< Previous20 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net COLD STORAGE Degrees of separation From temperature monitoring systems to optimal storage solutions, there’s a lot to consider when it comes to cold storage. From temperature monitoring systems to optimal storage solutions, there’s a lot to consider when it comes to cold storage. Degrees of separation Food & Drink International 21 www.fdiforum.net COLD STORAGE C old storage is one of the most important methods of preserving food and drink from stowing ingredients to the final drop-off. It’s also one of the most fraught with small but critical difficulties, such as monitoring temperatures and ensuring their stability during transport. Establishing a well-defined cold chain is the best way to keep products at their best, from production and transportation to warehousing and distribution. It’s a tricky balance, and understanding that, here’s a guide to planning and executing effective cold storage in your business. Any cold chain management process which can be relied on to maintain the integrity of products will involve closely monitoring and controlling temperature conditions. Every stopping point and potential dropping out of cold storage must be considered, including during transportation, distribution, or in containment while waiting to be processed or sent to the end consumer. Of course, traditional thermometers, whether analogue or digital, can be used to manually monitor temperature at regular intervals. But these may not be able to keep track of the entire cold chain without consistent human intervention. Here’s where technology begins to make the matter simpler. From data loggers programmed to measure and record whenever needed, to temperature monitoring systems that can be placed throughout a cold storage facility, devices may be employed to take regular readings or continuously measure and transmit data. Wireless or ‘Internet of Things’ technologies even enable remote monitoring of temperature through sensors connected to a network, allowing real-time temperature data to be accessed remotely via a computer, smartphone or other devices. While taking care to track data along the cold chain, you will need reliable storage systems and units to keep all foods the desired temperature. Here, control systems can be used, consisting of a controller that receives temperature data from sensors, then activates cooling or heating mechanisms as needed. The controller can be set to specific temperature thresholds and can adjust cooling or heating equipment accordingly. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (or HVAC) may also be used to regulate temperature and airflow within the cold storage facility. These systems provide consistent temperature control, proper air circulation and humidity management to maintain optimal storage conditions. Though it’s obvious how critical a role refrigeration units play in cold storage, there’s no less importance in pointing out that a food business must rely on its fridges, and know which kinds will be best suited to its needs. Whether it’s the ample space for storing fruit and vegetables, dairy, meat and beverages in bulk provided by a walk-in fridge, or smaller reach-in varieties for use in areas such as food assembly stations, the choice you make will depend on your organisation’s size, purpose and future goals. For instance, if your employees need quick and frequent access to packaged goods or ingredients, reach-in refrigerators may be used in this way for cold holding until ingredients or prepared food are ready to be processed or transported. However, when involved in the processing of meat, poultry, or seafood, blast chillers or blast freezers lower the temperature of food quickly, inhibiting bacterial growth, preserving flavour and textural quality, and at last extending your products’ shelf life. For the same 22 Á22 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net COLD STORAGE reasons, companies that produce ready- to-eat foods, microwave meals or meal kits often rely on blast chillers or freezers, to temperature regulate their ready-cooked food items quickly. Ensuring food is kept bacteria free and safe for consumers means paying close attention to storing your product in suitable conditions. To manage this correctly, optimise storage design with efficient layouts, accurate storage space and easy access to products. Foods which will degrade when left to their own devices, and those which present a bacterial risk already, must not be left to stand at room temperature at any point. Chilling foods at 8 degrees Celsius or below – a legal requirement for England, Wales and Northern Ireland – is best for storing foods for shorter periods of time while they await the production line. To be certain that food is kept cool enough for health and safety, it’s considered good practice to set fridges at 5 degrees Celsius or below, as well as running regular checks that units are cold enough for purpose. For longer storage needs, or to prepare products to be sold frozen, all necessary products should be moved to the freezer as soon after delivery as possible. This is especially important because freezing doesn’t kill bacteria, instead holding it in stasis to begin multiplying again when thawed. To comply with safety regulations, bacteria levels must be kept to an absolute minimum. As extra safeguarding when freezing foods, separate any product into smaller batches between multiple units, and keep up temperature checks on freezers. Food allowed to defrost may not be fit for consumption, especially if left unchecked for a long period of time. If the worst should happen and one unit is affected by a faulty or malfunctioning freezer, separating out your batches across multiple units will reduce waste