Food Magazine February 2013

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Foodmagazine INGREDIENTS | PROCESSING | SAFETY | PACKAGING | EXPORT

INFORMING FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANUFACTURERS

FEBRUARY 2013

WWW.FOODMAG.COM.AU

WHAT'S FRESH

DAMAGE CONTROL

Print Post Approved PP349181/00696

How to make sure a food recall doesn’t hurt your reputation or your bottom line.

PLUS: New health claim legislation | The Carman's story | Another Aussie abattoir?

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WELCOME

Welcome to 2013 Sigh. You’re reading this. Thank God for that.

T EDITOR: Danielle Bowling danielle.bowling@reedbusiness.com.au

hat means I survived. For the very first time, I survived the marathon that is getting a magazine to the printers on time.

And yes, it’s a modest little mag but I’ve learned plenty about being an editor in the brief couple of months that I’ve been at the helm: meeting deadlines, making sure other people meet theirs (thanks to you all!) and coping with what many other modern day journos need to cope with – not only a mag, but a constantly updated website, e-newsletters and attending industry events - all while tweeting and liking and sharing and posting. It’s tiring, let me tell you.

But the biggest challenge I’ve faced – and am still facing – is understanding exactly what it is that you -food and beverage manufacturing industry members - want to read about. I’m not going to pretend that I’ve got it 100 percent right in this issue, but I’d like to think that I’m on my way.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems the big issues in the industry at the moment centre around Asia and the opportunities and/or threats that the Asian Century represents to the livelihood of our homegrown manufacturers. Supermarket dominance and the growing attention they’re giving private labels is also top of the list when manufacturers vent their spleen (although

Carman’s founder Carolyn Creswell has an interesting perspective on this, head to p18).

Labelling is another bugbear, and something all food manufacturers must look at with new health claim regulations accepted late last year (turn to p14 to get some industry perspectives). Country of origin labelling will no doubt continue to make headlines in 2013, and while I’m only new to this industry, I think some serious clarity in this area is needed. And the sooner the better.

"You can head to our Facebook page and follow us at @foodmagaus."

I’m sure the list goes on, and I hope you’ll help me to get a clear and thorough understanding of where Australia’s food and beverage manufacturing industry is today, where we’re aiming to be in the future and how we think we’ll get there.

I hope you enjoy my first attempt, and please, please, please send me your feedback! If you don’t want to call or email, you can head to our Facebook page and follow us at @foodmagaus.

I’m all ears, so let’s get chatting!

INSIDE

04 NEWS

Coffee leaf tea; Casella’s first loss in two decades; Tesco pulls horse meat from shelves.

06 10

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22 MEAT 25 ON THE SHELF

HEALTH What the new health claim labelling regulations mean for you.

Will another abattoir solve our beef industry’s woes?

WHAT'S FRESH

Three of the latest products to hit the market.

A manufacturer’s guide to making sure a food recall doesn’t send your brand into a tailspin.

ALCOHOL Australia’s winemakers are well positioned to take advantage of China’s thirst for top drops.

18 CEREAL

The Carman’s story - how one woman turned $2,000 into a $50m empire.

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER - Martin Sinclair E: martin.sinclair@reedbusiness.com.au

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EDITOR - Danielle Bowling P: 02 9422 2667 F: 02 9422 2722 E: danielle.bowling@reedbusiness.com.au

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20 21

ENVIRONMENT How CHEP is creating a sustainable supply chain.

PACKAGING Global trends and why Australia should get involved.

SUBSCRIPTIONS 1 year subscription 2 year subscription

AUS NZ O/S 99 109 119 189 199 209

26 PRODUCTS & EVENTS

AUSPACK PLUS 2013 and two new products from Heat and Control.

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WHAT'S HOT ONLINE

WWW.FOODMAG.COM.AU

A brewing breakthrough: coffee leaf tea

FoodMagAU posted an album:

Nudie Juice HQ

@foodmagaus had a conversation:

Woolworths @a_kir_e commented: Interesting. Read one earlier about Walmart.

RT @foodmagaus: Woolworths “supporting local” with new strategy. @angelicaorganic commented: Sadly, Coles etc r just 2-faced I fear!? & yes, want a cut of EVERYTHING, whilst de-valuing it... @foodmagaus commented: @angelicaorganic have you been contacted

by Woolies to take part in their new program?

If so, how have communications been?

Researchers have discovered a type of tea made from the coffee plant, which has more health benefits than both traditional brews.

Researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London, and the joint research unit for Crop Diversity, Adaptation and Development in Montpellier, France, believe the health benefits of the coffee leaves (the Coffea genus) can rival coffee and traditional green or black tea.

Coffee leaf tea is low in caffeine, has more antioxidants than normal tea and seven of the 23 species of the tea reduce the risk of diabetes, lower blood cholesterol, protect neurons in the brain and have high levels of mangiferin, which has an antiinflammatory effect.

Researchers believe the coffee leaf tea has previously been overlooked because of the high value of its seeds - coffee beans - which are the world's second most valuable commodity.

While it is not yet widely available, the tea is popular in places such as Ethiopia and South Sudan.

"I haven't even thought about it because it is not a scenario that is likely to occur," managing director John Casella told the Australian Financial Review, when asked about the potential loss of support from National Australia Bank.

The managing director said that the environment had been particularly tough for Casella. "We can't have a high Australian dollar and high wages and remain competitive with exports," he said.

Three-quarters of the company's iconic Yellow Tail wines are sold in the United States, but the exchange rate has made these sales unprofitable. It has refused to lower the US prices for fear of losing market share.

When Yellow Tail was launched, the Australian dollar was at roughly 57 cents compared to the US dollar.

A loan writedown also hurt the business's result for last year, as did the March floods, which were estimated to have cost $2.6 million.

Managing director, John Casella, hit out at the reports, arguing that the company is trading solidly, with US sales down only 0.2 percent.

Birds Eye goes green with new initiative

High dollar leads to big loss for Casella Miss Foodie posted on our wall: I'm absolutely loving your website and newsletter!! So much fantastic information Thanks so much :) FoodMagAU responded: No worries Miss Foodie! Thanks for the feedback. We’ll keep it coming. :)

noDick commented on article:

Dick Smith's Oz Day ad 'banned' from prime-time This almost borders on racism. Foreign owned companies invest millions of $$$ manufacturing products and creating jobs in Australia.

Who cares if 5% of the profits go overseas, when 95% of the turnover remains in Australia generating jobs. Pull your head in Dick.

4 Foodmagazine | February 2013 | www.foodmag.com.au

Casella Wines, the owners of the popular Yellow Tail brand, has attributed its first loss in two decades to factors including the high Australian dollar and industrial relations.

The family-owned Casella last month reported a loss of $29,893,434 for 2011-2012. It is currently in breach of debt covenants.

