January/February 2017

J A N UA R Y / FEB R UA R Y 2 017

The magazine for the frozen food industry

L A I L A R E M T U L LA

ANNUAL LUNCHEON

FROM THE SEA

Interview

Event roundup

Feature

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The Bulletin

John Hyman Chief executive

BRITISH FROZEN FOOD FEDERATION Registered office: Warwick House, Unit 7, Long Bennington Business Park, Main Road, Long Bennington, Newark NG23 5JR. A company limited by guarantee.

Registered in England and Wales No: 7687541

01400 283090 www.bfff.co.uk

CHIEF EXECUTIVE John Hyman MEMBERSHIP & BULLETIN MANAGER Becky Dobb beckydobb@bfff.co.uk 07793 499871

W ELCOM E

January/February 2017

Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our members and colleagues within the frozen food industry a very happy and successful new year.

HEAD OF COMMERCIAL & SPONSORSHIP Paul Murray paulmurray@bfff.co.uk 07718 588431 ADVERTISING Kate Miller katemiller@bfff.co.uk 07933 704270

The start of any new year is an exciting time to look forward.

We are busy planning the Conference in March where we have a tremendous line up of speakers, and we’ll be launching an exciting new event! In addition, we are holding a new event at Towcester in February to recruit new members.

PUBLISHER Pelican Communications www.pelicancommunications.co.uk

Paul and the commercial team are busy preparing for IFE and we look forward to welcoming as many members as possible during the show.

The BFFF stand is S2740 in the South Hall.

EDITOR Jessica Beckett bulletineditiorial@bfff.co.uk

I would like to extend a warm welcome to our new Board members, Stuart Smith, Nick Redford and Helen Wright. I am delighted with the breadth of representation and strength of the Board which I am sure will continue to go from strength to strength.

ASSISTANT EDITOR Alison Bishop

Many thanks for your support for our fabulous Luncheon which was sold out and has received great feedback, in particular the networking and the ‘buzz’. The Industry Forum on Brexit was the first one focused on one important topic with excellent presenters, thought-provoking content and excellent member feedback.

DESIGN Livija Dale

We continue to have excellent dialogue on Brexit with Government, in particular Tim Render at Defra, and we will continue to work in close collaboration with Ian Wright of the FDF to raise the profile of the food industry and ensure our members’ opportunities and concerns are understood and taken on board.

Go online The Bulletin is the exclusive magazine for BFFF members. Printed six times a year, it has a readership in excess of 3,000 industry leaders, decision makers and buyers.

I wish you all a very successful 2017 and look forward to meeting more members throughout the year at our forthcoming events.

The Bulletin is available to read online at www.bfff.co.uk/about-bfff/bulletin – where you can also read all the latest news from BFFF and its members.

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PEA HARVEST

Business Conference Business Conference & 2017 & Exhibition Exhibition 2017 When:Tuesday Tuesday7th 7thMarch March2017 2017 When:

Where: Birmingham Birmingham Hilton Hilton Metropole Metropole Where: The TheNEC NECBirmingham, Birmingham,Pendigo PendigoWay, Way,Birmingham BirminghamB40 B401PP 1PP The event will include a pre-event ice breaker dinner, exhibition The event will include a pre-event ice breaker dinner, and our popular conference dinner.dinner. exhibition and our popular Conference We have an informative and thought provoking conference programme We have an informative and thought provoking Conference programme looking at ‘Understanding our Consumers’, ‘Our Markets’ and ‘After Brexit’ looking at ‘Understanding our Consumers’, ‘Our Markets’ and ‘After Brexit’

Speakers confirmed so far include: Roger Martin-Fagg, Economist Francis Nicholas, Group Digital Director from Birds Eye Ltd Russell Patton from Grayling to provide the latest view from Brussels

Keynote speaker: The Rt Hon Sir Vince Cable who will provide his view on the impact of Brexit.

Proud sponsors of the 2017 Business Conference

Go to www.bfff.co.uk/category/business-conference to download the booking form If you are interested in exhibiting at the conference or advertising in the conference brochure contact Advertising Manager, Kate Miller on 07933 704270 or email katemiller@bfff.co.uk.

The Bulletin

CON TEN TS 4 8 12

NEWS

INSIGHT

BFFF news Member news New products 14 19 34 36 39 44

Interview: Laila Remtulla Annual Luncheon Health & Safety Technical & Legislative New member profiles From the sea 49 58 60 61

RESOURCE

Industry services Marketplace Meet the team Diary dates

NEW PRODUCTS

LAILA REMTULLA

p. 12

p. 14

ANNUAL LUNCHEON

FROM THE SEA

p. 19

p. 44

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The Bulletin

BF F F N E W S Updates from the BFFF team

Business Conference & Exhibition

The 2017 Business Conference and Exhibition takes place on 7th March 2017 at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole.

We have an informative and thought provoking conference programme which will commence with an update on the economy from Roger Martin-Fagg. We will then look at ‘Understanding our Consumers’ with a focus on digital marketing with presentations from David Devany of Iceland and Francis Nicholas of Birds Eye. We will also hear from Rob Ward of Innovation Accelerator about how they encourage innovation and start-up

companies within institutional organisations.

After lunch we will focus on ‘Our Markets’ with presentations from Chris Hayward of Kantar Worldpanel and Simon Stenning of MCA. Russell Patten from Grayling will provide the latest view on Brexit from Brussels and we will end the day with keynote speaker the Rt Hon Sir Vince Cable.

The conference delegate packages include a

IFE 2017

IFE17 will take place from Sunday 19th March to Wednesday 22nd March at ExCeL in London’s Docklands. As usual BFFF will be promoting the interest of our members from our stand S2740 situated in the South Hall.

