Food and Beverage Industry News December 2021

DECEMBER 2021

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s 2021 ends, the food and beverage industry demonstrated the flexibility and resilience it needed to. As the world changed around it, the industry adapted to the long list of obstacles put in its path.

It wasn’t all roses and rainbows though.

Many lost out on trade show opportunities, and organisers lost out on the time, effort, and expense they put into these events.

Despite this, every person within the industry I have spoken to about trade shows say the same thing – they can’t wait to get back out there. A positive sign for the future of a critical element to the industry.

Large, multi-million-dollar projects impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic are now starting to reach completion, getting a chance to see the full scope of new machinery and processes employed during the pandemic.

New factories will hopefully be able to run at full capacity and output in 2022, giving stakeholders their first full process data after heavy capital investment, such as Victorian fruit producer Montague, for example.

As Australia opens its international border for travel, the COVID-19 delays on international supply chains should start to ease, which I’m sure will be a hallmark day for many producers and distributors.

However, we can’t forget the importance of locally sourced and manufactured products after so many played critical roles in keeping the

industry moving forward over the past 18 months.

The lessons learned in 2021 have been numerous. But they have also strengthened the industry against disruptions the likes of which hadn’t been seen since the Great Depression, or the impacts of the Second World War on trade, supply chains and availability.

We are all lucky that we are part of an industry that had to keep moving forward during a time when so many others lost their livelihoods.

And now we look ahead at 2022.

Many stakeholders in the industry will have big developments just on the horizon, as we put the pandemic in the rear-view mirror, eventually.

The near future should see industry wide changes, such as major companies committing to carbon neutrality or even overhauling entire processes. Every day we get closer to the target dates for new industry standards seeking to reduce the carbon footprint and food waste created by food and beverage manufacturing, as well as the all-important packaging targets.

The face of the industry, across the world, continues to evolve with the times – a strength of the food and beverage manufacturing industry.

I personally look forward to getting out into the field and meeting many of you faceto-face for the first time, either at site visits, or trade shows, in 2022 when things have hopefully returned to something we recognise as normal.

Until next year. Have a great one.

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www.foodmag.com.au | December 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 3

CONTENTS

INSIDE

18

24

06 NEWS 18 MEET THE MANUFACTURER Nexba puts the spotlight on the better-for-you beverage market.

22 BEVERAGE PROCESSING Continental and ContiTech promise top-quality industrial hoses.

24 INSTRUMENTATION VEGA’s automated radar sensors prove successful for dairy companies.

38

26 LOGISTICS Schmitz Cargobull’s temperature-controlled trailers are ideal for Australian conditions.

28 CONSTRUCTION Total Construction is building processing facility for B&E Foods.

30 MICE The Melbourne International Coffee Expo announced the 2021 Product Innovation Award finalists.

32 AUSTRALIAN MADE SPC is one of the last remaining processors for tomatoes in Australia.

34 AUSTRALIAN MADE ePac showcases marketing capabilities for small businesses.

35 PACKAGING AND PROCESSING AUSPACK organisers are excited for the events return.

42

36 FINE FOOD Fine Food Australia is set to return with two events in 2022.

38 FOODTECH The Queensland industry event to go ahead in 2022.

40 BEARINGS BSC was able to help Hawkes Farm avoid disaster after a bearing failure on site.

42 SUSTAINABILITY Krones research highlights the benefits of returnable PET containers.

44

44 INSTRUMENTATION AMS is supplying the Beamex CENTRiCAL calibration bench.

45 AFCCC 46 AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF PACKAGING 48 DAIRY 49 NEW PRODUCTS

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

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NEWS

ALDI removes 2000 tonnes of plastic packaging in one year A ustralians who shop at ALDI can feel good knowing their weekly shop contains less plastic, as ALDI Australia removes almost 2,000 tonnes of plastic packaging and achieves a 10 per cent reduction across its fresh produce range in just one year.

This means that ALDI Australia is tracking well in its goal to reduce the amount of plastic used in its own-label packaging by a quarter by 2025.

Australians use over 3.5 million tonnes of plastics each year, with one million tonnes made up of single-use plastic.

When ALDI first made its ambitious commitment in 2019, the business evaluated the total amount of packaging across each of its products.

Since then, the supermarket has been working closely with producers and manufacturers to remove plastics from its range.

This includes removing plastic

sleeves, trays and labels, or replacing them with sustainable alternatives to reduce the overall plastic quantity in the products.

ALDI reduced four per cent of plastic packaging in the first year of the initiative, which has collectively avoided almost 2,000 tonnes of plastics being introduced to the market.

The supermarket has been especially focused on removing plastics across its fresh produce, with plastic trays and wraps reduced by 10 per cent.

The organisation recognises its responsibility to minimise the use of plastics, stating that eagle-eyed customers may have already noticed product packaging changes.

Almost all of ALDI’s apparel range is now packaged in cardboard, when garments used to be sold in plastic bags. Loyal shoppers may have noticed even smaller details, like the removal of the back label from some

ALDI’s packaging commitments put the business in step with the 2025 National Packaging Targets.

milk bottles and chips 20 pack size, are now sold in a cardboard box rather than a plastic bag. There are also trials underway across Australia to improve packaging, like the introduction of recyclable cardboard bread tags and home compostable strawberry punnets.

ALDI’s packaging commitments put the business in step with the 2025 National Packaging Targets, which are supported by Australian industry and

government and take a prevention-first approach to deliver sustainable packaging.

The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) is charged by government to facilitate the delivery of the 2025 Targets. APCO chief executive officer, Brooke Donnelly, said it’s pleasing to see businesses being proactive in taking steps to reduce their plastics footprint. F

Asahi Beverages brews beer with traceable Australian barley A ustralia’s largest brewery at Yatala in Queensland, owned by Asahi Beverages through Carlton & United Breweries, is now brewing beer with barley that’s traceable back to its farm of origin, as part of a new deal with Australian growers.

The deal means Queensland beer lovers can enjoy a VB, Carlton Dry or Pure Blonde knowing it’s been brewed entirely with barley sourced directly from select NSW farmers.

Under the old model, farmers sold their grain to bulk handlers who stored it all together, meaning the barley used for brewing was potentially from hundreds of different farms.

Asahi Beverages has now removed the bulk handlers from the barley supply chain – allowing brewers to

work directly with growers to select and perfect barley types.

The move means Asahi Beverages will now buy up to 40,000 tonnes of barley directly from NSW every year to supply the Yatala brewery.

The direct purchase agreement allowed Asahi Beverages to trace its grain back to the farm where it was grown, Yatala’s brewing manager Garry Menz said.

“Our brewing team can now track the barley from NSW farms while ensuring farmers get additional payments that otherwise would have gone to the bulk handlers,” Menz said.

“This allows Asahi to secure a direct supply chain for one of our most important ingredients and allows us to trace how the barley will perform.

Seven NSW farmers have joined the

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

Consumers will soon be able to trace the origin of the barley used in their beer as a result of the deal.

program, with more expected to join next year.

North Star farmer Andrew Ostwald has signed up and his barley is now earmarked for use in one of Australia’s most popular beers.

The new deal includes monitoring of agricultural inputs such as water usage to help Asahi Beverages achieve its sustainability targets. It is also running with Victorian farmers at the

Abbotsford Brewery in Melbourne, with more than 90 per cent of Asahi Beverages’ barley now purchased direct from Australian farmers. There are also plans to expand the program to Asahi Beverages’ smaller breweries, such as Cascade in Hobart.

Supply chain managers PURE Grain Network will support Asahi Beverages in delivering the new program at the Yatala Brewery. F

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NEWS

Coles to become 100 per cent renewable via ACCIONA Energía G lobal renewable energy company ACCIONA Energía has executed two separate agreements with Australian retailer, Coles Group, to underpin Coles’ commitment to sourcing 100 per cent renewable electricity by the end of FY25.

The agreements will see Coles purchase large-scale generation certificates (LGC) from ACCIONA Energía’s Mortlake South Wind Farm and Mt Gellibrand Wind Farm.

“We are incredibly proud to be able to support Coles in its transition to renewable electricity,” ACCIONA Energía Australian managing director Brett Wickham said.

“As the world’s largest 100 per cent renewable energy company with no fossil legacy in the world, ACCIONA Energia is uniquely placed to partner

with corporates as they shift to renewable energy and towards net zero emissions.”

As part of its ambition to be Australia’s most sustainable supermarket and drive generational sustainability, Coles launched its Together to Zero sustainability ambitions in March 2021. A focus area is Together to Zero Emissions, which is underpinned by new targets to accelerate climate action and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This includes being powered by 100 per cent renewable electricity by the end of FY25, as well as an ambition to deliver net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

ACCIONA Energía supports corporates in reducing their carbon footprint, integrating clean energy solutions and working together to

Coles will purchase large-scale generation certificates from ACCIONA as part of the agreement.

achieve sustainability goals.

On a global scale, ACCIONA Energía is active in providing clean energy products and energy supply from its portfolio of renewable energy generation to large organisations. It has over 500 contracts in place with many well-known brands.

ACCIONA Energía’s corporate partners operate in a variety of sectors such as transport, telecommunications, infrastructure, industry, consumer goods and health services. This includes well-known names such as Google, Unilever, General Mills, Kellogg’s and Bosch. F

Deep Planet brings VineSignal tech to South Australian wineries S outh Australian grape growers and wine producers are set to benefit with UK-based Agritech company, Deep Planet, choosing Adelaide to establish their Australian head office and bringing their VineSignal platform to Australia.

With support of the South Australian Landing Pad program, the business will be able to grow their presence in the market to drive the capability and competitiveness of the sector.

Deep Planet specialises in monitoring vineyards at scale to predict vine health, irrigation, yields and maturity with plans to further develop tools including automated disease, nutrition and carbon baselining over the coming growing season.

Combining their expertise in satellite imagery, computer vision and machine learning, they can deliver real value to growers and winemakers

by presenting data in a practical way.

This can result in improved efficiency, higher grape quality and ultimately drives a more profitable industry.

“We commercially launched our VineSignal platform in Australia last season and we saw an exceptional level of uptake of our technology.

This has given us the confidence to make this investment into South Australia,” said Deep Planet CEO Sushma Shankar.

This attraction of Deep Planet further adds to South Australia’s space and agtech ecosystems, allowing the creation of jobs and expertise.

“The South Australian government clearly demonstrated to us the relevant skills and knowledge across the space, machine learning and wine sectors that we can leverage, making it a natural fit for us,” said Shankar.

The VineSignal technology already has attracted the attention

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

UK-based Agritech company, Deep Planet, has chosen South Australia as the location for its Australian head office.

of numerous customers including global wine producer, Pernod Ricard Winemakers.

As an early adopter, they conducted a project across 1,000ha in South Australia during the 2021 season.

After the initial project, Pernod Ricard Winemakers national viticulturist, Philip Deverell, remains enthusiastic about the technology.

“Deep Planet has demonstrated some exciting capability in helping us to better predict yields, manage

maturity and variability in our blocks,” said Deverell.

“With all of our grower and estate vineyards to monitor and plan intake for, against a backdrop of ever-changing climatic conditions, it’s definitely the way our industry needs to go to ensure we remain globally competitive.”

The South Australian government has provided Deep Planet with South Australian Landing Pad funding to assist their establishment in the state. F

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NEWS

Australian food industry joins the fight against food waste A ustralia’s biggest food industry participants – including founding signatories Simplot Australia, Woolworths and Coles – are collaborating under the new Australian Food Pact, which is tackling the country’s $36.6 billion food waste challenge.

The Australian Food Pact is a voluntary agreement that was launched at a virtual event on 21 October by Sussan Ley, federal minister for the Environment.

Led by Stop Food Waste Australia (SFWA), the Australian Food Pact represents one of the largest, most tangible demonstrations to date in helping the federal government reach its target to halve food waste by 2030.

“Food waste is a local, national and global challenge,” said SFWA CEO Dr Steven Lapidge.

“Australians waste 7.6 million

tonnes of food each year, equivalent to more than 300kg of wasted food per person per year. The Australian Food Pact represents a major step forward in our bid to reduce food waste and I commend all the signatories for their commitment to take action.”

Similar voluntary agreements overseas, such as the UK’s Courtauld Commitment, have successfully reduced food waste at scale.

“Overseas experience shows that voluntary agreements work and based on the heartening response from our food industry to the Australian Food Pact, it will work here as well,” said SFWA chief operating officer Mark Barthel.

“By joining the Australian Food Pact, signatories will be able to improve profitability, respond to supply risks and opportunities, provide innovative solutions, be

Major food manufacturers are collaborating under the new Australian Food Pact. more competitive and create quality products with lower environmental impacts.”

Simplot Australia is the first organisation to sign up to the Australian Food Pact. Simplot Australia’s managing director, Graham Dugdale, said the company strongly aligns and identifies with the Australian Food Pact’s goal and mission.

“We were inspired to be the first signatory, because it will give organisations like ours the opportunity

to reduce food waste,” said Dugdale.

“While collaborating with industry experts and like-minded organisations to improve Australian agricultural and food manufacturing productivity and practices.”

UK environmental charity, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), is also a founding partner of the Pact.

“This is a crucial step in the fight against climate change,” said WRAP international director Dr Richard Swannell. F

Food manufacturing to run on hydrogen in the Central Coast S tar Scientific, an Australian hydrogen R&D company, and Central Coast Industry Connect Limited (CCIC), a not-for-profit supporting the region’s manufacturing sector, have signed a MoU to pioneer the use of the former’s HERO technology and provide a carbon-free heat source for food manufacturing.

The new industry-led hydrogen cluster is being established on the Central Coast in NSW and will be known as the Central Coast Hydrogen Food Cluster. Star Scientific will work with food companies to provide carbon-free heat and CCIC will run the cluster and provide the governance structure and platform for collaboration.

This will be the first commercial application of HERO in the world, according to Star Scientific global group chairman Andrew Horvath.

“Food manufacturers all over the world are looking for solutions

to remove carbon from industrial processes such as heating, drying and cleaning,” he said.

“The Central Coast region is home to some of Australia’s biggest household brands and global food manufacturers, many of whom are realising the potential of hydrogen and our HERO technology to meet their heating needs.

“We have already commenced work under this MoU providing heat for industrial-scale cleaning purposes in the food hub. This exciting work will demonstrate how our HERO can pave the way for Australian food manufacturers to reduce emissions.”

The NSW government recently named the Central Coast as a Renewable Energy Zone, and released a hydrogen strategy for the state. This is important for local manufacturers.

“Taking steps to decarbonise is important for the manufacturing

10 Food&Beverage Industry News | December 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

The new hydrogen cluster will be known as the Central Coast Hydrogen Food Cluster. sector as a whole, including food and beverage manufacturing,” said CCIC executive director Frank Sammut.

“Manufacturers have turned to renewable electricity sources to reduce their carbon footprint, but alternatives to gas for heating and cooking continues to be a challenge across a number of uses. The MoU with Star Scientific provides the opportunity for developing that alternative carbon free heat source.”

The Central Coast Hydrogen Food Cluster would be designed to be as inclusive as possible. The CCIC hope to engage and share knowledge with similar ventures emerging across Australia and New Zealand.