Frozen food brand, Birds Eye, has teamed up with waste reduction group, RED Group, in an Australian first nationwide recycling scheme.

The REDcycle program enables consumers to recycle their Birds Eye packaging in REDcycle Station Bins, located at 370 Coles stores across the country. The plastic will then be converted into outdoor furniture, exercise equipment, traffic bollards and ramps for schools and parks with the help of recycled plastics manufacturer, REPLAS. Tara Lordsmith, general manager of retail marketing at Simplot Australia, owner of Birds Eye, said, "We are delighted that Birds Eye is taking part in the REDcycle Program, helping to reduce the amount of packaging which may have otherwise ended up in landfill. Not only are we reducing the amount of waste, we are also contributing to the supply of furniture and outdoor equipment for local communities to enjoy."

During a 12 month trial, the program saw 9 million plastic packaging items avoid landfill.

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NEWS

Fast food linked to severe asthma and allergies

pasta was also associated with asthma symptoms.

The study looked at 319,000 13 to 14 year olds from 51 countries and 181,000 six to seven year olds from 31 countries.

Coles slams AFGC for telling half the story

International research has found that fast food could be linked to severe cases of asthma in youth as well as putting them at risk of allergic diseases.

The research, which came from the biggest study of children, the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood, found that young teenagers in particular were nearly 40 percent more likely to suffer from severe asthma if they ate fast food more than three times a week.

The scientists behind the research said its findings could have "major public health significance owing to the rising consumption of fast foods" if the link turns out to be causal.

Unsurprisingly, the research also found that eating fruit helps to reduce your risk of suffering from asthma or allergies, with symptoms cut by 11 percent for those who ate at least three portions per week.

The risk of severe asthma increased by 27 percent in young children who regularly ate fast food, and they were also more likely to have severe eczema and rhinitis.

For margarine A Dteenagers, _ F D A I eating P F Ebutter, B_ 1 3 . p d f and Pa ge

After the expansion of its Down Down campaign, the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) criticised Coles for limiting its product range, but the supermarket giant claims only half the story is being told.

Last month Coles announced it was adding more than 100 private-label products to its Down Down range.

Soon after, the AFGC issued a statement slamming Coles for focusing on its own private-label products, and consequently limiting the range on offer to consumers.

The industry group cited research released by Coles and conducted by Deloitte Access Economics, which claimed that Coles' product range dropped 11 percent from 62,000 products to 55,000 between mid-2010 and mid-2012.

The research also found that Coles' prices storewide have dropped by an average of 3.2 to,the end 1percent 1 0 in / the 0 1 year / 1 3 1 1 of : 0September 0 A M 2012.

Coles responded quickly with its own statement, claiming that the AFGC "has selectively used data from a Deloitte report to pursue a tired political campaign against the major supermarkets."

It adds, "Unfortunately, the AFGC have ignored the detailed Deloitte analysis about why and what has happened in Coles' supermarkets and the Deloitte conclusion because it does not suit their story. The Deloitte report concludes: 'effective choice in the store is still high and consumers may be better off overall.'"

Coles went on to add that branded products make up 75 percent of all products sold in its stores, and just as many private label products have been removed from shelves as branded products.

John Durkan, Coles merchandise director, said, "It is about time the AFGC became a more professional body that actually represents all of its members, many of whom have seen substantial sales gains from products sold at Coles that customers buy the most."

The Down Down range now includes over 1,000 products with the recent additions including bread, juice, meat pies and vegetable oil.

While the discounts are only guaranteed for six months, products added to the Down Down range in July 2012 still remain at the discounted price.

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Damage control A product recall is a high impact event and the reputational damage to a food business can be long lasting if not managed correctly, report Michael Lincoln and Martin Stone.

Microbial Conta

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ccording to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) there are approximately five recalls per month in Australia and this figure has been steady over a number of years.

Approximately one-third of recalls are due to microbiological issues, one-third from labelling issues and one-third caused by physical and chemical contamination.

Looking at these sectors individually sheds more light on the risks: • Microbiological issues: nearly half of micro-based recalls are due to the presence of listeria

(47 percent), followed by salmonella (20 percent) and then E. coli (12 percent); • Labelling issues: 90 percent of labelling recalls are due to undeclared allergens including peanut, gluten, milk and egg. • Physical contamination: foreign matter recalls commonly involve metal (37 percent), plastics (27 percent) and glass (18 percent).

The risks that cause these recalls are present in almost every food manufacturing business and it is clear that no-one is immune from the threat of a product recall. An

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e lar

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objective of all food businesses must therefore be risk minimisation and preparedness.

What are the key factors involved in risk minimisation?

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What about preparedness?

Conducting routine mock recalls is a great way to test your ability to respond to a real life situation. Again, the tip here is critical evaluation. Really test your system to see if it all holds together. A surprising number of recalls occur when a number of factors contribute negatively to the effectiveness of a recall.

For example, “the coder was not working that day”, “the logistics manager was on holidays”, “the retention samples were lost”, “it was from a new supplier” are comments we hear all the time when investigating a recall.

The short answer is documented systems and actual procedures. Systems-wise, food businesses should have a robust food safety risk management program in place which needs to be constantly reviewed and tested to ensure it reflects the risk profile and activities of the business. As a minimum, the program should specially consider each of the causal factors in recalls and those specific to the industry itself.

Importantly, the actual procedures that occur within the business need to be critically evaluated.

Significant failures in the food industry resulting in a recall rarely come from a problem with the food safety manual, they result from actual procedures that occur in the facility. HACCP Australia often reviews businesses with lovely documented systems but the actual procedures in the facility fall way short of best practice or even basic common sense. The key here is to spend more time on the production floor and actively hunt down those practices that bring risk into your business. Eliminate these and AD _ you F Owill O D S Y M1 MA Y _ 0 9 . p d f Pa ge effectively reduce risk.

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Use some of these ‘curved ball’ factors when you conduct your mock recall and see what happens. Does the effectiveness of your product recall hinge on one person or procedure in your business? Is there a back-up plan in place?

On the financial side, recall insurance can make sound business sense, and is appropriate for many businesses. It also forms a vital part of their preparedness program.

What should a company do if it finds itself in a recall scenario?

Firstly, don’t panic. The key activities in the early part of a recall are containment/stock disposition and information gathering. Focusing on these and doing it well will minimise impact.

Identifying potentially affected stock rapidly and halting logistics quickly can make the difference between a consumer recall and a trade withdrawal.

Accurate information is vital to decision making - any assumptions in this process will reduce the effectiveness of the overall recall.

Accuracy in determining the significance of the problem is also critical and again, assumptions have no place here. We have seen numerous examples of product recalls being triggered on the basis of potentially false positive results, for example. The opposite could also be true with potentially disastrous results for consumer safety. Whilst it is wise to always err on the side of consumer safety, there is nothing better than being able to make decisions based on sound, repeatable data.