as much as possible. When it’s time for finished products to be delivered to shelves, perhaps across the country, cold storage facilities can be installed in loading bays to keep them stable for transfer onto refrigerated trucks. Specialised monitoring systems can be employed in every containment area, to ensure © stock.adobe.com/ kokliang1981Food & Drink International 23 www.fdiforum.net COLD STORAGE info@munters.co.uk munters.com Improve safety & climate conditions in cold storage Ice, frost and fog in cold stores can create slippery and dangerous conditions. Munters IceDry ® is a specially designed dehumidifier that targets moisture from inside the cold store to create the optimal climate conditions. Suitable for use in manufacturing facilities, cold rooms, cold stores and process freezers, this desiccant dehumidifier is proven to: •Reduce & prevent ice, frost and fog build up on floors, walls and ceilings •Reduce defrosts by up to 1/3 •Lower maintenance requirements and costs •Improve safety for staff, visitors & forklifts •Improve evaporator efficiency •Thousands of proven installations globally CONTACT US TODAY FOR A FREE SITE SURVEY Example - Before After “The cold store is the best it’s ever been for excessive ice & snow” - Kitchen Range Foods © stock.adobe.com/Grispb products always remain within the required temperature range. For added security and peace of mind, some packaging types are designed for cold storage. Solutions such as insulated containers, or temperature-controlled packaging, can help maintain products during transportation and storage, carrying them safely to their destination. There may be long planning sessions or shopping lists ahead to guarantee that specific temperature-controlled environments are maintained through an entire supply chain. The more advanced and extensive the tech that helps, the more reliably you can observe and take prompt action in case of any temperature deviations. But as ever, it’s important to note that the selection of cold storage, monitoring and control methods will depend on your business’s requirements. From the nitty gritty of cold chain management to the right storage for you, we’ve provided some handy essential to help you make the right choices. 24 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net PACKAGING plastic problem TheFood & Drink International 25 www.fdiforum.net PACKAGING © stock.adobe.com/monticellllo Plastic has been making our lives easier since its advent in the 1950s, not least as a durable, safe and hygienic material for food packaging. Whether for storage, transport or preserving food products on a shelf, few materials are as convenient. But that convenience has come with a cost. W orldwide pollution and waste packaging is clogging our oceans, washing up on our shores and putting entire ecosystems at risk. This is not a new phenomenon, but it’s more in the public eye than ever before, and that will soon force companies to act. With just five to ten per cent of plastic being recycled on a global scale, most plastic literally goes to waste, sitting in landfill heaps or ending up as more ocean pollution our planet doesn’t need. It’s an ecological danger that any food manufacturer must be wary of when considering product packaging. But thankfully, alternatives to petroleum-based plastics (which can take 500 years to decompose) are being investigated and developed to take the weight of single-use, non- biodegradable plastics off our consciences and, more importantly, the rest of the natural world. Developments into eco-friendly food 26 Á26 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net PACKAGING BAG SEALING MACHINES RM Sealers remain a leading British manufacturer and supplier of high quality Bag Sealing Machines, also known as Rotary Band Sealers and Impulse Sealers. Call 01442 843387 to speak to a member of our team SEALERS © www.rmsealers.co.uk packaging have led to greater choice for companies that wish to avoid using plastic wherever possible. But in many cases, this isn’t a simple swap. We’ve come to rely on plastic for its qualities as a strong, versatile and lightweight material, and a green alternative that covers all these bases while being recyclable is yet to be discovered. Take compostable packaging, which breaks down into its original components over time. In its favour, it can often be disposed of in a household compost bin and doesn’t have to be washed beforehand. However, the downside to its ability to naturally biodegrade is that doesn’t have the same barrier strength or contaminant protection as plastic, and it cannot be vacuum sealed for freshness and shelf-life either. Biodegradable packaging is also available, which isn’t always compostable. This type of packaging is only eco-friendly when disposed of under the correct industrial conditions, while at-home recycling is not yet an option. When disposal is handled improperly, biodegradable plastics break down into microplastics, which not only contaminate animal habitats and the ocean, but can also find their way into the human digestive system through water and air contamination. What are bioplastics? When looking into bioplastics as a green packaging alternative, be aware that they aren’t all cut from the same cloth in terms of eco-friendliness. The term can refer to naturally sourced biodegradable or compostable plastics but may also be applied to petroleum- based plastics which can biodegrade far more quickly than the typical kind, and all manner of permutations in between. For instance, one branch known as ‘drop-ins’ contain bio-based, but non-biodegradable plastics. Food & Drink International 27 www.fdiforum.net PACKAGING BENCHTOP BAG SEALING MACHINE IMPULSE BAG SEALING MACHINE HORIZONTAL BAG SEALING MACHINE VERTICAL BAG SEALING MACHINE In