue and relief organisations, agrifood industry peak bodies, the Fight Food Waste CRC, the National Food Waste Strategy Steering Committee, the States and Territory Government Reference Group, and various national and international food waste experts.

NEWS

Mars Wrigley boosts manufacturing capability M

ars Wrigley Australia has announced it has bolstered its local manufacturing capability by investing over $300,000 to bring new technologies to its chocolate factory in Ballarat, Victoria.

The investment enables Mars Wrigley to produce M&M’s Pretzel locally, bringing the salty and sweet treat to Australia for the first time. Additionally, the latest investment expands the capability for the Ballarat factory to create filled M&M’s and explore more Australian-made innovations for M&M’s.

The Ballarat factory currently has the capacity to produce over five billion M&M’s per year – a distance equivalent to traveling around Australia 3.5 times (56,000 kilometres) – with M&M’s Pretzel the latest addition to its local

production line.

The latest equipment upgrade is part of a broader $37 million investment the company has committed to in 2020 – enabling the manufacturer to continue to upgrade the factory to future-proof and advance its manufacturing capability.

The investment follows the Ballarat factory’s 40th Anniversary, which it celebrated in November last year and builds on the $14 million invested into the factory to maintain and upgrade its operations in 2018.

“We are dedicated to continuing to support Australia’s manufacturing sector and invest and innovate in infrastructure, equipment and processes at our local factories to ensure they remain world class. This latest project is part of our long-term ambition to continue to drive and develop our core bitesize brands that

we manufacture locally in Ballarat,” said Andrew Leakey, general manager – Mars Wrigley Australia.

The Ballarat factory is a Regional Technical Hub for Mars Wrigley’s global brand development and innovation pipeline.

As a result, many of the company’s most celebrated innovations – including Pods and M&M’s Honeycomb – were invented in Ballarat by Australian employees.

Ballarat is one of four Mars factories in the world that manufactures and exports Maltesers and back in 2012 Mars Wrigley invested close to $50 million to build a new Maltesers’ production facility. Ballarat is also the only Mars Wrigley factory in the world that has the capability to manufacture Pods.

Mars Wrigley’s Ballarat factory employs more than 350 people.

Mars Wrigley has invested $300,000 in its Ballarat manufacturing plant.

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

NEWS

Murray River Organics secures deal with Woolworths I n partnership with Woolworths supermarkets, the Murray River Group (MRG) will launch five new branded Murray River Organics (MRO) products in September as a core range, with four additional products as part of the seasonal program. This is a new category for MRG which will further diversify MRO’s organic retail offering.

The new innovative products will be sold across 600 Woolworths stores in time for Christmas with estimated revenues of $2.3 million per annum.

This follows MRG’s launch in

Coles recently when it entered the breakfast cereal category with a new range of MRO branded muesli.

MRG’s launch was supported with a full communications program including new website, Instagram, and Facebook platforms as part of the launch of the MRO brand into the Australian consumer market. Instore activation with Coles continues to drive awareness of the brand and products.

“The launch of our MRO branded mueslis in Coles has been successful taking the top spot from the 26 newly

launched products in the category in the launch week,” said MRG chief executive officer, Valentina Tripp.

“The demand for clean, sustainable, healthy organics products is on the rise with the global pandemic further accelerating this growth. Consumers are more aware of the provenance of their purchases and demanding that our food system is transparent, sustainable, and ethical. It is important to our staff, growers, and partners to be part of transforming our global food systems.

Tripp added, “Further, we are working on the next stage of Project Magnum, the development of our property in Nangiloc with a new pilot in development to grow organic oats, with a planned 30 hectare planting under centre pivot irrigation, for our branded muesli range. We expect to sow our first crop in 2021.”

The Australian organics market is estimated to be worth $2.6 billion with approximately 65 per cent of Australian households now buying organic product or produce yearly, with annual growth of five per cent.

Nespresso spends $240 million to expand production facility N

espresso announced a $240 million investment to expand its Romont production centre in Switzerland to meet increasing consumer demand for its coffees and support international development in the coming years.

“Despite the challenging times we have all been living in, this strategic long-term investment reconfirms Nespresso‘s continuous business success and leadership in the portioned coffee segment, which we pioneered back in 1986,” said Guillaume Le Cunff, CEO of Nespresso. “It also demonstrates our continued commitment to our Swiss roots and to the long term economic development of the region and the country, with which we share values of quality, innovation and expertise.”

“These are the kind of announcements that feel good in times of crisis. Nespresso confirms that large international groups can produce competitively in our

region. It’s also an investment that strengthens our region in the bio-economy field with which I’m very pleased,” said Olivier Curty, state councillor and director of economic affairs and employment at the Canton of Fribourg.

The construction of the second production hall is set to start in June 2021. It will result in an augmented capacity of 10 new production lines dedicated to producing Nespresso coffees for the Vertuo and Professional ranges, and the creation of 300 new direct jobs in the next 10 years while increasing third-party employment and local and regional business development.

The first new production lines are expected to be fully operational

by June 2022.

The Romont factory, inaugurated in 2015, is the centre of excellence for the production of Nespresso‘s Vertuo coffees now available in 21 countries across North America, Europe and Asia.

Vertuo is a versatile system that makes freshly brewed coffee

8 Food&Beverage Industry News | August 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

Nespresso will expand its production centre in Romont, Switzerland.

in five different cup sizes using Centrifusion technology that recognises the bar code on the capsule and adjusts the amount of water, speed of extraction and temperature to deliver a cup of coffee.

In the past two years, Nespresso

strengthened its operations in Romont with the addition of four new production lines and the creation of 50 new jobs, while inaugurating a new product development centre and a Coffee Campus in 2018, fostering coffee innovation and expertise.

NEWS

Pork slices, plants and sausages caught in biosecurity crackdown T

his year has been a year of contrasts that has seen an increase in biosecurity risks arriving at Australia’s international mail centres.

Between January and April, Biosecurity officers intercepted around 30,000 mail items posing a potential pest and disease threat.

Head of Biosecurity, Lyn O’Connell, said the impact of COVID19 seems to have led to more people purchasing certain goods online from overseas.

“In total, our officers intercepted around 9000 more mail items containing biosecurity risk material, compared to the same four-month period last year,” O’Connell said.

“This includes more than 26 thousand mail items containing seeds, 1,800 containing animal products and over 600 containing meat.

“Biosecurity detector dogs have been especially busy at the Projekt3 25.05.20 10:38 Seite 1

mail centres, making a range of important finds.

“This includes a parcel that contained 40 eggs and was heavily infested with live insects.

Eggs can carry significant risks, including Newcastle disease and avian influenza.

The detector dogs also intercepted live plants, pork slices and sausages, a kilo of retorted chicken feet and 925g of pork buns.

Another parcel contained 10 peyote cactus – Lophophora williamsii, which were referred to the Australian Border Force as they can potentially be used for narcotics.

Meat and animal products can carry animal biosecurity risks, including African swine fever, which could devastate Australia’s pork industry.

Seeds and plants are a biosecurity risk because they can carry pathogens or pests that can threaten

Australia’s environment and horticulture industries.

“Our biosecurity officers and detector dogs provide crucial front line defence at our mail centres, and we’re also deploying 3D x-rays that can automatically detect biosecurity risk items,” said O’Connell.

“However, everyone needs to do their part in safeguarding Australia’s agriculture and the environment by doing the right thing when buying goods online from overseas.

“Make sure you are aware of items that may not be permitted and do your biosecurity research before you click purchase.”

Mail items that pose a biosecurity risk and do not meet import conditions are directed for immediate export back to the overseas sender, or immediately destroyed.

People found to breach Australia’s biosecurity conditions can be subject to an investigation and possible criminal prosecution.

Pork sausages have been one of the key culprits in biosecurity risks on Australian borders.

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

NEWS

Sweet outlook for global sugar markets H aving endured the full brunt of COVID-19’s disruption – decreased consumption, distribution hold-ups, plunging oil prices and diving commodity prices – the global sugar industry is now looking towards recovery, according to Rabobank’s latest global Sugar Quarterly report.

As lock-downs ease and foodservice resumes, world sugar prices are starting to rebound, with the ICE #11 Raw Sugar futures finishing the third week of June at 12.18 USc/ lb, almost a three cent recovery from April, when prices dropped to as low as 9.21 USc/lb.

And in Australia, domestic prospects are also on the improve – a favourable season driving production, elevated 2020 regional premiums helping buoy margins, and prospects of a low Australian dollar bolstering export opportunities, the bank said in its report for Q2 2020.

Rabobank commodity analyst Charlie Clack said the bank had now lowered its forecast for global sugar consumption for the year ending October, from flat to a one per cent decline – largely driven by the pandemic’s impact in countries such as India, Indonesia and Brazil.

As a result, he said, this would see global sugar stocks declining by less than previously forecast – Rabobank now anticipates a smaller global deficit of 4.3 million metric tonnes raw value through the 2019/20 (October to September) season, revised from its previous estimate of 6.7 million metric tonnes raw value.

“Looking ahead, we expect consumption to recover from the pandemic and go back to trend growth in 2020/21, resulting in a 1.7 per cent increase, and for global production to increase by almost five per cent, driven by a recovery in India and North American crops,” Clack said.

Assessing COVID-19's impact on global consumption Clack said sugar consumption during COVID-19 restrictions varied across the world and, although food service outlets were

Rabobank believes world sugar prices are starting to rebound. now re-opening, demand was unlikely to return to pre-COVID-19 levels in the near-term.

In the EU and UK, he said, the loss of demand in the beverage and dairy sectors, and overall negative economic impact on purchases, had weighed heavily on the sugar sector.

Strict COVID-19 restrictions across India had also led to a drop in 2019/20 consumption of 3.4 per cent, year-on-year.

“While we anticipate a sharp drop in India’s food service sales and consumption in quarter two 2020, this is also a key period for sales of ice-creams, beverages and other sugary snacks,” Clack said.

“Rabobank forecasts a recovery in the 2020/21 season in India as behaviours return to a ‘new normal’.”

In North America, the pandemic appears to have had less of an impact on consumption – with the higher usage of high-fructose corn syrup, rather than sugar, in soft drinks minimising the decline of sugar demand in beverages in the US and Mexico.

Looking ahead, Clack said it was broadly agreed that COVID-19 would negatively impact 2019/20 global consumption, but the full extent was very much unknown.

“Potential ‘second-wave’ infection events, the longevity of socialrestrictions and the severity of a global recession will all play into

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

consumption, as will consumer behaviour,” he said.

Global sugar production outlook Global fundamentals should take higher priority for sugar markets, Clack said, as the southern hemisphere crush gains pace, and Asian cane crops are underway.

He said India’s 2020 monsoon season was on time, and at pace, with the favourable season contributing to predicted increase in production – the report forecasting Indian 2020/21 production at 33.5 million tonnes, up 16 per cent year-on-year, if realised.

Indian exports were also strong, despite port congestion and labour issues. In Brazil, port congestion was set to ease, Clack said, better positioning the country to distribute a bumper harvest.

“Dry weather has permitted a flying start for the centre/south harvest in Brazil, and by the end of May, 145 million tonnes of cane had been harvested, versus 129 million tonnes at the same time last season,” he said. “As expected, progress to date shows a pronounced swing to sugar production this season, with 46 per cent of cane going to sugar production over ethanol, versus 33 per cent last season.”

With the 2020/21 Thai cane crop suffering a poor season due to drought, Clack said the impact was compounded by a likely year-on-year

cut in domestic acres, and a lower availability of irrigation water.

As such, he said Rabobank expected Thai sugar output to reach just 8.15 million tonnes, down five per cent year-on-year and 47 per cent from 2018/19.

“Overall, easing Brazilian port congestion, coupled with flowing Australian and Indian raw sugar is forecast to keep 2020 ICE #11 prices confined to the 10.5-12 USc/lb region, however, we cannot rule out the influence of energy markets, FX and speculators when looking ahead,” Clack said.

Australian outlook With the 2020 crush now underway in northern and central Queensland, with southern and NSW mills scheduled to begin in coming weeks, Clack said, wet weather delays had dampened early progress in the Burdekin, Herbert and Tully regions.

As a result, crushing pace was some 20 per cent behind last season and 51 per cent behind the 2018/19 season. And with above-average rain predicted over coming months, he said, a slow 2020 crush – and a lateseason finish – was expected.

However, Clack said, the favourable season had much improved yield prospects, with Australian 2020 cane production expected to reach 31 million tonnes, up one million tonnes year-on-year.

Australian sugar production was forecast to reach up to 4.4 million tonnes, up marginally from 2019.

“While 12-month expectations for the ICE #11 are subdued, below 12 USc/lb in the 12-month period, demand prospects in Australia’s major Asian export markets – namely Korea, Japan, Indonesia – following COVID19 lockdown, will be keenly watched as the new crop flows and is supported by our low Australian dollar,” Clack said.

He said the risks of COVID-19 disruption to the Australian crush remained low, following the industry’s implementation of measures to prevent virus transmission, as well as a low national infection rate.

NEWS

Western Meat Processors Cowaramup welcomes state government grant W

estern Meat Packers Group has welcomed the WA Government’s $300,000 grant, which will help facilitate further processing of offal and other products at its Western Meat Processors’ Cowaramup abattoir operation as part of a $10 million expansion of the company’s integrated operations.

WMPG CEO, Andrew Fuda, said that investing in this new manufacturing capability would help maximise yields from each beef animal and open up new markets, resulting in at least 50 full time new jobs and a host of indirect opportunities for the company and the local community.

“We’ve identified strong demand

from our existing customers in Thailand, Korea, Hong Kong and Japan, plus we’re optimistic we’ll receive export license approval for China, a key target in our marketing strategy,” he said.

“I thank the state government, and Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan, for their support and recognition of regional businesses such as our’s.”

WMPG’s Cowaramup operation has built its operational capacity over the past 15 years to 70,000 cattle per annum, with most selected from south-west beef producers and distributed domestically and internationally under the Margaret River Fresh brand.

Western Meat Packers has received a grant to help expand its abattoir operations.

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www.foodmag.com.au | August 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 11

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Improvement in cold chain will reap many rewards Australia’s cold chain needs work, according to the chair of the Australian Food Cold Chain Council (AFCCC) Mark Mitchell. He speaks to Mike Wheeler about what the work is and how it can help the industry move forward.

A

ustralians love their fresh fruit and vegetables. The country is lucky enough to have some of the best produce in the world, not only in terms of quality, but also the variants – from the tropical climes of North Queensland to the more arid pastures of South Australia, there is plenty of variety for consumers to choose from.

There is a catch though. And the ‘but’ is supply chain – specifically cold chain supply. Australia has what is known as the tyranny of distance.