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Let me give an example of a friend who was recently making an assessment of laboratory capabilities for his company. A single sample was divided into four parts and sent to four individual laboratories. Three

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Michael Lincoln is National Underwriting Manager, Crisis Management, Liberty International Underwriters and Martin Stone is Director, HACCP Australia.

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significant bills for loss of sales and extra expenses from the third parties following a recall. These types of bills can be multiples of what the client’s costs are.

A food recall is a potentially costly and devastating

"No one is immune from the threat of a product recall. An objective of all food businesses must therefore be risk minimisation and preparedness." significantly different results were returned (only two of the four labs found the same results). One of the results could have triggered a product recall if taken on its own. The outcome here was that at least two of the results were likely wrong, maybe three, maybe all. The implications in a product recall scenario are obvious.

Finally, the regulators including FSANZ and state recall co-ordinators are a huge resource for the food manufacturer when enacting a recall. The recall coordinators provide guidance and help the manufacturer to navigate their way through the formalities. Their advice is invaluable but note, the depth of their assistance is limited by the strength of the information provided by the manufacturer.

event for a food business, with serious implications for consumer health. However, the risk and impact of a food recall can be significantly reduced through the use of critically evaluated systems, being appropriately prepared and taking the right actions to mitigate the effects if one of your products is pulled from the shelves.

What costs are associated with recalls?

The cost of these incidents can be startling. We often see recall costs from retailers costing over $100,000, and it is not uncommon to see the total cost of a recall exceeding $500,000. Only recently we had a client with a turnover of less than $15m have a recall cost in excess of $1m. A recall is rarely a cheap experience and can easily cause long term financial pain.

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ALCOHOL

Quenching China’s thirst for a top drop China is the fastest growing market for wine in the world, and with Australia’s commitment to quality and favourable growing conditions, our wines are ripe for the picking, writes Brent Balinski.

I

n 2011 Penfolds released its most expensive wine ever, the Bin 620 cabernet shiraz blend.

The price tag of $1,000, a bit rich for most, created some interest, as did the choice of city - never before had Penfolds launched a wine outside of Australia - for the unveiling, Shanghai.

The Asian Century gets talked about a lot in terms of what it’ll mean to Australian food and beverage makers.

The type of manufacturer that is expected to excel in the future is seen as one with a high value-add, high-quality product that appeals to the increasingly affluent Chinese middle class with a growing appetite for the finer things in life - such as wine.

Wine Australia released its Wine Export Approval Report late last year to the sound of cheers from vintners who’d been putting more and more resources into the Far East. Sales to China were up 16.3 percent by volume, and, much better still, 23.1 percent by value, for the year to September.

exports to that market from $21 million a year to more than $200 million a year.

CRI English, a Chinese news service, has reported the increasingly prestigious image that Australian wines have amongst the Chinese.

Australia is seen as an exporter with a unique, clean product, with innovation in growing techniques and packaging on its side.

“You know it’s an enormous market, but the adoption of wine as a product beyond the novelty stage, which it is currently at, is going to take a while,” Professor Tony Spawton of University of SA told CRI. “The return from China, I would suggest, is going to be a long time in the future.”

Red wine is seen as a mark of sophistication, a status symbol, especially if it’s expensive (and, some have noted, especially if it’s in a bottle sealed with cork). Cheap wine just won’t do, explained Zhang-yue Zhou, director of the AusAsia Business School at James Cook University.

"Our wines - and our food and beverage products in general - are seen as clean, innovative, high-quality products."

“China’s demand for premium wine continues to drive strong growth in the higher price segments, with the above $10 per litre segment a stand-out, up 37 percent,” Wine Australia’s chief executive, Andrew Cheesman said.

“The average value per litre of Australian bottled imports to China is now for the first time higher than the average for French wines,” Cheesman explained.

The boom in sales of big, highlyalcoholic red wines to the United States starting in the late 1990s (encouraged by uber-influential US wine critic Robert Parker) has well and truly tapered off, and the Australian wine industry has shrunk significantly in the last few years.

China’s appetite is, however, on the up and up. Since 2005-2006 we’ve grown

“As a country we are not doing a good job of promoting our wine to the Chinese market, I think that’s damaging to our wine reputation. In China, if (a product) is cheap, normally people will believe it’s not good,” he said.

“They often associate their consumption to status, not to whether they enjoy the quality of the product.”

And, perhaps highlighting the interest in expensive Australian reds, our higher-end wines are good enough to copy, with bottles labelled “Benfolds” (an apparent aping of Penfolds) and “Hill of Glory”

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ALCOHOL

(a near-facsimile of Henschke’s $600-a-pop Hill of Grace).

Unsurprisingly, Grant Brinklow of Sandalford Wines has suggested the federal government needs to do more to combat Chinese piracy.

With China the fastest growing market for wine in the world, the opportunities are strong for Australian winemakers to capitalise, so long as their product isn’t driven downmarket where it’s being sold.

And what can be learned from the gains being made in the Chinese market?

It seems to be a case of a segment of

Australian manufacturing playing to its strengths.

Our wines - and our food and beverage products in general - are seen as clean, innovative, high-quality products.

The variety of climates and soil types in Australia offer a wide variety of wine styles. And it seems that the times very much suit winemakers. Wine manufacturers are well-placed to take advantage of the Asian Century. And it’s not just winemakers, with cheese producers, for example, seeing massive

recent jumps in Chinese sales.

As long as quality and costs aren’t cut, then our food and beverage makers can potentially do well out of the growing number of Chinese citizens who are able to afford and who demand - top-shelf stuff to take away their hunger and thirst.

Next stop China for top Aussie wine labels It's next stop China for Australia's First Families of Wine (AFFW), a group created by 12 family-owned Australian wineries with the shared aim of promoting Aussie drops and the history that goes with them.

Comprising representatives from Tyrell's, De Bortoli, McWilliams, Yalumba, Brown Brothers and Taylors (amongst others), one representative from each winery will pack their bags and head off to China in September as part of a marketing co-operative to share the story of Australian producers and help quench China's thirst for top quality wines.

Mitchell Taylor, chairman of AFFW and managing director at Taylors Wine, told Food magazine the Mitchell Taylor, Chinese market is a huge opportunity for Australian wineries. chairman of Australia's "Taylors Wine has had good growth there. We've First Families of Wine been there for 15 years and the positive thing about and managing director at the Chinese market is it's actually Australia's largest export market for premium wine. When you're looking Taylors Wine. at selling wine at the luxury end, China is our number one export destination.

"There are some great opportunities there for high quality wines, but when you go selling high quality wine you've got to go and tell the story, sell it with the food, the matching, so there are plenty of wine dinners, travelling A D _ F D G WA F E B _ 1 3 . p d f around P a gand e talking 1 2through 4 / 0 1 / 1 3 , 2 : 0 3 PM

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master-classes," he said.