“Knowledge and skills sharing with similar clusters emerging around Australia and New Zealand is of paramount importance to increase efficiency around these processes,” said Horvath. F

NEWS

New website helps food manufacturers expand into rural Victoria R

ural Councils Victoria has created a new digital information asset to help food and beverage manufacturers expand their businesses or invest in rural Victoria for the first time. meal containers and serving dishes.

This initiative is the result of a wider Rural Councils Victoria project in investment attraction opportunities for businesses and rural councils, which identified food and beverage manufacturing as a key growth industry.

“Rural Victoria offers food and beverage manufacturers, and their employees benefits that just can’t be found in metropolitan areas or in regional cities,” Rural Councils Victoria chair Mary-Ann Brown said.

“There is a wide range of industrial landholdings, land and buildings that

are much more affordable, with no encroaching residential development to limit expansion plans, no traffic congestion and large buffers from other activities.”

According to Brown, as Melbournians continue to leave the city for a better way of life, rural Victoria offers workers and their families a variety of lifestyle choices, amenities and access to the services they need.

“The new website showcases opportunities for businesses across rural Victoria and provides the contact details of knowledgeable Council employees for businesses to follow up with,” she said.

“ABS data shows that Victoria’s food and beverage manufacturing sectors had a $4.8 billion growth in revenue with $1.9 billion, or 38 per

Rural Councils Victoria created the new digital information asset specifically for food manufactures.

cent, of this revenue growth based in rural Victoria. This trend provides food and beverage manufacturers with an amazing opportunity to grow their operations and rural Victoria is open for business.”

The website provides information

about industrial assets across rural Victoria, including location, type, value, downloadable database of all assets across rural Victoria and information on economic trends for food and beverage manufacturing in rural Victoria. F

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NEWS

Kellogg Australia tackles food insecurity for rural and regional Australia T

o mark World Food Day on 16 October, Kellogg Australia has commissioned research to highlight the perceptions of hunger and food insecurity within rural and regional communities across Australia, where the pandemic has increased concerns for 50 per cent of people.

Kellogg Australia’s research revealed that one in five Australians (20 per cent) living in these areas have experienced food insecurity first-hand, while one in six (16 per cent) have skipped a meal in the past 12 months because they couldn’t afford it.

With 58 per cent of Australians living in these communities expressing the desire for greater support to combat food insecurity, Kellogg Australia Charitable Foundation (KACF), have partnered with the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR).

This will support grants for projects that help tackle hunger in more remote parts of Australia.

Under the FRRR partnership, grants are awarded to not-for-profits and community organisations in regions in need and are used for projects such as community gardens, educational food programs, volunteer training and additional resources.

Morgan Volunteer Group, from Morgan in South Australia, has used the Kellogg Australia Charitable Foundation FRRR grant to purchase a vehicle to deliver food to those in need.

“The vehicle is absolutely crucial to our work delivering up to 500 meals per week – as we can cover over 250km on a weekly basis,” Morgan Volunteer Group founder Jakob Gamertsfelder said.

Since the start of 2021, Kellogg

Research from Kellogg Australia found one in five regional Australians suffer from food insecurity.

Australia has donated over two million serves of cereal. By 2026, they are aiming to donate another 15 million serves of cereal to those suffering from food insecurity across Australia.

Defined as the inadequate access to food, inadequate supply and the inappropriate use (i.e. preparation) of food, the research has uncovered that

over half of all Australians (57 per cent) are not fully aware of what the term “food insecurity” means.

It has also been revealed that of those who have had to skip a meal in the last 12 months, breakfast was the most skipped by the majority (49 per cent, compared to lunch 36 per cent and 15 per cent dinner). F

Jonathan Harrison joins LMG in newly created CFO position A ustralian membershipowned retailer, Liquor Marketing Group (LMG), has announced the appointment of its new chief financial officer, Jonathan Harrison.

Harrison brings a wealth of experience to LMG, having previously worked for Lion for nine years in several senior Finance roles, most recently as commercial director for Business Development. Prior to that, he served as head of Finance for Malt Shovel. Before Lion, Harrison spent ten years with PwC as a senior member of its Risk and Controls team.

“Jonny Harrison joins our team with more than 19 years’ experience helping businesses tackle complex problems and designing strategies and

solutions to drive sustainable growth,” said LMG CEO Gavin Saunders.

“Jonny’s experience as a finance leader with strong commercial focus will be tremendously advantageous for LMG and I look forward to Jonny working with our Board and executive team in accelerating growth in our business and delivering maximum value for our members.”

With over 1,400 stores included under its retail brands – Bottlemart, SipnSave, Harry Brown and Thirsty Camel in Western Australia – LMG has experienced extraordinary growth over the past four years, with membership volumes growing more than 50 per cent during this period.

The membership-owned and operated group has kept operating costs low while investing revenue

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

growth into advertising, price support, store refresh and digital and eCommerce platforms.

“LMG’s investment in advertising, selling and member support has more than doubled over the past four years,” said Saunders.

“This increase has created the opportunity and need for the addition of Jonny Harrison’s role as chief financial officer. Jonny brings to the role vast experience in market pricing analysis, business development, systems and financial management which will support LMG to further drive our members’ sales and profit performance.

“LMG’s focus remains meeting the customers need to drive sales growth for LMG members who operate under the Bottlemart, SipnSave, Harry

Jonathan Harrison was appointed the new CFO after the Liquor Marketing Group saw increased growth.

Brown or Thirsty Camel WA retail banners. Sales growth of 32.6 per cent over the past two years is testament to winning with customers and it is pleasing to give our independent members growth, ahead of what has been reported by other major liquor retailers.” F

NEWS

McCormick to open new headquarters in Victoria in 2022 M

cCormick & Company Inc, a multinational food company, have announced plans to open a new, environmentally friendly, multi-purpose head office in Mentone, Victoria. Currently under construction, the facility will provide a boost to manufacturing in early 2022.

McCormick’s new facility will incorporate the Australian head office, a Technical Innovation Centre, Logistics Centre and new corporate offices. It will serve as McCormick Australia’s innovation and collaboration hub for employees and customers.

Over 90 McCormick Australia team members will work there, with 500 new construction jobs estimated to be created for the region during the building phase of the project.

The commitment underlines the strength of manufacturing in the state, Victorian minister for Industry Support

and Recovery Martin Pakula said.

“This is a vote of confidence in Victoria, the skills of its manufacturing workforce and the sophistication and reliability of the local supply chain,” Pakula said.

“It’s fantastic to see McCormick Australia making this investment – it will create jobs in construction and significant ongoing employment ain Melbourne’s south-east.”

McCormick are thrilled to reach this key milestone in building the future of the company in Australia, McCormick Asia Pacific president Daniel Moorfield said.

“This new head office in Mentone is symbolic of our business transformation over the last four years and our strategic focus on growth within Asia Pacific,” he said.

“Melbourne is a fantastic place for us to make this investment, with first-

class agricultural suppliers nearby, a dedicated Australian and Asia Pacific customer base and a transportation network that is amongst the best in the world.

“Our new Technical Innovation Centre will enable us to collaborate with our key local customers to create tasty new products for Australians to enjoy. Whether it is providing seasonings to snack food manufacturers, sauces and coatings to restaurants, or creating great new products for our long-standing brands such as Aeroplane Jelly and Keen’s Curry, the Technical Innovation Centre will provide inspiration to anyone who enjoys flavour.”

The new facility will allow the company to scale up and deepen consumer connections in Australia, expanding their footprint and accelerating growth.

McCormick’s facility will include the new Australian head office.

“Like all McCormick’s operations globally, we are committed to delivering industry leading financial performance while doing what is right for people, communities and the planet,” said McCormick Australia managing director Paris Golden. F

Genetic variation map to enhance chickpea breeding A n international team of scientists, including researchers from The University of Western Australia’s Institute of Agriculture, has successfully catalogued the genomic diversity of chickpea – which will lead to breeding new high-yielding and more resilient varieties.

A research article, published in the prestigious Nature journal, outlined how 57 scientists from 41 organisations and 11 countries used genomic sequencing to map the variation in 3,171 cultivated and 195 wild chickpeas. It is the world’s largest plant genome sequencing effort of its kind.

The resulting ‘chickpea pan-genome’ is now a publicly available resource for genomics researchers and plant breeders to enhance chickpea breeding strategies

for greater crop productivity, climate resilience and human health benefits.

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important pulse crop for nutritional security and human health as it provides a source of protein, dietary fibre and micronutrients.

As the third most-produced pulse in the world, it is cultivated in more than 50 countries including Australia and particularly in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

However, worldwide chickpea productivity has been stagnant for the past five decades, contributing to reduced availability and higher levels of malnutrition in developing countries.

Leader of the research, International Crops Research Institute for the SemiArid Tropics (ICRISAT) Research Program Director Professor Rajeev Varshney, said it provided a complete

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

picture of genetic variation within chickpea and a validated roadmap for using the information and genomic resources to improve the crop.

“By employing whole genome sequencing, we have been able to affirm the history of chickpea’s origin in the Mediterranean region, its migration to the rest of the world and how the domesticated species evolved and diverged from its wild progenitor over time,” said Professor Varshney.

Professor Siddique said the chickpea pan-genome would provide insights into the global distribution of genetic variation and show how this diversity had been shaped by domestication and selective breeding.

“We can then link this genetic variation to phenotypic (characteristic) diversity for improved breeding applications,” he said.

Based on genomic prediction,

the research team proposed three crop breeding strategies to enhance crop productivity and maintain genetic diversity.

Using ‘optimal contribution selection’ pre-breeding, the predicted performance for 100-seed weight (an important trait to improve crop yield), increased by up to 23 per cent. F Researchers from Australia were part of a team that successfully catalogued the chickpea genome.

NEWS

Coca-Cola Australia exits beer and cider C

oca-Cola Europacific Partners Australia (CCEP) has announced that following a strategic review of its beer and cider portfolio the company will be exiting from its production, sale and distribution of beer and apple cider products in Australia.

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Australia (CCEP) has today announced that following a strategic review of its beer and cider portfolio the company will be exiting from its production, sale and distribution of beer and apple cider products in Australia.

Vice president and general manager, Australia, Pacific & Indonesia, Peter West, said the decision to exit CCEP Australia’s arrangements relating to beer and apple cider would better position the organisation to execute growth plans for its spirits, Alcohol Ready-To-Drink (RTD) and Non- Alcohol Ready-To-

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Australia will now focus more on spirits and RTD products.

Drink (NARTD) business.

“We are very proud of the journey and performance we have had in our beer and cider portfolio after close to two decades. The next growth phase for the portfolio to become a stronger key partner with our customers would require significant over -investment to accelerate scale.

“A move away from beer and apple cider will allow for greater

focus for our teams to execute our exciting growth plans in Spirits, RTD and NARTD and enable the future partners of these beer and apple cider brands to continue to accelerate their performance,” said West.

As a result of the decision, CCEP’s current arrangement in Australia with C&C Group will come to an end during the first half of 2022 and its agreement with Molson Coors will

not be renewed in the coming months.

CCEP will be working closely with customers and brand partners to ensure a smooth transition that allows for the continued growth of brands that the CCEP team has worked so hard to build.

Rekorderlig and Australian Bitters will continue to be managed in CCEP’s alcohol portfolio alongside its Spirits and RTD brands. F

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www.foodmag.com.au | December 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 15

NEWS

Goulburn Valley food bowl grows with three new projects T

hree new agriculture and manufacturing projects in the Goulburn Valley food bowl are being undertaken with the help of the Victorian government’s Regional Jobs Fund, that will create almost 150 new jobs.

“We are proud to support these outstanding Goulburn Valley companies which are leading the way through innovation – creating more jobs and growing the local economy,” said Victorian minister for Regional Development Mary-Anne Thomas.

Flavorite, one of Australia’s largest glasshouse producers of fresh fruit and vegetables, is a family-owned business with a hydroponic farm in Tatura.

Flavorite will invest in a new multi-

million-dollar glasshouse and hire 60 new workers, expanding the amount of produce they are able to grow.

The project will allow Flavorite to become more sustainable by using European technology that can minimise CO2 emissions, to reduce waste.

Flavorite will also increase efficiencies at Tatura with the ability to process and package products on-site.

Fruit grower, Kalpack, has also received support through the Regional Jobs Fund. It is investing in an organic fruit packing and processing facility that will be the first of its kind in Victoria, as it sorts fruit by size, ripeness and defects to help reduce waste.

The state government’s funding

support will give Kalpack the confidence needed to establish a $6 million facility in Shepparton, which will expand its workforce with 50 new full-time workers.

Padman Stops, a manufacturer of farm irrigation systems, will expand into civil construction with their funding received from the Regional Jobs Fund. This will help to futureproof the company and create 40 new jobs.

“The Goulburn Valley is one of Victoria’s best fruit and vegetable producers – that’s why we are backing projects that give local companies the confidence to grow and create more jobs for the region,” said member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes.

Goulburn Valley agriculture has been given another boost from the Regional Jobs Fund.

A new round of the Regional Jobs Fund opened earlier this year and will be available throughout 2021 to companies seeking to grow their operations. F

PM boosts Australian food manufacturing with $33 million in grants P rime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a further $33 million will support Australian made food and beverage companies in the latest round of Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI) funding.

“Liberals and Nationals will continue to protect and grow manufacturing jobs to secure Australia’s economic recovery,” said Morrison.

“More than one million Australians are once again employed in manufacturing, and we want businesses to be successful and create even more jobs. Under Labor, one in eight manufacturing jobs were lost and Australians can’t risk this sort of economic mismanagement as we begin to open up again.”

Seven Australian companies will share in the funding, which will unlock new manufacturing opportunities, boost production and create more jobs across the country.

The successful food and beverage recipients under the MMI are Sabrini Foods, Bulla, Plenty Foods, Turbine Sunshine Coast, Mulgowie Fresh, Sullivans Cove Distillery and Ennio.

These grants will bolster the thriving food and beverage sector and unlock further significant investment from the sector, minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said.

“This funding will help some of the most innovative producers leverage technology to increase their production, while meeting growing export demand and creating new local jobs,” said Taylor.

“Not only will this funding help maximise the agricultural advantages we enjoy, but it will also help regional Australia and the supply chains that operate throughout it.”

Food and beverage production is the largest manufacturing sector

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

Seven Australian companies are set to share in the $33 million round of funding.

in Australia, employing one in four manufacturing workers and contributing around $22.4 billion to our economy.

The MMI is the centrepiece of the government’s $1.5 billion Modern Manufacturing Strategy, designed to position Australia as a globally recognised, high-quality and sustainable manufacturing nation.

Food and Beverage is the fourth stream of funding across priority areas identified under the MMI and follows $100 million invested in Space, Medical Products, and Resources Technology and Critical Minerals Processing announced in July.

Funding across the remaining areas of Recycling and Defence will be announced soon. F

NEWS

Australian-first food and beverage precinct for Sunshine Coast T

he Turbine Precinct – Australia’s first purpose built, end-to-end collaborative food and beverage manufacturing precinct – will position the Sunshine Coast as an epicentre for supporting food and beverage businesses to scale with the support of an $8.78 million government grant.