Due to it being a large, dry, generally hot continent, getting produce to market, and in premium condition, can be an issue.

This is not lost on the Australian Food Cold Chain Council’s chairman Mark Mitchell. Mitchell has been in the cooling industry for the best part of 40 years, and is not only passionate about the industry, but is aware of its unique place in the

heart of the food chain. He also knows that it is an industry that struggles to meet the demands of its contemporaries in other parts of the world like Europe and UK. “The first thing you have to say when you talk about cold chain in Australia is, we’ve got one of the hardest jobs in the world,” he said. “For a developed country like Australia, we have a huge continent, high ambient conditions and small population. Logistically, we have a complex cold chain. To move food in the cold chain efficiently and economically in Australia there’s got to be a level of load sharing between third-party logistics providers and cold storage facilities. When food travels from one end of the country to the other, it passes through more than one set of hands to get to its destination. It becomes a complex cold chain. There is no way to avoid that.”

Australia has the tyranny of distance to deal with when it comes to its cold supply chain.

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

And while Australia does reasonably well given the constrictions of distances and lack of population, Mitchell believes that the industry can do better. But to do so, it also needs to start getting some of the basics right.

“Once you get third-party logistics involved it is further complicated,” he said. “If you want to get something from Cairns to Melbourne – it could be mangoes, garlic or whatever – it will most likely go through a transport firm independent from the sender and receiver of the food at either end of the chain. Then it may even transfer to another one or two transporters or cross-dock points in cities or towns before it reach the final stages of transfer into a transport or distribution centre to the supermarket.”

Quality can suffer when doors are continuously being opened and

AFCCC chair Mark Mitchell. closed as one link in the chain goes through these transferral processes.

Add to that a truck travelling on an eight to ten-hour haul, and the ambient temperature of the road – especially in summer – being

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

very high, then it is no wonder some produce doesn’t arrive at the supermarket in pristine condition without appropriate temperature checks along the way. There are a several of things that can come into play to fix this, according to Mitchell – but better collaboration, training and industry driven regulations would be a great start.

He said that the cold chain is split into two points – critical control points and control points, and it is the former where collaboration needs to take place. And it’s not as though people don’t want to do the right thing, it’s just that the nature of the way of doing business in Australia is not conducive to collaboration.

“There is no single sector, stakeholder, or business type or group doing the wrong thing intentionally,” he said. “But we need collaboration at the critical links and this is the where the resistance comes. The resistance comes because the nature of business in Australia – and it’s just the way it is – is that you compete hard, for very low margins, and compete very aggressively in the marketplace to do what you do.

This means cold chain businesses are encouraged – whether intentionally or not – to not inform the next guy in the chain with temperature data and other food safety information. This very strong resistance by different stakeholders to collaboration, is not because they don’t want to do the right thing – it’s just this sense of handing over data and information creates a fear that it will make the business un-competitive.”

Mitchell gives temperature as an example – one of the more critical aspects of a fully functional cold chain. When one person in the chain meets another link or critical control point at the end of their part of the cold chain transport journey, it’s the person doing the handover’s duty to give the temperature and any other information related to the role they played in the cold chain role to the next person. And this is where it can break down.

“Typically at a critical control point, a receiver is supposed to accept a temperature from the deliverer,” said Mitchell. “The receiver is supposed to check that temperature and go, ‘Yes, it’s supposed to be 3˚C. I’ll just make sure that is the case. Yes it is.’ The link is closed because the deliverer

Transparency and collaboration are key to getting product to market in pristine condition.

and receiver have agreed on the temperature. There is transparency and collaboration because they both own the temperature. This doesn’t happen often enough in Australia.”

Then there is the training. Even something that sounds rather simple such as reading a thermometer can be an issue because people are not trained how to use them properly , according to Mitchell.

“There are standard instructions for thermometers. There are things out there that you can buy and download that can show you how to use a thermometer,” he said. “There are manufacturing standards that will tell you how to buy the right thermometer, or teach you how to use a thermometer properly in the cold chain.

“I was speaking to some fresh produce people the other day – one of them in charge of the packing shed said they have backpackers and transient workers coming through that, not only do they not know how to use a thermometer, they don’t know how to keep a fridge door shut.”

But, isn’t a thermometer just a thermometer?

“Not at all,” said Mitchell.

“It depend on the method of

measurement you’re using. You could be using the wrong thermometer on the wrong product getting the wrong result. Thermometer manufacturers will put out a training course on how to use thermometers, but there are no standards.”

Which brings up the last point, regulations that might have to be implemented to make sure certain standards are met.

“We do have standards in Australia and globally. The ultimate for cold chain is the United Nations ATP agreement The Agreement on the International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs, and both the global and Australian industry diligently – to the best of their ability – follows them,” said Mitchell. “However, even the Europeans with all their regulations and all their good intentions, once they get a complicated cold chain like Australia, you start to see more failures. In saying that, the ultimate collaborators in cold chain are our European colleagues. You look at a cold chain in Germany, Scandinavia or France; it’s a single and collaborative effort. They have continuous temperature monitoring required on all vehicles. You have temperature handover requirements

at critical control points.

“The solutions that the AFCCC are pushing for, is get a set of regulations put together – based on what is already there and based on what we already know – and consolidate it into a single, concerted industry code of practice. Such a code would preferably be adopted and managed by industry.

“It is all about putting all the good stuff together. The industry knows that putting it through a set of guidelines that encourages an environment that brings about a change without a burdensome cost to industry is a good start.”

When summing up the cold chain in Australia, Mitchell it blunt. He goes as far as to say that he believes the term cold chain is a misnomer; he thinks of it more as a risk chain.

“Most stakeholders in Australia run a risk chain, because they are forced to. No one’s paying them to do anything differently,” he said. “The nature of business in this country has pushed them to the brink where it is not possible for them to participate in a compliant cold chain. They’ll do their bit. They’ll have refrigeration in their section, and they’ll comply to themselves, but they won’t close the link to the next guy.” F

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

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Staff come first for food and beverage giant COVID-19 has changed a lot of ways manufacturers work and for some, it could be permanent. Mike Wheeler talks to Nestlé technical and production director Alain Riesterer.

W

hen you’re a big conglomerate like Nestlé, reputation is key – not just in terms of the products you produce, but how you look after staff.

Nestlé is a world-renowned food and beverage company, which means it is a vital industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This also means it has to go through a lot of adjustments when it comes to the processing and manufacturing of products.

Alain Riesterer is the company’s Technical and Production director and has worked all over the globe in many different environments. He knows how important it is to keep staff safe, which is why the company implemented strategies before the pandemic hit that in turn meant the teams were anticipating a number of challenges that lay ahead.

“Since the beginning of COVID our operations have run full,” he said. “We have not had a single day of shut down because one of

Spacing is key for front-line Nestlé processing staff.

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

Social distancing was put in place quickly. our main reasons of existence is to supply food to the population. That is very clear in this situation of crisis.

We have seen several countries where there were potential food scarcity situations, which is why it was important for us to be able to supply food to the communities.”

From an operations point of view in, the company’s seven factories in Australia started with best hygiene

practices and standards – that included additional hand washing and sanitation for hands with alcohol-based solutions. Also, from the beginning of the crisis, Nestlé implemented mandatory temperature control at the entry of all of its premises.

“We have also created a Team A and Team B structure in every single one of our operations in order to ensure the social distancing,” said Riesterer.

“We have a rule of two metres, some companies have a rule of 1.5m.

In some places in our operation we could not ensure the 2m, so we went into physical barrier installation such as plexiglass separation between our employees.”

Team A and Team B were implemented by the company’s head office first. It has also implemented shift patterns on site at its factories – a morning shift, afternoon shift and night shift. Senior staff ensure that the shifts are consistent with start and end times with the same people so there is minimum crossover. This means less risk of any cross-contamination between a staff member who might inadvertently come to work infected.

Riesterer said that a lot of the practices that the company has implemented, such as social distancing and physical separation between its employees, will stay and probably never go back to the way things were.

“At the end of the day, it is part of good hygiene practice. We also

HEALTH AND SAFETY

learned a lot and we proved that we could operate with these new circumstances,” he said. “We also ensure that between the shifts – the cross over – is limited to the bare minimum so we don’t have any potential cross-contamination between the different people.”

Panic buying can produce its own set of problems, mainly in terms of the supply chain and with raw and packaging materials. Luckily, Nestlé was also prepared in that instance, too.

“We did have some raw materials that were coming from overseas and we reacted very fast at the very beginning in increasing our stock cover,” he said. “Fortunately for our factories in Australia, we did not have any major disruption. We followed closely what was happening with raw and packaging material in different countries worldwide.

At the moment we have certain raw materials coming from the US and we will increase our stock cover in advance. We have managed a very fluent supply during these last three months without major disruption.”

With a lot of uncertainty around the markets in many industries, some would think it might be time to sit back, take stock of the situation, and perhaps even pare back some activities. Not so, with Nestlé – it’s business as usual.

“Planned maintenance and capex are continuing,” said Riesterer.

“From a crisis, there are a lot of

Staff at Nestlé were given 14-day COVID-19 leave on top of their entitled allowances. opportunities. And I think the mindset of the people and how to embrace that change. This is where we have been very good – at all levels of the organisation from the shop floor up to the management of our factories in our organisation.

Lunchrooms have been rearranged due to COVID-19.

Nobody wants to go through something like COVID-19 but at the end of the day it’s the adaptability of the organisation that will make it successful.”

A lot of the company’s maintenance needs are met by its own technicians. Being an international conglomerate, Nestlé does have parts suppliers from around the world but this has hardly affected its Australian operations, although like a lot of companies at the moment, it is careful about who it allows onsite and when.

“We limit access to third parties because we want to minimise risk.

The health and safety of our people is our key priority, we therefore implemented remote support via web based technologies, such as, video-conferencing.

Nestlé also did something extraordinary for a conglomerate with a huge workforce.

“We implemented a special 14-day COVID-19 leave, which is additional to the sick leave and holiday leave that is paid,” he said. “At the end of the day, it is to keep the workplace safe. A lot of industries have taken similar steps to

ensure that frontline employees are safe, are motivated. We need them.

Without them, nothing happens.”

Riesterer said that the company is malleable when it comes to how things will be in the future. He knows that COVID-19 will probably have a lasting effect on how a lot of companies are run. However, he isn’t ready to hang his hat on any one aspect that will change, only that the way things are done will not be the same.

"We have managed a very fluent supply during these last three months without major disruption."

“Are we rethinking the way in which we work in the office?

Yes. What is the future? I do not know,” he said. “It has been a very interesting period for everybody.

I think we have found out that by using new tools, it allows us to achieve a lot, of which maybe in the past, we were not so convinced.” F

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

FOOD PROCESSING

Optimising colour and turbidity control in sugar refining AMS’s Peter Sims tells Food & Beverage Industry News about the importance colour measurement has during the refining of sugar and production of edible oils.

I

n industries like edible oils and sugar refining, the process of making the product can be optimised and/or the product quality can be heightened, through the use of colour measurement.

In the past, this has either been a laboratory measurement or has not been done because the processing is such that it never needs it, according to AMS Instrumentation and Calibration’s analytical product manager Peter Sims.

“What that normally means is that the product is over processed and the production is not optimised but it is maximised,” said Sims. “Optimising a process maintains product quality while lowering production costs, which in turn minimises the energy and effort used.”

For colour measurement there are some important examples. In edible oils, colour measurements are important both after the bleaching and filtration processes, and as a final quality check after deodorisation just prior to tank storage.

Applications will normally need to

The optek control 4000 measures chlorophyll concentrations. be correlated to the respective colour scales such as AOCS (American Oils Chemists’ Society), APHA (American Public Health Association) and Hazen. It is also needed in the control of chlorophyll.

The concentration of chlorophyll varies in oilseeds but it is an important measurement to know because large amounts of chlorophyll reduce the shelf life of vegetable and other edible oils.

Colour measurements are important in the manufacture of edible oils.

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

Oils with higher concentrations of chlorophyll generally require an extra processing step where the oil is heated to break down the chlorophyll.

Monitoring oil in the pipeline before it is sent to the bleaching process allows the highly concentrated chlorophyll oil to be diverted through the extra heating process, while oil with a low concentration of chlorophyll moves into the bleaching process. Using an optek dual channel colorimeter,

chlorophyll concentrations < 30 ppb (parts per billion), can be measured in real-time and in-line with high precision and repeatability.

In the sugar refining industry, similar measurements can lead to greater control of the process. In the manufacture of granular or liquid sugar, multiple steps are undertaken to convert raw sugar to pure sugar.

Within these steps, opportunities present themselves where automatic monitoring of certain parameters allows the real-time ability to optimise manufacturing performance; ensuring the highest product quality and the greatest overall yield. In-line measurements provide dynamic inputs to the process control system in the refining and bleaching processes.

“As we understand the sugar process, the sugar liquor that results from dissolving the washed sugar crystals in water will still contain some solids, colour, and other impurities that needs to be removed,” said Sims. “After adding a coagulant, the sugar liquor is passed through pressure leaf filters to remove the remaining solids from the liquor.

While we could apply a scattered light turbidity sensor at the outlet of the leaf filters so that the sugar liquor stream can be monitored in real time to ensure filter performance and alarm when there’s a filter break, this is of lower importance at this site, so is best suited for a later date.”

The resultant filtered sugar liquor is then passed through columns of granulated activated carbon (GAC) to remove the liquor’s colour. In general, the less colour the liquor has, the better the quality of the product. For process control of the evaporation process, getting the right colour can enhance the process and improve throughput.

The sugar industry uses a standardised measurement for the measurement of sugar colour called ICUMSA, which is multi-faceted.

FOOD PROCESSING

DIN flanges are an important component in the process.

Simplifying it, ICUMSA is a measurement of the liquid colour at a particular wavelength, which must be corrected for turbidity. The Brix and density reading at that point and the optical path length of the colour sensor, are the final components of ICUMSA. “The ICUMSA level can be around 4000-7000 when dark and 30-100 when clear,” said Sims. “By installing a dual-beam absorption sensor in the clarification stages, it is possible to measure the outlet sugar liquor’s ICUMSA colour, thus providing realtime monitoring of the colour removal process. And because the sensor can be configured to specific wavelength combinations, and use short or long

optical path lengths, even the darkest solution or the slightest ICUMSA colour changes will easily be detected.

For this measurement, an ICUMSA of about 200 was the aim.

“As you can imagine, the process has quite large lines. We had a client who produced short runs in a plant that was fairly old, where this application was installed in a suitable line that enabled a good measurement.”