Our stand is one of the most visited at IFE with media, buyers and decision makers visiting to network, hold meetings, catch up or rest their legs. For all members our stand is a great place to meet up, catch up, have a coffee or just take a break. If you are visiting the show please come and see us. We look forward to seeing you there.

Look out for ‘The Ice Café’ on stand S2750 (adjacent to the BFFF stand). This year we are working in collaboration with the Craft Guild of Chefs and Fresh Montgomery to raise the profile of frozen food and showcase its benefits and qualities.

Each day of the show, a pop-up style street food café will host top chefs from the Craft Guild cooking with a mixture of fresh and frozen ingredients.

Menu options will consist of delicious bowl food prepared live on the café area with buyers and consumers from across the food and drink industry being asked to sample the delicious freshly cooked dishes and provide feedback on their perceptions and experience.

With the aim of illustrating how frozen food, which is often more cost-effective and a great way of preventing food waste, is equal and in some cases better than fresh food, this exciting culinary theatre is set to be a busy and well visited stand.

We will contact appropriate suppliers to seek interest in supply and support of this event shortly, interested companies should contact Paul Murray, Head of Commercial at paulmurray@bfff.co.uk.

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pre-event ice breaker dinner, exhibition and our popular conference dinner. Don’t miss the business conference that’s designed just for you! If you are interested in attending please contact charleyprice@bfff.co.uk. If you are interested in exhibiting or advertising in the brochure please email katemiller@bfff.co.uk.

In addition, BFFF will be launching an exciting new event for 2018.

The Bulletin

B FFF NE WS Updates from the BFFF team

Annual General Meeting results I am pleased to report that at the AGM our members, including proxy votes, unanimously approved the adoption of the annual accounts and both the Chairman’s and the Chief Executive’s report.

The AGM included verbal reports from both Peter Allan and Brian Young on the key points from their reports as part of a more transparent and open approach to governance for the Federation.

As there were two candidates standing for the position of large producer/importer representative, a ballot took place to elect the Board member. Both candidates were very worthy and I would like to thank Ian Hyland of Moy Park for his interest and commitment to the Federation. My congratulations to Peter Allan of Cargill Meats Europe on being

re-elected to the Board as the large producer/ importer representative.

Our thanks to Ali Hannaford of Paramount 21 and Chris Binge of Fairway Foodservice who have retired from the Board. Both were founding members having also served on the Executive Council previously. Their dedication, time and input has been invaluable to the development of the Federation.

Welcome to Helen Wright of Aunt Bessie’s Ltd who joins the Board as Chair of the Audit Committee and Nick Redford of Caterforce

who joins as the wholesaler buying group representative. Stuart Smith of Brakes was also formally elected having been co-opted to the Board previously.

At the November Board meeting, the board considered the effectiveness of the Chair, Chief Executive and the board itself. We have circulated to members a copy of the reports and the minutes of the board meeting so you can see very clearly how we judged our performance and how the board considered its effectiveness. Please do take the opportunity to read these reviews.

The BFFF Board now comprises:

Producer Representative, Chair & President Peter Allan, Cargill Meats Europe

Producer Representative Ian Stone, apetito Ltd.

Wholesaler Representative Retailer Representative Stuart Smith, Nigel Broadhurst, Brakes Iceland Foods Ltd.

Producer Representative Vanessa Lewis, Summit Foods Ltd.

Wholesaler Representative Andrew Roberts, Bidvest Foodservice

Wholesaler Representative Nick Redford, Caterforce Ltd.

Chair of T&L Expert Group Vince Craig, c/o McEvoy Foods International Ltd.

Chair of Audit Committee Helen Wright, Aunt Bessie’s Ltd.

Chief Executive John Hyman, BFFF

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Meet your BFFF Membership Team New way of working In order to work much closer with members we have recently conducted a reorganisation of our approach to member engagement and service delivery. The result is a dedicated membership team.

Going forward you will be contacted by your respective membership account manager by way of introduction to discuss any immediate updates, feedback of requirements you may have.

This approach is aimed towards a much improved communication flow between our members and the BFFF and will help with engagement of both parties thereby providing opportunity to drive effective value from your membership.

Each member now has a specific member account manager assigned to act as the key BFFF contact for member enquiries, services and where appropriate, joint business planning.

Becky Dobb Membership Manager Dir Tel: 01400 283095 Mob: 07793 499871 Email: beckydobb@bfff.co.uk

Karen Terry Membership Account Manager Tel: 01400 283090 Mob: 07921 405196 Email: karenterry@bfff.co.uk

Kate Miller Membership Account Manager Tel: 01780 763841 Mob: 07933 704270 Email: katemiller@bfff.co.uk

British Frozen Food Federation Warwick House, Unit 7, Long Bennington Business Park, Main Road, Long Bennington, Newark, Nottinghamshire NG23 5JR Tel: 01400 283090 www.bfff.co.uk

Fax: 01400 283098

www.coolcookery.co.uk

The Bulletin ADVERTORIAL

Feeding Britain’s Future in 2016

IGD’s flagship charitable initiative, Feeding Britain’s Future helped 17,000 people in 2016, from unemployed 18–24 year olds to students exploring their options at school.

With support from nearly 300 food and grocery companies, the programme has showcased the vast range of rewarding jobs available in our industry and helped develop key employability skills such as communication, teamwork and decisionmaking.

Now in its fifth year, Feeding Britain’s Future consists of two main programmes: The Schools Programme and Skills for Work Month. The Schools Programme, with support of more than 1,200 volunteers, is making a real impact and provides students with guidance on the skills needed in the workplace and insight into the variety of jobs available in the industry.