Funding from the Modern Manufacturing Initiative Translation stream was awarded to the collaborative project, which is being led by the Food and Agribusiness Network (FAN).

The Turbine Precinct will be located at the Sunshine Coast Airport. It will be designed to drive innovation, reduce barriers to scale, increase productivity for food and beverage manufacturers and open new national and international export markets. This will be achieved through collaboration around commonuse infrastructure and manufacturing services, a research and development facility, warehousing and logistics, an expertise hub and an industry-

embedded training centre.

With strong support from key stakeholders, FAN and the Queensland Drinks Accelerator have led the collaborative funding submission.

CEO of the Food and Agribusiness Network, Emma Greenhatch was excited to reveal the preliminary plans for the innovative manufacturing hub that FAN have been advocating for the past five years.

The Turbine Precinct will have significant impact for the region’s beverage businesses.

The funding announcement will launch the beverage manufacturing sector on the Sunshine Coast sky high, Federal member for Fairfax Ted O’Brien said.

“The Turbine Precinct’s unique end-to-end, collaborative design will transform the food and beverage manufacturing sector on the Sunshine Coast and draw international attention,” said O’Brien.

“This model is an Australian-first.

oles has embarked on a landmark partnership with the Tasmanian Government to use the official Brand Tasmania trademark to promote locally made products at Coles supermarkets, state-wide.

The partnership marks the first time a major retailer has adopted the Tasmanian mark for the promotion of locally made and grown products.

Under the terms of the partnership, the Tasmanian mark will be displayed within stores to alert shoppers to hundreds of quality local products on the shelves at Coles.

“Tasmanians understand why Tasmanian-grown and produced food is different, and it’s about so much more than our clean air and fresh water.

It’s our culture of hard work and our shared passion for quality,” said Brand Tasmania chairperson Nick Haddow.

Tasmanian growers, producers, makers and creators are also being encouraged to adopt the Tasmanian mark on their own packaging to help raise the profile of their products, both in Australia and overseas.

Coles’ Tasmanian-sourced GRAZE lamb, available across the country between February and August, will be one of hundreds of products highlighted in-store through this campaign.

Coles works with almost 60 farms across Tasmania to source GRAZE lamb. The lambs are 100 per cent bred and raised in Tasmania, without antibiotics, and regularly inspected for health and welfare.

Local suppliers joining the campaign include Ashgrove Cheese, a family-owned dairy farm in Elizabeth Town which creates a selection of milk, butter and cheeses sold at Coles.

Funding from the Modern Manufacturing Initiative Translation stream was awarded to the precinct.

The Turbine Precinct will provide local food and beverage businesses with end-to-end support, and it will be the envy of the world.”

Basing the facility at the Sunshine Coast Airport will give local businesses the unique ability to more easily access domestic and international markets and leverage a range of Free Trade

Agreements that the federal government has recently secured.

Sunshine Coast Airport chief executive officer, Andrew Brodie, welcomed the funding announcement.

Planning is underway for the Turbine Precinct due to commence operations later in 2023 with an initial focus on beverage manufacturing. F

Tasmanian made and grown products promoted at Coles C

Coles is the first major retailer to adopt the Brand Tasmania trademark.

Tasmania’s oldest commercial bakery, Cripps, is also embracing the campaign. Cripps first opened its doors in 1878 and now supplies fresh bread, crumpets, rolls, buns and muffins to customers across the state from its bakeries in Hobart and Launceston.

Buying local products is an

important way to support Tasmanians who work tirelessly to build their businesses while helping feed the nation, Coles regional manager John Carrington said.

Shoppers can expect to see the Tasmanian mark in Coles supermarkets across the state from today. F

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

MEET THE MANUFACTURER

How Nexba is cornering the better-for-you-beverage market Adam McCleery explains how a trip to Mexico got two young entrepreneurs excited about disrupting the soft drink category and how they plan to take on the big guns in an uber competitive market.

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

MEET THE MANUFACTURER

I

Nexba entered the better-foryou beverage space in 2011.

t all started on a sun kissed beach in Mexico in 2010 when Nexba co-founder Drew Bilbe was enjoying a home-made iced tea and taking in his picturesque surroundings.

He was loving the refreshing iced tea, but one thing kept gnawing at Bilbe, and that was its mass sugar content. There had to be a way to replicate the taste without the sugar content, Bilbe thought to himself.

“While I was still over in Mexico, I put my focus onto the iced tea category and what was being done.

It was about 12 to 14 per cent of the entire beverage category and I later found out that was consistent with Europe and the rest of North America,” he said.

When Bilbe got back to Australia he had a closer look at the iced tea offerings and discovered it was underrepresented compared to overseas markets.

“It was only about one to two per cent of the beverage market and it seemed like they just weren’t resonating with Australian consumers because they were packed full of sugar, which caused consumers not to recognise them as a better-for-you-beverage,” he said.

“At that time, we didn’t have much else. There were traditional energy drinks, but people understood they weren’t healthy. This concept of better-for-you-beverage space really didn’t exist in Australia.”

Bilbe approached his future brother-in-law and co-founder of Nexba, Troy Douglas.

Bilbe told him about the opportunities he saw in the better-foryou-beverage market and Douglas immediately agreed. The next big hurdle for the pair was setting up shop to manufacture their future product.

“Neither of us had significant money, or came from significant money, but we immediately started researching canning and machinery lines that we would need,” said Bilbe.

“We managed to scrape up enough money to pay for this 2,000 an hour canning line, sight unseen.”

The risk would eventually pay off, but not before the canning line arrived in a 40-foot container with all the instructions written in Cantonese.

“For the next few months, we went about putting it all together, getting experts to help us out with

The brand experienced rapid growth in just 10 years and is now found on many supermarket shelves.

"We wanted Nexba to stand for naturally sugar free. We were the first ones to launch in that category and we’re seeing other brands now do the same thing. We knew that consumers weren’t willing to compromise on taste, so we knew we had to have a blend that was going to very closely emulate the taste, the sweetness and the aftertaste of sugar." the bits and pieces to get the right certifications and construct the machinery,” said Bilbe.

“The whole time I was working full time and Troy was studying. We were working 24 hours a day, so we relied heavily on calling in favours from family and friends.”

The support from family and friends continued to play an important role in the growth of Nexba. For example, Bilbe’s

grandparents helped work the lines and get stock out to market when the company was still in its infancy.

Eventually, the Nexba co-founders worked out the machinery with the help of some experts willing to lend a hand. Finally they could get their first batch of iced tea on the manufacturing line.

“Basically, we got the machine up and running and did our first full production run of iced tea in a can,

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

MEET THE MANUFACTURER

Nexba co-founders and co-owners, Drew Bilbe and Troy Douglas, put a focus on creating sugar-free drinks that promoted a healthy diet.

which was naturally sugar-free at the time,” said Bilbe.

“We effectively had 100 pallets in a warehouse in Hornsby, with a Holden Barina, knocking on café doors and trying to sell them, and what we figured out quickly was that the market was eager on better-foryou beverages.”

The early signs gave both men optimism that the demand in the local market would likely extend to the national level.

“We knew right away if we wanted to be successful, we needed to find national range, national exposure and really ramp up our own capability around the manufacturing,” said Bilbe.

However, perhaps one of the most important pieces of Nexba’s continued growth soon followed and changed the game for the company.

“We started the process of developing our own patented IP and

natural sweetener blend and we also started cold calling all the major chains around Australia,” said Bilbe.

“Finally, we got our first meeting with 7-Eleven and pitched the story.

They loved it, especially because their iced tea was a stagnant category for them at the time and they agreed it needed to be shaken up.”

Nexba was presented to 7-Eleven as a true healthy beverage option, which was an appealing proposition to the company.

“It was in a can as opposed to PET bottles, so it was differentiated from the competition. In that meeting we walked out with a commitment from 7-Eleven to launch in 650 stores nationwide, from our little Hornsby factory which was only doing 2,000 cans an hour,” said Bilbe.

“We very quickly went about trying to boost our manufacturing capability by partnering with a contract packer in Melbourne.

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

They helped us create the ability to manufacture and distribute Nexba Iced Teas to the 650 7-Eleven stores nationwide.”

The results of the 7-Eleven deal were better than the Nexba team could have hoped for and gave the company more ammunition to continue its growth across the market.

“Once we launched in 7-Eleven we took their iced tea category from their most stagnant to the second highest growth category and Nexba was delivering 67 per cent of that growth. A massive turnaround for 7-Eleven,” said Bilbe.

“We were able to take that evidence and continue to shop Nexba around to more retail chains. We got ranging in places like Caltex and Coles Express and had similar success stories in all those chains.”

That move quickly resulted in Nexba being picked up by Coles

supermarkets and placed on the soft drink shelves as canned four packs, however, the price point wasn’t where Bilbe wanted to see it.

“We didn’t get the price pack architecture right at the start. We had a four-pack selling for $9 and it was up against a 1.25L competitor for $1.50,” he said.

“We believed in the proposition, but we knew that we didn’t have the price pack architecture right. There were big challenges around the economy of scale too, because we were such a tiny company trying to compete against multi-nationals.”

However, at the same time the Nexba team were working on what they hoped would be an ace-in-thehole, a patented IP sweetener to use in sugar-free soft drinks.

“We finally cracked that formula in about 2015, which was perfect timing for us because we took that Goodsweet Blend and effectively

MEET THE MANUFACTURER "It was in a can as opposed to PET bottles, so it was differentiated from the competition. In that meeting we walked out with a commitment from 7-Eleven to launch in 650 stores nationwide, from our little Hornsby factory which was only doing 2,000 cans an hour." created a whole range of naturally sugar-free soft drinks, which we presented to Coles. Luckily, Coles fell in love with them,” said Bilbe.

“They saw it as having an ability to shake up the soft drink category, which was in decline. They thought Nexba could bring lapsed and new customers back into the soft drink aisle.”

The product was launched to great success, which prompted Nexba to then look at deploying its patented Goodsweet Blend IP. “We wanted Nexba to stand for naturally sugar free. We were the first ones to launch in that category and we’re seeing other brands now do the same thing. We knew that consumers weren’t willing to compromise on taste, so we knew we had to have a blend that was going to very closely emulate the taste, the sweetness and the aftertaste of sugar,” said Bilbe.

“We spent about six years developing the Goodsweet Blend after about 1,000 iterations.”

Once the blend was perfected and the IP secured, the company made the moves it had been planning over those several years of research and development.

That is one of the biggest advantages that the Nexba team had as a small enterprise at the time: the ability to hand-pick every ingredient, which they still do, and assess everything before it is added to a blend.

“We launched into mixers and tonic waters, sparkling and mineral waters and more recently into the functional space with kombucha and nootropics” said Bilbe.

“Kombucha has set the world on fire, and it really comes down to the taste profile of our kombucha, because of the Goodsweet Blend that we use with our patented IP.” Being stocked across supermarkets and service stations had a positive impact on the awareness around Nexba’s entry into the market.

“That really allowed us to get

mass amounts of brand awareness and national availability. As of about 12 months ago we did a brand awareness study for prompted and unprompted, and we found we are at about 19 per cent brand awareness,” said Bilbe.

“We ran a marketing campaign and after that we found we were at about 29 per cent.”

That huge jump in brand awareness proved to Bilbe and Douglas that the demand was there for the products they were offering.

“Naturally sugar-free food and beverages are exploding at the moment, and I think everyone knows how important exercise and eating healthy is for your health” said Bilbe.

“But the idea of functional health, gut health, cognitive health and all these other things have been a more recent focus, COVID has helped drive that. People are more aware of their immune system requirements, for example.”

This line of thinking is what lead to the most recent development from Nexba, a line of sparkling nootropic functional beverages which only launched in Woolworths in late 2021.

“That product is all about functional benefits of immunity, skin health, gut health, cognitive function and focus,” said Bilbe.

“Instead of a broad-brush approach we have tailored each product to specific benefits that the consumer is looking for, and we’re delivering those functions through active ingredients.”

“We see functional health as a huge growth area, not just in beverages but also in food, and I think the market will start to reflect that.”

Using immunity as an example, Nexba released a product with a high concentration of Vitamin C, approved natural nootropic ingredient Gingko Biloba, probiotics and ginger extract.

Other functional products have nootropics and blends that cater to skin health, gut health and cognitive health, to name a few. Bilbe said

Nexba is also popular overseas, becoming the leading Kombucha brand in England.

having one product focus on one area was a better approach then trying to overdo it with multiple applications.

“The formulation for Immunity is different to what we’ve used for the Glow product, which is more for skin health. It is very different to other nootropic drinks because it is targeted to a particular function,” said Bilbe.

The rapid growth of Nexba wasn’t just an Australian market phenomenon either, the company launched its line in the United Kingdom in 2018 and within just a few short years became the nation’s number one Kombucha brand.

Bilbe said the response to Nexba’s patented Goodsweet Blend had the potential to help the company continue its success with new products in the future.

“We will continue to develop and bring out new products powered by

Goodsweet. Whether that is for a snacking product, a baking product; there are opportunities to go outside our drinks area,” said Bilbe.

“The whole reason we have been able to achieve our success is because of our Goodsweet Blend which, and I may be biased here, creates a whole different flavour profile. Consumers don’t come back if they don’t like the taste.”

Nexba is expected to continue its growth in the better-for-you-beverage market and Bilbe said the team are determined to continue to innovate and grow.

“What we want to achieve in terms of naturally sugar-free innovation is we need to focus on building the brand and marketing, on product innovation and partnerships with experts in the manufacturing area. We need to focus on what we are good at.” F

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

BEVERAGE PROCESSING

Continental offers world-class industrial hoses to Aussie beverage market Continental, through ContiTech Australia, has a range of industrial hoses that are suited to all sectors of beverage manufacturing. Adam McCleery writes.

Continetal and ContiTech supply industrial hoses are suited to the Australian beverage industry.

C

ontinental ContiTech Australia, a specialist in rubber and plastics technology, is stepping up its presence in the Australian beverage sector with its range of industrial hoses.

Continental beverage hoses have already been employed by beverage manufacturers across the global market, particularly in the USA, Europe, and the rest of the Asia Pacific.

Brewing, among others, has proven fertile ground for the Continental hoses.

Breweries rely on robust and high-quality industrial hoses to mitigate the risks of process failures, to ensure product purity at all stages of production, and to ensure hygienic and reliable transportation of fluids.

The hose range is designed for wine, beer, strong alcoholic beverage, as well as fruit juice processing.

They feature a completely smooth, plasticiser-free lining that doesn’t leave any odour or taste in the product and are suitable for all common connecting systems.

Importantly, the hoses are resistant to clean-in-place (CIP) procedures and all harsh cleaning processes in the beverage industry.

While Continental hoses can be applied to all the aforementioned beverages, the art of brewing is an example of the product’s capabilities.

This is because breweries rely on robust and high-quality hose solutions to reduce failures, ensure product purity at all stages of production and ensure hygienic and reliable transportation to the market.

Continental ContiTech national sales manager, Scott Weston, and area sales manager Clayton Brown sat down with Food & Beverage Industry News to give some insight on what the company’s industrial ContiTech industrial hoses are flexible and resilient, adapting to any sized space.

