< Previouswww.fdiforum.net PACKAGING 10 Pouch packaging has also become an increasingly popular option over the last few decades with many of the industry’s biggest players moving into the market. The lack of rigidity in this kind of packaging is a big selling point. Cans, cardboard and paper packaging are all very susceptible to damage and hard because they need to conform to a rigid shape and so cannot flex when pressure is applied. This leads to cans being malformed in transit, or cardboard being punctured. Pouch packaging is typically made of multiple layers of puncture-resistant laminated film. This allows the material to flex and bend, taking on water-like properties to avoid being damaged. The food contained inside – such as soups, ready meals, or rice – will simply move back into shape. All of this works together not only to reduce the chance of damage, but also to offer longer shelf life and ensure the product remains attractive on the shelf and does not fade or become misshaped. Stand-up pouches can also be made from one hundred per cent recycled materials, adding an environmental appeal to the design. When it comes to the environmental impact of packaging, recycling rates are still being impacted by consumers confused over labelling. Renewable and sustainable packaging, for example, aren’t interchangeable terms. The latter refers to materials like paperboard which can be continuously and easily recycled, while renewable packaging is made from materials such as sugarcane. Biodegradable packaging, meanwhile, refers to organic material that can be broken down into carbon dioxide and water etc. within a couple of months. All that seems simple compared to the plethora of different plastics used to make packaging with consumers often confused over which ones can be easily recycled. Flexible packaging – used for many single-use products which are most non- recyclable – is a particular bugbear for British consumers, with one in five www.fdiforum.net PACKAGING 11 admitting to throwing flexible packaging in the recycling bin because they didn’t know it can’t be recycled. It’s little wonder that as well as clear labelling, almost four in ten consumers think retailers should be made to have a plastic-free aisle in every store. But replacing plastic is by no means easy. New product development has yielded a number of worthy contenders with plastics produced from renewable sources such as the aforementioned sugarcane, as well as cellulose and starches. However, it’s a more complex issue than simply swapping petroleum produced plastics for those made from plant matter. For example, what good is plant-based packaging if vast swathes of endangered rainforest must be cleared to grow the cops to produce it? Yet it’s clear that there is a massive shift taking place in the industry. Boosting recyclability, switching to more sustainable materials and improving labelling will all help to improve the environmental impact of food and drink packaging and create a green supply chain. Speak to a member of our team Call on 01442 843387 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. SEALERS © www.rmsealers.co.uk © stock.adobe.com/viperagpwww.fdiforum.net TEMPERATURE CONTROL 12 C ontrolling the temperature of foodstuffs is a critical part of it entering our diet. On an industrial scale, temperature control plays an even larger role. In order to preserve the freshness of just-picked produce, food manufacturers utilise chilled storage. ‘From farm to fork’ is a darling in the food advertising industry and a call to arms for farmers, but in order to realise the notion, cold storage is a must. Therefore, it’s important at all times to focus on methods of efficiently maintaining temperature levels, with as little ambient loss of temperature as possible. At the end of the day, it’s far more expensive to keep air cool, than it is to warm up. Doors and loading bays create an immediate but necessary breach in a warehouse’s defences, allowing the cooler The right temperature In controlling temperature, food manufacturers preserve and maintain a food product’s sensory profile and longevity. Even miniscule changes in temperature can result in spoilage, requiring constant vigilance and control. www.fdiforum.net TEMPERATURE CONTROL 13 air inside to escape via convection currents. What’s more, this is an inescapable consequence, as the ultimate goal of these facilities is to store and ship out goods as quickly as possible to their final destination. As such, while it might result in energy savings to install a number of doors between the cold storage facility and the loading bays, this only slows down the productivity of