Through Skills for Work Month, young people and the wider unemployed gain insight into the food and grocery industry and leave equipped with practical skills to support their job search. Companies run workshops on topics such as tailored CV advice and tips on applying for jobs online.

Highlights from 2016 The Schools Programme has delivered: ●● 340 workshops supported by 1,250 industry volunteers ●● 7,500 Year 9 and Year 12 students have attended a workshop ●● 91% of students said the experience helped them feel more prepared for the world of work Skills for Work Month ●● 9,500 people have been trained ●● 90% of participants said they had developed skills that could help them get a job ●● 200 food and grocery companies hosted 600 workshops across the country

Building links between businesses and schools Feeding Britain’s Future piloted a new initiative this year to drive deeper engagement between a company and its local secondary school. Companies partner with their school to run a range of activities to help students develop their employability skills.

So far, five companies have taken part including Bakkavor, Purity Drinks, Premier Foods, Unilever and 2 Sisters Food Group resulting in seven partnerships and 300 participating students. Activities included: ●● A CEO taking over a GCSE business studies class ●● Apprentices and graduates running a series of assessments with students ●● HR managers and team leaders delivering employability essentials including CV writing and role-playing interviews

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●● A chef demonstrating pizza-making for food technology students ●● Factory tours for students providing fascinating insight into food production

Plans for 2017 Feeding Britain’s Future will widen its impact in 2017 by increasing the number of learning opportunities offered to school students. This will be achieved by running more workshops in secondary schools and increasing the number of longer-term partnerships between schools and companies. If you would like to participate in the programme, or simply find out more about the campaign, visit www.igd. com/feedingbritainsfuture

The Bulletin

M EM BE R NE W S Updates from BFFF members

Crest of a wave for Three Oceans Fairway Three Oceans has been named Best Fish & Seafood Supplier of the Year at the Brakes Supplier Conference.

The seafood specialist took the award for the second year running and was praised for its exemplary service, unrivalled fish quality, category knowledge, and sustainability.

Geoffrey Druce, Director, said: “It is always a very proud moment to be recognised for outstanding achievement which is aligned to the core business ethos focused on leading the market on fish quality, availability, service and sustainability.

“This was followed by an even greater moment later in the evening when Three Oceans was crowned Brakes Supplier of the Year 2016. No other fish supplier has ever won this before so it was a very emotional moment to be honored with this industry accolade.” www.3oceans.co.uk

Partnership tackles world hunger

A to Z Catering has joined the Fairway Foodservice buying group, as part of plans to significantly expand its foodservice operations.

Logistics solutions company Brambles has signed a three-year agreement with the international non-profit organisation The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN).

Brambles, which operates in more than 60 countries primarily through the CHEP and IFCO brands, will provide supply chain knowledge, in-kind contributions, volunteers and donations to help finance GFN operations, in an effort to reduce hunger, poverty, malnutrition and food waste globally.

Lisa Moon, President and CEO of GFN, said: “We are honoured to partner with Brambles to leverage its expertise, products, and leadership to help drive efficiency and scale in food banks around the world. We would

Foodservice boasts A to Z

The company, based in Hornsey, London, supplies the fast food market, and has enjoyed steady growth supplying the foodservice industry in the last 16 years. like to thank Brambles for their commitment to the fight against world hunger while also advancing sustainability.”

Last year, food banks within GFN’s network distributed 421,840 metric tonnes of food to 6.8 million needy people in partnership with 27,000 charitable organisations and social centres. The GFN network consists of 792 food banks located in 32 countries.

Its foodservice customers include schools, theme parks, hotels, and playgrounds, and owner and managing director Hifsi Ayrancioglu hopes to build on this after becoming Fairway’s 18th member.

He said: “Joining Fairway is a key part of developing our foodservice offering. We have built a successful business focusing on the fast food industry, and our goal is to replicate this in foodservice.”

www.uki.chep.com www.fairwayfoodservice.com

Growth drives new truck fleet A growing Bristol-based foodservice company has added nine state-of-theart eco-friendly vehicles to its fleet.

Charles Saunders Foodservice has made the investment, which increases the size of the fleet to 35 commercial vehicles, to improve convenience for customers, as well as in response to an increase in sales.

separate trucks.

The trucks, designed by the firm’s transport manager Colin Bardsley, contain separate compartments, allowing frozen, chilled, fish, ambient, disposable and chemical products to be transported safely in the same vehicle.

Historically, products would be delivered in

Colin said: “The new trucks have enormous benefits for efficiency and safety. They allow for greater customer convenience as all products can be delivered in a single truck.”

The new additions to the fleet are also bigger to cater for an increase in new customers as well as orders from existing clients.

www.charles-saunders.com 8

The Bulletin

M EM B ER NE WS Updates from BFFF members

Food hub opportunity

New research into increasing sales

The possibility to develop a regional hub for food producers has been outlined following a feasibility study from RPS. The study, for Wrexham Council in partnership with the Mersey Dee Alliance, looked at supply and demand for food grade premises in the area. It identified a shortcoming which would support the provision of a new industrial park designed for a range of food production regimes, including chilled and frozen foods.

RPS worked in partnership with Food and Drink Forum on the study, based on a longstanding collaborative working relationship, having previously delivered feasibility studies and completed several food grade production facilities together.

Andrew Collinson from Food and Drink Forum said: “Lessons learnt from the delivery of previous built projects is invaluable in being able to inform the feasibility studies for future projects.”

Simon Goulding, Associate Director at RPS said: “The key to the success of this study is the specialist knowledge that the two partners provided, Food and Drink Forum with business engagement, and RPS with development master-planning and specialist food-safe design.” www.rpsgroup.com

Scottish food supplier in Japanese buy-out A Glasgow-based ethnic food supplier is set to expand its presence in the UK after being acquired by a Japanese agricultural co-operative.