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

hoses offer the Australian market.

“We have a long list of beverage hoses, too many to list here, but ExtremeFlex Beverage, Purple Snake, Vintner Reserve and Fortress washdown hoses have proven to be a great fit for brewing,” said Weston.

“Everyone has their own takes on sustainability but for us, being a rubber manufacturing company, we want to ensure the products last a long time and protect people’s

investments,” said Weston.

“Being recognised in society as a benchmark in quality and offering long-term value creation, to us, those are key points around sustainability.”

The ExtremeFlex Beverage hose is suitable for beer production because it features a non-porous and high-performing microberesistant chlorobutyl tube, which is what prevents any odour or taste contamination during the brewing process.

The hoses are also flexible and resilient, which means they are applicable to any brewer, from the smallest spaces to the largest.

“We can make any product with any compounding, structure, reinforcement to meet any application. If there is a unique issue that a customer has, we can go in there, recognise improvements and help them and increase efficiencies by providing a solution,” said Weston.

Brown echoed Weston’s sentiments.

“Brewers find themselves having to change out hoses more frequently but with Continental’s high-quality products, which are higher in value but change outs are far less frequent, loss of production time is reduced and risk to product quality is diminished. This is how we protect our customers investment’s” he said.

“The ExtremeFlex Beverage hose is highly flexible and light weight,

BEVERAGE PROCESSING

which is perfect for micro-breweries where space can be an issue. It creates extra value for the brewer.”

Some other features of the ExtremeFlex include high working pressure, a rating for full suction, better bend radius, it’s phthalates free and has a corrugated EZ clean cover that gives it added abrasion resistance.

Weston said Continental’s outright goal for clients was to protect their investments by ensuring contamination risk was reduced to ensure absolute quality of product is maintained.

Brown said the flexibility of Continental’s product offerings meant they could be applied to brewers of all sizes, no matter how small the production space.

“The products that we offer, for example ExtremeFlex beverage hose, is highly flexible and light weight, which is perfect for micro-breweries where space is an issue. It creates extra value for the brewer,” said Brown.

ExtremeFlex beverage hoses also feature an easy to clean cover, which is great during washdowns, and can withstand all CIP processes currently employed in the food and beverage

industry. But, more importantly, the EZ Clean cover makes it easy to remove contaminants and grime, maintaining the cleanliness standards expected in the industry The use of correct industrial hoses also mitigates the risk of process failures, which in turn force shutdowns, resulting in product and monetary losses.

“If a product fails through that cycle, you can’t move the fluid, which means you aren’t brewing,” said Weston.

“Straight away you are suffering not just from a replacement cost, which is minimal in the overall production process, but you’re actually stopping the brewing process and you’re probably scrapping all of that product, which is where the real value is lost.”

Weston said Continental’s products are designed to mitigate those risks.

“Essentially, the products we produce are very high-quality, from the material compounding, to development, and testing,” said Weston.

“The quality and life cycle of our products are also appealing for our clients. Other Poor compounding

"Everyone has their own takes on sustainability but for us, being a rubber manufacturing company, we want to ensure the products last a long time and protect people’s investments. Being recognised in society as a benchmark in quality and offering long-term value creation, to us, those are key points around sustainability." technology and testing regimes can lead to bacteria build up inside over time. This was something we at Conti avoid at all costs by applying 150 years of experience in compound development and product testing.

“The beauty of our products is that they offer some key features and benefits to the end users, to lower those risks.”

The hose applications also extend to the OHS realm. With one example being Continental’s work with the Rochester Mills Production Brewery in the United States, where a possible OHS, incident was avoided.

An industrial hose that transferred boiling water almost failed to the point of breaking, which could have seriously scolded surrounding workers, demonstrating the importance of using industrial hoses

that are up to the task assigned.

Be sure to consider the Continental Washdown hose range which is suitable for hot water and also incorporates Microban AntiMicrobial technology.

Because Continental’s industrial hoses meet United States and European food and beverage production standards they are already in line with Australia’s.

Weston said Australia was already starting to employ similar standards to those used in countries like Germany, which has some of the most stringent production regulations.

“Because of Australia’s move towards those trends, Continental is well positioned to help, because of our product offerings,” said Weston. F

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www.foodmag.com.au | December 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 23

INSTRUMENTATION

Flexible level measurement in the fruit yoghurt mixing tank VEGA’s automated radar sensors helped French dairy company Savoie Yaourt produce high quality products. Food & Beverage Industry News reports.

W

hen processing small quantities of a product, the question often arises as to whether it’s worthwhile to feed them automatically from one processing stage to the next.

A well-known French dairy company, Savoie Yaourt, answers the question of fully automation processing with an emphatic “yes”.

The company produces fruit yoghurts that are mixed to the highest possible hygiene and automation standards with the help of 80-GHz VEGAPULS 64 radar sensors. The result? An efficiently packaged, additive-free, and sustainable product.

How long has yoghurt been around?

Yoghurt has been around for many thousands of years, ever since humans began keeping and milking mammals.

During this time, the basic principle of yoghurt production has remained essentially the same: lactic acid fermentation. Today, the only difference is that production takes

place under strictly controlled hygienic conditions and is highly automated.

No two yoghurts are the same.

Yoghurt comes in many varieties: mild, tart, firm or creamy, plain or mixed with fruits, nuts, and cereals.

In addition to organically produced varieties, lactose-free products are appearing more, in ever new flavours.

Exotic flavours like Mango Colada or Chocolate Peanut are popping up, packaged in jars, plastic cups, or bags.

Since the dairy product market is now competing with milk substitutes, it is forced to come up with new ideas and make changes.

Quality is the decisive factor To successfully develop its brand, Savoie Yaourt has adopted a strategy of long-term thinking.

Instead of following shortterm trends such as new yoghurt varieties, the company, which currently employs 39 people, places a higher priority on local sourcing, sustainability, and quality.

The organic milk from cows and goats comes exclusively from France

VEGA has proven that automation for small quantities of product is viable.

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

– the cow’s milk for all fruit yoghurt varieties is even sourced 100 per cent from the immediate Savoyard region.

The company also said its recipes are free of additives, preservatives, and colourings.

Its product portfolio is correspondingly modest and of limited scope. The popular fruit yoghurt Plaisir des Alpes, for example, is available in only four flavours: red fruits, yellow fruits and summer or winter fruits according to the season.

By limiting its product palette, the producer remains down-to-earth.

Internally, its innovation is evident in the multi-stage production process that features a high degree of automation. This helps to maintain consistently high quality and comply with strict hygienic regulations. The entire production process is certified according to IFS Food.

The stages in yoghurt production Every fruit yoghurt variety begins with milk. Savoie Yaourt obtains most of it from the region, collecting it

every other day from farms within a maximum radius of 50km.

Between the milk pickup and the refrigerated storage of the packaged yoghurt, the natural product goes through three processing stages: yoghurt preparation, filling, and storage.

Strict controls and modern technology are fundamental to each.

The resulting product range essentially comprises only three different products: the fruit yoghurt Plaisir des Alpes, organic yoghurt, and goat’s milk yoghurt.

However, each is available in different packaging – individual or family-size portions in recyclable plastic cups, cartons, or glass jars.

The sizes vary from 120 ml in glass jars to 500 ml in plastic cups. Savoie Yaourt markets the latter as “yoghurt to share”.

The fat content of the processed milk is specified according to the desired end product.

Pasteurised milk cooled down to 8°C first flows into a mixing tank.

Here it is tempered to 58°C

INSTRUMENTATION "To successfully develop its brand, Savoie Yaourt has adopted a strategy of longterm thinking. Instead of following shortterm trends, like new yoghurt varieties, the company, which currently employs 39 people, now places a higher priority on local sourcing, sustainability, and quality." after a stirring sequence, then heated to 95°C for a few minutes before it cools down to its fermentation temperature of 35°C. At this point, bacterial cultures are added, which convert the natural milk sugar into lactic acid and thereby lower the pH value into the acidic range.

This causes a structural change in the milk protein and the mass becomes firmer.

Exact level measurement in the fruit mixing tank When the yoghurt is pumped into the fruit mixing tank, it has already had several hours of fermentation time.

Just like the fermentation process, the fruit blending also takes place under aseptic conditions.

The critical process parameters here are the hygienic design of the system components, the homogeneity achieved by stirring and the measurement of the level.

The level should not fall below 20 per cent of the total container volume – and not exceed 90 per cent. In this way,

the filling process can run smoothly and without interruption.

The demands on the measurement technology are high. This is because different varieties are processed in the same fruit mixing tank, the sensor must be able to react to the different consistencies resulting from different recipes.

In the past, this requirement created additional work at Savoie Yaourt, as a previously used capacitive measuring probe for point level detection, installed in the same place, was not precise enough and caused repetitive mistakes.

No two fruits are the same The level inside the fruit mixing tank changes constantly during yoghurt production.

The composition of the mixture in the tank also changes in rapid cycles.

Each fruit confection has unique properties that place special demands on the process technology.

Without reliable monitoring and timely refilling, there is a risk of the filling process downstream at VEGAPULS 64 also provides good measuring results for fruit mixing tanks.

French dairy company, Savoie Yaourt, sucessfully employed VEGA’s 80-GHz VEGAPULS radar sensors.

the packaging machine coming to a standstill.

Here, prefabricated crates are waiting to be filled with cups of fruit yoghurt and stacked in accordance with the packing scheme.

Overfilling could also bring the process to a standstill. Continuous measurement of the filling volume is therefore essential to avoid interruptions or even damage to the system.

Good measuring results in the fruit mixing tank Since 2017, the hygiene-compliant radar sensor VEGAPULS 64 has been reporting any overshooting or undershooting of the specified maximum and minimum filling levels reliably and promptly.

The berries and fruit, and sometimes nuts, that go with the fruit yoghurt are stirred in the mixing tank.

The precise, 80-GHz frequency level measurement keeps the aseptic process at an optimum level and ensures the reproducibility that Savoie Yaourt’s customers rely on.

Due to the monitored filling quantity in the mixing container, exact volumes of fruit yoghurt are filled into 125-g plastic cups without interruption and sealed directly with sterile lids made of aluminium foil.

Compact and hygienic When used on the compact fruit mixing tank, the measurement must remain highly accurate even when the measuring distance is less than 200 mm.

With its especially small process

fittings and short blocking distance, VEGAPULS 64 is suitable for this type of compact vessel.

Its compact design also makes installation easier. In hygienically critical dairy applications, it is deployed with a 2-inch PN16 clamp connection that meets the hygienic standards according to FDA and EC 1935/2004.

The sensor can be installed by hand without tools. Its functionality also allows optimal inline cleaning at the integrated CIP station.

Like all dairy companies, Savoie Yaourt must prepare itself for the eating habits of the future.

Much is changing. Oats, almonds, rice, or nuts are now also milked.

More people nowadays suffer from lactose intolerance and as a result seek out alternatives.

In France, Savoie Yaourt is well positioned to meet these challenges.

It places the focus on regional adaptation, freshness, and sustainability. The fact that the dairy company can hold its own against the big players in the market is due to two factors.

First, it has always been able to highlight its uniqueness in terms of sustainability and authenticity.

Second, the company achieves a high degree of automation even with comparatively small batches.

Due to the high-precision, hygienically optimised level measurement technology implemented in its sterile processes, it can be confident that there will be exact adherence to recipes and consistently high product quality. F

www.foodmag.com.au | December 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 25

LOGISTICS

Schmitz Cargobull’s temperature-controlled trailers suit Australian summers Schmitz Cargobull built a reputation as one of Europe’s leading transport solution providers before entering the Australian market. Food & Beverage Industry News reports.

Hawke Logistics (pictured) is a good case study for the benefits of using Schmitz Cargobull’s temperature-controlled trailers to transport food and beverage products.

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railer and logistics company, Schmitz Cargobull, has been supplying the global food and beverage industry with tailored trailers for more than a century.

Since its inception, the company has produced more than 46,000 trailer units every year with approximately 15,000 of those being transport cooling units that are utilised in the food and beverage industry.

Schmitz Cargobull has built its reputation as a source for companies that need to freight perishable food and drinks from one

location to another safely.

The company has a focus on sustainability and many of its products are designed to limit environmental impacts while also helping to increase transport lines.

A series of awards for trailer innovation in 2021 also demonstrates Schmitz Cargobull’s commitment to always trying to improve its offerings to the market.

The company designs semi-trailers especially for beverage transport with suitable load securing equipment, which offers time-related benefits

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

because of their side opening and closing mechanisms.

The height of the semi-trailers means there is plenty of room for products, which leads to economic efficiency.

Schmitz Cargobull CEO, Andrea Schmitz, said the changes the company has been making recently to its offerings were the result of market forces.

“Our industry is currently undergoing some major changes, demanding a great deal of flexibility and innovation

from us,” said Schmitz.

“During this transformation, Schmitz Cargobull is strategically expanding its role as a digital leader at all levels of the trailer market. As a reliable and innovative company, we make sure that sustainability is closely tied to our products and processes.

“I am confident that – together with our staff, customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders – we will work hard to actively shape and advance this transformation.”

One example of the company’s

LOGISTICS

dedication to innovative modular systems came in 2020/21 with its new chassis concept. The rolled and bolted chassis has undergone design enhancements to make it lighter.

Individual components within the chassis are already strip-galvanised when they arrive at Schmitz Cargobull factories, which offers savings in terms of energy use and CO2 output.

The company’s range of trailers come in different weight classes, from 12 to 44 tonnes, which covers up to 80 per cent of all goods moved in a local or long-distance transport chains.

Meanwhile, temperaturecontrolled transport places particular demands on trailers so it is critical that the freshness and quality of the goods is retained. But at the same time, stringent hygiene and environmental requirements represent a logistical challenge.

In response, Schmitz Cargobull created its double-decker design for refrigerated trailers, which enables the cargo area to be optimised and CO2 to be reduced. Those solutions include lighter semi-trailers and telematics equipment, such as tyre pressure monitoring and refilling systems.

An Australian client of Schmitz Cargobull, Hawk Logistics, specialises in temperature-controlled transport. Managing director Wilander Saldanha spoke about the benefits of adding Schmitz Cargobull trailers to its fleet of trucks.

“One of the biggest draw cards for Schmitz trailers was the thermal qualities on the fridge body of the trailers,” said Saldanha.

The relationship first started when Saldanha’s company discovered Schmitz Cargobull through its association with Krueger Transport Equipment when it moved into the Australian market.

“At the time Schmitz was building the bodies and Krueger were building the trailer chassis,” said Saldanha.

“But when Schmitz started to build both the bodies and trailer chassis, we grew a direct relationship with them from there.”

Hawk Logistics transport product and down the Australian eastern seaboard and run many of their Schmitz Cargobull trailers across Victoria where temperatures can reach into the high 40C during summer, so the company needed a product that could withstand such extreme external temperatures.

“The refrigerated trailer must

be able to adapt and control temperatures at different levels reliably. Needing that flexibility in the business is critical. We can’t afford to have loads, especially meat, go out of temp so the thermal qualities were some of the key points for us,” said Saldanha.