Retrofitting into an old plant with short runs needed some deal of review and evaluation. One of the big objectives was to not create too much pressure drop in the lines. Through a series of steps an armature (flow cell) was selected that optimised the measurement, the pressure drop and the cost.

“This is an analyser and for all the right reasons it is in-line,” said Sims.

“That created additional discussions initiated by AMS about service and validation. One of the optek sensor’s advantages is its validation capability.

For biotech types of application it is ideal and external sophisticated.

For colour and turbidity, a range of optical filters provide confidence in the measurement and save returning the sensor system for re-calibration.

Review and evaluation are important when retrofitting.

The right installation is also necessary because it is no use having an on-line analyser if the whole process has to shut if there happens to be a problem, or there is a need to validate the system.”

AMS advised that by adding a simple bypass, a drain and an upstream ‘tap’ where clean water could fill the line, the user would ensure that the system installed would give them long life and service capability without shutting their process unnecessarily. The

installation went well, and after a training session the system was put online.

“Since the installation, some 18 months ago, the system has been rigorously tested and checked,” said Sims. “Repeatability and reliability of the measurement has been well proven and the output signals are used for control of the process. It was always envisaged that, once proven, there would be an expansion of this type of measurement.

This remains the aim.” F

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www.foodmag.com.au | August 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 17

SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

Collections efficiency increased due to cloud-based solution When a wine company was having invoice collection issues, it turned to a cloud-based solution that has streamlined processes.

O

perating in the selfproclaimed “happiest place on Earth”, the Wine Warehouse distributes fine wine, beer and spirits to companies located throughout California.

The company’s customer base often orders more than once a week, resulting in roughly 15,000 weekly open invoices to collect on.

A challenge to handle that number of invoices in any environment, the matter was further complicated by some sales representatives having to collect payment by hand while on site. Although a common process in Wine Warehouse’s industry, this process led to an increase in Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) and often left sales attempting to reconcile

accounts and handle issues better suited for the accounts receivable (AR) department to handle.

Now, the process is more efficient thanks to Esker’s Collections Management solution. Rather than relying on sales to handle invoice questions and receive payment, invoicing and collections are now left to the AR department – resulting in faster collections and a higher level of visibility due to custom reporting tools and real-time metrics being tracked.

On the other end, customers can access a self-service portal.

From this portal they may view invoices, setup an auto-pay option or immediately pay, which in turn reduce DSO and improves the

Esker’s Collections Management solution was ideal for the Wine Warehouse.

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

customer experience. Not only does the cloud-based solution offer staff newfound capabilities – such as taking payments over the phone or monitoring best possible DSO – it has benefitted multiple teams by centralising all AR information.

“The enthusiasm for Esker isn’t just limited to the AR department,” said Patrick Powers, credit manager at Wine Warehouse. “Our IT team was the one that introduced it to us and recognised its potential. We all love it.”

Since implementing Esker’s automation solution, the Wine Warehouse has managed to streamline its systems, which has led to: • Increased amount of money

•

•

•

•

•

collected through solution by 45 per cent over a single year.

Raised the Collections Effectiveness Index (CEI) to over 80 per cent.

Greater staff productivity; sales are no longer involved in invoicing and there are less customer calls requesting paper copies.

Enhanced visibility; customisable reports and real-time Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are easily accessible.

Customers have self-service options and are able to communicate directly with accounting rather than sales.

Lowered DSO; sending weekly automated reminders to customers. F

SENSORS

Sensors take guess work out of temperature equations Reliability and accuracy are key planks for sensors being utilised in food or beverage manufacturing.

The TCC sensor is designed for the coal-face of food and beverage processing. Here’s why.

A

ccurate and stable temperature measurement is vital for product quality in the food and beverage industry.

But what happens to a product if the temperature measurement is inaccurate?

Temperature is one of the most important measurements where stability and accuracy of the process temperature is vital for proper product quality and safety.

The slightest deviation in product quality can cause great damage, such as the product recall of entire production runs, expensive downtime, as well as the damage to the brand’s reputation, which might never recover.

What if production managers and quality assurance could eliminate product quality risk caused by to inaccurate process temperature measurement between

The TCC sensor allows a product to be monitored 24-hours a day.

The TCC sensor automatically stores all data.

calibration cycles? ifm’s process sensor portfolio has expanded to include analytical measuring sensors, which is highlighted with the newly released temperature calibration check (TCC) sensor. The TCC technology is the sensor that checks itself and is specifically designed to combat the challenges of typical temperature products. ifm’s “Calibration Check” technology provides real-time continuous monitoring of instrument accuracy and measurement uncertainty.

Smart diagnostic technology monitors accuracy with two measuring elements in the tip of the sensor to react to temperature changes. The microprocessor

monitors for any potential decrease in measurement accuracy where the TCC’s repeatability is less than 0.015°C so users are assured the instrument provides repeatable measurements time after time.

The TCC sensor allows plant operators to take event-related measurements in case of drifts instead of waiting for the next planned calibration interval. This reduces the risk of losing entire production batches due to faulty production temperatures. The new TCC is designed to give users peace of mind that a product is monitored 24-hours a day and also monitors its own health and accuracy between calibration checks.

Due to the calibration check

technology, the TCC permanently checks its own drift behaviour.

The sensor compares the temperature value to the simultaneously measured reference value. If the deviation is outside the tolerance range, which can be set between 0.5 and 3 K, the TCC provides an optical signal and sends a message to the central controller via IO-Link and the diagnostic output. The same applies to cases of serious malfunctions.

The TCC also automatically stores all the data required for consistent documentation via IO-Link with installation date, operating hours, temperature histogram, as well as logbooks on event messages. F

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

WASTEWATER

Maximising the value of digestate from food waste HRS worked in tandem with Willen Biogas to help reduce digestate volumes.

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novel system that reduces the requirement to store and apply digestate to land by around 60 per cent is helping an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in the UK convert 25,000 tonnes a year of London’s food waste into a nutrientrich biofertiliser.

D. Williams & Co. is a UK farming company that grows and processes speciality herbs alongside arable crops at the 810 ha Cattlegate Farm near Enfield, north of London.

The owners formed Willen Biogas in 2008 to investigate the potential of a biogas plant on the farm. From the start they were determined to maximise the value of all the outputs from their AD plant, including the gas, heat, and digestate.

Early in the development process for the 1.5MW facility, Willen Biogas approached HRS Heat Exchangers to see how the HRS Digestate Concentration System (DCS) could reduce digestate volumes and improve the quality of this valuable organic fertiliser. This was essential if the new business was to integrate with the existing herb production and farming operations.

With the farm located just 21km north of the centre of the capital on heavy London clay soil, it became clear that digestate from the AD process could help the farm reduce the cost of cultivations, minimise its use of manmade fertilisers, reduce its environmental impact, and deliver financial savings. Digestate production was one of the main drivers for the plant but with 41,000 tonnes of liquid digestate being generated each year, Willen Biogas

needed to find a way to reduce the liquid fraction without losing any of the valuable nutrients.

Digestate concentration The HRS DCS removes up to 80 per cent of the water contained in the liquid fraction and concentrates it to 20 per cent dry solids while, at the same time, maximising the nutrient content. Heating the digestate with surplus water from the plant’s CHP engine, the DCS has reduced the liquid fraction of Willen’s digestate by 60 per cent (from 50,000m3 to 20,000m3 per year), making digestate handling, storage, transport and application not only easier for Willen Biogas, but less costly, too.

The HRS DCS remove up to 80 per cent of the water.

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

A farming company outside London asked itself how it could reduce the water content in its liquid digestate. HRS had the answer.

The first part of the DCS process involves heating the liquid digestate in heat exchangers; minimal additional water and energy is required, as the surplus water from the plant’s CHP engine is used as the heating media. The steam produced from this first cycle is then used as the heating media for the second effect, whereby the process is repeated with further cycles. The number of effects is determined by the level of dry solids required, and the amount of spare heat available, up to a maximum of four cycles.

After the final effect, the steam is condensed back into water and is used to displace mains water employed in the front end of the

digester; a closed loop system. The DCS is virtually self-sufficient – minimal energy or water is brought in, nothing is wasted, and the surplus energy from the CHP is re-used up to four times.

Using patented technology designed and manufactured by HRS Heat Exchangers, the DCS is a superior and energy-efficient way of concentrating digestate. It is four times more efficient than conventional digestate drying technology and is enabling D. Williams & Co to displace 1,093 tonnes of artificial fertiliser each year, including 688 tonnes of ammonium nitrate.

Another benefit of the DCS is

WASTEWATER Nutrient content of Willen Biogas’ digestate (kg/m3) Before treatment with the DCS

After treatment with the DCS

Nitrogen (N)

5

12.5

Phosphorus (P)

2

5

Potassium (K)

2.5

6.25

At Willen the nutrient content has been increased by 150 per cent by the DCS. odour control, which helps increase the nutrient content of the digestate.

The high temperatures needed to concentrate digestate can cause the release of ammonia, largely responsible for the odours associated with digestate. However, the DCS overcomes this by acid-dosing the digestate with sulphuric acid, thereby decreasing the pH levels. This turns the ammonia into ammonium sulphate, which is not only less odorous, but is also an ideal nutrient.

As well as creating a more concentrated, richer fertiliser, the DCS delivers the following additional benefits for Willen Biogas: • By reducing the liquid fraction by 60 per cent, transport, water and storage costs have been cut, reducing operational overheads significantly.

• The amount of traffic going across the farmland has been significantly reduced (down from 2,174 tanker movements per year to 870).

• Unlike conventional digestate dryers – which use a lot of power to create a small amount of product – the DCS is energy efficient; surplus heat from the CHP engine is reused up to four times over, and the wastewater is then used to displace mains water in the front end of the digester.

• Minimal additional energy and water is required, and none is wasted.

• Willen Biogas can claim payments under the UK’s Renewable Heat Incentive, which supports renewable energy projects.

• As a plug-and-play, fully automated system, the DCS is completely flexible and has been uniquely tailored to suit the needs of Willen Biogas.

Digestate pasteurisation To prevent the spread of weed seeds, crop diseases and other potential pathogens, either the feedstock or the digestate should

be treated appropriately, with pasteurisation being a tried and tested technique across the world.

In many areas including much of Europe, certification schemes exist to back-up such pasteurisation so that digestate that has been so treated can be used, sold, traded and applied as an agricultural and horticulture fertiliser, rather than a waste product.

One of the most energy-, and therefore cost-efficient methods to pasteurise digestate is the HRS Digestate Pasteurisation System (DPS), which is based on heat exchangers rather than tanks with heating jackets. Using heat exchangers means that effective digestate pasteurisation is possible using surplus heat while allowing additional thermal regeneration levels of up to 60 per cent. This saved heat can then be used for other processes, such as evaporation of the digestate to remove water.

The standard three-tank DPS provides continuous pasteurisation, with one tank being pasteurised Patented technology helped Willen Biogas with its digestate issues.

while one is filling, and another being emptied. The HRS pasteuriser uses a double tube heat exchanger to heat the digestate to 75˚C above the required pasteurisation temperature.

This allows for variation in the sludge consistency and its incoming temperature, making sure that the digestate is always properly pasteurised. The tanks can also be used individually, for example to allow for routine maintenance.

The DPS and DCS are examples of several systems that HRS produce to improve the efficiency and sustainability of biogas plants and the anaerobic digestion process, with other examples including systems to dry biogas and recover waste heat from exhaust systems.

Local support In Australia, HRS has a team that offers comprehensive support of our clients to make sure their needs are met during a project’s lifecycle – from cradle to grave, and for the operational life of the project.

“We implement a variety of evaporation processes, whether it be falling film, forced recirculation, mechanical vapour recompression, or thermal vapour recompression,” said HRS ANZ director Chris Little. “All come with a high degree of energy efficiency and we can configure the system to meet the specific needs of the client and the client application. It is a bespoke solution for each client.

There is nothing off the shelf about what we do.”

With this type of technology available, what HRS is offering is a purely onsite means to be able to deal with the effluent that these projects produce. Whether it is digestate from an anaerobic digestion process, or

Digestate that has been treated can be used as an agricultural fertiliser. other effluent from a food factory, the cost to dispose of it or treat it can be prohibitive, according to Little.

“If we are able to deploy an onsite means to be able to treat that product, ideally utilising waste heat from elsewhere in the process, then the client will be avoiding the cost of transport and disposal, which in itself can go a long way to repaying a project while reducing their carbon footprint,” he said.

“In addition, what we are seeing in the market is an ever-increasing focus on nutrient recovery. Very often there is value in the concentrate we produce that can be reused, monetised or otherwise utilised. We not only see this in the food waste AD sector but also in dairy and other areas. Extracting value at every end of the process without harming the environment, while saving energy and reducing waste are crucial considerations in today’s world. Concentration through evaporation can go a long way to achieve those goals.” F

www.foodmag.com.au | August 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 21

CONSUMER

Woolworths’ CEO Brad Banducci meets with a drought-affected farmer at a Rural Aid hay drop in Dubbo.

Helping hands for community initiatives Woolworths sees itself as part of the wider community and therefore needs to take an active role when communities need support during times of natural disasters. Food & Beverage Industry News explains.

T

he last 12 months has been one of the biggest on record for Woolworths’ support of vulnerable Australians, particularly for the many individuals, families and farmers impacted by drought, then bushfire, and more recently COVID-19.

“Supporting the communities in which we operate has always been part of Woolworths Group’s DNA. However, in the current crisis and during recent natural disasters, community takes on a much broader definition,” said Brad Banducci, Woolworths Group CEO. “We have recently doubled down on our commitment to work together with partners like OzHarvest, Fareshare and Foodbank to provide food to Australians who need it most, while our eCommerce business has remained focused on continuing to support vulnerable customers.”

Being part of almost every community in Australia means that store team members within Woolworths play an integral role in responding to immediate needs of

their local community.

They provide the on-the-ground support for national community initiatives, particularly during times of disaster.

“Our store teams should be an integral part of their local community and are often directly impacted themselves by a disaster. They experience first hand what it is like on the ground, and this knowledge plays a key role in informing where our support should be directed in our national initiatives.

“It is about us listening to our team, customers and the community more broadly and uniting over the outcomes we all wish to support and achieving that through collaboration,” said Banducci.

The past year Woolworths and their major charity partners have been particularly busy.

Drought The effects the ongoing drought has on the food industry are measurable in many ways, such as shortages of supplies and price fluctuations.

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

In 2018, what began as support at a local store level in regional stores in New South Wales and Queensland for communities impacted by drought, turned into Woolworths’ largest national fundraising appeal of the decade.

A combination of customer fundraising and corporate donations saw Woolworths raise over $8 million for Rural Aid, enabling them to deliver 37,231 tonnes of hay on 806 road trains to 3,233 farmers, as well two additional, full-time, on-the-ground counsellors.