And that's exactly what AFFW will be doing later this year. The Chinese, according to Taylor, have huge respect for family and tradition, so representatives from each winery will be going on a five city tour through Hong Kong and China, talking to the media and highlighting the quality and the history of their wines.

"When you're talking about quality wine, people want a wine that's got tradition and a story behind it.

They want to know where it's from, they want to know stories about the vineyard, about the winery. It sort of gives the label a bit of provenance and currency," says Taylor.

"And with the [current] oversupply of wine, there are quite a lot of wines that don't have much character, that just think of a name, slap a label on it and hope the consumer buys it. So for the discerning wine consumer it's very important to get the AFFW message across."

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HEALTH

What’s in a claim?

Food manufacturers now have three years to comply with new labelling legislation regulating health claims, but not all sides of the industry are giving the changes the tick of approval. Danielle Bowling reports.

I

isn't This t! a low f

claim. They are also able of calcium’. These claims will now need to self-substantiate a foodto meet certain criteria set out in the health relationship in accordance with Standard, so in regards to a ‘good source requirements outlined in the Standard. of calcium’ claim, the food will need to High level health claims must be contain more than the amount of calcium based on a food-health relationship outlined in the Standard. approved by FSANZ, of which there are Health claims breakdown into two currently 13 pre-approved. categories: general level health claims which refer to a nutrient or substance in a food and its effect on a health function, The pros for example, ‘calcium is good for bones The obvious winners of these new and teeth’, whereas a high level health regulations are the consumers. claim refers to a nutrient or substance and At the recent Food Regulations and its relationship to a serious disease, say Labelling Standards Conference in Sydney for instance ‘Diets high in calcium may Dean Stockwell, general manager FSANZ, reduce the risk of osteoporosis in people said “Consumers are seeking confidence The details 65 years and over’. in product claims and I think it’s fair The Standard breaks claims down into There are more than 200 pre-approved to say there are some concerns around two key areas: nutrition content claims food-health relationships provided by the validity of some claims made in the and health claims. Nutrition content Food Standards Australia New Zealand marketplace today. claims are claims about the content of food that the Standard will now certain A Dnutrients _ F D AorDsubstances V F E B _in1a 3food, . p d f (FSANZ) P a g available e 1 to 2 4 / 0businesses 1 / 1 3 , 2 : “It’s 2 7 clear PM wanting to make a general level health require claims that are on the marketplace for example, ‘low in fat’ or ‘good source t’s not unfair to say that Australian consumers have long taken health claims on food labels with a grain of salt. Not only are the accuracy and validity of such claims often received with serious scepticism, consumers are also well aware that a very clever marketing team is often behind them.

But this is all about to change. As of 18 January 2013, food businesses in Australia and New Zealand have three years to ensure they meet the requirements of the new Standard – Standard 1.2.7 – Nutrition, Health and Related Claims.

Are all of your team trained in HACCP? Food Safety and HACCP Training It is good practice to ensure that your HACCP team is appropriately trained with the skills and knowledge to implement and maintain your Food Safety Management System. This will ensure that your products meet your customers expectations, are safe and are of good quality.

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FM_Ad_0113.indd 4 14 Foodmagazine | February 2013 | www.foodmag.com.au

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t's Well tha ! ion a violat No yo u're a violat ion!

to be scientifically valid so that there is a greater degree of confidence around them.”

What many consumers will be particularly pleased with is the fact that as part of the new Standard, health claims will only be permitted on foods that meet the nutrient profiling scoring criterion (NPSC), so they will not be allowed on

around wording but in Australia and New Zealand the wording can be prepared by the manufacturer, which of course gives the marketing fraternity quite a wide scope to develop the straplines and marketing prompts for their products.”

Uncle Tobys was one brand quick to realise the marketing opportunity these

"The new Health Claims Standard is a disproportionate response to a non-issue that will discourage innovation."

Current health claims are confusing for consumers, who question their validity.

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foods high in saturated fat, sugar or salt.

The other obvious advantage, this time for industry members, is that food businesses have new opportunities to market their products.

Stockwell said, “In Australia and New Zealand the wording [of the claim] can be prepared by the manufacturer, as long as of the Standard.

1 they 2 : meet 0 5 thePconditions M In Europe there is more specification

labelling changes represent.

On the same day that the new Standard was officially approved, Uncle Tobys released a statement announcing that from January 2013 its entire range of 44 cereals will meet the nutrient requirements set out in the Standard, meaning that each of its products will be able to carry a health claim.

The statement read, “The announcement

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is the culmination of a five year program to reduce saturated fat, sugar and sodium across the Uncle Tobys cereal range, while increasing wholegrain and fibre.

According to nutrition manager at Uncle Tobys, Nilani Sritharan, the recipe changes have resulted in the company using 67 tonnes less sugar and 2.5 tonnes less sodium, while adding 193 tonnes more wholegrain and 13 tonnes more fibre each year.

“Uncle Tobys has been providing healthy breakfast choices to Australians for 120 years, and our ongoing commitment to nutrition means we have the largest range of breakfast cereals to earn the Heart Foundation Tick of approval,” Sritharan said.

The cons The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) doesn’t see these new labelling regulations as an opportunity to stand out from the crowd, but rather another burden on an industry already doing it tough.

AFGC CEO, Gary Dawson, said “The new Health Claims Standard is a disproportionate response to a non-issue that will discourage innovation in food products, increase regulatory costs, discourage investment and ultimately pose a competitive disadvantage for domestic manufacturers.

“The AFGC is very concerned that at a time when Australia’s food manufacturing industry is under great financial pressure, regulators are proposing to increase the regulatory burden on food companies, thereby undermining their competitiveness in both domestic and export markets,” he said.

“In the current difficult trading environment, any additional regulation or impost that adds to costs runs a high risk of pushing production and jobs offshore.”

Unsurprisingly, the fact that food businesses have the opportunity to selfsubstantiate claims is raising eyebrows amongst the regulations’ opponents.

Consumer group, Choice, which, despite the new Standard, believes the label is no place for health messages, says self-substantiation has the potential to damage consumer confidence.

Spokesperson for Choice, Ingrid Just (who has since left the group), said “This is a major step backwards from an

earlier proposal that would have required the independent regulator to scrutinise new claims, which was scuttled after an intense industry lobbying campaign.

“When we look at what happened in Europe, when the European Food Safety Authority rejected 80 percent of

about have a high evidence bar, so I’m not just talking about reading up Wikipedia or going to your local library to substantiate, we’re talking about hard scientific evidence that would stand up in a court and in scientific appeals.”