Scotch Frost of Glasgow Ltd was bought by Zen-Noh for an undisclosed sum.

Scotch Frost imports and distributes frozen, fresh and ambient food products, drinks and packaging from around the globe. It operates sites in Glasgow, inverness, Belfast, Dublin, Newcastle, Manchester and London, generating annual turnover of around £55m.

Further depots and acquisitions are planned.

It has more than 2,000 product lines, including seafood, poultry, beef, pork, rice, vegetables, noodles, oils, sauces and packaging. Its own brands include Asian Harvest, Gelika, Fat Buddha and Viet Gold.

Lantmännen Unibake UK has unveiled new insights identifying the key sales drivers for sweet pastry, savouries and burgers.

The research identifies texture and appearance as key drivers to purchase in sweet pastry. In savouries, four needs are driving sales — fuel on-the-go, discreet on-the-go, quick family meals and grown up moments. Meanwhile, international insights show that architecture and composition are pivotal to driving sales in burgers.

Zen-Noh is a supplier of Japanese-produced agricultural and livestock products, and a major importer of animal feeds and agricultural fertilisers. Its group members have a combined annual revenue of $60 billion.

Louisa Gould, category strategy manager at Lantmännen Unibake UK, said: “Fully understanding the target consumer for sweet pastry, savouries and burgers is fundamental to success.

Scotch Frost director, Derrick Louden said: “Having the backing of the Zen-Noh cooperative will give Scotch Frost the platform to further increase our presence in the UK whilst also providing Zen-Noh access to a comprehensive distribution network and a route to market for its high-end Japanese products in the UK”.

“Detailed analysis of the comprehensive research has given us a much deeper understanding of who these consumers are and what motivates them to purchase.

This creates a significant opportunity to shape bakery offerings in line with consumer demand and positively influence the bottom line.”

www.scotchfrost.com

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www.lantmannen-unibake.co.uk

The Bulletin

M EM BE R NE W S Updates from BFFF members

Seven Telematics sales team boost Speciality Breads served up at Quiznos Prior to joining Seven Telematics, Jonathan developed an impressive knowledge of telematics applications and their ability to deliver cost efficiencies throughout the distribution and logistics industry.

Jonathan Wiggins has joined Seven Telematics’ UK sales team as Business Development Executive.

Working predominantly in the South of England, Jonathan’s remit is to expand the field based sales operation of Seven Telematics and represent all aspects of the business from the well established Transcan

range of temperature and data recording systems, through to the Seven Eye GPS tracking and remote temperature monitoring products and Active Eye CCTV camera systems.

As well as identifying and encouraging new business opportunities, Jonathan will also be visiting existing Seven Telematics clients to enhance the level of customer satisfaction. www.seventelematics.co.uk

JCS Fish nets responsible sourcing Frozen salmon specialist, JCS Fish, has celebrated another milestone after completing independent assessments to several chain of custody standards.

The latest accolade confirms its credentials as a processor and supplier of sustainably produced and sourced fish.

JCS Fish has now achieved certified processor status for three key standards: GLOBALG.A.P., the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). This means that it can legitimately buy, process and label fish for sale which has been sustainably produced according to the rules of these leading

global certification programmes.

Louise Coulbeck, Director of JCS Fish, said: “As part of our development planning for the business we felt it important to achieve certified supplier status for all the key sustainability schemes. These demonstrate our commitment to sourcing responsibly sourced fish and allow us to market it as such to our customers on pack.” www.jcsfish.co.uk

Offering a selection of chicken, steak and deli subs, flatbreads, pizzas, soups and coffee, the restaurants use Red Tractorcertified artisan bread from Speciality Breads, butcher-quality meat, all-natural cheeses and chefdesigned signature sauces.

Managing Director, Andrew Coulbeck and Louise Coulbeck, Director.

A taste of Tyneside trade show More than 500 caterers, chefs, and food professionals attended a foodservice company’s inaugural trade show.

Tyneside Foodservice hosted the event, which provided an opportunity for its customers to meet suppliers and discuss the latest industry trends and patterns.

The trade show also gave attendees the opportunity to hear about Tyneside’s growth and expansion in recent years.

The family-owned company, which was founded in 1979 as a frozen foodservice operation, added ambient and chilled products to its lines 11 years ago.

This side of the business has seen more than 30% growth in three years.

Peter Henderson, Tyneside’s sales director, said: “We have

Colorado’s famous sandwich chain brand Quiznos has opened its fifth UK site with Speciality Breads’ white and brown sub loaves taking centre stage on the menu.

more than 3,500 products across frozen, chilled, ambient and non-food. One of our objectives was to educate attendees about Tyneside and how it is well equipped to assist with their growth and deliver high-quality products beyond our traditional frozen lines.” www.tynesidefoodservice.com

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Quiznos first opened its doors in Denver, Colorado, over 30 years ago . The latest UK site is in Maidstone and the company has three more openings in the pipeline in Stratford, Newcastle and Basildon.

Simon Cannell, Speciality Breads’ Managing Director, said: “We’re thrilled that a company of Quiznos’ stature is using our breads and we look forward to working with them in the future as their UK expansion continues.

“Our white and brown sub loaves are of incredible quality, great tasting and ultra-versatile so we’re confident they can stand alongside and compliment Quiznos’ fantastic fillings.” www.specialitybreads.co.uk

The Bulletin

N ewProduct s

Birds Eye launch gluten free

Leading frozen food brand, Birds Eye, has announced the launch of new Gluten Free Fish Fingers, marking its first foray into the gluten free category.