Bushfires In late 2019, with the drought worsening, bushfires were out of control, which saw businesses, homes, communities and habitat across multiple parts of the nation destroyed.

In response to the bushfires, Woolworths Bushfire Appeal in partnership with the Salvation Army was launched in November 2019 and raised over $5m.

When these bushfires hit, the Salvation Army sent in over 3,000

officers and volunteers to support the frontline emergency workers with hundreds of thousands of meals and light refreshments, many times teaming up with the local Woolworths store on the supply of goods and preparation of meals.

On New Year’s Eve and into early 2020, as the bushfires continued to devastate towns and communities, they also destroyed the habitats and food supplies of many vulnerable and endangered native species such as the Mountain Pygmy Possum, Brush-Tailed Rock Wallaby and Grey-Headed Flying Fox, which is so critical to pollination of many critical plant species.

New partnerships were borne out of the impacts the fires were having on wildlife in local communities.

“Our teams in the affected areas and our customers raised the alarm bells on what this loss of habitat could mean to the environment and asked for action to support the rescue and recovery of these animals,” said Simon Tracey, Woolworths community manager.

Woolworths began working with

CONSUMER

the NSW Government’s “Save our Species” program, to donate tonnes of fruits and vegetables directly into dozens of National Parks to feed these endangered species.

“We also extended our food rescue and recycling program to launch the ‘Woolworths Food for Wildlife Initiative’ with WIRES. This sees many of our stores donating surplus fresh food directly to the many local carers that nurturing these native animals back to health and returning them to new or old habitats as their naturally occurring food sources return,” added Tracey.

Woolworths earlier this year also expanded its S.T.A.N.D. (Support Through Australian Natural Disasters) program to incorporate four major partners – the Salvation Army, Rural Aid, Foodbank and Lifeline. Twenty cents from each sale of Woolworths Spring Water 24-pack and Woolworths Spring Water 10-litre pack is being donated to support the natural disaster work of these charities.

COVID-19 The initial spread of the coronavirus saw many people change their shopping behaviours and led to

Bob Mcmillan, food supply manager, Foodbank Queensland, receiving Woolworths Basics Boxes during the COVID-19 outbreak.

When multiple public housing towers in Melbourne went into sudden lockdown in early July, Fareshare were first on the scene.

stockpiling of many essential products. At first it was toilet paper, but then the many key staple foods that Woolworths’ hunger relief partners rely on.

In March, Woolworths entered

a new partnership with Meals on Wheels to supply toilet paper to help support their elderly and vulnerable clients across Australia “With the elderly being the most vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus and being asked to self-isolate, this partnership allowed us to work together with the entire supply chain and replenishment team,” said Tracey.

Woolworths worked with dozens of local Meals on Wheels centres to distribute 320,000 rolls of toilet paper, which was two packs for almost every Meals on Wheels client in the country, across hundreds of towns and cities in urban, rural, regional and remote locations.

One of Woolworths key commitments is to addressing food insecurity and food waste.

“That is why we have a number of food relief partnerships, but it was our relationships and support of our three largest partners – OzHarvest, Foodbank and FareShare, that we immediately increased to support those in immediate need as a result of COVID,” said Tracey.

FareShare, who operate Australia’s two largest community kitchens in Melbourne and Brisbane, could not rely on its army of volunteers, so Woolworths Group stepped in to provide support with chefs from its shuttered ALH hotels

business to work within the kitchens through April, May and June.

Woolworths’ national Fresh Food rescue partner, OzHarvest, likewise saw a fluctuation in food supply and demand.

With an initial dip in available volumes of fresh food from donors, it then broke records with April being the largest volume of food they have ever rescued and distributed.

Foodbank, also saw an immediate impact on supply as the public stocked up on the many essential items such as rice, pasta, pasta sauce, tinned food and toiletries, that are always of the highest demand with the thousands of food relief charities they support.

“To assist our food relief partners without disrupting our stores during a period of increased product demand, we provided additional financial support to help them with their operating costs, then set up parallel supply chains, often purchasing food directly from our suppliers to donate directly to our partners.

“This operation ran from late March through to the end of June, with over $8 million of funds injected and many new and agile business solutions in place to support such needs in the future,” said Tracey. F

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

EXPORT INITIATIVES

Australian Food and Agribusinesses exporters go digital Food Innovation Australia (FIAL) has found business doesn’t stop when a pandemic arrives and has changed its sails to meet exporters’ demands.

I

t is now over four months since the World Health Organisation declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. The farreaching impacts of this invisible spreading disease have shone a spotlight like never before on the fragility of supply chains and the over-exposure of many businesses’ sales channels. Like tourism and higher education, Australia’s food and agribusiness industry instantly felt the effects of this unprecedented disruption.

For the businesses that service the $11 billion food service and wholesale sector, many of their customers were forced to close almost overnight – from hotels and restaurants, through to schools and nursing homes. This decimated the sales of these businesses, simultaneously leaving them with an

oversupply of stock that they needed to find alternate retail channels for.

The story was not too different for the businesses that export the almost $42bn of food and agribusiness products each year.

When countries around the globe began closing their borders to passenger planes, Australian food and agribusinesses were left stranded as to how to get their products to market. Unbeknownst to many of the passengers sitting up the top of the cabin, these planes are loaded with tonnes of perishable food products.

With the food and agribusiness industry being such a significant contributor to the Australian economy, the Australian government acted quickly to support it to navigate this disruption. The export sector was given a $170 million to

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

get it back up and moving. This saw hundreds of flights relaunched to deliver produce to the key export markets – China, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

Despite the movement of freight being reinitiated, it was far from business as usual for industry. For food and agribusiness exporters, continued growth is essential. This growth requires regular, in-market presence. With international travel and tradeshow attendance an impossibility, the sector was left scrambling for how to maintain the connectivity with customers and markets that will aid recovery. As the Food and Agribusiness Growth Centre, Food Innovation Australia Limited (FIAL), responded immediately to this pressing sector need with a

number of digital solutions.

In just over a month after the new state of play became apparent, FIAL launched a new event – Virtual Meet the Buyer. A digital version of its tried and tested Meet the Buyer, where suppliers are able to connect with international buyers from all around the globe and access in-market information. Virtual Meet the Buyer is the only one of its kind in Australia. It provides export-ready Australian food and agribusinesses the opportunity to secure a one-on-one meeting with buyers – from China’s Shandong Province, through to the most recent event in Thailand.

To date, over 220 meetings between Australian businesses and international buyers have been facilitated. The benefits of this are three-fold for the sector. Commercial

EXPORT INITIATIVES

even years. As Cathy Owen and Jenny Daniher, co-founders of Garlicious Grown put it, “Virtual Meet the Buyer cuts through a lot of the noise from the tradeshow floor.”

The matched nature of the meetings means that conversations are held in a secure virtual room between buyers that have indicated interest in a supplier’s products.

This targeted approach is seeing export relationships continue to be formalised.

Underpinning the delivery of the Virtual Meet the Buyer has been FIAL’s Australian Food Catalogue. The Australian Food Catalogue is a free digital platform that allows Australian exportready suppliers to showcase their products to hundreds of qualified international buyers.

“We have seen a sharp increase in buyers registering for the platform since travel restrictions came into effect. From here, buyers can request a meeting with a supplier that takes their interest,” said FIAL general manager markets, Rod Arenas.

According to Arenas, the demand for Australian products is not the problem. Australia has earned a great reputation for being a source of clean, safe and healthy foods. This is particularly attractive in the current climate so demand is remaining steady, if not rising. The hurdle has been maintaining connectivity to markets. Based off the response, the Virtual Meet the Buyer and outcomes continue to be secured; Australian businesses can keep their foot in the door of a fickle market by creating connections with new buyers; and these businesses can ensure they are still able to have those ‘on-the-ground’ conversations with buyers that are critical for understanding the market potential for their products.

P’Petual and Beston Global Foods are just two of the businesses that have begun exporting to new customers off the back of attending Virtual Meet the Buyers in Singapore, Shandong, and Thailand.

What makes this initiative particularly interesting is how it accelerates the negotiation process.

Many will be familiar with the length of time that it can take to convert a contact met at a tradeshow into a deal – sometimes months,

Australian Food Catalogue have filled this void.

It is easy to see how these digital solutions that have arisen from disruption may persist even when international travel is back on the cards and tradeshows begin to repopulate the calendar.

The majority of Australia’s food and agribusiness sector is made up of small to medium sized enterprises. For them, having the financial and staffing resources to travel makes these virtual events and platforms an attractive avenue through which to grow their global presence.

Neil Offner, managing director of Australian Organic Exports, highlighted this exact sentiment when he stated that, “attending the Virtual Meet the Buyer is a low-risk investment – 20 minutes – to meet with a buyer that has requested to meet with you”.

“Being the Food and Agribusiness Growth Centre, we work incredibly closely with industry to deliver the bottoms-up offerings that increase the productivity and competitiveness of Australia’s food and agribusinesses.

We saw a need for facilitating connections between suppliers and buyers so we delivered,” said Arenas.

As to whether FIAL will continue to deliver these digital initiatives once travel returns?

“If industry is asking for it, then we will offer it.” F

FIAL knows how important it is for Australian manufacturers and processors to have access to export markets.

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

AFGC

The Circular Economy: begin with the end in mind The AFGC’s director of sustainability, Barry Cosier, tells Food & Beverage Industry News’ readers how to navigate the intricacies of the circular economy.

The government has committed $190 million to grow Australia’s circular economy.

S

ome years ago, a much smarter man than me wrote, “begin with the end in mind”.

This advice, part of Stephen R. Coveys, best-selling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has sold over 25 million copies globally and is as relevant to creating a circular economy today, as it was when first published back in 1989.

“Going circular” is a phrase that is often heard when discussing packaging, plastics and recycling.

Many countries and Australian states have launched circular economy policies, and as recently as July, the Federal Government launched the Recycling Modernisation Fund—committing $190 million dollars to ‘grow Australia’s circular economy, create more jobs and build a stronger onshore recycling industry’. This is great news. It is an area that the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) is committed to working closely with the Australian federal and state and territory governments to ensure

the sector meets consumer and government expectations.

What is the link to begin with the end in mind, going circular and the government’s recent multimillion-dollar investment? Quite simply, to develop an effective circular economy, you must begin with the end in mind. In light of the waste export ban, to ensure postconsumer packaging has a useful ongoing life in a circular economy, it must find a new use and meet the quality standards required by new customers.

Circular economy principles also call for materials to remain in the economy for as long as practically possible and at their highest value use. In the case of packaging, this is packet-to-packet recycling.

While this sounds simple in theory, any packaging that makes direct contact with food, must meet stringent food contact and safety standards that qualify and enable the packaging to attain food grade certification.

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

Globally, Australia has an enviable food safety reputation that has been the cornerstone of developing strong local agriculture and food processing and manufacturing sectors that employ over 650,000 Australians. How has Australia achieved this? Through the development and adherence to stringent quality food standards.

These same high-quality standards that underpin Australia’s food safety reputation must now be employed when recycling packaging.

Simply put, in an effective circular economy, the creation of recycling quality standards is required so that the food, and the packaging containing it, are both subject to the same quality test. If we adopt Stephen R Covey’s ‘begin with the end in mind’, and begin with quality standards in mind, government and secondary processors can confidently invest in infrastructure knowing they will produce material that meets their customer’s needs.

Likewise, technology investments in

Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) can then occur with confidence that their outbound materials meet their customer’s quality expectations and they will be paid accordingly.

Similarly, standards defining a national kerbside collection system will not only reduce community confusion at the bin, it provides certainty for recycling labelling.

Furthermore, a national kerbside system operating in all council’s jurisdictions will provide brand owners with a standard to design packaging to, thereby enabling their packaging to be collected, sorted and processed back into new food-grade packaging. Standards ensure we begin with the end in mind.

This is what Stephen R. Covey would term a win-win outcome, step four of his seven-step process, where better long-term solutions are achieved based on collaboration.

I’ll leave this, and the application of his other five steps, for discussion another day. F

AUGUST 2020

In from the cold Why Australia’s food cold chain needs a shake up

PLUS: Food and Beverage Awards Finalised Announced | Nestl gets on with it during COVID-19

FOOD & BEVERAGE INDUSTRY NEWS

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Innovative sustainable packaging designs recognised Author

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

The PIDA awards have shown why it is possible for the National Packaging Targets to be reached by 2025.

T

he 2025 National Packaging Targets enables brands to clearly understand what outcomes they need to achieve to ensure that the packaging put into the market is sustainable and circular by design by the year 2025.

The targets include that the packaging is 100 per cent reusable, recyclable or compostable; 70 per cent of plastic packaging is being recycled or composted; packaging includes 50 per cent of average recycled content and there is a phase out of problematic and unnecessary singleuse plastics packaging in Australia.

A number of companies across the food and beverage industries are set to achieve these targets and are evident through the 2020 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards for Australia and New Zealand.

The Sustainable Packaging Design Award is the most coveted category of the awards and the quantity of entries this year was a clear indication that brands are actively engaged in meeting the 2025 targets. The hardest part for the judges was selecting the winners from a high-quality shortlist of finalists.

The Sustainable Packaging Design Award has been designed to recognise companies that have developed innovative packaging or processing solutions that incorporates sustainability considerations.

Elements include efficient use of materials, source reduction, energy, recovery and recyclability, sustainable packaging design considerations, packaging changes to meet the 2025 National Packaging Targets and benefits to society.

Due to the range of packaging design innovations, which covered everything from milk cartons to e-commerce solutions, the winners were split into two sub-categories – Retail Pack and Product Protection.

Coca-Cola new advertisement spruiking its 100 per cent recyclable rPET bottles.

2020 Sustainable Packaging Design Special Award Retail Pack The winner of the Gold Award for the 2020 Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year category – Retail Pack was Coca-Cola Amatil for the 100 per cent recyclable post-consumer recycled rPET bottles.

Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) has provided key industry leadership and assisted the drive to the circular economy by making and delivering

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

on a commitment to convert all of their single serve PET bottles to 100 per cent post-consumer recycled PET resin (rPET).

Many other bottlers both in Australia and around the world have converted their water bottles to 100 per cent rPET, however CCA is the first to achieve this on the technically difficult carbonated soft drink (CSD) bottles, sensitive warm filled bottles and aseptic dairy bottles. By converting all of these SKU’s to 100

per cent rPET, seven out of every 10 bottles CCA sells in Australia are now made from recycled postconsumer resin. This equates to over 55 per cent of CCA’s total PET tonnage or a reduction of CCA’s use of virgin plastics in Australia by around 16,000 tonnes a year.