Another key concern of Choice’s is

"Any additional regulation or impost that adds to costs runs a high risk of pushing products and jobs offshore." the health claims put forward by food companies, we can see that the food industry has a very different idea of what constitutes scientific evidence to independent regulators,” Just said.

But at the Food Regulations and Labelling Standards Conference, FSANZ’s Dean Stockwell said substantiation will be heavily scrutinised.

“Scientific substantiation can mean a wide range of things, but it’s very important to recognise that the requirements that I’ve been talking

enforcement. Policy advisor, Angela McDougall, said “The real issue with self-substantiation isn’t really that some companies may push the boundaries, it’s that the enforcement outcomes are really unclear. Essentially, ensuring that misleading claims aren’t made will rely on consumer groups, public health groups and competitors to raise complaints. And in a system where you have data confidentiality and protection for companies who are listing these new claims, it’s going to be really hard to know whether or not to

complain, so you’re going to see a lot more complaints than are necessary because we don’t know what the evidence is.

“Then we may find that some states and territories may choose not to be particularly active in enforcement, and at the end of the day for those companies who are going to play by the rules, the real disadvantage will be for them, if one of their competitors is making a dubious claim and getting that advantage over them.”

Coke's health-focused campaign backfires Coca-Cola's latest ad campaign, which saw it spruiking its low calorie beverages, has backfired with a satirical version released on YouTube soon after.

Uploaded by an anonymous user, the 'honest' Coca-Cola ad displays the same visuals as the legitimate commercial, but the voice-over is completely different, with comments including, "These diet beverages still pose serious health risks.

Even though we've reduced the calories per serving, these beverages can still cause kidney problems, obesity, metabolic syndrome, cell damage and rotting teeth."

The ad then poses the question, "Imagine if cigarette companies said they were doing something responsible to protect you?"

After implying that Coca-Cola is misleading its audience by suggesting its beverages can form part of a healthy lifestyle, the voice-over rams the message home. "The calories in Coca-Cola products have no nutritional value. If you choose to live a healthy lifestyle, then you should not be drinking

16 Foodmagazine | February 2013 | www.foodmag.com.au

any of our products," it says. "Don't drink Coke. It's killing you and your family."

The launch of Coke's latest campaign coincided with another campaign urging the government to introduce a tax on soft drinks.

The Rethink Sugary Drinks campaign encourages the public to replace sugary drinks with healthier alternatives like water or skim milk and has the support of Diabetes Australia and the Cancer Council.

Limiting advertising to children is also a key concern, and Kellie-Ann Jolly, acting CEO at the Heart Foundation (Victoria) said, "State governments can help address the problem by limiting the sale of sugary drinks in all schools and encouraging places frequented by children and young adults such as sporting grounds to reduce the availability of these drinks."

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Grain power W

"

hen I was at school my parents worked hard for my education but didn’t give me any pocket money, so I had lots of part-time jobs, and one of those was making muesli one day a week. After about six months the owners said they were going to sell and whoever bought it might keep me, or might make the muesli themselves and I’d lose my job.

So I thought ‘well, I know the product, bars, oats why can’t I buy this little business?” and biscuits.

So as a complete business novice, “It was really hard. that’s exactly what 18 year old Carolyn It took a long time to be able to earn Creswell did, together with her workmate money myself. For a while I had to Manya van Aken - each paying just keep having second jobs, as well as $1,000 for the business. trying to do the muesli. It was hard.

This was in 1992, and two years later It was shocking. The first five years I Creswell bought out van Aken. Ever since, A D _ F D WE S F E B _ 1 3 . p d f she’s P abeen g eat the1 helm 1 of 7 Carman’s / 0 1 / 1Fine 3 , 2 :was 2 so 8 broke, P M and I thought ‘What am I doing? This is crazy,” Creswell told Foods, which manufactures muesli, nut Food magazine.

“I didn’t want to lose my job. It was an opportunity that I was excited by and I thought ‘I could do this, I’ve been making the muesli, why couldn’t I buy the business?’ So it was about being in

Ask Carman’s founder Carolyn Creswell how she turned a tiny muesli company that she bought for $2,000 into a $50m global brand and she’ll say all it took was a bit of luck and a lot of guts.

By Danielle Bowling.

WESMARTIN Leonda

the right place at the right time and having the guts to take advantage of it.”

Those difficult days must seem like a distant memory now. Today Carman’s Fine Foods is turning over an average of $50 million a year, and is exporting to 18 Foodmagazine | February 2013 | www.foodmag.com.au wesmartin leonda_0213 with outlines.indd 1

16/01/2013 11:16:16 AM

32 countries including the US and the UK, as well as being used by leading airlines and having a presence in Coles and Woolworths. Not to mention the fact that last year Creswell was named Telstra Business Woman of the Year.

Private labels While it’s no secret that many Australian food and beverage manufacturers see supermarket private labels as a serious threat to their own livelihood, Creswell doesn’t feel the same.

“I think anyone that put their head in the sand and didn’t think that private labels were coming was just being unrealistic. I think we all knew they were coming - it was just about how you adjusted.

“For us, it’s about owning that premium brand and offering a point of difference.

There are a lot of people that

think private labels are evil and terrible, but if I was in the supermarkets’ shoes I’d be promoting them as well. There is absolutely still room for brands. People don’t buy private label products to feel warm and fuzzy and to feel that they’ve got the depth and integrity that a brand

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CEREAL

they love gives them,” she says.

Creswell insists private labels give manufacturers the chance to be more innovative about how they promote their products.

“Private labels are not in the most innovative space. They’re much more mainstream and that gives this clear niche to other players,” she says. “It’s never going to be a situation where we walk in and the whole supermarket is private labels.”

Building trust So what makes Carman’s products stand out on the shelf? According to Creswell it’s all about building a story and creating trust. Making your customers aware that you’re there for them is imperative, she adds.

we really are, and so from that customer interaction you can build a very loyal customer who loves you for life.

“It’s not about having a 1800-number or treating everyone in a cookie-cutter way, it’s about saying ‘We hear you, we are talking to you and we are here for you.’

“I think people really love our brand

Australian-owned company also helps with the brand’s public image, she says.

“We’ve got a new logo, which is a familyowned Australian business logo [Famliy Business Australia].

“Everything is manufactured here and we’re 100 percent Australian-owned.

Although not every single ingredient is Australian. As much as we can we source Australian but it depends if it’s something that we manufacture here in commercial quantities at a reasonable price.”

Add to the mix that the Carman’s range is actually good for you

good for you. We don’t say that we’re the most cutting-edge health food company.

We’re saying that we’ll try to keep ingredients lists as simple as we possibly can. We say your food should come from the kitchen and not the chemist, so we’re very conscious of using ingredients you might have in your pantry at home.”

"I think anyone that put their head in the sand and didn't think that private labels were coming was just being unrealistic."