Available from mid-October, the product offers gluten intolerant Brits the opportunity to enjoy one of the country’s most loved teatime treats, as research reveals that the free-from market is set to reach £673 million by 2020.

Made from 100% fish fillets, Birds Eye’s Gluten Free Fish Fingers provide the same quality as the iconic original, but all ingredients containing gluten, such as wheat

flour, or gluten containing bread crumbs, have been replaced with alternative flours and starches.

Birds Eye’s new Gluten Free Fish Fingers are available from the frozen gluten free fixture in Tesco, the frozen aisle in Co-op and on Ocado at a RRP of £2.49. www.birdseye.co.uk

Convenient frozen pies

Cater for the party season

Holland’s, a proper Lancashire Baker since 1851, continues to develop its product ranges with a new variety of frozen pies and slices.

The new frozen pie range includes Chicken Balti, Chicken & Vegetable and Steak Pies, all prominently priced at £2, ideal for the convenience channel.

Holland’s Pies has also introduced Micro 2 Go slices. Pairing microwave cooking technology with Holland’s unique shortcrust pastry for the very first time, the Micro2Go slices bring a new concept.

Finally, Holland’s and Guinness, brewers of the number one stout in the world, have

joined forces again to launch a new chilled Steak & Guinness Golden Ale pie.

Holland’s wealth of knowledge and years of tradition, supported by Guinness flavour experts, ensure the final taste is pure perfection with the unique taste of Guinness Golden Ale. www.hollandspies.co.uk

Snowbird street food style Snowbird foods now offers an ultra-convenient selection of awardwinning mini sausages, burgers, meatbites, poppers and meatballs.

Poppers are beef or chicken teamed with ginger, turkey with cranberry, lamb with apricot or pork with BBQ flavouring.

Mini Burgers and award-winning Sausages are also available in the range as well as Sausage Coins including pork and beef, Cumberland, Lincolnshire and Halal.

The big three meatballs are beef, lamb and pork and even smaller are 4g pork meatbites and a flavoursome Merguez beef product.

For variety, and a vegetarian option, Snowbird’s Stuffing Balls are flavoured with lemon and thyme, chestnut and thyme and the long-lasting favourite, sage and onion.

All the products are delivered fully cooked and frozen and can quickly be heated in a microwave or an oven. www.snowbirdfoods.co.uk

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National food service buying group, Caterforce has unveiled a brandnew buffet range.

The collection, which is part of Caterforce’s Chefs’ Selections range, features a variety of mini nibbles and starters to allow its members to enhance their offering for events and party food.

Kelly Orme, Group Buying Manager, said: “Our new Chefs’ Selections finger food range provides members with a great opportunity to strengthen their offering. Featuring a variety of adaptable and delicious products, it was developed to cater to a broad range of requirements and tastes.”

The range features a number of British favourites, including hand crimped mini steak and ale pies, pork and chorizo sliders and sweet potato falafel, in addition to a variety of American classics, and a selection of small Asian street food plates such as duck gyozas.

The new range is now available from Caterforce’s eight member wholesalers. www.caterforce.co.uk

The Bulletin NEW PRODUCTS

‘We Love Cake’ range expands Gluten, wheat and dairy free bakery specialist, Bells of Lazonby has launched two new gluten-free products.

The Chocolate Muffins and Berry Muffins are available as part of its We Love Cake range.

We Love Cake is the firm’s dedicated gluten, wheat and dairy free brand. The food-service arm of the brand includes individually wrapped cake slices, tarts and newly added muffins – all of which are certified by Coeliac UK. Emily Sudell, Bells of Lazonby marketing executive, said: “We are delighted to accelerate our new product development with the launch of these two new muffins.

“Our expertise and experience is enabling us to develop great-tasting, pioneering products that are on-trend and ideal for eating out of the home.”

The muffins are made in the UK’s first dedicated gluten, wheat and dairy-free bakery based in Cumbria where Bells of Lazonby is celebrating its 70th anniversary in the baking business. www.bellsoflazonby.co.uk

Smoothie does it Country Range has launched a tasty trio of versatile frozen fruits which are perfect in desserts, breakfast juices, smoothie bowls and muesli.

The three new products are available exclusively through the Country Range Group network of independent wholesalers.

All available in 1kg bags, Country Range Frozen Strawberries, Raspberries and Summer Berry Mix are perfect for a range of breakfast treats, smoothies, scones and cakes.

The ultimate chip Farm Frites has announced the arrival of its Ultimate Chip — a quality side dish for premium casual dining operators.

Nic Townsend, marketing manager UK & Ireland, Farm Frites, said: “The development of this product has been years in the making with valuable input from a team of chefs who work in the premium burger and casual dining sector.

“The Ultimate Chip goes beyond triple cooked and is based on a ten step process.

Using professionally prepared and frozen chips has many benefits over cooking from scratch; waste reductions, less mess for easier cleaning and reduced health

and safety concerns that can sometimes surround farmed vegetables.

“Our company vision is to grow from potatoes to happy faces and we are confident that our Ultimate Chip is a large step in the right direction.”

The Ultimate Chip is stored frozen and can be deep fried in small quantities for just 4–5 minutes. www.farmfrites.com

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Martin Ward, Country Range Group Trading Director said: “We’re thrilled to launch our frozen fruit range and believe they have the versatility and quality to be incredibly important lines as health continues to be a core trend in foodservice.” www.countryrange.co.uk

The Bulletin

Ready-made success From humble beginnings in her Blackpool kitchen, Laila Remtulla has turned her cottage industry into a multi-million pound business.