Even more technically remarkable after the bottle weight reductions undertaken over the last decade, the conversion to rPET was achieved without increasing the weights of any packs. In the case of the preform used for warm fill and aseptic dairy, the company successfully light weighted these bottles by a further 8.5 per cent during the conversion to rPET. CCA’s commitment to increased use of recycled PET has created important demand in Australia, which will encourage further investment in this area so that all recycled PET used in Australia is sourced from Australia.

Following the launch of the rPET conversion program CCA recognised their need to source local rPET and they now have announced a joint venture with Veolia to develop the business case around building an rPET plant in Australia.

The winner of the Silver Retail Pack Award was Pact Group for New Zealand’s Earthwise brand of PCR 75 per cent rHDPE household cleaning range.

Earthwise has been pioneering eco-friendly products for more than 50 years. Sustainability is at the heart of everything it does and the company is always looking for ways to improve its environmental footprint.

Earthwise follows environmental practices that take into consideration the full life cycle of a product, from sourcing plant-based ingredients, use of recyclable packaging, and management of energy, water and waste to reduce their contribution to landfill.

Earthwise pledged support to the New Zealand Plastic Packaging Declaration and with packaging already recyclable, moving to bottles made from recycled content was the next step. Earthwise will have reused and diverted more than 320 tonnes of plastic packaging from landfills over the next 12 months.

The winner of the Bronze Retail Pack Award was a tie between Brownes Dairy, for Australia’s first renewable gable top milk carton, and UPM Raflatac & Kiwi Labels for the Custom-Pak rPET Cherry Punnet with self-adhesive label, a permanent adhesive that is also washable at the PET recycling plant.

Brownes Dairy identified that to be truly sustainable it must focus on both end-of-life management and recycling, considering the full end-to-end environmental impact its products and packaging have on the environment.

After considering different packaging options, Brownes decided to progress the Tetra Rex bio-based carton, from Tetra Pak. These packages are the world’s first fully renewable carton packages made entirely from bio-based, fully renewable materials. The paperboard used is certified by the FSC and is recyclable.

The Cherry Punnet Label applied to the Custom-Pak rPET container has been manufactured on UPM Raflatac Label Stock, printed by Kiwi Labels and has three features to consider that are relevant to criteria one.

First, the label enables enhanced recyclability of the package once discarded; second the package is manufactured from 100 per cent rPET, rather than just virgin PET; and last, components of the label stock, namely the label liner, now contains 90 per cent post-consumer recycled (PCR) waste which has replaced virgin plastic.

2020 Sustainable Packaging Design Special Award Product Protection The winner of the Gold Award for the 2020 Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year - Product Protection category was a tie between Opal Packaging for its recyclable moulded paper inserts, and Sealed Air Brand Protective Packaging for the TempGuard kerbside recyclable packaging

TempGuard protects food products that are in transit.

AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING DESIGNS WORLD-CLASS IN 2020 for pre-packaged, temperature sensitive goods.

The Opal Packaging inserts provide protection and presentation for fresh produce inside the carton and offer a recyclable alternative to standard, non-recyclable PVC plastic inserts.

The recyclable moulded paper inserts are made from responsibly sourced fibre and can be customised with specific colours and branding for a range of products. The inserts are currently available for avocado and mango segments in multiple count sizes.

The individually moulded trays provide shock and vibration protection (no ringing on fruit) and offers ventilation and moisture control characteristics to ensure fresh produce integrity.

The inserts are recyclable and an alternative to the standard plastic inserts as they are a third lighter than the current industry PP/PVC insert, which weighs 24gm compared with the moulded paper inserts at 16gm. The inserts can also be reused and are space efficient for storage compared to the plastic inserts. They simplify the recycling process as there is no need to separate inserts from the cartons, saving time and reducing contamination within ‘bale press’ recycling.

Sealed Air’s TempGuard is a kerbside recyclable and ARL compliant paper pouch liner made from virgin kraft paper and is filled with 100 per cent recycled paper. It is used to line cartons that are used for distribution to deliver thermal insulation for chilled items including chilled meals, pharmaceuticals and chocolate.

TempGuard flexible liner pads are 14mm thick and provide cushioning and protection with greater space efficiency compared to EPS (wall thickness of 30mm), and allows the opportunity for customers to decrease the size of the outer carton.

TempGuard’s flatpack format enables reduced warehousing costs (space and utilities) and efficiency improvements compared with EPS. TempGuard virgin kraft fibres on the pouch exterior means that the pouch remains unaffected by product condensation, which is important for chilled applications such as seafood and for other chilled good processors who are looking for alternatives to EPS. TempGuard is recyclable through PREP with on-pack communication providing information to consumers about what to do with the product at the end of life.

The judges also awarded a High Commendation for the Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year Product Protection category to Omni Group for the PerformX 100 per cent recyclable stretch wrap.

This reinforced film requires fewer wrapping rotations while giving higher holding force. PerformX uses over 50 per cent less film than conventional stretch film.

All of these sustainable packaging designs are now eligible for global peer- recognition through the prestigious WorldStar Packaging Awards.

The 2021 PIDA Awards will be open in late 2020 and the judges are excited to see what new innovative sustainable packaging is being designed to meet the 2025 National Packaging Targets. F

The Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) is pleased to announce that two of the Australian and New Zealand companies that were short listed as finalists for 2020 WorldStar Sustainable Packaging Special Award took out the Gold and the Silver for the category globally. Both were winners in the 2019 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards.

The Gold winner of the 2020 WorldStar Sustainability Special Award is PACT Group for the New Zealand brand Lewis Road Creamery PCR’s 100 per cent recycled PET milk bottle range.

This packaging design was awarded the Gold 2019 PIDA Award for Sustainable Packaging Design.

The rPET bottles and simple label design stand out on shelf as they are based on old-style glass milk bottles.

This has enabled the boutique brand to achieve a nostalgic feel and a new level of authenticity.

The rPET bottles have a sturdy glasslike premium-feel that captures the brand’s history and credentials. This is the first Australasian milk producer to change to 100 per cent rPET that is also 100 per cent recyclable.

The Silver winner in the 2020 WorldStar Sustainability Special Award was awarded to Woolworths Australia for replacing plastic trays with pulp-based trays nationally into all stores for over 50 of their in-store bakery products.

This packaging design was awarded a High Commendation in the 2019 PIDA Award for Sustainable Packaging Design.

Unfortunately, due to the current pandemic the gala awards ceremony that was to be held during Interpack 2020 was cancelled.

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

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S PON&S OR E D BY 2020 FOOD BEVERAGE INDUSTRY AWARDS

S PON S OR E D BY

2020 Food & Beverage Industry Awards W elcome to the 2020 Food & Beverage Industry Awards’ preview. The following pages showcase some of the brightest minds, best products and innovative ideas that have come out of the Australian food and beverage industry over the past 12 months.

There is a bevy of highlights from new culinary delights, through to

manufacturing processes and plant.

As expected, competition was tough this year, with a record number of entries in most categories.

The judges will have a hard time sorting out the finalists, let alone the fantastic entries that just stopped short of making it to the awards themselves. Unfortunately, as has become the new normal, the formal

event itself will not be held due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

However, if the pandemic has proved anything it’s that Australian industry – especially the food and beverage sector – is resilient as ever despite the number of logistical hurdles that have been put in the way.

We would like to say special thanks to our major sponsor, Heat

2020

and Control, who continue to provide great products and service to the industry.

On behalf of the judges and the Food & Beverage Industry News team we wish good luck to all the finalists, and a hearty congratulations to the winners who will be formally announced in our September issue of the magazine. F

Convenience Product of the Year Fable range - Fable Food Co This is a plant-based range of ready meals produced using the company’s base Fable product in partnership with food manufacturers Creative Food Solutions (Sydney) and Flavour Makers (Melbourne).

Approximately 11 per cent of Australians are vegan or vegetarian and 1 in 3 Australians who still eat meat, want to reduce their meat consumption.

These latter consumers are dubbed ‘Flexitarians’ and this is who the Fable range is targeted. The primary reason flexitarians give for wanting to reduce their meat consumption is health, but they find it challenging to change their eating habits as they love the taste and texture of meat. For convenience, ready meal shoppers are used to picking up a convenient meal on the go.

Fable Food develops and produces products with the taste and texture of meat, but instead of animals it uses mushrooms and plants to create them. And fitting with the desire by consumers to improve their health, it uses only all natural, minimally processed ingredients to create both meat alternatives and its range of ready meals.

In addition to being vegan, Fable ready meals are made from all natural, minimally processed, non-GMO ingredients, and they are gluten free.

The Fable ready meal packaging is designed to use less materials than

other ready meal packaging. Rather than a full cardboard sleeve the meals use a smaller watch strap sleeve so that less material is used in the packaging design.

Natural Beef Bone Broth range Australian Bone Broth Co Natural Beef bone broth allows the consumer to flavour the brew.

The Natural Beef Bone Broth range is about innovating traditional bone broth into a modern convenient food choice that will nourish and nurture a person’s daily well-being.

The company said the range offers nutritional profiles that benefit different lifestyles.

Its Australian bone broth concentrate - Natural Beef is made from the best grass-fed beef bones.

The broth preparation method ensures all the valuable nutrient-dense goodness of the bones are extracted and condensed into a thick tasty broth that is offered in a concentrated bottled form. The company has also gently freeze-dried the

concentrate making a unique nutrientenriched bone broth powder.

The manufacturing process has modernised the traditional bone broth into a concentrated ready-todrink product.

It is shelf stable and readily available in the fridge – the consumer scoop a teaspoon into a 100ml of hot water for an instant beverage.

The Natural Beef is neutral in flavour, which is designed to allow consumers to create their own flavoured elixir daily by sprinkling their favourite fresh herbs or spices on top of their hot cup of bone broth.

It is free from gluten, dairy, soy nut and soy.

It is said to give food-sensitive consumers an additional food option of a nourishing beverage. The range is also preservative free as during the manufacturing process the company uses evaporated sea salt as a preservative.

Once the bottle has been opened it needs to be refrigerated and will last up to four months. The glass it is packaged in is made from natural raw materials, but is it 100 per cent recyclable and reusable.

Preserves taste and nutrition: As glass is odourless and flavourless, virtually impermeable to oxygen and non-reactive, it keeps food fresh.

It is also easy to clean and sterilise if it is to be used again. Its metal

cap is recyclable but needs to be separated from the glass jar.

Its Kraft paper pouch – extends the shelf life of food and protects it from spoilage. The food stays fresh, because air, moisture and light are locked out. Once used, the kraft paper pouch is recyclable.

Upple - Savio Healthy Innovations New Upple is Australia’s first whole apple in a bottle beverage. Using a proprietary process developed over two years (patent pending), it is made from 99.9 per cent whole fresh Australian apples and contains nutrient rich peel, pulp, and juice plus a minimum 2g of fibre in every serve for increased satiety. It contains no added sugar, artificial ingredients, and has a splash of Vitamin C (0.1 per cent).

Upple is made from highquality eating apples.

It is not made from concentrate or poorer quality juicing apples and is presented in a single-serve, 130ml shrink-labelled custom bottle, which is made from 100 per cent recycled PET (rPet).

Upple is both a healthy snack and beverage for consumers ‘on the go’. Its high fibre content, fresh crisp flavour and smooth texture and increased satiety creates a new product in Australia – whole apple in a bottle

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

2020 FOOD & BEVERAGE INDUSTRY AWARDS

Collagen Beauty flavours are used in an array of products.

and a new category for beverage – drinkable fruit.

Collagen Beauty flavours Nutra Organics When developing its Collagen Beauty flavours, the biggest need Nutra Organics aimed to address was providing a natural, delicious, effective way to consume collagen in the most

convenient way possible – water.

All ingredients are natural.

The vitamins in the product are in wholefood form rather than synthetic, the fruit powders are premium refractance dried (the drying method that retains the highest amount of nutrients and flavour). The flavours are made using only natural extraction methods such as pressing, drying and fermentation. They come in three flavours Waterberry, Lemon Lime, and Wildflower.

They are made from plant-based materials and trees that are FSC certified (Forestry Stewardship Council), meaning that for every tree that is cut down – another is planted.

All inks and glues used in the sachets are plant based and free of any toxins, meaning no eco toxins will be left behind ones the sachets decompose.

Jarrah Honey Drink Jas Refresh Jarrah Honey Drink is made by the pure and natural Jarrah honey from Western

Australia. The company has developed a bottle cap that can be used to store the honey before mixing with the pure distilled water in the bottle.

Jarrah honey is considered to have a number of unique qualities. Research by the Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia has determined that it has special antimicrobial properties.

This antimicrobial quality is measured by the term ‘Total Activity’ and includes a number to determine its antimicrobial strength. The higher the TA level, the higher the antimicrobial strength. Depending on the purity, raw Jarrah honey can have a TA of more than 35+.

The honey that is stored in the sealed cap does not spoil because of its high fructose concentration that stops most bacteria from growing. In addition, the natural airborne yeasts cannot become active in it because the moisture content is too low.

Consumers mix the Jarrah honey with the distilled water by pressing

on the top of the cap and shaking the mixture before drinking.

Keto Crackers, Garlic Bread Keto Kitchen Corner Keto Kitchen Corner’s Keto Crackers, Garlic Bread are said to offer a healthy keto snack for busy lifestyles. It is an almond based, seed-free cracker that is available in a grab-and-go style stand-up pouch bag. The 75g bag has three servings of crackers inside.

The ziplock bag is resealable. The ingredients are almond meal, coconut oil, salt, psyllium husk, garlic powder, erythritol, stevia and onion powder.

It is deigned to be eaten on the road, or rushed between meetings, or you cannot sit down for a proper meal.

Because it is almond based, it is high in protein and good fats. Almonds are also a good source of Vitamin E, which is an antioxidant and keeps the heart healthy. The fibre acts as a prebiotic to keep the gut healthy. The pouch is foil lined, made from BOPT/VMPET/PE), so it keeps air and moisture out. F

Food & Beverage Executive of the Year Andrew May - v2food In July of 2019, v2food’s was created with a mission to help feed the growing global population, by building on the technological know-how to create great tasting plant-based meat and a single logo.

Having joined as one of the first three employees under CEO Nick Hazell, Andrew May relocated to Sydney after working in Asia and took on the role of chief growth officer to guide the strategy and build a globally recognised brand in a new category from scratch.

The company was launched and two months later secured national TV and print coverage.

Working through the remainder of 2019 with the start-up team to secure Hungry Jacks Rebel Whopper launch.

May helped set up a contract with Burger King NZ set up the first half of 2020. This was then followed by

the launch of v2mince with Marley Spoon during the COVID lock-down.