“If something goes wrong, how do you deal with it? The greatest opportunity for us is when someone rings up and says ‘I only got five muesli bars in my box andAnot AllAofP aPsudden D six’. _ FD F E Bwe’re _ 1 3able . pd to prove to them what kind of company

and you’ve got a brand - already 20 years old which is well positioned to stand the test of time. aboutAsaying that 1 1 “It’s : 1 0 M our products taste good and are

because they believe in it and they love the fact that we’re different from the multinationals, that we have integrity and depth behind what we can do. They know that f theyPcan a gtrust e us.”

1 1 0 / 0 1 / 1 3 , Marketing itself as a 100 percent

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MEAT

The beef barney Australia’s beef industry is one of the best in the world, with our high standards for cattle and for processing creating a respected reputation internationally. But all is not well. By Cole Latimer.

A

ustralia’s beef industry is under attack. Over the past 12 months the industry has come under fire for live exports and the standards of abattoirs in Israel and Indonesia, as shocking images of cattle being brutally slaughtered circled the nation.

The flames were fanned by animal welfare groups which stated that it is the beef cattle and meat processing industry’s responsibility to ensure the humane treatment of animals.

The response of the industry was to immediately distance itself, declaring that the common standards in Australia stood well above these other countries, whilst looking to address the live export issue, and the ever present supply chain problems.

But how?

With the construction of more abattoirs within Australia.

The meaty issues A major issue with any industry in Australia has always been the tyranny of distance. The majority of beef cattle are grown in the most northern parts of Australia.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics within north-west Queensland there are approximately 3.4 million head of cattle alone, equating to almost 50 percent of Australian beef, with the Northern Territory

and Western Australia’s Kimberley region making up a large part of what’s left.

However most of the abattoirs are located closer to major cities or the east coast of Queensland where ports are available, such as Rockhampton and Townsville.

John McVeigh, Queensland’s minister for agriculture, fisheries and forestry, explained to Food Magazine that “there are no abattoirs in the north-western region for producers, so their only option is to face the significantly high cattle transport costs to get them to a port or processor.

“The cost of transporting cattle is increasing due to animal welfare and driver fatigue regulations, rising fuel and labour costs, and insecurities about the live export market”.

Local cattle producer Rob Atkinson, says not only does moving live cattle cost a lot more in freight compared to boxed beef, it also “has animal welfare benefits, with a processing plant closer to where the animals are reared it means less time in the trucks for them as when we cart live cattle a long way we get what we call ‘shrinkage’, which is dehydration of the

And there are even greater distances that Western Australia’s Kimberley region farmers moving their live cattle to finishing and processing sites face.

As the former Queensland minister for agriculture and food, Tim Mulherin, explained, “An enormous swathe of

The supply game Live export was seen as one of the few cost effective remedies to the logistics issue of transporting cattle to finishing and processing centres, as many of these farms are located closer to ports than major abattoirs.

"Construction of the meat processing facility will create around 260 direct jobs & a further 560 indirect jobs ... injecting approximately $126m a year into the community." animals while they’re in the trucks.

“As a producer, because we’re paid by meat works on carcass weight, if there’s been shrinkage it’s less profitable,” Atkinson explained.

20 Foodmagazine | February 2013 | www.foodmag.com.au

Australian cattle country currently isn’t served by local meat processing facilities - if you draw a line diagonally from just above Townsville to Perth [effectively splitting the nation in two], you would find no abattoirs north of this line.”

But this has hit a stumbling block recently as the high Australian dollar cut the profits on export, and the government announcing reduced quotas for live cattle export and boxed beef, particularly into Indonesia.

The outrage from the Australian public

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over a Four Corners report detailing animal abuse in Indonesian abattoirs also dented the public’s opinion of our meat processing and abattoir industry.

In addition to this Mulherin explained that “an over dependence on a single export market and the lack

"An enormous swathe of Australian cattle country currently isn't served by local meat processing facilities." of competition for mean processing capacity in northern Australia are significant issues for the industry”.

So what’s the solution?

“Having a local abattoir would lower the cost of supply for graziers,” John McVeigh explained, while at the same time addressing issues surrounding live exports, transporting cattle and costs being passed down the line.

Going head to head But the solution isn’t straight forward. In the race to solve the meat processing problems a number of different groups came forward to

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22 Foodmagazine | February 2013 | www.foodmag.com.au

source their cattle - threatening their potential viability.

According to Australian Agricultural Company Limited (AACo) general manager Stewart Cruden the site could be progressed through to commission as early as September this year,

having already appointed both project management and construction companies for the meat works.

He said, “construction of the meat processing facility will create around 260 direct jobs and a further 560 indirect jobs for the region, injecting approximately $126 million a year into the local economy.”

However Cloncurry mayor Andrew Daniels believes that the proposed Darwin site is too large for the job.

“There only a million head of cattle in the Northern Territory,” he explained to the ABC, “if you start talking about killing 100,000 a year you’re going to start giving a fair shake on your cattle numbers”.

But before anyone gets too excited, there’s talk of another player entering the race: a proposed $20 million Kimberley meat processing works.

The joint venture between Yeeda Pastoral Company and Kimberley Pastoral Investments, funded by a Singaporean equity fund, has plans to process around 55,000 head of cattle pear year by 2014.

The bones of it all operate an abattoir.

In Queensland’s north-west region a study analysed a number of potential sites with Cloncurry being identified as the most suitable for developing an abattoir.

However the relatively nearby town of Hughenden has argued the case for an abattoir in its town instead.

And while the two towns battle it out for support to even begin construction they collectively face much greater competition from a proposed ‘super abattoir’ in Darwin.

In November construction work began on a new $85 million abattoir near Darwin, which is slated to process between 120,000 and 200,000 head of cattle, some of which will come directly from the areas that the proposed Cloncurry and Hughenden abattoirs will

It can’t be denied that the public’s perception of live exports and the treatment of cattle both here and abroad is hurting the sector’s image.

This, combined with the logistical and transport challenges faced by producers, has caused calls for abattoirs in north-west Queensland, the Northern Territory, and northern Western Australia to intensify.

However the piecemeal way in which it has been approached, with many divergent views of where they should be located and the overlapping stock areas threatening the viability of the proposed abattoirs, isn’t productive.

The rush to 'solve' the issue will create more issues and potentially exhaust stock quicker than planned as the demand for more heads of cattle increases to fill facility quotas.

But at the end of the day an abattoir any abattoir - closer to home can only be good news for our beef producers.

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ENVIRONMENT

Moving with the times A

Here, Phillip Austin, president of CHEP Australia & NZ explains how the company which moves what we make is creating a sustainable supply chain.

CHEP's Multi-Purpose Beverage Trays.

ustralia’s supply chain infrastructure has been built around the CHEP pallet - every trailer in Australia is designed to be two CHEP pallets wide; every warehouse rack is precisely one CHEP pallet wide.