The Bulletin meets the woman behind Laila’s Fine Foods to hear just how far the firm has come and where it’s headed…

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The Bulletin INTERVIEW

“A mistake that many entrepreneurs make is they think they can do everything on their own. I know what I’m good at and we are very lucky that we employ some very talented people who are excellent in other areas,” says Laila Remtulla, Managing Director of ready meal manufacturer Laila’s Fine Foods.

“We are very much a team here and without the hard work of my staff we would not be in the position we are now.”

“I really enjoy working with my family. There are arguments and times when we fall out but one thing we do have is passion and a will to work hard to produce the best quality products we can. Nazir and I have our own areas of the business to look after, as do our daughters.” Zera is Commercial and Technical Director, Rishma, NPD and Sales Director, and Natasha is Purchasing Director.

Laila said: “We understand the need to follow food trends and continuously evolve our product range to meet the demands of the market. Luckily we have a very talented and experienced NPD team and are able to work closely with both retail and foodservice partners to spot trends and develop quality products that sell well in the marketplace.”

Laila believes the free-from sector will be one to watch in 2017. The firm will also be focussing on putting modern ‘twists’ on classic dishes and working on pairing flavours as part of its NPD.

With a 350-strong team and a £7million expansion on the brink of opening, it’s a world away from where Laila started out – making samosas in the kitchen of her home on the Fylde coast in 1986.

She added: “We regularly benchmark other products and create detailed reports of trends that are emerging in the market place.

Our family are huge foodies so we eat out regularly, watch cookery programmes and immerse ourselves in the food industry.”

“I spotted a gap in the market for high quality Indian delicacies and began supplying samosas to the local delicatessen. My children were at school and it began as something to keep me occupied.”

The business moved to a small production unit later that year when Laila visited Booths supermarkets with her products. Booths decided to stock them on the spot. The family business has never looked back – and indeed ‘family’ has remained at the core of Laila’s Fine Foods from day one.

Laila added: “As a family we also tend to socialise together outside of work so we try not to talk business at home which I suppose is one of the reasons why we are able to do what we do.”

Soon after the business began, Laila was joined by husband Nazir in 1999 who is now joint Managing Director. The couple’s three daughters, Zera, Rishma and Natasha, have all worked to build the business and hold key positions within the company.

Despite starting out in samosas, Laila’s Fine Foods has evolved to supply a wide range of traditional Indian, Italian, Oriental and Mexican meals to both foodservice and retail including Iceland and Lidl. It also supplies a number of food wholesalers – an area it hopes to develop through its innovative NPD programme.

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About half of Laila’s product is supplied frozen (the rest chilled) with the number of frozen products increasing in recent years.

“As a business we have accommodated this by purchasing additional frozen space and installing two additional spiral freezers in the new production facility,” said Laila.

The company’s investment in its frozen manufacturing facilities is testament to its faith in the sector. Laila added: “Ice is nature’s preservative so from a consumer and enduser point of view the benefit of frozen is nutrients and flavours are ‘locked in.’ For retailers and foodservice businesses, the biological risks associated with storage at ambient temperatures are dramatically reduced.

The Bulletin INTERVIEW

Breaking the ice...

“Whilst for us as manufacturers, it enables our products to have a longer shelf life. Products are also often produced in longer runs, reducing change over and down time in our factory and boosting efficiency.

“In my time in the frozen food industry I have seen many changes, everything from technological improvements in manufacturing equipment, to transport and logistics to food safety standards.

It is very hard to predict what is going to happen in the future but the quality and range of food

“We just want to keep doing what we are doing bringing innovative, quality food to the market” that can be frozen and prepared by the end user is amazing. Over the past few years there has definitely been a change in the demographic of customers who buy frozen food and I am sure this will continue as consumer perceptions of frozen food and buying habits change.”

Laila believes her firm’s products are also challenging the perceptions of ready meals, adding: “I think the previous perception of ready meals being an unhealthy convenience is outdated. Firstly, we have a team of qualified chefs that cook all our meals from scratch in small batches in 90L pans. This ensures both quality and flavour authenticity are maintained at all times.

“Taste, quality and food safety are at the heart of everything we do. When I started the business my aim was to produce authentic, home cooked meals that are cooked with passion and close to the types of things I would cook at home. These principles have not changed now and we want to make sure that every meal that leaves this factory meets my very strict quality standards.

“So whilst the scale has increased massively over the years, our cooking methods and company

ethos are almost identical to when I started the business in my kitchen 30 years ago.”

Three decades on, Laila’s is now looking forward to the opening of its new production facility.

The businesswoman said: “Nazir and I have continually reinvested in the business right from the start so when the opportunity came up to purchase some land next door to our existing factory we realised it was too big an opportunity to turn down. We have been operating at capacity for close to two years and are now in a position that we can take on more business, access new markets and continue to grow.”

The new production facility will almost double production space with Laila adding: “The beauty of starting a building from scratch is that you can design it exactly how you feel will work best in terms of the flow of the product through the factory and even down to the position of drainage. Our factory employees will have more space to work and we will have a purpose built, modern facility that we can be proud of.”

It’s clear that Laila’s has come a long way since those early days in 1986. Since then the firm and its namesake have celebrated dozens of milestones – including Laila receiving an MBE for services to food and drink in the 2014 Queen’s new year honours. The business has also jumped from 14th to 8th in The Grocer Fast 50 – which earmarks the fastest growing independent FMCG brands in the UK. But for Laila, those first successes are still the highlight of her career to date: “As with any business there have been many highs and lows but getting the first listings in retail with Booths and foodservice with Yates were proud moments and really allowed me to set a foundation for scaling up the business.”

And in the future? “We just want to keep doing what we are doing bringing innovative, quality food to the market and see where that takes us.

Hopefully one day in the future I will be able to get Nazir to leave the office before 6pm, but that might just be wishful thinking!”