Tara Lordsmith Murray River Organics Murray River Organics identified a market opportunity, created a brand, developed a pipeline of new products, sold them into retailers and launched them on shelf.

In her role as general manager sales and marketing, and with the help of some amazing team members, Lordsmith and the company have launched more than 26 new Murray River Organics branded products into the Australian retail market.

They have also created another 10 that will be launching in a few months and another 50 to 60 are in the pipeline.

The company now has products across multiple categories in the supermarket space, which builds towards its vision of creating Australia’s largest vertically

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

integrated organics business with products that are accessible, trusted and good value. As the largest organic dried vine producer in the world, the company are continuing to support our local farmers.

Kylie Martin - GF Oats Australia In 2015 Kylie Martin led the rebranding of a product that can’t be legally called gluten-free in Australia due to labelling restrictions – Gloriously Free Oats.

Martin approached the Grains and Legumes Associate to lobby FANANZ to begin the process to make labelling law changes, which led in 2018 to Coeliac Australia starting a three-year study of oats as part of this change.

The company then repacked the product into box-bottom stylish bags and the brand moved into IGA and New Zealand Woolworths stores.

Thanks in part to Martin’s work, in 2019 the product was approved into

several Countdown (Woolworths) stores across New Zealand, which in turn led to the first gluten-free, organic, vegan ANZAC biscuit to hit the market. The biscuit gained approval from Veterans Affairs to name the product ANZAC. Martin was also instrumental in moving the biscuits into new markets, eg. convenience and vending machines, as well as schools and hospitals In 2019, Martin won Agribusiness Woman of the Year on the Southern Downs QLD, and in the same year won 2019 Ausmumpreneur in the Food & Beverage category.

Cassandra Spies Twisted Healthy Treats Twisted Healthy Treats’ biggest accomplishment this year was getting its first big export deal in the US with Costco across the line, which was down to Spies and her team.

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2020 The company has also expanded its breadth and depth of product offering in the last 12 months and repositioned the business as more than just frozen yoghurt manufacturer.

Spies has helped the company extend its range of offerings including the Better for You ice cream products that contain no added or lower levels of sugar. It is a product that is designed for the diabetic and keto communities and also a line of products that contains added probiotics. On top of that, Spies has also helped spruik the

company’s range of plant-based, 100 per cent natural juice ice blocks to school canteens.

This work by Spies on these product developments has meant the company was able to obtain net new distribution channels.

Nick Psahoulias Beckhoff Automation Nick Psahoulias successfully transitioned from the role of national sales manager to managing director of Beckhoff Automation Australia

in December 2018. Since then, he has implemented a set of processes for continual improvement of the organisation.

This includes, but is not limited to, staff empowerment, staff engagement and cultural diversity programs, clearly defined strategic goals and vertical market penetration, which has resulted in increased team productivity, improved customer relationship and discovering new innovative solutions for our customers.

Psahoulias also initiated many

different marketing programs on various platforms to provide Beckhoff Automation much needed brand awareness in the automation industry. This facilitated Beckhoff Automation Australia to unleash its presence in different market segments such as process industry, power generation, food and beverage, as well as water and wastewater. This also helped the company to have a better understanding of different market verticals, and where to further improve its business model. F

Export Product of the Year Protein powder Steggall Nutrition This is a chocolate-flavoured, halalcertified high-protein powder with added amino acids formulated to a nutritional profile to meet customer’s requirements. The product contains high-quality ingredients that help with growth, development and building and repairing body tissue.

The company has used a recyclable HDPE jar and induction foil wadded cap with a PP white gloss overlaminate label. It has a refreshing look and is robust enough to handle transportation overseas without showing any signs of distortion or buckling. These are packed six per corrugated fibre-board outer carton and stacked on export pallets in preparation for loading into the container.

Coco Luxe coconut water Coco Luxe Life The manufacturer took the popularity of coconut water and formulated it with additional supplements and vitamins, which are designed to appeal to the growing needs of ready-to-drink fortified beverages. Riding the growth of collagen, prebiotic’s and immunity based vitamins, the water was created based around consumption patterns and needs giving customers a flavoursome “daily dose of wellness” without the need to blend at home.

The company was the first in the world to adapt coconut water to be a fortified range and the brand has been well received, according to a

company spokesperson. In 2019, the company was a featured Innovator in Food Innovation Australia’s (FIAL) innovations book.

The product is packed in FSC Tetra, and the plantations are sustainably managed with 65 per cent of the packaging made from renewable sources.

The company was able to gain extended shelf life by its protected and unique process that starts from plantation all the way through to package.

Slim Secrets’ Love Bites come in three flavours.

Ready to Drink Milk Tea NineCha Aust PL This is the first commercially produced Australian-made ready-to-drink milk tea. The product comes in three flavours; original (black tea), Wildberry and the Jasmine. With over 95 per cent Australian ingredients, the company believes it fills a gap across Asia with a uniquely Australian taste and have a product that contains no artificial colours or preservatives.

The product doesn’t use milk substitutes, just quality Australian milk 9Cha is a ready-to-drink milk tea.

and sugar. The milk tea is said to be lower in fat, sodium and sugar than most Australia-flavoured, full-cream milk products currently being exported and have a 3.5 health star rating.

The packaging format is not as well known in Australia with few retail beverages being sold in pouches. The international market is familiar with the pouch as a handy, convenient ready-todrink alternative to bottles and cans.

It has a 10 months shelf life on the product and can ship as ambient. The packaging (200mL pouch), cools down fast in the fridge/chiller and also can be heated through immersion in hot water depending on the required taste.

Choc Love Bites - Slim Secrets Slim Secrets is a range of keto-

friendly choc bites. They come in three flavours; Dark Choc with Mint Crisps (vegan), Protein Milk Choc with Salted Caramel Crisps, and Protein Milk Choc with Crushed Almonds.

Choc Love Bites are pieces of chocolate that are gluten-free, low carb and contain protein and fibre so consumers can enjoy all the pleasure without the gain, according to a spokesperson from the manufacturer.

Choc Love Bites have no added sugar, so consumers can enjoy the taste of real chocolate without the sugar high.

The shelf life is up to 14 months for the Dark Choc and up to 12 months for the Protein Milk Choc products. F

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2020 FOOD & BEVERAGE INDUSTRY AWARDS

Foodservice Product of the Year The Australian Superfood Co uses native ingredients.

Limited Edition Range; Quandong Extract - The Australian Superfood Co The Australian Food Co (TASC) is an ingredient supplier and native ingredient consultant to food and beverage manufacturers and to foodservice.

It is also an intermediary between remote indigenous communities and growers, and multi-national food and beverage manufacturers that require a consistent, shelf-stable product, stringent quality systems, certifications and guarantees of ongoing supply for

the products being produced.

Prior to launching TASC, the company engaged with industry and identified that Australian natives seem to trend every decade, but that two key factors have tended to limit market growth; the lack of consistent supply; and the lack of consistency of product To address these limitations TASC started by preserving raw produce. It buys large quantities when the fruits are in season and preserve them as either freeze-dried powders, liquid extracts or dehydrated produce. Preservation of products enables TASC to hold inventory and guarantee its customers annual supply.

The company offers its freeze-dried fruit powders in packs of varying weights – from 3g up to 100kg.

The bags are brightly coloured to stand out and are resealable to maintain freshness. The gusset at the base means they maintain their shape on the shelf and will stay upright.

Lupin flake - The Lupin Co The Lupin Co developed an Australian Sweet Lupin ‘flake’, which has been adopted as a multi-use ingredient for salads, coatings, warm dishes, roasting, beverage and many other applications.

The flake was developed to ensure hydration in less than three minutes compared to legumes generally which require an overnight soak.

The low carb and gluten-free flake offers consumers an option over wheatbased products, which have carbs and gluten.

The lupin flake offers a high natural protein with a low level of carbohydrate than anything else on the market, according to The Lupin Co. The neutral flavour carrier offers a variety and versatility across a range of applications.

v2food v2food is an agile and innovative start up collaborating with a range

of industry and business leaders to produce premium quality, Australianmade plant-based meat alternatives. v2food believes that the current global food system is unable to scale to meet the growing global demand for meat and is working with the Australian meat industry to provide an alternative solution to export alongside beef and lamb to grow the Australian meat industry, as well as add value to the Australian supply chain.

With a lot of Australian consumers looking to reduce meat consumption, a need was born for a product to take on the world and deliver what meat eaters were looking for but made with plants.

This product caters to the growing consumer segment looking for alternative options and gives the foodservice industry a product that behaves just like the mince they’re used to and at a price that maintains profitability with pricing matching the beef equivalent. F

Innovative Technology LinX Linear Motor ANCA Motion The LinX tubular Linear Motor has high-speed and acceleration, standalone thermal stability and ability to achieve high IP67 protection, which makes it a suitable solution for machine tools, food processing and other automation industries. These motors consist of a shaft containing magnets and a forcer containing wound copper coils. The symmetric design results in zero attractive forces between the forcer and shaft, reducing the loading requirement on support bearings.

With the motors’ simple construction, non-critical air gap and no physical contact between shaft and forcer, machine manufacturers can simplify installation, reduce maintenance and extend machine life.

The motor is also a way manufacturers can drive efficiency and productivity in their factory equipment.

It is said to be quicker and more

efficient vacuum technology from SMC was used. The vacuum head showed the effective use of SMC standard components in an innovative way. The vacuum head consisted of 256 vacuum cups driven by 256 individual vacuum ejectors.

Through the unique combination of a new vision system from HMPS and SMC’s vacuum head, there is less waste, faster speeds and a reduced cycle time of 15 per cent.

LinX Linear motor for machine tools.

accurate than conventional actuation methods, allowing higher throughput at higher qualities over the same period, and use less energy. The motor has fewer moving parts so requires less maintenance.

Special Vacuum Head SMC Corporation SMC designed and built a custom vacuum head to fit to a robotic

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application for its customer HMPS, who was building a packaging machine for food pouches.

The vacuum head was built to address a concern by the end user – an old compressor that had to provide more air for faster output and higher quantity without being replaced. The answer was an energy-efficient smart solution that consumed less energy but packed more punch. Modern,

VentX Stretch Film Slitter Omni Group The Omni pallet wrappers can be fitted with a device to convert regular stretch film into ventilated wrap. This method of producing ventilated stretch film is more cost-effective than conventional ventilated stretch wrap. The VentX Stretch Film Slitter reduces plastic usage and pallet wrapping costs. With a worldwide patented design, this mechanism has blades cutting the

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2020 stretch wrap into four separate bands of film allowing the pallet load to breathe.

The film slitter is an alternative to the conventional 30um ventilated stretch wrap. In comparison, a 12um film can be dispensed with a VentX film slitter, reducing stretch wrap usage by over 50 per cent. The bands of film around the pallet provide better ventilation compared to conventional ventilated stretch wrap.

PolarDry - Spraying Systems Co (Fluid Air Australia) The PolarDry electrostatic spray drying technology is an all-in-one system able to manufacture in a continuous process.

Powders from heat-sensitive materials

that could not be produced before via traditional spray dryers due to the temperatures involved on this process (>150°C), would have to be produced via lyophilisation (freeze-driers) which is a batch process, time consuming and expensive. PolarDry technology can speed the manufacturing process and yet cut OPEX costs by 1/3 when compared to a lyophilisation process of similar capacity.

By offering a modular design, the throughput of a PolarDry equipment can be scaled-up in stages, allowing the demand to grow as the business grows.

The system can also agglomerate the powder being dried at the chamber by using pulse width modulation (PWM),

which in many cases saves time and energy involved in further processing.

2D Barcode - GS1 Australia 2D Barcodes by GS1 are the latest content-rich, on-pack symbols that encompass multiple data elements for manufacturers and retailers. The smaller barcode reveals a wealth of information at point-of-sale, that can’t be squeezed onto a traditional barcode.

Batch/lot numbers are contained within the 2D barcodes, in the case of a product recall or withdrawal, the affected batch lots can be identified accurately within the supply chain.

This means only the affected batches need to be removed from warehouses

and supermarket shelves, rather than all products associated with the recall.

The smaller 2D barcodes present manufacturers with more on-pack real estate.

Along with the more efficient management of product recalls, 2D barcodes mean less food waste. This is achieved through more accurate expiration date management, automatic markdowns and improved stock control. With the improved visibility of shelf life that is achieved when using 2D barcodes, there is better stock rotation and management of markdown processes as the product approaches the use-by or best before date. This means products can be sold before the date. F

Locally Sourced Product of the Year Limited Edition Range - The Australian Superfood Co This range of products is 100 per cent Australian sourced from Indigenous communities and local growers of native Australian produce.

The products are packed in brown doy pouches with a label over the top outlining the ingredients are part of The Australian Superfood Co (TASC) limited Edition range. This range includes Australian native ingredients that are harder to come by than normal ingredients. While the company is working on increasing supply of these lesser known natives, it wants to continue to support Indigenous communities and local growers and increase awareness and accessibility of all native produce. Australian native ingredients are all wild harvested in Australia. They have adapted to the land and require no pesticides or fungicides, less water and are able to withstand many natural disasters.

Cricket Protein Powder Acheta Domesticus - Edible Bug Shop Since 2007 the Edible Bug Shop has been farming crickets for human consumption and has also been working to develop a 100 per cent Australian

farmed product that is sustainable and nutritious. The company has been farming and processing them on its farm in Western Sydney. The farmed crickets are bred under hygienic conditions in Sydney and are fed on a nutritious diet of fruit and vegetables.

The fruit and vegetables were destined for landfill, so the company circled the resources back into its food system to use it as feed the crickets. When the company was first started it was based around being able to provide more protein with less resources, and it has been able to achieve that. By the end of this year it will run on 100 per cent solar energy. It also has zero waste leaving its site and utilises 90 per cent rain or recycled water.

Apple Flour - Sensory Mill The apples for the flour are grown in Officer, Victoria, Australia and sourced directly from the orchard to mill into flour.

The product is packaged into 300g packets for retail. The description on the back of packaging further highlights the Australian sourced nature with the statement ‘Australia’s finest Apple Flour’. Further to this, on the back of the packaging, the Made in Australia

Natural protein powder from crickets could soon become a food staple.

bar is used to express made from 100 per cent Australian ingredients, a statement of ‘Product of Australia’.

Sensory Mill and Bellevue Orchard have a strong ethos for zero-wastage.

Apple Flour is sustainable as it is produced from apple pomace that has been left over from juicing of apples, that would otherwise end up in landfill or distributed for animal feed. The production of Apple Flour is estimated to divert 80,000kg of wastage per year from apple pomace.