short, bioplastic is no one thing but a family of materials, each with different qualities and applications. And even opting for a biodegradable packaging material doesn’t guarantee zero-waste. Biodegradation requires the correct environment, considering aspects such as temperatures and levels of aeration, in order for microorganisms to break down the plastic’s natural materials into water, carbon dioxide, or other such substances. This often means bioplastic containers must be thrown out with household waste at the consumer end, unless they are made of easily compostable materials. They also remain pollutants if they end up in oceans, left without the correct conditions for biodegradation. Types of bioplastics Opting for bioplastics which are both biodegradable and bio-based (which means made from plant- derived biomass) is the greenest option when plastic packaging is necessary. These can be made from a wealth of natural resources, including cellulose, chitin or even bacteria. Polylactic acid (PLA) is made from starchy crops such as potatoes, wheat or corn, their starches separated by milling, then heated with enzymes or acid to transform the starch into dextrose. The dextrose is then fermented until it becomes lactic acid, the molecules of which are then polymerised to create PLA. The resulting material has similar qualities to PET, that widely used petrochemical plastic, and doesn’t require specialised equipment for processing. Other bio-based and biodegradable plastics include polyhydroxalkanoate 28 Á © stock.adobe.com/SValeriia28 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net PACKAGING Looking for assistance labelling your product? HERMA are committed to meeting your requirements With over 110 years’ experience of manufacturing labellers and labelling machines HERMA have a wealth of knowledge in providing both local and international customers with labelling solutions. Visit HERMA to see how they can help with your labelling requirements. Labelling Systems (PHA) which can be produced by exposing bacteria to a limited supply of nutrients like oxygen, encouraging it to grow PHA granules inside its cells as food. Certain strains of bacteria have also been discovered which don’t need this method of nutrient limitation, producing PHA through their own cellular growth spurts. Waste materials such as plant oils, fatty acids and simple carbohydrates can also be provided to PHA- producing bacteria, reducing the need for waste disposal and instead making them a resource, recycling them into greener plastic production. Scientists have even taken to placing the genes from this bacteria into corn plants, to create a genetically modified plastic- growing crop. However PHA plastic comes to be, like PLA it is safe and versatile enough to use in food packaging. Replacing and reducing plastic Even when sourcing bioplastics to replace the fossil-fuel derived variety, it must be kept in mind that not all providers are equally eco-friendly. Trustworthy companies will make their products from recycled content wherever possible, ensuring they will decompose effectively in a short amount of time under the proper conditions. It’s also well worth remembering that plastics, bio or not, aren’t always the best choice in terms of suitability, sustainability or cost. For most shipping purposes, paper is significantly cheaper than plastic, while cardboard is durable enough to protect the majority of products in transport, unless they are fragile. These materials are also much easier to break down into pulp and then recycle. Bioplastics made from recycled materials are yet to become commercially available, whereas ninety to 100 per cent recycled paper products are widely available on the consumer market. © stock.adobe.com/yalcinsonatFood & Drink International 29 www.fdiforum.net PACKAGING powered by employee share-ownership 02476 420065 Download our app today! kitepackaging.co.uk Find out more Browse over 2,500 packaging products online at: kitepackaging.co.uk Food packaging for your business Discover our range of sustainable ĨŽŽĚƉĂĐŬĂŐŝŶŐƐŽůƵƟŽŶƐ Earlier this year, the UK government announced a ban on the supply of various single-use plastics. The ban is set to come into place in October later this year and will include items such as plastic cutlery, plates, trays and bowls as well as polystyrene cups and containers. As one of the largest online packaging suppliers, Kite’s wide range of food packaging contains everything a food vendor would need to replace their plastic and polystyrene food packaging to supply eco-friendly and technically suitable takeaways to their customers. This includes kraft takeaway bowls and boxes suitable for hot and cold food, all of which are recyclable, biodegradable and commercially compostable. Kite’s takeaway boxes benefit from a water-based coating and leakproof design to ensure safe carriage, while their paper food bowls feature a PE-lined interior to contain moisture and grease. Pair these takeaway containers with Kite’s disposable birchwood cutlery, consisting of knives, forks and spoons which are only as durable as necessary for single-use items. This accelerates the composting process where thicker, sturdier items would take longer to decompose. Finally, complete your takeaways with Kite’s double-walled, ergonomic coffee cups, offering comfortability, durability and protection to takeaway customers as they go about their day. The double wall corrugation insulates drinks so customers can enjoy for longer, also doubling up as a protective feature keeping hands safe. Whether you require pizza boxes, takeaway bowls, coffee cups, or eco- friendly cutlery, Kite Packaging is the one stop shop for your food packaging needs. Deliver Sustainability With Kite’s Eco-friendly Takeaway Packaging Next >