the workers within, and how soon they can have the stock shipped out. Ultimately, it becomes a difficult balance between energy savings and throughput. The final focus must always be on the efficiency of a distribution centre at its central goal – the storage and distribution centre of goods. Energy savings must come second to this, though should still 14 Á © stock.adobe.com/Grispbwww.fdiforum.net TEMPERATURE CONTROL 14 be pursued at every opportunity, of course. Air curtains provide a potential solution to this problem, or, at the very least, minimise the loss of heat at loading bays. A cold store air curtain works by creating a curtain of air that cuts through currents, creating a barrier between the external ambient air, and the chilled temperature within a cold store. The greatest benefit of these systems is not just the ability for the air curtain to minimise energy loss through temperature contamination, but also to allow continual access for any workers. There is no door to be opened or closed, and the curtain is safe for workers to travel through as they deliver and remove palletised goods. Not only does this improve general efficiency within the cold store, but it also enables rooms to be kept at varying temperatures – important when a facility might have to cater for a wide range of food products that require different refrigerated temperature levels. Of course, there is more to efficiently running a temperature-controlled storage facility than plugging up the entrances. Managing stock within the distribution centre can become increasingly more complex, as the temperatures are kept lower. For instance, machinery and systems that rely on battery power can come under risk, as continued exposure to the cold has a negative impact on batteries – typically resulting in fifty per cent degradation to battery life. This can become a larger concern with the move towards electric lift trucks www.fdiforum.net TEMPERATURE CONTROL 15 and fork-lifts, which can see vehicles running out of power at inopportune moments. When it comes to workers within these facilities, there is also a host of new concerns and problems to be aware of, many of which will require some remedial training for companies moving employees to cold store facilities. In the above example of electric vehicles, staff need to be made aware that a vehicle which is marked down as having an eight-hour battery life might struggle to manage more than four or five. Changing the labelling on these vehicles can go a long way to preventing problems, alternatively investing in batteries with larger voltages can help minimise the problems. The goal with temperature control in the warehousing industry is almost always to prevent leakage of controlled temperature, while also adopting the workforce and equipment to work within the changed conditions. But what about the transport side of things, which is naturally the biggest chink in the temperature-controlled armour. Refrigerated vans and lorries have been common sights for many years, yet they’ve rarely been able to match up to the safety and control of a dedicated storage facility itself. Simply put, the technology has not been in place to bring the same kind of safeguards a warehouse has, into a vehicle. But that’s not to say companies aren’t innovating in this direction, with some interesting results and implications for the future. IDEAL FOR HACCP COMPLIANCE ThermaData® WiFi Loggers Manufactured in the UK. Ideal for the catering industry. etiltd.com © stock.adobe.com/Grispbwww.fdiforum.net HEALTH AND SAFETY 16 W ith the continuing war in Ukraine leading to scarcity of certain ingredients and causing wholesale prices to rise, companies may be looking to cut costs where they can. Caution should be advised when it comes to trimming the cleaning budget. Although there’s always efficiency gains to be had, cheaper rarely means better – especially where health and safety are concerned. Most obviously, companies that aren’t able to point to clear health and safety regulations will usually find themselves unable to win contracts from major customers. The importance of security and speed across the supply chain means retailers demand manufacturers and distributors reach the highest standards and must be able to illustrate their commitment to quality – and a formal health and safety policy, with full information on potential flashpoints and the measures in place to deal with them, is usually required. Due to the differing nature of hygiene risks and how they can occur, it is often a requirement to bring in outside help to judge and identify potential flashpoints. These can come from any number of