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Location: I live in Lytham St Annes but our factory is in Bispham.

First job: Laila’s Delicacies (before I changed the name to Laila’s Fine Foods).

Favourite thing to eat: Really good Chinese food.

Dinner invite: We have been lucky enough to enjoy private dining with Vivek Singh, Head Chef of the Cinnamon Club in London so definitely him. Also, Head Chef of the French, Manchester, Adam Reid used one of my recipes for his starter on the Great British Menu. He actually won the dessert course and I was invited to the banquet at the Palace of Westminster, so I would like to return the favour.

If you could buy a plane ticket to anywhere: Vietnam.

What do you like to do at the weekend?: Entertain family and friends.

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Do you know a company that is thinking of joining BFFF? Invite them to join us on Thursday 2nd February 2017 at Towcester Racecourse where attendees can join other companies from within our industry and learn firsthand about the work of BFFF in a relaxed setting.

Benefits include: Prestigious networking events, health & safety and technical & legislative guidance, foodservice and retail statistic updates, research and promotional activities and buyer meetings.

This is a complimentary event and there is no charge to attend!

Towcester Racecourse London Road, Towcester, Northamptonshire, NN12 6LB

Event timings: 10.30am: Registration / coffee and pastries 11.00am: Presentations from BFFF colleagues and BFFF member companies 12.15pm: Q&A / prize draw 12.30pm: Lunch and networking 1.00pm: Racing begins 4.30pm: Depart For more information about this event please contact beckydobb@bfff.co.uk or karenterry@bfff.co.uk Go to www.bfff.co.uk/category/thinking-of-joining-seminar/ to download the booking form Spaces for this popular event are limited so complete and submit your booking form to reserve yours now!

The Bulletin BFFF ANNUAL LUNCHEON

Annual Luncheon toasts a landmark year The BFFF Annual Luncheon marked a year of change as President Peter Allan called on the food industry to ‘stand up and be counted’ in Britain’s Brexit negotiations.

Speaking in front of an audience of over 1,000 guests, the president also reflected on a busy 12 months for the federation before giving special thanks to former Chief Executive, Brian Young, who has retired after a decade in the role.

Mr Allan said: “2016 has been a year of enormous change with few anticipating the Brexit vote.

“We are heading for some extremely choppy waters over the next two years and I’m not sure anyone can foresee what the eventual outcome may be, however one thing is for certain the food industry as a whole needs to speak with a very clear, loud and collective voice.

“This is not time, for fractions within the food industry, to try and push individual agendas.

Government will be besieged by every sector of life, with business

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and interest groups wanting to be considered as a special case. The food industry needs to stand up, be counted; we need to ensure that the case for the food industry is at the heart of government thinking.”

He added: “In these uncertain times, your federation will continue to be a safe haven for you. We will work with other trade associations especially the FDF and other interested parties to provide you with informed, independent and current advice, to help you, the decision makers within our industry to be as well informed as anybody can be.

“We are an island nation, competing as well as anybody and over the next few years I know that our members will pick up the cudgel, face whatever challenges are ahead of them and do what is right for their businesses and our industry.”

The Bulletin BFFF ANNUAL LUNCHEON

The Annual Luncheon, at London’s Hilton Park Lane, saw members networking with industry colleagues during reception drinks before enjoying a four course lunch prepared by Hilton Head Chef, Anthony Marshall. Comedian Hal Cruttenden took to the stage to entertain guests.

president, president and chair of the audit committee, Ali has served our industry with great distinction and she will be a very tough act to follow.

The event also saw BFFF bid farewell to key figures including Brian Young and board members Ali Hannaford and Chris Binge.

“Equally I would like to thank Chris who has been an incredibly positive and vocal contributor to the BFFF board and has represented the wholesale buying group sector with great energy, passion and commitment.”

Paying tribute, Mr Allan said: “It has also been a year of change as far as people are concerned both on the board and within the BFFF team. When re-structuring the BFFF board into a modern, progressive governing body, one of the key elements was for board members to serve in terms of three years and for a maximum of two terms.

After welcoming several new board members and BFFF staff members, including Chief Executive John Hyman, Mr Allan added: “2016 has been a stellar year for the BFFF team with our events sold out, our promotional activity going from strength to strength and our relationships with opinion-formers ever stronger.”

“Consequently it was inevitable that new people would join the board and some great servants would leave. This year we will be losing two of our very dedicated and influential members.

Thanks to this year’s sponsors: Bidvest who sponsored the President’s Reception in the Crystal Palace Suite, Iceland who sponsored the seating brochure, Moy Park for sponsoring the flower arrangements, Snack Food Poco Loco who sponsored the after lunch comedian and Tipiak and Central Foods who sponsored the coffee and chocolate course.

“I would like to thank Ali for her fabulous service to the frozen food industry. Many years as chair of our producers committee, vice-

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1. Brian Young (c) with new BFFF Chief Executive, John Hyman, and BFFF President, Peter Allan (l–r) welcome members and their guests to the Annual Luncheon.

2. BFFF Past-Presidents enjoy the day – joined by Jenny Mulholland of Smethurst & Buckton, BFFF Auditors, and Peter Backman of Horizons FS. 3. John Hyman, new BFFF Chief Executive, welcomes his guests.

4. The AGM held on the morning of the Luncheon was well-attended.

5. Hilton’s amazing cherry dessert – went down a storm with members and guests alike.

6. Ali Hannaford steps down from the BFFF Executive Board and was presented with a bottle of champagne during the President’s VIP Reception.