“Another key benefit we noticed early on was the safety around the ease of use for the double stacking load bar system in Schmitz trailers.

“They are light wight aluminium bars on roof mounted tracks so from a driver point of view they aren’t bulky and can be easily unclipped and moved down so that makes it a safer way to load the vehicle. Drivers aren’t having to cart bulk items in and out of the trailer.”

Schmitz Cargobull was able to provide a trailer that met the requirements of Hawk Logistics and as a result the Hawk’s purchased 20 of the company’s trailers to install in its fleet of more than 100-plus vehicles.

“We are always looking at different providers and testing out their products to find the best ones we can for the jobs we need them for,” said Saldanha.

So far, the trailers from Schmitz Cargobull have met, and even

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exceeded, the expectations of the logistics company, which is pleased with the outcome so far.

“We have a range of products we transport. Red meat and poultry are our main game, but we also transport dairy products, ready-made-meals, pretty much anything that needs to be refrigerated we can transport,” said Saldanha.

“The refrigerated trailer has to adapt and control temperatures at different levels reliably. Needing that flexibility in the business is critical.”

As industry targets around CO2 use, sustainability and more circular economies around recycling get closer and industry stakeholders take those into consideration when making business decisions, a company such as Schmitz Cargobull, which openly promotes the sustainable benefits to its products, appears to be a great logistical option for Australian food and beverage companies.

The company outlines its production strategy going forward as one that will ensure product quality at all sites to guarantee the lowest cost for customers while simultaneously generating a lower carbon footprint through higher efficiency. F

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

CONSTRUCTION

B&E Foods turned to Total Construction when it needed to expand its facilities Sydney-based B&E Foods decided to expand its poultry supply operations after finding growing success and to do so, the company turned to Total Construction. Adam McCleery explains.

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ydney and Brisbane-based wholesale food suppliers, B&E Foods is expanding production to continue to deliver a range of fresh meat, seafood, frozen food, and dry products to the Australian market.

The company has experienced growth since it was originally launched as a retail butcher at Canley Vale, in NSW, in 1991, evolving into a supplier and establishing sites in Sydney and another in Queensland.

After deciding to extend its operations, B&E Foods tendered a contract for the project, which Total Construction secured.

General manager of engineering construction group at Total Construction, Rob Blythman, said the company was thrilled to get the contract to build additional space at B&E Foods Blacktown facility.

Blythman credited Total Construction’s reputation for its expert food and beverage construction and fit out experience.

Total Construction’s reputation in the food and beverage construction space helped the company secure an extension project (pictured) with B&E Foods.

"Building the box around the site wasn’t the main priority for B&E Foods, instead, it was about ensuring the inside fit the company’s production needs. The finishes are such a critical element of the project. For example, the company will be installing a spiral chiller and we are tasked with building the space to support those requirements."

Total Construction was contracted to build a new Sydney facility for the food manufacturer.

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

“Some time back B&E Foods purchased a site about 1km from their current facility in Blacktown,” Blythman said. The site had a small warehouse facility already in place, which B&E Foods developed into a production facility to trial a new product lines.

“B&E foods trialled the new

products into the market, which was a success and drove the decision to expand production areas.”

“The new facility extension will be built to cater to the new product varieties from B&E Foods, such as like deep fried chicken, chicken combined with sauces and so on.

Both companies collaborated on

CONSTRUCTION

Part of the construction project includes an underground wastewater treatment plant.

an existing design until all parties were happy with the revised plan.

“We’ve spent a lot of time over the last eight to ten weeks working on the design and finalising the minor points, and now have started the civil works on site,” said Blythman.

“Building the box around the site wasn’t the main priority for B&E Foods, instead, it was about ensuring the inside fit the company’s production needs.

“The finishes are such a critical element of the project. For example, the company will be installing a spiral chiller and we are tasked with building the space to support those requirements.”

Among the project brief, a new 1,600sqm kitchen & production area will be included in the new extension, complete with hygienic finishes, as well as a new 832sqm storage and amenities area, and a 205sqm office. Making the total size of the entire facility a 4,545sqm property.

“The project will also consist of production kitchen, deep frying line, spiral freezer, as well as storage and offices. The original facility was a trial and now the investment is being upscaled,” said Blythman.

As with any major construction project, especially those that require new fit outs or extensions, several obstacles had to be overcome by

Total Construction.

“One of the issues we’ve had to overcome in the project has been asbestos on site,” said Blythman.

Another was the rebuilding and relocation of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP).

As the WWTP is a Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) Plant and was servicing the existing production facility, it was required to continue operation and remain accessible for servicing. Thus, the new DAF location had to be installed prior to demolishing the existing.

“The new facility will be built right over the top of the existing Wastewater Treatment Plant location the new one had to be constructed first, and because the site is a tight one, we had to design an access path in a way that would allow access to the WWTP undergo cleaning,” said Blythman.

“We must also keep the existing

facility running during construction and join onto the whole length of the building and that is a big task. B&E Foods existing production is not impeded through construction of the new extension will be a critical part of the project,” said Blythman.

A 357kl on-site underground detention tank for storm water,

covering a third of the site, will also be built by Total Construction and will be located across the front of the site. Again, this needs to be completed early in the project to allow access to build the main extension.

The largest aspect of the project will be connecting the two facilities. It was decided that the fire isolated passage along the interconnected walls would create the least disruption to existing food production area during the main construction, so was decided to build this first.

“Eventually both facilities will operate together instead of independently,” said Blythman.

“There will be a partial handover to the client and process equipment will start to be installed, we will facilitate these installations by managing their installers because all equipment manufacturers have their own installers, but they have to fall under our occupational health and safety regulations.

“That is generally a four-tosix-week process after we have completed the build.”

Blythman said rain and the COVID-19 lockdown had pushed the project back by six weeks, but the slab is due to go down this month and the project is scheduled for completion by May of 2022. F

B&E Foods specialise in fresh meat, seafood, frozen food, and dry food.

Caption

The B&E Foods project also includes a production kitchen, deep frying line and www.foodmag.com.au | December 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 29

MICE

MICE announce Product Innovation Award finalists for 2020/21 While the Melbourne International Coffee Expo was postponed until 2022, the Product Innovation Awards are proceeding in order to recognise outstanding innovations. Adam McCleery writes.

The Melbourne International Coffee Expo is recognising outstanding innovations from 2020 and 2021.

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hile MICE may not have been able to take place over the past two years due to disruptions from COVID-19, the innovations have not stopped.

“We know that companies from across the coffee industry have been working hard behind the scenes to both keep their businesses afloat

during various periods of restrictions, as well as continuing to ensure they are at the forefront of technology and innovation,” said MICE show director Lauren Winterbottom.

“It’s really important to us that this hard work is recognised.”

The Product Innovation Awards are designed as an avenue for exhibitors

The Product Innovation Awards showcase the best new products in the coffee industry.

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

to demonstrate the newest product innovations available to the market.

The finalists for the 2020/21 awards were recently announced for each of the three categories.

Ancillary electrical equipment In the category of Ancillary Electrical Equipment, Simonelli Group/DaVinci, a company that develops high-performance, innovative, and sustainable machines has been nominated for the Helix flow coffee temperature system.

Helix is the result of a threeyear collaboration.

It’s designed to enable baristas to make and develop their own beverage syrups instore, increasing creativity and creating new beverage limited time offers (LTO) to the store without having to use an additional syrup.

The helix machine also delivers a sustainability message for the customer by reducing the plastic

consumption of the store The Barista Group Co, a specialist in coffee machinery, was nominated for the Markibar IZAGA coffee grinder, which comes with an isolated grinding chamber for smarter ventilation higher performance.

The IZAGA is purpose built for speed and consistency with two operating modes that deliver instant doses, allowing baristas more time to continue the workflow elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Barista Technology Australia was nominated for its flow coffee telemetry system, which creates a more accurate process for consistent quality, increased value, and sustainable propositions.

The product has real time gauges and an analytics dashboard with simple integration, real-time capture and wi-fi capabilities.

Coffee Accessories For the category of Coffee

MICE

Coffee preparation equipment is always undergoing innovation.

The innovation awards cover a host of categories from accessories to equipment.

"MICE is considered one of the leading events of its type across the Asia Pacific, routinely attracting more than 10,000 attendees from across the coffee industry. Bringing together café owners, roasters, equipment manufacturers, service suppliers and more."

Accessories, JOCO Cups, a company that creates innovative reusable drinking cups, has been nominated for the JOCO Aroma Lid while Keep Cups, another sustainable drinking vessel company, has been nominated for the newly released KeepCup Thermal product.

Rounding out the finalists for Coffee Accessories is Made by Fressko, which also manufactures sustainable and reusable cups and flasks, the company has been nominated for its new The coffee industry has a long list of innovative products to showcase

Fressko leather sleeve product.

Coffee Preparation Equipment In the final category, Coffee Preparation Equipment, coffee machine manufacturers Franke Kaffeemaschinen Ag/Franke Coffee Systems was nominated for its Speciality Beverage Station (SB1200), which promises advanced modularity.

Some of the key functions of the SB1200 include IndividualMilk

technology, an accounting system for various payment methods and a fully automatic cleaning process.

Franke Coffee Systems will be in competition with cold brew system specialist Toddy LLC, who is nominated for its Cold Brew Cupping kit, which boasts single-use, compostable filters rather than the standard metal variety.

Finally, Disave Espresso Equipment Suppliers, experts in coffee equipment, received its nomination for the new ONE by Crem coffee machine, a new product to the market that boasts an array of features.

ONE by Crem has highperformance, quality control off the back of PID link boilers, a removable 1.8l water tank and a smart-tech drip tray. All four models that are available to the market use dual pressure gauges on

top of quality control.

The announcement of the finalists comes after MICE organisers were forced to make the difficult decision to postpone the 2021 event after a concerning spike in local COVID-19 cases forced the State Government to impose strict lockdown orders.

“We were devastated that we couldn’t proceed with our plans as we had hoped,” said Winterbottom.

“We wanted nothing more than to get back to business and bring the industry together again. While expo plans were delayed, we’re excited to be recognising some fantastic companies in the 2021 MICE Product Innovation Awards.”

Winners for the 2021 MICE Product Innovation Awards will be announced in the MICE newsletter and on the MICE website, www. internationalcoffeeexpo.com. F It’s the first time in three years that MICE has been able to go ahead.

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

AUSTRALIAN MADE

Pandemic disruptions highlight the importance of local manufacturing SPC’s role as a supplier of canned tomatoes on Australian shelves is more important than ever as the locally produced canned fruit and vegetable market shrinks. Food & Beverage Industry News reports.

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PC CEO Robert Giles has been in the food and beverage industry for decades and in that time he has seen the changing landscape around locally owned and sourced ingredients for canned fruit and vegetables, particularly tomatoes.

SPC CEO Robert Giles has been in the food and beverage industry for decades and in that time he has seen the changing landscape around locally owned and sourced ingredients for canned fruit and vegetables, particularly tomatoes.

“There are really only two major processors of tomatoes left in Australia. We are one of them and the other one is more a food service ingredient supplier, making us the only branded tomato supplier who put tomatoes on the shelves left in the country,” said Giles.

SPC currently works with eight tomato growers on a contractual basis.

These contracts are decided upon at the beginning of the year before the season starts.

All the tomatoes are mechanically harvested in north and north-western Victoria before being transported to SPC’s plant in March.

The lack of tomato processors in Australia became more obvious when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March of 2020, disrupting imports and the global supply chain.

In past years, a lot of cheaper options were imported from Europe, specifically Italy where the government offer subsidies for the farmers.

“We have called for changes to help make it an even playing field over the years,” said Giles.

"We are seeing the results of COVID disruptions to global shipping and supply chains now. SPC has stepped in to fill that gap, which is a shining example of why we need an Australian manufacturer that could ramp up its volume."

“We are seeing the results of COVID disruptions to global shipping and supply chains now. SPC has stepped in to fill that gap, which is a shining example of why we need an Australian manufacturer that could ramp up its volume.

“Last year, COVID hit in March, which is the start of the tomato season, so we quickly changed our approach because we couldn’t keep up with demand. But we could produce more standard diced to help push as much

out into the marketplace to fill the gap that people were calling for.”

Giles said SPC demonstrated its ability to react quickly and effectively to shifting forces in the local and global marketplace.

“Shipping is expensive after going up fourfold and coming in late, all due again to COVID disruptions.

There are gaps in supply, yet Coles and Woolworths can call us and have product two days later. We make a lot of sense to them for that reason and

When another wave of COVID-19 hit again in March, the lack of tomato processors became quite obvious.

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

AUSTRALIAN MADE

apricots. The variety that they grow is specifically for us and our canned goods.”

Those fruits are generally perfect for the canning process because they are firmer and can withstand external forces without being destroyed.

“Then we have apples and pears.

We take some from the start of the season, based on what we call straight pick, which is what is needed for canning. Then throughout the year, we take the grade-offs from the packing sheds because apples and pears can be stored all year, whereas with peaches and apricots you have to use in a couple of weeks,” said Giles.

Another critical factor in the contraction of canned fruit and vegetable manufacturers in Australia is the cost of labour, Giles said.

“My history shows me that over the past 10 to 20 years, we have seen a lot of food manufacturing going offshore because of the high cost of labour, energy costs and a range of other factors,” he said.

“We know Australia is a very expensive country to manufacture in but there are a lot of companies that have stuck to their guns and realise having a stable food manufacturing source in Australia is really important.

Having a stable food manufacturing source in Australia is important.

Consumers and our key customers also call out a need for it to be available.”

Giles said one of the key factors, if not the most critical factor, in keeping more producers and food processors on Australian shores is the retention of food manufacturing skills.

“Reports say Australia can feed itself four times over, so we don’t have a food security issue. That’s all right if we only want to feed ourselves on grain and beef,” said Giles.

When they are offshored, as big multi-nationals have in the past, those skills to process food won’t be coming back to Australia. We think food security, in being able to

produce our own food products, is really important.”

A positive benefit that Giles saw come out of the pandemic, and one that gives him renewed optimism, is the Federal Government’s response to manufacturing issues during the global pandemic shut down.

“The Federal Government now see manufacturing as one of the growth platforms for the future, where they were very much focused on education and tourism before,” said Giles.

“Suddenly, manufacturing is seen as one of those economy building areas that is getting some renewed focus.” F 9376

that has given us a strong tailwind at the moment,” he added.

Canned fruit has also been a critical performer for SPC over its 104-year history, particularly the economic benefits growing regions, like the Goulburn Valley, enjoy as a result.

“That is an important point. It isn’t just about the people we employ, although we are the second largest employer in Shepparton. It is the larger environment it serves,” said Giles.

For the SPC network to succeed, several factors, from different areas of the industry, must come together, which in turn helps create jobs for regional farming areas.

“It’s a good thing for farming communities and we continue to build on that,” said Giles.

“We are currently working with TAFE to create apprenticeship programs that provide a future and more skilled pathway for people. All of those pieces come together to make up the whole circular economy up there.”

“We have more of a symbiotic relationship with our fruit growers,” said Giles.