Globally, the company manages 237 million pallets, 600,000 bulk containers and 34.9 million reusable plastic containers.

And with environment front of mind for manufacturers and consumers alike, it’s good to know that the company that’s so fundamental in helping our products reach the public is inherently sustainable.

Phillip Austin elaborates.

What makes CHEP such a sustainable business model?

CHEP issues a piece of equipment to a customer who has it on hire until they transfer it – usually with their goods – to a trading partner. Equipment moves this way through the supply chain until it is not needed by the last customer in the chain, then is returned to CHEP for conditioning and reissue.

CHEP’s equipment pooling model is sustainable for a number of reasons: reuse of assets, maximised transport efficiency and the responsible use of resources.

Indeed, an independent lifecycle analysis of CHEP’s returnable plastic crate system shows, daily, the system saves more than 175 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, more than 1.2 million litres of water and more than 20 tonnes of solid waste compared to a one-way corrugated cardboard system.

The scale and density of CHEP’s network allows equipment to travel shorter distances, thereby minimising transport-related carbon emissions. Also, CHEP has accreditation to stack pallets 20-high on trucks instead of the industry standard of 18, saving around seven percent of emissions per trip.

And finally, CHEP equipment is 100 percent recyclable.

Plastic crates

and pallets are recycled at the end of their lives and ground up for reuse, in things like planter pots. Timber cut-offs are reused at service centres, with about 85 percent of a pallet used to repair other pallets. What is not suitable for repair is mulched and used as garden compost.

Can you tell us about CHEP’s Sustainability Program?

In 2010 we established a Sustainability Program to further enhance the sustainability value of CHEP’s pooling system to Australian supply chains, including food and beverage manufacturers.

Our Sustainability Program focuses on four key areas: customer, environment, people and community, and has targets for these to 2015.

benefits of this new system will be similar to the existing Multi-Purpose Beverage Tray and Display Pallet, which, as mentioned, has reduced the environmental impact of the customer’s beverage supply chain by eliminating around 1,250 tonnes of one-way cardboard packaging each year.

The Retail Beverage Tray and Display Pallet will be a one-touch packaging solution. Beverages are packed into the trays and onto the display pallets at the point of manufacture and travel through the supply chain to point of sale.

Additionally, in some cases, transport efficiencies may be gained through loading additional units per vehicle compared to traditional packaging.

Add to this CHEP’s returnable plastic crate system, which is used by the fresh

"Timber cut-offs are reused at service centres, with about 85 percent of a pallet used to repair other pallets."

Highlights from this program include: • Our unique pool of reusable, recyclable Multi-Purpose Beverage Trays eliminate around 1,250 tonnes of one-way cardboard packaging waste each year.

• CHEP’s accreditation from the National Transport Commission to stack empty pallets 20-high on trucks rather than 18-high, saving fuel and reducing carbon emissions.

• Our in-kind support of equipment to key food distribution charities including Foodbank and The Smith Family, equalling around $800,000 per year.

How are you working with food and beverage manufacturers to ensure sustainability industry-wide?

The new CHEP Retail Beverage Tray and Display Pallet will be released into the Australian market early this year. The

produce industry to cool products and deliver them to retailers and which, when compared to a one-way corrugated cardboard system, saves more than 175 tonnes of greenhouse gases and more than 20 tonnes of solid waste a day.

We are also developing a new generation fresh produce crate in consultation with industry. It is an improved version of the existing fresh produce returnable plastic crate and is expected to be at least as environmentally sustainable as its predecessor. And, like the current generation crate, it will be fully recyclable at the end of its life.

It is a real testament to CHEP’s business model, which is focused on inherently sustainable equipment pooling and packaging, taking a lifecycle approach that considers the product and its packaging as an integrated system.

www.foodmag.com.au | February 2013 | Foodmagazine 23

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PACKAGING

Who do we think we are?

I

needs is perhaps the greatest challenge recently had the privilege of judging of all regions. over 300 packaging entries from Electronic packaging from Korea around the world at the World epitomises the global environmental Packaging Conference in Singapore. Each demands and the worldwide supply entry had to have already won a packaging chain for mass market, fragile goods. award in their home country. They were Industrial packaging for the automotive the best of the best. and consumer electrical industries What were the different trends in continues to be refined, based on packaging design in different world markets? minimising waste and for knock-down The quality of printing and paper from and reuse.

China and India were exceptional. From Sustainable designs are no longer a Western Europe and Brazil are back to novelty but the ticket to the game for basic materials, increased use of recycled which there is no price premium paid. materials, continuing light-weighting Without these basics, your package will and sustainable choices. Industrial scale A land of 23 million not be accepted by the future’s consumer. designs that minimise waste and protect at the bottom of the The recognition that packaging food materials were the highlights from innovators receive at industry awards is India and Bangladesh. planet, addressing global anvaluable. Australia is part of the global Korea, Scandinavia and Japan packaging issues - what provided unique technological packaging community and there’s no better place to have our skill on display innovations that allow packaging to are our chances, asks than at these events. relate to customers through smartphones, Ralph Moyle, president Facebook or other smart technologies.

After seeing the quality of the winners at the Australian Packaging Awards, The Americans are transitioning many at the Australian I suspect that if they had entered the products from rigid to flexible packaging Institute of Packaging. world event, the majority would have and PVC to PET. rated highly. And I’m not on my own.

Central Africa has its challenges of A D _ F D S Y M M A R _ 1 2 . p d f poverty P a gand e high 1 population 2 1 / 0 growth 2 / 1 and 2 , 1 There : 5 9were P 20 M judges from around the world at the Australian awards and they developing packaging to fill basic life

As used in UK and European hospitals, and now fast being adopted in food preparation areas, commercial kitchens, and the food manufacturing industry as well.

recognised clear levels of innovation and the practical use of materials in appropriate quantities, helping to meet some of the longest supply chains in Australia.

I would therefore encourage all packaging companies to put their best forward for industry awards and be recognised for the skills they possess.

BaxxAir Destroys Bacteria BACTERIA : testing on air-borne pathogens found the Baxx to be up to 99.9% effective in removing all pathogens after 90 minutes.

VIRUSES : in controlled environments viral traces were reduced by 88.96% after 90 minutes.