Brookie's Slow Gin Cape Byron Distillery Cape Byron Distillery’s Slow Gin is one of the reason’s the company is one of Australia’s largest purchases of Davidson Plums. It purchases all of

Tuckombil Native Food’s supply. Where its stock falls short, the company will source from smaller farmers who, due to the size of their farms, would never have even considered selling on a commercial level.

All the ingredients that go into making Brookie’s Slow Gin are produced in Australia from Mount Warning Springwater to the 25 native botanicals used to create Brookie’s unique flavour profile.

The company’s packaging, which is made from recycled sugarcane, means not only is it Australian made but encourages upcycling over recycling.

The Davidson Plums are used again and again, producing a master stock of steeped fruit. When Cape Byron Distillery is finally done with them they are donated to small businesses to make soap, candles and jams. Any other by-products of the distilling process are transferred to its onsite compost pile ready to be used to cultivate rainforest botanicals and nourish the company’s macadamia orchid.

As the majority of the ingredients are sourced in such close radius to the distillery, transport emissions are also heavily reduced.

The Davidson Plum was

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2020 FOOD & BEVERAGE INDUSTRY AWARDS

traditionally bush tucker for the Indigenous communities in the Byron area who enjoyed eating fruit raw despite the sour acidity.

Cocolife's Macadamia NonAerosol Spray Oil Coconutts Enterprise Unlike other spray oils that are mixed with chemicals and gases, Cocolife’s Macadamia Non-Aerosol Spray Oil contains 100 per cent Australian macadamia nut oil and is sourced from macadamia farms in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales,

Australia. The oil has recyclable, sustainable and eco-friendly packaging including references to the ingredients being Australian, specifically, the Food Standard’s Country of Origin label showcasing that the product is “Made in Australia from 100 per cent Australian ingredients”.

Macadamia nut oil’s high smoke point means that it is ideal for pan frying fish or marinating BBQ meats.

The high smoke point mean that the nutritional benefits of the oil is not compromised due to its high heat tolerance. Macadamia oil is high in

heart-healthy omega 9, antioxidants and vitamin E and good for maintaining eye health. Throughout social media and all marketing collateral, Cocolife is proud to feature the providence of its world first Australian Macadamia Non-Aerosol Spray Oil, which is exported in the UK and USA. Cocolife sources its macadamia oil directly from Australian macadamia farms in Northern NSW. Cocolife decided to create a product that is not only healthy and good for consumers, but supports local farmers who have always been committed to adopting

processes to ensure the quality of the end product. Macadamia nut farmers consistently strive to achieve longterm sustainability. The husk is used as mulch and compost, and the shell is used for co-generation of electricity in macadamia processing plants. The macadamia shells, once burnt in high temperature’, are used as soil enhancers to make the soil more fertile and stores carbon in the soil so it’s not released as a greenhouse gas. Biochar production creates oil and gas by-products that can be used as fuel for renewable energy plants. F

Retail Product of the Year BADASS Stout Badlands Brewery Badlands Announce: ‘Decade Anniversary Stout Series’” or BADASS for short has relied on the artwork across the four beers in the series to sell the story that the whole is bigger than the individual parts. The concept of a finger-print across the four designs illustrates the unique, limited, handmade nature of the product coming from a two-person operation in regional NSW. It was the concept of head brewer and founder Jon Shiner who runs a small 1000-litre batch size brewery in regional NSW. As the concept is new, it has had to find its own new consumers and it has done this by first, being a new idea, second, the beers tells a story.

It is a story of manual, small-batch beer making while having a lot of fun both with the craziness of the concept and the opportunity to showcase other local producers.

Kombucha Yoghurt Roar & Tonic Australian made Roar & Tonic has launched the world’s first kombucha yoghurt. Roar & Tonic has taken the benefits of kombucha and applied it to the yoghurt category.

By deliberate design, everything about this brand brings refreshment to a rather traditional yoghurt category.

The brand name speaks to creating balance in life, with the ‘Tonic’ an antidote to life’s ‘Roar’, while the fluro print colours and little hero, Lionel the

Mouse, break the yoghurt packaging monotony. An additional highlight has been winning ‘Best New Brand’ at the 2020 World Dairy Innovation Awards.

The brand revolves around the protagonist, the small and unassuming Lionel the mouse. Lionel is seen playing a different loud instrument on each pack, demonstrating that small things can pack a big punch.

Roar & Tonic has taken the well documented benefits of kombucha and applied it to the yoghurt category. Roar & Tonic punches above its weight in product benefits containing fifteen strains of live cultures (including Bifidobacterium lactis BB-12) as well as billions of probiotics to support gut health.

Our Family Table Gluten-Free range - Land of Plenty Food Many factors were taken into consideration during the development of the Our Family Table GlutenFree range.

It is a family-owned business whereby the product is manufactured in Australia where the ingredients include raw fish from Australia, New Zealand, Alaska, South America and Africa .

FREE Organic Lager FREE Brewing Co. FREE Brewing Co. launched in 2019 with its flagship beer FREE Organic Lager. The marketing of the lager is designed to project the company ethos of 100 per cent natural, pure beer experience.

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FREE Organic Lager is the company’s flagship beer, and communicates its approach to brewing and what its stands for – high quality, organic ingredients and brewing processes, free of preservatives and additives.

The main avenue of contributing to a better place to live is sustainability.

By choosing organic ingredients the company supports sustainable farming practices.

Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener Lakanto Australia Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener was launched in Australia in August 2019 with the range initially secured in Woolworths stores nationally and health food wholesalers. Today, distribution of the two Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener products is via Woolworths, Coles, IGA Drakes, Ritchies, and 800 health food shops around the country.

Lakanto Monkfruit sweetened products have a mass consumer following in markets globally including Japan and the US, meeting the needs of consumers searching for sugar replacement for medical requirements including diabetic friendly; for functional benefits including those requesting keto or weight management dietary needs; for those seeking products to reduce their sugar intake for general health; and as a natural sweetener that performs in cooking and baking.

The efficient standing pouch provides a flexible packaging solution

Monkfruit sweetened products are big in Asia and the US. made of strong, puncture-resistant, recyclable material, with a zip lock to keep the product inside airtight and achieve an extended shelf life.

The pouch also features a transparent window to display the product quality to customers.

The sweetener is an all-natural substitute to sugar with 93 per cent less calories and no aftertaste.

V2mince - v2food v2food makes plant-based alternatives for consumers who love the taste, nutrition and cooking experience of meat but are looking for options that are an alternative to conventional meat.

Developed in conjunction with CSIRO, the company’s debut retail product, v2mince, is a product that looks, cooks and tastes like meat but is made with plants and available to consumers at a comparable price point to beef. v2food is now rolling out v2mince and v2burger in supermarkets making it easier for consumers to try sustainable plant-based meat alternatives in fast and fresh homecooked meals. With recipes from a range of cuisines, these partnerships

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2020 have highlighted the versatility of v2’s plant-based meat as an alternative suitable for any traditional mincemeat dish.

Working with the meat industry, and leveraging 50+ years of meat experience, delivers increased shelf life using modified atmosphere packaging that allows v2 to sell a fresh product with no preservatives.

Simson's Pantry High Protein Low Carb Wrap - True Foods Simson’s Pantry High Protein Low Carb (HPLC) Wrap is characterised

by succinct on-pack messaging and attractive on-shelf differentiation, the HPLC product is a deliciously healthy premium wrap offering, catering to the complex and ever changing dietary needs of Australian consumers.

Offering a nutritious and functional flatbread solution.

The “Better for You” branding represents our sustainability callout that 100 per cent of the energy used to make the wraps are generated using solar from our onsite solar farm, that our BFY wraps are Vegan and that the wrap contains healthier nutritional benefits

that lead to a ‘better’ you. Developed and manufactured in Maryborough Victoria, the market-leading retail solution for nutrition-focused flatbreads leverages international food ingredient innovation, to boost the nutritional functionality of the offering. In what has previously been a base level category where consumers would need to pay premium for single product difference, now they can get multifaceted nutritional benefits in one wrap. Wraps are hand packaged into Redcycle-suitable, resealable pouches with an oxygen scavenger to facilitate

the extended 4 month ambientstable shelf life of the product. This impermeable pouch facilitates the product’s suitability for transport, on shelf presence and consumer storage completely in an ambient supply chain, restricting food waste losses due to short shelf life and reducing carbon footprint of any frozen-thawback requirements. The resealable function of the pouch protect’s the product’s functional experience for the consumer, ensuring they can comfortably consume the contents without concern of drying or cracking after opening. F

Start Up of the Year V2food v2food is an agile start up collaborating with a range of industry and business leaders to produce premium quality, Australian-made plant-based meat alternatives. v2food recognises that the current global food system is unable to scale to meet the growing global demand for meat and is working with the Australian meat industry to provide an alternative solution to export alongside beef and lamb to grow the Australian meat industry and add value to the Australian supply chain. v2food has created a range of premium plant-based products that look, cook and taste just like meat.

A testament to the category-leading R&D capabilities of the v2food/CSIRO collaboration, v2 products beat leading international brands in blind taste tests and are available in mince and burger style.

Lakanto Australia Lakanto is a company that was set up to give consumers and alternative to sugar.

Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener is an all-natural substitute to sugar with 93 per cent less calories and no aftertaste.

With a taste and texture just like sugar, it is a spoon for spoon replacement.

Lakanto is heat stable providing a healthy alternative in all drinks, baking and cooking.

Lakanto Australia is a family owned business, aiming to “bring Chi to life by inspiring people to reach their highest potential in health and wellness, and by creating products

that are innovative, delicious, natural, nutritious, sugar-free, and healthy”.

footprint through the use of solar panels on the roof, use of reclaimed boxes and packaging fillers.

Savio Healthy Innovations Savio Healthy Innovations has invented Upple, a fresh-tasting whole fruit beverage, made from 99.9 per cent whole-cored fresh Australian apples.

Using a proprietary process (patent pending) developed over two years, Upple is made from hand-picked whole fresh Australian apples and contains nutrient-rich peel, pulp, and juice plus a minimum 2g of fibre in every serve for increased satiety. It contains no added sugar or artificial ingredients and a splash of Vitamin C.

Minjums Foods Minjums is a company that makes a spread that is made of lentils and wholesome ingredients such as fruits and vegetables. The sweet spreads are free of refined sugars, preservatives and artificial ingredients, and are plant based. The company launched three flavours, raspberry, cocoa and chai.

All the ingredients are plantbased from 49 per cent to 69 per cent Australian Ingredients. Dates are the second ingredient in the list.

The packaging is 100 per cent plastic tub recyclable and reusable and the company encourages people to reuse all containers.

The company’s mission is to promote healthy eating by providing wholesome food choices that are good for the whole family, good for a person’s health and good for the planet.

Seedsations

Upple is from Savio Healthy Innovations.

17 Rocks 17Rocks Chocolates has developed a range of functional cacao-derived food products that leverage the cacao bean’s medicinal properties through food combining, pure manufacturing practices and innovative packaging.

Cacao (the raw ingredient of chocolate) contains high levels of polyphenols, which give consumers long-lasting energy, improves digestion and metabolism, brain function and keeps people healthy as they age.

17Rocks is a zero waste manufacturer. Every part of its raw ingredients is converted into products.

For example, the cacao butter from the hot chocolate is turned into soap while the cacao bean shell is turned into cacao body scrub. The company does not utilise single-use plastics with all products required to be either biodegradable or recyclable. The company has limited its environmental

Seedsations was founded to produce innovative healthy Watermelon Seed Bars that are plant based, gluten-free with 9gs protein and 4gs of fibre.

These nutrient-dense seeds have been sprouted to ensure the nutrients are easily absorbed. High in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, with 15 per cent of daily iron needs and 30 per cent of daily magnesium needs. The magnesium and iron in the seeds can help promote strength and endurance by supporting bone strength and carrying oxygen to a person’s muscles and brain. Seedsations mission is to spread simplicity and happiness while producing innovative food products.

Garlicious Grown Garlicious Grown launched Black Garlic Paste, a smooth 100 per cent black garlic product. Black garlic is processed from fresh white garlic, by undergoing the Maillard reaction, through 30 days of low temperature and high humidity. The end product is a big flavoured shiny black garlic, ready to bring that extra touch to any meal. Black garlic paste meets the expectation of maximum convenience with maximum flavour in a healthy food. The paste is ready to use from the jar and highly versatile as a spread (perhaps on steak or toast) or as a flavour addition to a sauce. F

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INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTION

Supplying the next generation of manufacturing The Inenco Group of businesses are now Motion Asia Pacific. Food & Beverage Industry News finds out how this empowers Australian manufacturers by tapping into a global network of excellence.

E

very day for the past 60 years, manufacturers around Australia and New Zealand have visited one of more than 100 Motion Asia Pacific locations, formerly known collectively as Inenco. These store-fronts and branches, spread across every Australian state and the Northern Territory, have become a fixture for the manufacturing industry, whether it be a BSC, CBC, Hardy Spicer, Speciality Fasteners or any of the other businesses owned by Inenco.

Such has been their longevity and brand presence; each business has continued to stand alone while under the Inenco ownership umbrella. However, since 2019, when Genuine Parts Company, owner of US industrial distribution brand Motion Industries, bought Inenco, work has been underway to combine

these businesses under the Motion Asia Pacific brand.

CEO of Motion Asia Pacific, Roger Jowett, said that this will directly benefit each customer who may not have been aware of all the individual parts of Inenco.

“We are still somewhat dysfunctional in that we’ll have two, three, or four salespeople visit the same customer. We’ll do great things, but we’ll produce four invoices. For us it’s the first step in pulling things together.”

By bringing together the distinct businesses under the Motion Asia Pacific name, customers will find it easier to source a range of parts and products.

“We’re helping to reduce transactional costs and increase access to a deeper range of offerings.

Reducing suppliers is a strategic

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aim for many industrial businesses as they want to have an uncluttered supply chain. You don’t want thousands of different suppliers, some of whom they might spend not a lot of money with,” said Jowett.

The efficiencies go beyond the physical objects supplied and will enable each of the Motion Asia Pacific businesses to improve how they work together. In addition to the bearings, seals, and power transmission products the company can supply, the wealth of knowledge built up within the business can be brought to bear on a solution.

“For example, when we supply a Hardy Spicer hydraulic hose with fittings it is tailored to the application,” said Jowett. “Often a poorly installed part can lead to ongoing problems, so that advisory service that wraps around the

product, those are the things we work hard on.”

The people providing this service, the application engineers, may have an additional logo on their sleeve, but the experience will remain.