“We give them an indication of how much fruit we need at the start of the season. For the last two seasons we take all of the peaches and

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www.foodmag.com.au | December 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 33

AUSTRALIAN MADE

ePac to provide large scale marketing for small businesses ePac’s mission has always been about helping small brands obtain a big brand presence through packaging options. Food & Beverage Industry News reports.

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uilt entirely on digital printing technology from Hewlett Packard’s Indigo 25000, ePac can fast-track small businesses to the big brand market by facilitating economical short and medium run length jobs, customisation, and the ability to order to demand, to avoid costly inventory and obsolescence. ePac provides local businesses with high-quality finished pouches and roll stock at competitive prices for both short and medium run length orders.

The company serves brands of all sizes, with a particular focus on small- and medium-sized businesses producing snacks, confection, coffee, natural and organic foods, pet food, and nutritional supplements.

Early in 2022, ePac will launch its first production facility eight kilometres from the Melbourne CBD, at the new Newlands Road food manufacturing hub, located in Coburg’s industrial district.

The company’s goal is to become a go-to local packaging partner for Melbourne’s up and coming food and beverage businesses and support them on their journey to achieving big brand presence. ePac’s offerings aim to bring a new sustainable solution to the Australian food and beverage market.

Its packaging is a combination of recyclable films, suitable for store drop-off programs such as REDcycle and How2Recycle, and films made from post-consumer recycled (PCR) resin content.

Meanwhile, ePac’s “Order – to – Demand” model and low minimums that ship in 10-15 business days, can help customers reduce inventory and obsolescence, which decreases the amount of waste that enters recycling streams, landfills, and the environment. ePac’s digital printing platform is inherently sustainable; it uses less energy, produces less waste, and has a smaller carbon footprint than traditional printing technologies.

Additionally, ePac inks are recyclable and compostable.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the impact and instability of offshore production.

Sourcing from the overseas Asian markets caused an imbalance in supply and demand that led to stock shortages across supermarket shelves.

While many forecasts are circulating as to when international trade will balance out, and ePac spokesperson said the company feels that businesses need to accept longterm instability as supply and demand continues to ricochet.

Economically, it is thought that Australia is entering a period of scarcity and inflation on a global scale, the effects of which are going to be felt into 2023, which is going to place pressure on traditional supply chain models.

Through building its presence here, directly in the Australian market where ePac produce onshore, the company will be able to strengthen Australian supply chain

ePac has the capability to get small businesses into the big brand marketing space.

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

Early in 2022 ePac will launch its first production facility in Melbourne.

partnerships by allowing businesses to deal directly with a local partner here in Australia.

In addition, quality is something that can never be fully ascertained when sourcing offshore.

For many companies, the investment in subpar packaging is a sunken cost that often leads to obsolescence – or lessens the quality of their brands.

It’s difficult to rectify production quality issues with overseas suppliers, so having a partner on the ground in Australia will enable ePac to deliver high production quality.

This is also a selling-point for ePac customers who are concerned about their impact on the environment and their carbon footprint when sourcing offshore.

The importance of sustainability of consumer products is of paramount importance to brand owners, and society is increasingly aware of the harmful environmental impact of over consumption.

The rise of the ethical consumer is changing buyer behaviour and companies must adapt to meet this need.

Packaging represents the key point as a sale brand communication medium, and it is paramount for

brand owners to deliver their sustainability message effectively at this critical juncture.

This starts with sustainable material; content that is recyclable/ recycled or compostable, coupled with the right recycling logos to ensure correct end of life disposal.

Companies need to consider the sustainability of their products holistically including upstream supply chain and manufacturing processes to continue to thrive in this new market.

It is inevitable that if industry does not meet this sustainability challenge, governments will move to legislate.

Smart and agile businesses will act now to be able to pounce on this changing consumer trend.

Epac’s value proposition has resonated with all the customers that the company has engaged.

The ability to bring production onshore with improved turnaround times, combined with a smaller minimum order size, while improving their environmental footprint, makes ePac appeal in different ways to different clients.

All these points have been raised by ePac clients and the company attributed its success to strong relationships with its clientele. F

PACKAGING

The importance of industry exhibitions and trade fairs like AUSPACK Packaging and process trade fair, AUSPACK, has put together a list of exhibitors and showcases for the return of the event in 2022. Food & Beverage Industry News looks at what is on offer.

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USPACK was established 36 years ago by the Australian Packaging & Processing Machinery Association (APPMA), which still owns the event today.

The APPMA’s members encompass suppliers from a range of companies – from large conglomerates through to through to small, niche businesses – it is run by the industry, for the industry.

“Over the years, the APPMA has expanded AUSPACK to include machinery for the packaging and processing sectors, services, packaging and materials, IT and industrial automation, machinery components and plant equipment,” said Karolina Rodriguez, marketing manager for Exhibitions and Trade Fairs for AUSPACK 2022.

“While it’s been unquestionably important to follow government health guidelines around face-to-face events, these events really are the best way to target customers and suppliers and to demonstrate machinery and products.

“AUSPACK 2022 is the ideal face-to-face environment, facilitating demonstrations of technology and expertise to an audience of industry decision-makers and influencers.”

AUSPACK 2022 will be the first event for the industry since 2019, so it’s a good opportunity to reconnect with peers and build connections while learning about all the innovations that have occurred since the last trade show.

“We’re anticipating more than 250 exhibitors for AUSPACK 2022,” said Rodriguez.

“Most exhibitors from the postponed 2021 show rolled over into 2022, and I think this really speaks to the quality and value of AUSPACK for the industry spectrum of packaging and processing businesses.”

The event will also see the launch of a new Leaders Forum to encourage

AUSPACK has been servicing the food and beverage industry for 36 years.

and facilitate thought leadership and high-level thinking for Australian manufacturers on the ever-evolving world of industry, innovation and collaboration.

A variety of free seminars on a range of topics will be available to attendees. The expanded seminar series will consist of two theatres on the show floor after they proved popular at the 2019 event.

“We’re also going to have an array of new zones: IT & Services, Processing Equipment, Packaging and Packaging Materials, and Packaging Machinery,” said Rodriguez.

“Everyone is time poor, and zones make it easy for visitors to spend their time researching, learning, and networking in the specific areas they’re most interested in. Of course, it’s also valuable for exhibitors to have such qualified leads.”

As always, AUSPACK 2022 will feature live demonstrations, which have become an important part of the show for both exhibitors to show their products to potential customers and for visitors to see and compare them in action.

With the addition of a new online schedule, visitors will also be able to

look up what live demonstrations will be happening and plan their time on the expo floor accordingly, to ensure they don’t miss out on seeing the latest innovations.

It’s hoped that with the return of AUSPACK will also be the return of the events popularity across the industry.

Since its inception, AUSPACK has been run biennially between Melbourne and Sydney. However, Melbourne has always been the largest event.

AUSPACK 2019, which was held in the Victorian capital, broke records on every front – visitor numbers through the door, the amount of floor space selling out six months before the event despite it being the largest floor space ever, and the highest number of adjacent events running alongside the free exhibition.

“With the last show three years ago, the market wants to connect again face-to-face,” said Rodriguez.

“All these reasons made the decision easier to hold AUSPACK 2022 in Melbourne.”

Because AUSPACK is run by the industry itself, the event is perceptive to industry trends. On top

of several major topics, key themes for AUSPACK 2022 are: • Sustainability.

• Robotics and automation.

• Fast and flexible machinery.

• Smart packaging.

These themes will be explored in depth through the aforementioned sessions held in the Seminar Series and Leaders Forum.

New industry targets around more sustainable packaging, and a circular economy around the use of packaging, has become more prominent since the last AUSPACK event in 2019.

“A circular economy is a global trend that manufacturers and suppliers need to understand and make progress with to be viable to consumers,” said Rodriguez.

“AUSPACK has a responsibility to showcase these innovations and help drive progress.

“Sustainability and the circular economy will form part of a session at the AUSPACK Leaders Forum, where industry leaders will be looking at how they navigate the disruption and opportunities that are taking place.”

AUSPACK 2022 will run from May 17 to May 20 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. F

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

FINE FOOD

Fine Food Australia set to host two events in 2022 After a tumultuous year, Fine Food Australia will be running its postponed 2021 Sydney expo in March of 2022 before Melbourne hosts the event in September. Food & Beverage Industry News reports.

2022 is shaping up to be a big year with the return of Fine Food Australia.

T

he Fine Food Australia Expo will be returning in 2022 after COVID-19 restrictions forced the cancellation of the 2021 Sydney event.

As a result of the postponement, 2022 will see two Fine Food Australia expos, one in Sydney from March 8 to 11 and the scheduled September 2022 event from September 5 to 8 in Melbourne.

The expos focus on the food and hospitality industries with a host of exhibitors showcasing products across retail, food service, hospitality, and bakery.

Event manager, Andrew Lawson, said the team were excited for the

return of the industry expo and were up to the added challenge of running two in one calendar year.

“We know there is such a strong desire to get back out there and meet face to face and network and just catch up, whether with friends, industry stakeholders and colleagues,” said Lawson.

“Next year is fully packed for us, which is a different cycle than we have been used to in the past.

“Obviously with the way things have gone for the last couple of years we will be running the two Fine Food Australia events next year. Fine Food Sydney will happen at ICC Sydney and is the delivery of our

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

postponed 2021 event. Followed by our scheduled event at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre in September.”

Over 400 exhibitors will be on the show floor at the Sydney exhibition, while even more are already expected in September in Melbourne.

“And those exhibitors will be from right across the full spectrum of that service and supplier side of things,” he said.

Lawson said despite the challenges of running two events inside the same year, Fine Food Australia was eager to repay the faith of exhibitors who had committed to the postponed 2021 event.

“Being able to service both

markets in different states and across one year is a great challenge. We have been overwhelmed with the support, which also highlights the desire of the industry to get back out there,” he said.

Lawson credited the strong reputation Fine Food Australia has built over the years as the reason the industry has been so supportive during a difficult 2021.

“That comes with a lot of benefits but an equal amount of responsibility about what we with the type of platform we provide the wider industry,” he said.

“That has been reflected through being forced to press pause. The

FINE FOOD

March will see the postponed 2021 Fine Food Australia event hosted in Sydney. positivity, support, and understanding we have received during that time was a good sign.”

Lawson said key stakeholders, such as exhibitors and sponsors, were more than open to taking the event and running it as planned, further down the line.

“As we go into our 37th and 38th events through next year, it’s pretty exciting to have that backing from an industry that wants to get back out there and seeing Fine Food as the opportunity to do that,” he said.

Another outcome that arose from postponing the event was a chance

to build up the presence of key stakeholders.

“What buoyed us into knowing it would work was the minimal changes that came with the move.

We had little to no companies drop out or say that they couldn’t do it,” said Lawson.

“Equally, with more time we were able to get we have been able to see more companies come on board who weren’t able to do it this year.

We continue to manage that, and it provides us with an opportunity to build the core of the four-day event.

“Having more time because

of the move means some have seen what is happening in the market now and recognise it could be a greater opportunity to get involved in the March event, as opposed to last year.”

Many exhibitors have developed or innovated new products to showcase.

“The show floor will highlight some key developments in the retail and service spaces, which have been innovated over the last two years,” said Lawson.

“And those will be across all of our core and major food sectors. We still offer general food, packaging, bakery, meat and sea food, and dairy innovations and development.

“It really is the full spectrum that people have come to expect at Fine Food.”

One of the main aims for Fine Food is for visitors and exhibitors to immediately feel familiar when they come back to the event after a long hiatus.

One of the other critical elements to the expo is the chance to listen to experts speak on the state of the industry and what the near future will look like.

Of those expert panel discussions, Talking Shop and Talking Trends are

important ones for anyone attending or exhibiting at the event.

“Those discussions will have a focus around going forward and the future of the industry. The Talking Shop and Talking Trend stages will look at the big issues facing the sector,” said Lawson.

“Right now, it would be around staffing shortages and other key practical elements and also looking at how to successfully adopt technology into a business and what to be looking for in five years’ time.

“That whole education piece is a real highlight to what is on offer across both 2022 events.”

Lawson said the benefits of being a part of either 2022 Fine Food Australia event were numerous, but the chance to be part of the first expo since COVID-19 cancellations, with an industry eager to get back out there, meant the show was likely to gain a lot of attention from stakeholders.

“The incentive is having the chance to be a part of something bigger, as we as an industry begin to reconnect on a face-to-face level,” he said.

“Having a chance to be a part of that reunion is a great opportunity.” F

Fine Food Australia showcases some of the best food available to the market.

www.foodmag.com.au | December 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 37

FOODTECH

FoodTech Qld: The destination for food innovation in 2022 FoodTech Qld will be held in July 2022 at the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Food & Beverage Industry News reports on what to expect.

T

he food industry has been waiting for an event to connect and do business, and what better place to reconnect with peers than on the Gold Coast.

The triennial Queensland industry event for food and beverage is transforming in 2022, FoodTech Qld is moving to the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, on July 7 and 8, 2022.

Attendees can look forward to an event that combines both an exhibition show floor and a dedicated conference stream across two days, plus a range of networking events.

FoodTech Qld is brought to you by foodpro, which has been Australia’s triennial food manufacturing trade show since the 1960s.

What's on the show floor Attendees can explore a line-up of exhibitors that cover the breadth of the sector. With the range of exhibitors to meet with, the event will be a suitable place for manufacturers to attend so they can source the latest in technology and equipment.

The show floor covers everything from processing machinery and plant equipment, packaging solutions

and ingredients, supply chain technologies and food science.

The exhibitors have the products, services, and expertise to make sure businesses can drive production efficiencies and boost end-consumer demand in the competitive and thriving food and beverage sector.

FoodTech Qld is moving locations to the Gold Coast for the 2022 event.

Brand-new conference stream The education element of FoodTech Qld is evolving in 2022, with a dedicated two-day conference stream with content led by The Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology (AIFST), long time industry partners of FoodTech Qld and foodpro.

AIFST has a reputation for facilitating education and training to assist food industry professionals.

FoodTech Qld will also be working closely with the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) and CSIRO to curate content that is both valuable and insightful for industry attendees.

Content will be focused on topics such as technology initiatives, future thinking, as well as commercial and global emerging market trends.

Be sure to look out for information from FoodTech Qld on the speaker

and session line-up in the new year.

Reconnect and relax with peers It’s not all business when you take part in FoodTech Qld. Both visitors and exhibitors will be able to take advantage of the Gold Coast backdrop with ample networking opportunities.

These events have been designed to create a relaxed environment for peers to finally catch up face-to-face FoodTech combines exhibition with dedicated conferences from industry experts.

over of drinks and canapes.

There is a pre-show cocktails party hosted poolside at The Start Gold Coast. Attendees will be able to catch up before they event hit the show floor and look forward to what’s ahead.

After the first day of show, there is a cocktail function at the Home of the Arts (HOTA), surrounded by tropical parklands. This is the place to unwind after a busy day on the event show floor.

Tickets to these events will be available for exhibitors and conference attendees, and to make the visit as smooth as possible.

Transfers to the events are included in the price.

Get involved with FoodTech Qld Looking to reach key buyers and decision makers? Stand space is filling up fast but there is still opportunity to get involved with the event in 2022.