Phone: (61 2) 9939-4900 Fax: (61 2) 9939-4911 E-mail: ssyme@baxx.com.au PO Box 426, Brookvale - Australia 2100 C22/148 Old Pittwater Rd, Brookvale - Australia 2100

www.baxx.com.au 24 Foodmagazine | February 2013 | www.foodmag.com.au

TESTS INDICATE EFFECTIVE ELIMINATION OF THE FOLLOWING ESCHERICHIA COLI (E COLI) STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES PSEUDOMONAS and ASPERGILLUS NIGER CAMPYLOBACTER BACILLUS SUBTILIS SPORE SALMONELLA SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE MRSA, C.DIFF(SPORE FORM) AND NOROVIRUS

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ON THE

SHELF Breakfast to go Product: Bircher Muesli & Breakfast Trio Manufacturer: Yummia Ingredients: Rolled oats, natural yoghurt,

Pure, gluten-free goodness Product: PureBred White Farmhouse Loaf Manufacturer: Cuisine Royale Packaging: Food-grade heat-sealable polypropylene with a 30 micron gauge Ingredients: Water, rice flour, tapioca starch, thickeners (460b, 464, 466, 415), maize starch, tapioca flour, thiamin, folic acid, psyillium husk powder, canola oil, potato starch, wholegrain maize flour, yeast, egg white powder, invert sugar Shelf life: Eight days Product manager: Aisling O’Loughlin Website: www.pure-bred.com

fresh and dried fruits.

Shelf life: Fresh two weeks, can be frozen for up to six months

Packaging: Tamper-evident containers, cardboard wrap, spoon included.

Product manager: Mia McCarthy Website: www.yummia.com.au

Top chef's treats for tots Product: Baby Bites Manufacturer: Luke Mangan Shelf life: 21 – 26 days (35 days from manufacture) Packaging: Cardboard outer and a plastic bowlshaped tub

Ingredients:Chicken stock, water, Australian

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lamb, sweet potato, potato, pumpkin, broccoli, carrots, celery, onions, tomato paste, potato flour, garlic, thyme (lamb pot roast flavour) Product manager: Melanie Gill and Heath Molloy Website: www.babybites.com.au

www.foodmag.com.au | February 2013 | Foodmagazine 25

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PRODUCTS

EVENTS

A revolution in seasoning

Broaden your horizons at AUSPACK PLUS 2013 Heat and Control’s FastBack Revolution On-Machine seasoning system delivers unmatched efficiency by operating as an integrated system with bagmakers, weighers, and product delivery conveyors.

Revolution reduces product breakage, the loss of seasonings, and allows different flavourings to be applied at each weigher/ bagmaker system.

The Revolution system is pre-assembled and mounted to a Rapid Deployment platform prior to shipping. Pre-plumbed and wired, the platform modules are quickly set in place and connected to utilities at the plant so production can begin without delays.

Heat and Control has established itself as the world leader in On-Machine

Heat and Control 07 3877 6333 info@heatandcontrol.com

The big cheese for dairy

AUSPACK PLUS 2013 Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park - 7-10 May 2013 Processing and filling machinery will be heavily showcased at this year’s AUSPACK PLUS with stands already booked for companies including Eriez Magnetics, Fallsdell, Perfect Packaging, Walls Machinery, Heat and Control, Reactive Engineering, TNA Australia and Kockums Bulk Systems.

AUSPACK PLUS 2013 is the most comprehensive packaging and processing trade exhibition ever seen in Australia, with exhibitors from industries including food and beverage, packaging, confectionery, chemical and pharmaceutical.

More than 1,000 brands are expected to be on display this year from over 250 exhibitors, offering unparalleled networking opportunities for you and your employees.

As a founding member of the APPMA, Walls Machinery has continually exhibited at AUSPACK PLUS since its inception thirty years ago.

Rob Lawrence, general manager, Walls

Seasoning Systems by looking at OMS from a complete system approach and providing groundbreaking technology innovations. The net result is the most consistent seasoning coverage with lowest seasoning usage rates in the market. These technologies include a patented Revolution Gate which automatically proportions the correct amount of product flow based on the weigher’s requirements.

Machinery says they are once again pleased to be supporting AUSPACK PLUS in 2013.

“Walls Machinery has always found AUSPACK PLUS beneficial to our business as both a supplier and also for the visitors to have an opportunity to see working packaging and processing equipment,” Lawrence said.

Malcolm Davy, managing director, Eriez Magnetics, said they manufacture a wide range of equipment for the food and packaging industries and will be showcasing some of these solutions at this year’s event.

“The Eriez Magnetics range includes vibratory feeders for controlled feed rates of dry granular materials and also food products such as potato chips, biscuits and confectionery.

“We also offer a range of magnetic separators and metal detectors to ensure ferrous contaminant is removed from products prior to packing.” Davy said.

26 Foodmagazine | February 2013 | www.foodmag.com.au

The new Affinity dicer is the largest cheese dicer Urschel Laboratories manufactures and was developed from dairy industry requests for a large, heavy-duty and sanitary cheese dicer.

The dicer, which has been accepted by the US Department of Agriculture, Dairy Division, delivers optimal high capacity output and precision cuts. The maximum in-feed is 178mm in any dimension. Cuts types include dice and strip.

Affinity is also ideal for ham and salami products.

Key features • Maximum power to deliver maximum throughput capacity • Sanitary, highly polished stainless steel surfaces to deter bacterial growth • Food zone separate from drive train • Hinged swing-away panels and sloped surfaces simplify maintenance

and wash-down procedures • Designed for continuous operation for uninterrupted production Cut specification • Maximum in-feed: 178mm • Slice thickness: 3.2 to 19.1mm • Circular Knife Spindle: 3.2 to 50.8mm • Crosscut Knife Spindle: 3.2 to 50.8mm

Heat and Control 07 3877 6333 info@heatandcontrol.com

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ENTRIES ARE NOW OPEN FOR THE 9TH ANNUAL FOOD MAGAZINE AWARDS. These prestigious awards recognise best practice and innovation in the Australian and New Zealand food and beverage manufacturing and packaging industries.

Submit your entry and you can see your success and hard work rewarded at a glamorous gala event.

2013 CATEGORIES ☛ Baked Goods ☛ Confectionery ☛ Dairy ☛ Health & Wellness

☛ Meat & smallgoods ☛ Ingredient Innovation ☛ Organics ☛ Food Safety and Innovation in Non-Food

☛ Prepared Foods ☛ Ready Meals ☛ Snack Foods ☛ Beverages

DOWNLOAD THE NOMINATION KIT www.foodmag.com.au/awards or contact the editor on 02 9422 2667 or at danielle.bowling@reedbusiness.com.au

WHY NOMINATE? • Exposure and publicity • Recognition for your hard-working team members • Valuable networking opportunities with key industry leaders

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Sharon Amos on +61 07 3261 8857 or by email at sharon.amos@reedbusiness.com.au

HACCP AUSTRALIA

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WHAT ALL THE BEST, FOOD SAFE EQUIPMENT IS WEARING

For more information on the non food product certification scheme and its benefits or to find food safe products, materials and equipment that best support the food industry, visit:

www.haccp.com.au or call our Sydney office on: 02 9956 6911

HACCP AUSTRALIA eliminate the hazard - reduce the risk