“We’ve got some of the best people who are very knowledgeable about specific applications,” said Jowett. “They’re not just selling you something in a box, they’re helping you find an alternative and ensure that it’s configured correctly and part of a solution comprising belts, cogs, pulleys, chains, and bearings.”

Soon Jowett sees Motion Asia Pacific as creating go-to destinations in each location it serves, combining products, technology, and knowledge.

“The people in those businesses who have been working with us for 10, 20, to 30 years, they have such a depth

INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTION When working with Motion Asia Pacific, manufacturers can tap into global expertise.

of knowledge and experience and in some instances know how the assets operate in the customer’s premises better than the person in charge because they have lived with it from day one of installation,” said Jowett.

Backed by #1 Partnering with Motion Asia Pacific allows for local manufacturing businesses to tap into a global database of expertise in industrial products. Motion Industries brings formidable know-how to the Australian market.

The company has annual sales in excess of $9.3 billion and is enabling Motion Asia Pacific to provide the same level of training and support to its staff around Australia.

“Our employees already knew Motion Industries from the US,” said Jowett. “They go on to YouTube and download their videos and now we can package up all of that for training.”

The company’s size also enables

Motion Asia Pacific to scale-up local operations.

“We’re adopting our own version of their operating system covering all of our descriptions and copying what they’d already built in terms of that collateral in the database,” said Jowett.

There are also opportunities to save transport costs and increase procurement, but what Jowett sees as most important is the approach Motion has taken to digitally connecting with the customer, what he calls an omni-channel approach.

This combines the existing face-toface contact and the expertise that is only available when a supplier can be hands-on with a customer, with a seamless online offering covering sales, associated collateral such as brochures and videos, and customer analytics. Backing this up is the experience of operating in the most sophisticated logistics supply market in the world, said Jowett.

“There is the ability to get any product, anywhere overnight. You might need this in Alaska, and I’ve got it in Florida, and I’ll get it to you tomorrow. It is mindblowing capability.”

To achieve this in Australia, one also has to overcome a highly dispersed population across a huge continent. Motion Asia Pacific will take the best ideas from the North American market and apply them here.

“We don’t want to be touching the product too many times, we just want to glide it to you,” said Jowett.

“Of course, when you can see how it works in North America you bring ideas about how to make us a little bit smarter and faster.”

Supplying the manufacturing renaissance Embedding the change from Inenco to Motion Asia Pacific has come at a time where the manufacturing sector in Australia has undergone a wholesale re-evaluation in the eyes of the wider population. No longer bemoaning the death of Australian manufacturing, now the exhortation is to buy local, and not just when it comes to food and drink.

Having seen changes in industrial composition occur in other countries in the region where Motion Asia Pacific has businesses, including New Zealand, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia, Jowett highlights that our neighbours provide an

indication of where manufacturing might be headed.

“We have a very strong business in New Zealand called SAECOWilson and we have watched as New Zealand deindustrialised over 20 years ago when car manufacturing ceased,” said Jowett. “What we’ve seen over the years is that manufacturing has blossomed, with some incentives from government and a really good engineering capability, and now there are some world-class manufacturing operations in New Zealand.”

Jowett describes the manufacturing landscape in New Zealand as akin to a start-up ecosystem, with manufacturers able to experiment with short runs of products to a smaller market while leveraging global best-practice.

Here, Motion Asia Pacific can be the conduit between their suppliers who are located in the industrial powerhouses of Asia, Europe, and North America, and the businesses in Australia and New Zealand.

“It’s more these nimble, value-add manufacturers and that leads to more specialist engineering applications, with a heavy dose of design,” said Jowett.

Being linked to markets in North America also allowed Motion Asia Pacific to bring the latest innovations to the local market as they come online.

“One of the things that we’re quite excited about is how our Motion colleagues in America have been investing in spare parts for robotics, and asking themselves as a traditional industrial parts distributor, ‘How are we going to be relevant in 10 years when we know our customers are changing faster than us in terms of their manufacturing techniques?’”

Continuing its focus on being the local advisor to their customers, Motion Asia Pacific will be looking at how it can bring these new products to their customers.

“We serve everything from the local repair shop that’s fixing trailers through to the big miners, and all the food and aggregates and agriculture in-between, so we’re quite flexible at working out the appropriate stocking programs,” said Jowett.

Investing in local capability Just as much as the new wave of manufacturing will be assisted by the newest products and technology,

Jowett also knows that it is the people who put these devices together who are the lifeblood of Australian manufacturing.

For this reason, Motion Asia Pacific is continuing to do its part to train the next generation of manufacturers.

“For the past four years we have had a regular intake of mechanical engineering graduates in their last year. They’ve done 14 weeks of work placement and we’ve retained a fair number of them once they graduate and they become the application engineers,” said Jowett.

The program has had success with diversifying the industrial workforce, including those from regional backgrounds and women.

This is important, Jowett notes, to ensure that the businesses that Australian manufacturers have relied upon for 60 years will be around for the next 60.

“It’s critical to understand how some people look at the same problem a different way and come up with maybe the same solution or a different one. It keeps us relevant.

The world out there is diverse and it’s very important for a traditional business to drive harder and harder in that direction.”

Motion Asia Pacific is also ensuring that its own workforce will stick around and developing their skills to handle the next generation of manufacturing.

“Our business is made up of people who were fitters, mechanics, drivers, warehouse workers. They join us and they progress through our organisation. We invest in them, and they can get qualified all the way to some of our leaders with MBA sponsorship,” said Jowett.

These programs will be extended and developed further, as graduates are able to tap into the knowledge found in Motion Industries in North America.

“We’ve already had some of our younger people doing internships on software and marketing projects in the USA with Motion Industries and you can see their eyes light up.”

Jowett notes that the logos and familiar faces that Australian manufacturers are used to won’t disappear, and will instead be Motion Asia Pacific’s crown jewels, backed up by a global commitment to bring the best parts and expertise in the world to Australia. F

www.foodmag.com.au | August 2020 | Food&Beverage Industry News 39

DAIRY REPORT

Global dairy commodity update July 2020 W

holesale dairy markets rebounded strongly from the impacts of COVID-19 with worldwide closure of foodservice outlets – most importantly in the US and Europe - and the cessation of cross-border travel.

Trade was slower than the 2019 comparative for the first four months of 2020, impacted by some logistical difficulties due to COVID-19, but also against strong 2019 numbers for milk powders when prices were much lower. There were some timing factors that affected that – the peak of WMP trade was pushed earlier with the Chinese New Year, while the early 2019 run-out sale of SMP in the EU continued into March – meaning comparatives were strong.

The sustained strong retail sales, refilling foodservice outlets, government aid spending in the US, and slower milk supply effects have hauled cheese and butter prices off the floor.

This feels like a false dawn. A deep recession is unfolding due to

the huge losses in income due to business closures, which will erode household spending in western markets and weaken developing world economies.

As the reality of recession takes hold, food spending in western economies will be impacted, reducing discretionary outlays, reducing the propensity to dine out and causing frugal spending in the grocery store.

The effect on ongoing cheese demand will be the most important driver of the impact on dairy markets, as processors’ response to weaker demand will push more milk to powder driers in coming months.

In the outlook, EU and US cheese demand remains flat in H2-2020 before improving in 2021.

The impact on cream demand without food service consumption will push up butter production and stocks. Demand from export markets, also with weak foodservice sectors for the rest of the year, will not help, despite prices being more attractive.

The milk supply response will be all important in this outlook with likely different trends across major producers.

Skim milk powder SMP and NFDM prices continued steady, recovering after the worst of the COVID-19 shocks, as cheese and butterfat markets also stabilised.

Whole milk powderSpot values remained mixed through June; NZ

values improved, while EU product was steady. However, EU product continues to trade at a premium.

WMP trade shrank (with exports to China 16 per cent lower) further in May, with export declines posted by NZ and Uruguay.

Cheese Global cheese markets are likely to be impacted through 2020 by the disruption to food service sales, but not all of the impact will be negative.

Attention is focused on the impacts on demand in major EU and US markets, affecting export prices, but also SMP/butter output.

Butter Global butterfat prices have converged with improving EU wholesale prices, while Oceania markets have weakened with demand reflecting the slow reopening of food service channels in major markets and the damage to consumer spending as recession bites.

While grocery and other food retail demand remains buoyant, there is no prospect that this can make up for the loss of butterfat sales into food service outlets.

Whey

Weaker demand will mean more milk will be pushed towards powder driers.

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

Whey product prices have inevitably been caught in the complex impacts of COVID-19 due to changes in cheese production, relative protein values and the demand for certain applications. F

NEW PRODUCTS

Introducing the DB Essential range of distribution boards from APS Industrial Following the successful launch of the APS DB Ultimate, APS Industrial has released the second range within the ‘DB’ family, the APS DB Essential.

Consistent throughout the DB family of distribution boards, the new Essential is custom designed for the demands of Australian industry and purpose built for compatibility with Siemens circuit breakers.

The DB Essential has been developed as a quality lightweight distribution board for high end commercial and medium-duty industrial environments.

The enclosure by KATKO is a fully welded construction and meets the highest IK rating against external mechanical impacts whilst maintaining an IP55 ingress rating.

Together, these ratings make this range of distribution boards ideal for indoor and outdoor applications typically seen in office, retail, hotel warehouse and distribution applications.

While the DB Essential does not offer a removable gear tray (as featured in the DB Ultimate), the DB Essential does offer significant flexibility in equipment options thanks to careful design considerations and a range of Features include: • IP55/IK10 KATKO enclosure; • dual quarter-turn locking system; • removeable hinged escutcheon and door; • continuous poured door seal; • galvanised gear plate; • dual earth neutral bars; and • removeable gland plate (top).

APS Industrial (02) 8898 6200: www.apsindustrial.com.au

Rugged computer with Intel 9th generation processor Backplane Systems Technology has released the MPL’s PIP40 series extremely rugged computer with Intel 9th generation processor.

The PIP40 Series is a high-performance, low power and highly integrated rugged embedded computer, based in the latest Intel technology. The solution is available in a compact aluminium housing with DIN-Rail or flange to fit a rugged MIL IP67 enclosure, a 19-inch rack system or an open frame solution with a cooling plate.

The unique chassis solutions allow the PIP40 to operate in a moderate to harsh environments. The design integrates standard I/O connectors for easy connection or lockable headers, depending on housing choice or needs. The PIP40 Series can be used for most high quality x86 application where a complete but still expandable solution is needed.

The PIP40 series housings offer sufficient space for 2.5-inch SSD or other expansions like UPS or RAID, as well as two mPCIe and three m.2 slots to allow expansion. The Internal Expansion BUS allows the integration of PCIe/104 or PCIe cards. The PIP40 Series meets the CE and FCC standards, allowing the EN50155, IEC 60945 or MIL-STD-810 certifications to be met.

Key features: • up to 64GB DDR4 memory (depending on selected CPU); • fanless operation, also from -40°C to +65°C; • long-term availability; • extremely flexible; and • AMT/vPro support.

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

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

NEW PRODUCTS

VEGABAR Series 80 The VEGABAR 80 series has a quick-start procedure that allows fast, simple and reliable setup and commissioning. What is more, the integrated diagnostics system now makes really fast maintenance and servicing possible.

With the new VEGABAR 80 series, all applications can be covered with only three process pressure transmitters: The all-rounder VEGABAR 82 with ceramic measuring cell, which can cover 80 per cent of all applications.

VEGABAR 83 with metallic measuring cell, the first choice for high-pressure applications. The classic VEGABAR 81 with chemical seal, which is always deployed when high temperature and/or chemical resistance is required.

When sudden temperature changes occur, it can take several minutes before sensors with ceramic measuring cells begin delivering reliable readings again. With the ceramic measuring cell in VEGABAR 80, customers can be sure that they are getting correct measurement data. Because now, even very fast temperature changes cannot affect the pressure measurement.

In addition to the usual temperature sensor on the backside of CERTEC, there is a second sensor in the glass joint directly behind the ceramic diaphragm – this sensor is mounted in an technically challenging process.

Due to its exposed position, it doesn’t miss the slightest temperature change. Any thermal shock is compensated by means of a sophisticated algorithm.

VEGA has applied a measurement and a reference capacitor and covered the surface of the measuring cell with a thin layer of glass. Since due to the glass passivation there is no longer any contact with the medium, the dielectric constant in the entire system changes, i.e. for both the measurement and the reference capacitances. A coefficient is formed from the two values and computationally balanced for the measuring result.

Another feature of the VEGA ceramic is its high overload resistance of up to

factor 200 – more than double what other ceramics are able to provide.

CERTEC can now withstand temperatures up to 130°C. These additional 10° C are especially interesting for the food and pharmaceutical industry because, in many cases, customers no longer have to buy the hightemperature version for their sterilisation processes.

VEGABAR 82 has a tiny measuring range of only 25 mbar (previously 100 mbar). And that is without electronic turndown. The measuring range has also increased in the upward direction, from 60 to 100 bar.

CERTEC is the only ceramic measuring cell on the market that allows front-flush mounting, as its radial seal is recessed and protected from the medium.

Vega Australia (02) 9542 6662 www.vega.com

The power of the correct suction SMC Corporation Australia New Zealand’s (ANZ) range of vacuum components is focused on compressed air efficiency.

ZK2-A vacuum ejector The vacuum ejector series is an all-in-one energy-saving solution that offers a 90 per cent reduction in air consumption thanks to a digital pressure switch complete with an energy saving function designed to cut the air supply when the pressure reaches the desired vacuum.

ZP2V vacuum saving valve This is used when multiple vacuum pads are operated by a single vacuum generator and some of them do not have a good hold on the work piece. This ensures that the work piece is held in place by the rest of the pads while vacuum pressure is restricted to those not in operation for enhanced energy savings, while the spring-loaded mechanism allows the vacuum saving valve to work in any position.

ZH-A vacuum generators This series is compact, light-weight and is available as either a box type or a body ported type, each of them now available in a manifold configuration.

ZL2/3 multistage ejector SMC has renewed its multistage ejector range with the, ZL1/ZL3/ZL6 series, in response to weight reduction demand that comes from the growing use of robotics. This series offers a high efficiency multistage ejector series that is compact and lightweight in design but big in terms of suction power. The threestage diffuser construction design of the ZL1/ZL3/ZL6 delivers an increased suction flow rate of 250 per cent when compared to a one stage model. The ZL3 and ZL6 come with an increase in maximum suction flow rate of up to 600 l/min.

ZU-A in-line vacuum generator This compact and light-weight solution installs close to the vacuum pad in order 42 Food&Beverage Industry News | August 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au

to prevent absorption failures from the vacuum source and can reach pressures of up to -90kPA. SMC Australia (02) 9354 8222 www.smcanz.com

, 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

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