Package deals are available, with options to leave the stand building up to the event organiser. To find out more about getting involved visit: foodtechqld.com.au. F 38 Food&Beverage Industry News | December 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

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BEARINGS

BSC is helping Hawkes Farm scrub up nicely Industrial products supplier BSC helped fresh vegetable producers, Hawkes Farm, solve a potentially devastating bearing failure and save a profitable crop. Food & Beverage Industry News reports.

F

or the Hawkes family, vegetables aren’t small potatoes. In fact, potatoes play a pivotal role in their Victorian farm and produce business located in Boneo on the picturesque Mornington Peninsula.

“Our business comprises three parts. We have the farm itself where we grow a variety of vegetables and sell wholesale to grocers and restaurants,” said co-owner Georgie Hawkes.

“Then we have our farmgate, including our online store, which is a direct-to-public retail shopfront and then we have what we call ‘Hawkes Produce’, which is the processing side of the business.

“We have a facility where we grade, wash and package up produce ready for market, the majority of which is potatoes. While some of this produce is our own, we also process potatoes for other growers who don’t

have these facilities.”

It’s a diverse business model that has proven effective for the farming family.

According to Hawkes, the farm’s success and growth can be attributed to a combination of high yield farming practice and vertical business integration, the Hawkes’ grow, pack, and market their own product.

“My husband Richard is a six-generation vegetable farmer. His dad originally bought the farm here in the 1970s, but he comes from a long line of veggie growers,” said Hawkes.

“He understands what is required to ensure the soil conditions are optimal, such as crop rotation for high yields.”

Richard began growing potatoes in the early 2000s, originally trialling some on a small patch of the family farmland. Now, potatoes make up their largest line.

“This is followed by Dutch carrots,

When Hawkes Farm owners discovered the bearings on a new piece of machinery didn’t work they called BSC.

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

and we also grow spring onions, radishes, kale and parsley,” Hawkes continued.

“We recently had a contract for washing a large quantity of carrots, so we upgraded our equipment.”

The upgrade involved the purchase of new washer machines from overseas.

Although state-of-the-art, when the team at Hawkes assembled the machines at their facility, the bearings did not appear to fit correctly.

“It wasn’t quite right, so Richard contacted BSC, which is our go-to service provider, urgently about the parts needed,” said Hawkes.

“I don’t know the full details of the exchange, but I understand that the guys from BSC went above and beyond to help us out.”

Leon Stefanec, BSC’s national business development manager for food and beverage, was the one who took Richard’s call.

“Richard called our after-hours service line on a Saturday afternoon with an urgent enquiry about bearings.

The new processing equipment he’d purchased from overseas had issues with the bearings – perhaps they didn’t fit correctly, and were of inferior quality,” said Stefanec.

“The washer was critical to Hawkes Vegetables being able to fulfill a large carrot washing contract they had. Richard was mindful of the importance of the contract. They had a strict timeline to adhere to and needed to process a large batch of carrots in a very short timeframe, otherwise the vegetables would spoil.”

As the Hawkes’ family needed a large quantity of high-quality bearings, and quickly, Stefanec immediately contacted NSK. “They were up against it, and it was unusual for us to receive an order for such a high quantity of bearings and housings out of business hours, so

BEARINGS

Caption

The failed machine was needed to process a carrot crop, so BSC’s help was critical.

I basically rang NSK straight away,” said Stefanec.

“NSK have a great after-hours process and service and their branch is not too far from BSC Frankston, which is the local branch to the Hawkes’ family. Richard was insistent that he needed a good quality bearing brand, so I elected to go with NSK knowing the importance of the contract to them and not wanting the produce to spoil.

“We were able to help them out, with myself and one of the Hawkes’ maintenance staff meeting at the NSK warehouse in Dandenong to fulfill the order.”

When Stefanec called the farm on the Monday, all was well on the Hawkes’ carrot processing front.

“When I followed up, they were delighted with the NSK bearings.

Everything had fit perfectly, they were happy with the quality, and they’d managed to commence production over the weekend,” Stefanec said.

“There was no loss of production or produce, and they were able to meet their deadline.

“A great result that we were glad to have helped achieve.”

Importantly, the NSK bearings

that Stefanec recommended have special features that make them an appropriate choice for produce washing applications.

“This particular bearing is a triple lip with a wide inner ring. The triple lip seal is renowned for working well in food and beverage type applications where there is a lot of water, whether that’s in the processing such as vegetable washing at the Hawkes’ facility, or with high-pressure washdowns in the hygiene process,” said Stefanec.

“The bearings are very suited to the Hawkes’ application, not just on the washer but potentially on their conveyors too, as the bearings will be exposed to a lot of water and cold conditions in the cool room.

“The triple lip seal works well to keep the grease in and contaminants out.”

For Georgie Hawkes, while the bearing quality is paramount, it’s BSC’s service that makes a key difference to the family business.

“Our family, and this goes back really to Richard’s family before me, have been working with BSC for decades now,” said Hawkes.

“We’ll continue to work with

them because they provide great, reliable service and all the products they recommend perform well. In this recent example, I heard one of the guys helping out missed his kid’s soccer game.

“We don’t want anyone missing soccer games, so we definitely appreciate them helping us out to such an extent.

“It was an urgent situation, and they really came through for us.”

Stefanec said many farming families on the Mornington Peninsula

rely on the BSC Frankston branch for equipment parts.

“We play an important role in servicing the peninsula, both for agriculture and food producers,” he said.

“The farming community in this part of Victoria is diverse and have diverse requirements, but they have one aspect in common, quality.

“And we provide quality brands and service above all other things, which goes a long way in this part of the world.” F

Hawkes Farm owner, Richard Hawkes, said the business had an important role to play in the Mornington Peninsula.

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

SUSTAINABILITY

Joint research project of Krones and Alpla delivers surprising results Despite attractive environmental credentials, returnable PET containers remain a niche product as researchers look to improve packaging potential. Food & Beverage Industry News reports.

I

n the beverage packaging market, returnable PET containers currently play a rather small role. Wrongly so, say the results of a joint research project of Krones and Alpla.

In the project’s first phase, the material and process parameters underwent a comprehensive scientific evaluation.

Based on these findings, Krones and Alpla developed a returnable PET

environmental performance, especially if they are distributed mainly regionally,” Birk said.

Bottle samples and cleaning processes tested Krones and Alpla teamed up to make these benefits available for use for a range of beverages.

“Until now, the main applications for returnable PET containers have

meaningful base of data, Krones’ development plant for washing technology in Flensburg carried out a series of tests, analysing the interaction of different bottle designs and cleaning processes.

“The tests provided us with a very clear picture of the respective thermal, chemical, and mechanical factors,” said Bradshaw.

“Among the findings: With the right Krones and Alpla conducted research around the benefits of returnable PET containers.

container that provides an optimal environment for sensitive ESL (Extended Shelf Life) products such as juice and milk in the cold chain.

Be it due to regulations, voluntary climate targets, or growing environmental awareness among consumers, sustainability issues are becoming an increasingly important factor in packaging choice.

“Which type of packaging performs best from an ecological perspective depends on a number of factors and must be evaluated individually for each use case,” said Martina Birk, who is the persons responsible for the environmental sustainability programme at Krones.

But returnable PET containers often don’t even enter into consideration in the first place.

“And yet they can offer outstanding

been carbonated soft drinks and water,” said Jörg Schwärzler, returnables expert and project lead at Alpla.

“But we were certain that if we combined our expertise in materials science, preform design, container design, and systems engineering, we could find a solution for sensitive beverages like juices and dairy products.

“The option of using a 38mm bottle neck offers particular advantages for sensitive returnable applications.”

The partners dedicated particular attention to the container cleaning process because PET is less heatresistant than glass.

“So, we had to find a way to ensure both a high level of microbiological safety and a high number of use cycles while cleaning at lower temperatures.”

To obtain an objective and

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

combination of parameters especially lye concentration, temperature, additive, and mechanical impact – temperatures around 60 °C are sufficient to reliably remove dried protein, fat, and starch

contamination from the containers.”

Direct comparison with returnable glass A direct comparison of returnable PET and returnable glass brought to light another interesting discovery – over the course of several cleaning cycles, the alkaline cleaning medium visibly roughened the surface of the glass bottle, whereas nothing comparable could be observed with the PET containers.

“For the filling of sensitive beverages in particular, consistent container quality can be an advantage that should not be underestimated,” said Bradshaw.

Microbiological tests are currently being conducted to establish whether the technology is safe. Initial results confirm the observations made thus far.

“Microbiologically, PET bottles that had gone through 25 cycles could not be distinguished from new ones,” Bradshaw continued.

With this proof of concept, the project has reached an important milestone and is now ready for the next step. Preparations are underway for the technical field test. F

New approaches to PET containers are needed as sustainability issues become more important.

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CALIBRATION

Beamex test and calibration system offers string of key benefits to any workshop The importance of workshop calibration is seen across the entire production process and Beamex’s new CENTRiCAL calibration bench offers a new level of flexibility. Adam McCleery writes.

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orkshop calibration is a critical part of the production process and a new product from Beamex, through AMS Instrumentation and Calibration, promises to take it to another level.

The new Beamex CENTRiCAL calibration bench, a modular test and calibration system, was built off the back of decades of workshop calibration and experience to create an ease of use for the operator.

Beamex sales director, Juha Salimäki, said the new product was built with the newest technology available to the market.

“A standard yet configurable

The product comes as a two metre or 1.5-metre-long table and can be installed with a corner table adjustment feature where needed.

Meanwhile, the MC6 Workstation’s calibration host module can turn a bench into a documentation calibration station when the Beamex CMX or Beamex LOGiCAL software are used.

The MC6 offers calibration capabilities for pressure, temperature and various electrical signals and contains a full fieldbus communicator for HART, FOUNDATION Fieldbus and Profibus PA instruments.

The software also creates a paperless calibration process, meaning

"A standard yet configurable solution, the Beamex CENTRiCAL represents the latest technology, which combines ease of use, versatility, ergonomics and provides a better way to perform calibrations in a workshop." solution, the Beamex CENTRiCAL represents the latest technology which combines ease of use, versatility, ergonomics and provides a better way to perform calibrations in a workshop,” said Salimäki.

The Beamex CENTRiCAL can be configured to suit individual requirements, while the standard electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection offers electrical safety measures as a standard feature.

Each CENTRiCAL is also supplied with accredited calibration certificates to ensure quality and traceability.

The product is available with good ergonomics via motorised height control, or as a fixed height bench. A straight bench and corner modules are also available to meet user needs.

A trolley-based design is also available is mobile solutions are required.

results no longer need to be written onto paper, mitigating the risk of error from manual implementation.

It also helps to save time, money through improvements to the overall process quality.

Beamex also offers its services to help clients tailor the product design to best fit their requirements.

The Beamex CENTRiCAL is offered in several module types including process calibration, pressure measurement and generation, automatic pressure generator and AC and DC power supplies.

Why calibrate in workshop?

Even though process instruments are often calibrated in the field with portable calibration equipment, there are some situations when it’s more effective and convenient to perform calibrations within a workshop.

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

The Beamex CENTRiCAL calibration bench was developed off the back of decades of experience.

One example of this is during the commissioning phase because it is easier and faster to calibrate the process instruments in a workshop before installing them into the process.

It’s also proven to be more efficient to calibrate spare devices and rotational spares in a workshop setting.

During the commissioning stage, the field equipment is not yet installed because the installation of the process equipment is not completed. Usually, the process equipment has already been purchased and is in storage awaiting for installation.

This is the point where it’s efficient to calibrate all the process equipment in the workshop before it’s taken out into the field and installed. Also, it’s often faster and easier to calibrate all transmitters in the workshop prior to installation, than it is to calibrate them in the field after installation.

Better accuracy can also be achieved when the calibration is performed in controlled conditions, using dedicated high-accuracy workshop calibration equipment.

In the event of harsh or even dangerous field conditions, calibration in a well-designed workshop with equipment ready for use is ergonomic and practical. Workshop calibration can also complement field calibration.

The workshop also offers an easier way for calibration of spare devices and

rotational spares. That is especially the case when the calibration is difficult to do in the field, or the calibration takes a long time to perform.

Automated and paperless calibration “Combining the Beamex CENTRiCAL together with software, hardware and calibration expertise form an automated and paperless digital calibration solution,” said Salimäki.

“This solution can cut the time spent on calibration by up to 50 per cent. It saves money while at the same time improves the reliability of calibration records.”

Applications With the ability to be built to specific requirements, for pressure, temperature, electrical and electrical repair, and calibration trolleys, the Beamex CENTRiCAL offers a range of applications, including periodic calibration of process instruments, such as pressure transmitters, sensors, gauges, and indicators, just to list a few.

The scope of establishing a calibration workshop is always a large project with a host of interacted task to complete. Beamex, through AMS Instrumentation and Calibration, promises to help clients complete the project through expert organisation and experience. F

AFCCC

Get serious about food wastage – the Pact is the perfect forum The formation of the Australian Food Pact is an important step in the fight against food waste, writes Mark Mitchell, chairman of the Australian Food Cold Chain Council (AFCCC).

Every year almost eight million tonnes of food never makes it to Australian

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he recent launch of the Australian Food Pact by the Australian Government will go down as one of the most significant steps yet taken to attack the country’s serious food waste problem.

The Pact is basically a commitment by organisations involved in the food business to forget about competition for a while and collaborate in a number of solutions that will make the food system more sustainable and resilient.

Boiling it all down, it is simply about spreading good practice across Australia.

If everyone followed good practice, we wouldn’t have such a large food waste problem in the first place. But it is the scale of bad practice that should make everyone in the food business sit up and take notice – every year, 7.6 million tonnes of food, enough to fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground to the brim almost nine times, never make it to a table.

The cost of this is $36.6

billion every year.

If that’s not bad enough, the impact of this food wastage on the environment is huge, amounting to 17.5 million tonnes of CO2 every year.

The AFCCC’s role in the fight against food wastage may be small, but for the Australian food cold chain, it is significant.

The extent of bad practice in the handling and transport of our cold food contributes substantially to the figures mentioned above.

The AFCCC is working on programs that will introduce uniform standards in cold chain systems. The Food Pact is doing the same thing on a much larger scale.

The Pact has a target of signing up 50 signatories to help deliver the country’s food target of halving food waste by 2030. It is symptomatic of our food chain that only eight companies have signed up so far.

Certainly, they are the big guys, like the two major food retail chains,

and that is encouraging. Many companies spend lots of advertising dollars spruiking their environmental credentials, but if you dig deep enough, you find that many of their claims are lip service.

So having companies sign up to the Pact in a very visible and transparent way, is the best plan yet to have them commit to a range of solutions and help them identify food waste hotspots and root causes.

It is the food industry’s inbred reluctance to collaborate that is stifling so many worthwhile initiatives.

The AFCCC saw this at first hand with its release of the first of a series of cold food codes dealing with thermometers and their role in cold chain compliance. A world standard training program that we released to support the code has not exactly been mobbed.

All of us in the cold chain collectively have to lift our game; we need to sign up every cold chain

practitioner from every loading dock, every transport and every cold room in the country to higher levels of training.