aspects, be it the ingredients themselves, the way employees work, or simply the atmosphere of a given facility. The latter is one such aspect that many companies might overlook. Clean air is of paramount concern for the food and drink industry, not only due to the stringent requirements involved in the manufacture of food produce, but also to avoid the reputational crisis of any incidents occurring. With a variety of harmful microbes and particles able to travel via air, there is great potential for harmful microbes to interact with the process at a crucial stage, possibly leading to contaminated products. A benefit to the food market, however, is From rigorous cleaning routines to the importance of microbiology, health, safety, and hygiene must be front centre of any food and drink company. www.fdiforum.net HEALTH AND SAFETY 17 that many health and safety products also work towards improving hygiene – allowing a company to effectively kill two birds with one stone. Non-slip and hygienic flooring is one such example that can both reduce the risk of accidents within the facility whilst also adding a clear hygienic defence against contaminates. When it comes to hygiene itself, there are many things that can be done to minimise both cost and downtime, some of which can be quite simple. In food manufacturing, in particular, build up inside machinery can provide a major source of contamination, requiring regular cleaning and downtime as workers scramble to clear this away. Small changes in how a site is set up, however, can help to minimise this. Hard corners and right angles, especially inside storage tanks and mixers, can be problem areas, as it provides a sharp corner for food to get stuck in. Simple solutions such as making these rounded corners or blunting them can help reduce levels of build up significantly. Changes to materials are also commonplace, along with initiatives that may seem painstakingly obvious at first, but which have been proven to have profound effect. Take, for instance, the case of cleaning apparatus, from brooms to mops and everything in between. While it 18 Á © stock.adobe.com/amornwww.fdiforum.net HEALTH AND SAFETY 18 may seem obvious to say that tools from one part of a plant should not be used in another, owing to the potential for contamination, it does not mean it always works. If a mop is misplaced or left in the wrong spot, then staff may not know which section it came from. Issues such as these have led to the rise of colour coded cleaning equipment, allowing workers to know that purple mops belong in the meat section, or that red are only allowed in the red-zone. Again, it may seem like an obvious solution, but if it makes the lives of employees easier, then how hard is it to implement. Nowadays, most process machines, storage containers or trolleys will be made of stainless steel, and for good reason. The material itself is highly hygienic, although it’s worth remembered that there are numerous grades and types of stainless steel, some better suited to different foodstuffs. This is an aspect many forget, however, and it’s not uncommon to hear of corrosion on material, which should not be possible if the correct grade is chosen, as ˖˚ˡ˜ˡ˜˔˥˧ˬ˥˧˦˨˗ˡ˜ ˢˢ˙ ˜ ˡ˜ˡˡ˜˪˗˥˔˪ʴ˚ ˦˘˦˥˨ˢ˖ ˗ˢ www.fdiforum.net HEALTH AND SAFETY 19 smooth surfaces reduce the risk of it. It’s important to remember that this can be caused by various different things, from stress corrosion to crevice corrosion, so getting someone in to investigate would be a good idea. Despite all this, and whatever methods are taken to reduce the risks of contamination, a stringent quality assurance line will always be necessary. There is only so much that human inspection can achieve in any production environment. CONTACT OUR EXPERTS With extensive expertise and over 40 years of service, we specialise in microbiology, chemistry, nutritional, allergen and species testing for food manufacturers. Your Partner in UKAS Accredited Safety sales@micro-search.co.uk01422 4056780 Microbiological Analyses: Pathogen detection, challenge testing, rapid pathogen screening ▶ Our Offer Chemical & Nutritional Analyses: Hydroxy- proline, meat content, mycotoxins ▶ Allergen and Species Tests: All 14 UK allergens, meat and fish speciation, GMO ▶ Your Added Value bespoke IT systems ▶ expert technical support ▶ 365 laboratory operations ▶ © stock.adobe.com/Dusko DZYNXRFD ˇˆʼʿʴʼʶʸ˃ˆ˯ʺˁˁʼˇʷˈʴ˯ˌˇʸʹʴˆʷ˂˂ʹ˯˃ʶʶʴʻ JQLQLDUW JQLQLD HF QRV U GQDGK VHVU GQD\U K HOEDOLDYDRVOD WHNRSVHEGQDHVXRKQΖ UWHWRPHUURPRRUVVDO& VVHHWWDDUUVVVVDDSSPPDD[[HHKKJJLL+ FQHLUHS[H\UWVXGQLGRRI + KKKWKLZVUHQLLDUWWQHLOOOHF[O( UXRFOHYHOWQHPHJDQDP RVLYUHSXVQLVWVLODLFHS6 ( Next >