I would appeal to food industry companies at all levels of the chain, including the cold chain, to seriously consider signing up to the Australian Food Pact, to show that we understand the seriousness of the problem, and that we are prepared to do something about it.

How can we lose?

By being involved, you will have access to the best brains in the land to help you move to a more financially and environmentally sustainable business model, allowing you to provide products more efficiently.

If that’s not enough, the average return on investment ratio for food waste prevention initiatives is seven to one – for every dollar invested you get seven dollars back.

In the hospitality and food service sector, the return is expected to be as high as ten to one. F

www.foodmag.com.au | December 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 45

AIP releases findings from 2021 Salary Survey The AIP has completed the first Australasian Salary Survey. Although there are some brights sports, work still needs to be done on some aspects of the industry. Food & Beverage Industry News reports.

Author

T

Nerida Kelton MAIP, Executive Director – AIP, Vice President – Sustainability & Save Food

he AIP has released the key findings from the 2021 Salary Survey which is a first-of-itskind for the Australasian Region.

The AIP 2021 Salary Survey report was developed in partnership with the IoPP, to provide a more detailed breakdown of the people who make up the industry including their roles, education, experience, career satisfaction, concerns and salaries. Some of the findings that stood out were how wellqualified packaging professionals are in our region with 46 per cent of the total respondents having a Postgraduate Degree, how 34.20 per cent have more than 20 years’ experience in the industry and how, even during a Pandemic 41.30 per cent were very secure in their job and 27.50 per cent were somewhat secure.

Even though the data indicates that we have well qualified professionals in the industry we still have a limited amount who are qualified in the science, engineering or technology of packaging.

The Australasian region needs to see more people working in the

packaging industry undertaking degrees such as the Diploma in Packaging Technology, the Certificate in Packaging, the Fundamentals in Packaging Technology and the Master of Food & Packaging Innovation.

Having a degree in the science of packaging and understanding the fundamentals of packaging will go a long way in improving the overall knowledge and skill sets available to ensure that we do not have a technical knowledge void within the industry in the next 5-10 years.

Not only do we need to encourage more people in the industry to advance their technical skills in packaging, but we also need to see professionals that have worked hard to attain a packaging-related degree to be recognised and hired for their expertise.

The AIP would love to see more HR departments and job placement companies actively recognising packaging degrees and the Certified Packaging Professional (CPP) designation in their position descriptions when hiring packaging

technologists and designers, as their technical knowledge is invaluable.

Experience • 34.20 per cent of the total respondents have more than 20 years’ experience in the packaging industry. This is an indication of longevity in the industry and stable careers.

• There is an increasing amount of people in the industry that have up to 10 years’ experience, which shows that there is a continued opportunity for newcomers to the industry to establish strong careers.

Education • 46 per cent of the total respondents have extremely high educational qualifications including postgraduate degrees.

• 21 per cent of the respondents have an undergraduate degree.

Job Function • 25.20 per cent of the respondents indicated that they work in packaging technology/design.

• This was followed closely by marketing/sales at 24.40 per cent 46 Food&Beverage Industry News | December 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

Industry/products • 47 per cent of respondents work in food followed by 13 per cent in the beverage industry.

• 11 per cent indicated that they work in packaging materials.

Career satisfaction What is the one thing that keeps you awake at night regarding job security?

• The impact of COVID-19 on my job • Lockdowns and current working conditions • Redundancy/job and business insecurity • My company not moving towards the 2025 national packaging targets • Plastics ban • Negativity around packaging and plastics • Lack of career progression • High expectations and tight deadlines

Satisfaction with job security • 41.30 per cent of the respondents were very secure with their job, while 27.50 per cent were ‘somewhat secure’. F

AFGC

AFGC and food and grocery manufacturers packaging up a solution to plastic waste Australia’s food and grocery manufacturing industry has come together to develop the country’s first recycling scheme for soft plastics. Food & Beverage Industry News explains how.

Plastic packaging has an important role in the industry and recycling is the key to its continued success.

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ach year Australia uses around one million tonnes of plastic packaging but only a small part – 16 per cent in 2017/18 - is recycled.

That represents not only a lot of landfill but also the loss of a potentially valuable resource. Now the nation’s food and grocery manufacturing industry is driving the development of Australia’s first nationwide recycling scheme for soft plastics and there are big changes ahead for how plastic is used and reused.

Plastic packaging has an important role in the daily lives of consumers – it keeps food fresh, reduces food waste and helps keep products intact. And while most plastic packaging is not recycled at present, two-thirds of it is recyclable according to the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation’s (APCO) 2018/19 figures. The 2018 National Waste Report, produced by the federal government, found plastic is the most poorly recovered material of any household waste.

In November 2020, the Australian

Food and Grocery Council was awarded a grant of almost $1 million by the federal government to develop the National Plastics Recycling Scheme (NPRS). Work is now under way on developing the country’s first nationwide, industry-led recycling scheme for soft plastics.

Because it is an industry-led and funded scheme, it means it has the support of Australia’s biggest food and grocery brands.

The NPRS will focus initially on the diversion of soft plastics from landfill. This means improving the collection of items such as bread, cereal and frozen vegetable bags, confectionery wrappers and toilet paper wrapping that end up in landfill.

These kinds of flexible plastic packaging make up about one third of all plastic packaging but APCO data shows that the recovery rate for “flexibles” was only around six per cent in 2017/18.

Getting the collection side right will be a vital first step towards building

a genuine circular economy for plastics in Australia. There are already some brand owner-funded collection schemes in operation, such as the REDcycle program, which allows consumers to return soft plastics via collection bins at supermarkets, and the Curby Bag trial conducted by Nestle, iQRenew and Central Coast Council in NSW. The NPRS will build and add scale to the initiatives already in the market to create a coordinated, national approach. This will assist industry in reaching the 2025 National Packaging Targets. Established with the support of industry and the federal government, the targets aim to achieve 100 per cent reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025, have 70 per cent of plastic packaging being recycled or composted, use an average 50 per cent recycled content in packaging and phase out problematic and unnecessary singleuse plastic packaging.

The NPRS aims to reduce by one third the amount of plastic

waste that goes to landfill each year.

The second phase of the NPRS will be ensuring a consistent, clean stream of recyclable product that will increase the availability of food-grade, quality recycled plastic packaging for use by food and grocery manufacturers in Australia. Demand for recycled content already exists: data from APCO shows the usage of post-industrial and postconsumer recycled content already exceeds the current recycling rate from kerbside collection. Having access to high-quality material is key to increasing the use of food grade postconsumer recycled packaging.

The AFGC has formed several advisory panels to help shape the NPRS and is working on assessment of various collection and recycling options. With the final design of the NPRS to be ready by early 2023, the AFGC team is also looking around the world and assessing numerous product stewardship schemes to ensure the scheme developed for Australia reflects global best practice. F

www.foodmag.com.au | December 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 47

DAIRY

Global Dairy Commodity Update November 2021 The Global dairy markets are still experiencing positive demand, which has helped to keep commodity prices firm. However, some predict that a slowing demand in China and Europe could change commodity prices.

A recent rise in milk prices is the result of supply, but that’s expected to change.

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lobal dairy markets are expected to remain tight keeping commodity prices firm as milk growth is minimal and demand remains positive. The only changes in the settings in the past month have been tighter milk supplies with slower aggregate growth in output in the three major producers.

It is difficult to see any big disruption in the global landscape – other than a slowing in Chinese peak demand and slowing demand in domestic EU markets – that could dislodge these settings through the

remainder of 2021 and H1-2022.

The lift in prices in recent months has been driven by the supply side and not much will change before the 2022 spring flush in the EU and US, but even then, milk growth will be limited with weak farm margins.

The rising cost pressures are impacting producers and already constraining milk output. US production has slowed with a faster cut in cow numbers due to exits in the southwest.

Higher operating costs are also slowing milk yields as more

48 Food&Beverage Industry News | December 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

expensive feed is cut. EU producers are feeling the same pain in costs but with already lower cow numbers.

NZ’s spring milk output has slowed with wet weather but should improve as the forecast warmer and drier pattern sticks, although cost pressures may also limit expansion.

Higher prices across the commodity spectrum will bring more caution in some consumer markets.

Retail prices across all food categories will be pushed higher in coming months with the strong inflationary pressure from most

inputs including energy, fuel, labour and packaging. Dairy prices will not stand out in that surge.

China’s demand through the peak shipping period into Q1-2022 remains critical in the shortterm outlook.

There may be some buffering of stocks of milk powders in that region with ongoing risks of logistical delays and new COVID risks. A slowing in milk powder trade won’t alter the tension in ingredients markets given the limits on the supply-side. F

NEW PRODUCTS

ICP DAS’s RPS-4m/w2 4-slot industrial redundant power supply ICP Electronics Australia has introduced ICP DAS’s RPS-4M/W2 4-slot industrial redundant power supply, including two RPS-100 modules.

The RPS-4M/W2 has built-in Ethernet and RS-485 communication interfaces, which can not only monitor the operation status of the power modules in real-time but also instantly return various real-time information of the power modules, including load current, temperature, the existence of the power module in the slots, malfunction of the power module, etc.

Through the intensive information received users can easily implement predictive alarm and fault alarm functions for the system.

In addition, the RPS-4M/W2 can also record the using time of each power module, which can be used as a basis for maintenance and replacement and estimate MTBF (mean time between failures).

When the power module has reached the recommended service life, the user can replace it early to make the power system more reliable and stable.

Lastly, the RPS-4M/W2 adopts a slot-type design, and it supplies hotswapping function, so when the user replaces the power module, there is no need to turn off the power system. In comparison to the traditional power supply, the RPS-4M/W2 saves the trouble of wiring, and it is simpler and safer.

Thus, the RPS-4M/W2 is ideal for the power supply of remote I/O equipment and control systems.

Key features: • max 400W output power, each slot can insert a 100W power module; • N+1 redundant, maximum N=3; • power module supports hot swapping;

• • • •

detect current load of module; detect temperature of module; easy installation; and support Modbus RTU/TCP protocol.

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

New EasySwitch HEPA Vac simplifies the process of vacuuming wet and dry materials EXAIR’s new EasySwitch HEPA Wet-Dry Vac simplifies the filter change process when switching from vacuuming a dry material to a liquid or vice versa. Utilising minimal compressed air, the EasySwitch is a powerful pneumatic vacuum that is suitable for any application – wet, dry, light and heavy.

This EasySwitch vacuum uses a HEPA-certified filter when vacuuming dry material. With EXAIR’s patent-pending design, the fast and tool-less conversion to vacuuming liquids is done by releasing one latch, removing the filter element and securing the latch.

Simply reinstall the filter into the lid assembly for dry materials. The EasySwitch is designed to handle the toughest of industrial cleanup jobs with ease. It rests upon any 205-litre (44-gallon) drum.

The EasySwitch creates a powerful vacuum (at a quiet 79 decibels) without the need for electricity. Because the vacuum generator has no moving parts and uses no electricity, there is little concern for failed parts, motor failure or working with liquids associated with electric industrial vacuums.

The CE compliant EasySwitch is just the latest addition to EXAIR’s selection of Industrial Housekeeping products, including the Reversible Drum Vac, High-Lift Reversible Drum Vac, Chip Trapper, High-Lift Chip Trapper, Chip Vac, Heavy-Duty Dry Vac and Heavy-Duty HEPA Vac.

Fluid Components International 43-0-2256-65516 www.fluidcomponents.com

www.foodmag.com.au | December 2021 | Food&Beverage Industry News 49

NEW PRODUCTS

CX7000 Embedded PC series is a small controller with integrated multi-function I/Os The CX7000 Embedded PC series opens up the TwinCAT 3 software environment to compact controllers. Equipped with an ARM Cortex-M7 processor (32 bit, 480 MHz), the CX70xx makes higher processing power available in the compact controller segment.

Furthermore, all the features of the TwinCAT 3 software generation can be utilised.

The compact design with dimensions of 49mm x 100mm x 72mm ensures optimum scalability of PC-based control for small controller applications that typically require minimum footprint.

The CX70xx offers directly integrated multi-functional I/O channels: • 8 digital inputs, 24 V DC, filter 3 ms, type 3; and • 4 digital outputs, 24 V DC, 0.5 A, 1-wire technology.

These integrated multi-functional I/Os can be configured for other operating modes via TwinCAT 3, enabling the option to use fast counting or processing of analog values: • counter mode: 1 x 150 kHz digital counter input, 1 x digital input as up/ down counter, 2 x digital counter outputs; • incremental encoder mode: 2 x digital inputs for 250 kHz encoder signal, 2 x digital encoder outputs; • analogue signal mode: 2 x digital inputs configured as analog inputs 0 to 10 V, 12 bit; and • PWM signal mode: 2 x digital outputs configured for PWM signal.

If additional electrical signal types need to be processed, the CX70xx can be expanded easily on demand by adding EtherCAT terminals or Bus terminals to the integrated I/Os. Additional I/O terminals will be directly attached to the CX7000.

The Embedded PC is equipped with 512 MB microSD flash memory (with the option to upgrade to 1, 2, 4 or 8 GB). An Ethernet interface (10/100 Mbit/s,

RJ45) serves as the programming interface.

This means that the space-saving CX70xx is suitable for use as a costeffective, stand-alone compact controller. In the CX7080 version, peripheral devices such as displays, scanners or weighing systems can be connected via an additional serial interface (RS232/RS485).

The extended operating temperature range between -25 and +60°C enables application in climatically demanding situations.

Beckhoff (03) 9912 5430 www.beckhoff.com

Introducing SonoPro U44 portable ultrasonic flowmeter THE SonoPro U44 Portable delivers accurate and economical flow metering in a portable design. VorTek Instruments has officially released SonoPro U44 portable clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeter.

SonoPro U44 portable offers high-accuracy transit-time ultrasonic technology to deliver accurate and economical flow metering in a portable design. The innovative design incorporates matched precision transducers and signal processing circuitry to accurately measure the flow of most liquids over a wide range of velocities. Clamp-on transducers create no wear, zero pressure loss, and do not require process interruptions for installation. With the addition of external temperature inputs, SonoPro U44 portable can provide a reliable (BTU) thermal energy measurement.

Transit-time ultrasonic flowmeters measure the time from when a signal is transmitted from the first transducer until the second transducer receives it.

Time measurements are taken in both directions, with and against the flow. If there is no flow in the pipe, the time measurements will be the same in both directions. With flow in the pipe, the sound waves will move faster traveling with the flow and slower traveling against it. The liquid velocity is calculated from the difference in these two-time measurements. With the area of the pipe and velocity known, the meter can calculate the volumetric flow rate.

Vortek Instruments +1 303-682-9999 www.vortekinst.com

50 Food&Beverage Industry News | December 2021 | www.foodmag.com.au

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• CIP resistant UV Sensor (90°C, up to 30min) • Hygienic flange connections acc. to DIN11864-2 • Tri-clamps optional available • IP65 rated control cabinet • Xylem Wedeco’s Ecoray technology • Xylem Wedeco’s OptiDose control philosophy

13 19 14 | xylem.com/au