7. Hal Cruttenden, Comedian, meets Peter Allan in the President’s VIP reception.

8. President delivered his speech to a ‘full house’.

9. Main Ballroom – full of guests.

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The Bulletin BFFF ANNUAL LUNCHEON

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1. Andrew Roberts, Commercial Director, welcomes Bidvest Foodservice guests to the BFFF Luncheon.

2. Bidvest Foodservice’s second table – hosted

by Gavin Hands.

3. Toastmaster Steven Warwick – announces guests to the VIP President’s Reception sponsored by Bidvest Foodservice.

4. Central Foods welcome their guests to the BFFF Luncheon.

5. Tipiak, kind sponsors, of the Coffee & Petit Fours course.

6. Ray Hingle (c) joined by Gordon & Alison Lauder of Central Foods.

7. Malcolm Walker and Nigel Broadhurst

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with guests of Iceland Foods Ltd. 8. Seating brochures kindly sponsored by Iceland Foods Ltd. 9. Ian Schofield, Nicola Conway and Nigel Broadhurst of Iceland Foods Ltd. (l-r) 10. Ian Hyland hosting the table with guests of Moy Park Ltd. 11. Moy Park sponsored the lovely flower arrangements on all tables.

12. Peter Denolf of Snack Food Poco Loco enjoys meeting other guests in the VIP Reception.

13. Brian Young welcomes Hal Cruttenden, Comedian, sponsored by Snack Food Poco Loco, to the Luncheon.

The Bulletin BFFF ANNUAL LUNCHEON

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1. Andrew Roberts, Commercial Director, of Bidvest Foodservice sponsors of the President’s VIP Reception welcomes guests alongside John Hyman and Brian Young, BFFF Chief Executives, and Peter Allan, President of BFFF (l–r).

2. Ian Stevens, Fran Hutton and Richard Wilson of Dalziel Ingredients joined by Grant Moir of AK Stoddart, Tony Nuttall of SFC (Wholesale) and Jane Stark also of Dalziel Ingredients (l–r).

3. Denise Rion, BFFF Technical Manager, with Martin Forsyth, BFFF Head of Technical, chat with the President’s reception guests.

4. Kevin and Stuart Hancock with their guests of Magnavale and DFDS. 5. Des Cloke of Brakes chatting with Jane Stark of Dalziel Ingredients.

6. Brian Young was presented with a bottle of champagne on his final Annual Luncheon before he retires from BFFF. 7. Russell Beattie of Federation of Environmental Trade Associations (FETA) with Martyn Cogan of Frozen & Chilled Foods Magazine (l–r).

8. Peter Allan, BFFF President, enjoys a laugh with Michael Bennett of Pelican Communications.

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9. Warm welcome to Bidvest Foodservice – sponsors of the President’s VIP Reception joined by Brian Young, John Hyman, Peter Allan, the Toastmaster and Hilton Waiters.

10. Becky Dobb, BFFF Membership Manager, with Paul Whitely of Aryzta Food Solutions.

11. The atmosphere was buzzing in the President’s Reception.

12. Hilton waiters looking very smart wearing Bidvest aprons for the President’s Reception.

13. Joanna Hancock, H&S Manager, welcomes two of her guests Todd Hallam of Chalcroft and Paul Howes of Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue (l–r) 14. Good to welcome back Alastair Salvesen CBE and Peter Day, HLM to the Luncheon.

15. Suzanne and Howard McEvoy of McEvoy Foods International enjoy the Luncheon.

16. Toastmaster, Steven Warwick, announced guests to the President’s Reception sponsored by Bidvest Foodservice.

17. Kate Miller, BFFF Advertising Manager, joins Torkil Davidsen and John V. Catherall of Bakkafrost UK with Karen Terry, BFFF Assistant Membership Manager.

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The Bulletin BFFF ANNUAL LUNCHEON

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1. Warm welcome to Kuehne & Nagel and their guests.

2. Sharing the day are new members Air Liquide and Saddle Point Technologies with Jobson James, Nicco Foods and sponsor Snack Food Poco Loco.

3&4.Sterling Supergroup – pleased to see you all.

5. Paul Blackler of MDC Foods, Louise Killah of apetito, Johan Polfliet of Crops and

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Michael Cullinane of MDC Foods (l–r).

6. Welcome to Shire Foods and all their guests.

7. Lovely smiles from Paramount 21 – Josh Hannaford, Ali Hannaford, Holly Smith, Jake Hannaford and Matt Smith (l–r).

8&9.Magnavale and guests of DFDS enjoy the Luncheon.

10. Martin Sykes (c) with fellow guests in the Wellington Reception.

The Bulletin BFFF ANNUAL LUNCHEON

A very warm welcome to all our members and guests – we were so pleased to see so many of you enjoying the Luncheon

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The Bulletin BFFF ANNUAL LUNCHEON

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The Bulletin BFFF ANNUAL LUNCHEON

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1. The BFFF President’s company – Cargill Meats Europe show their support.

2. Jazz Ghosh and Haydn Hughes of The Foodfellas with Clive Britton, CP Foods (l–r).

3&4.CP Foods enjoy the Luncheon.

5. Ian Keyes of D’Arta UK, Jon Batten of Merko, Malcolm Gasson and Malcolm Reid of D’Arta (l–r).

6. Good to see everyone from Smales.

7. Simon Shirley welcomes guests to the Tulip Foodservice table.

8. Alastair Salvesen CBE, of Dawnfresh Seafoods shares a laugh with Richard Murphy of Woodstock Foods (l–r).

9. Warm welcome to Vestey Foods UK and guests.

10. Charlie Reed, David Wood Baking, Paul Martin, The Ice Co, Kate Petchey, Karro Food Group and Geoff Druce, Three Oceans Fish (l–r).

The Bulletin BFFF ANNUAL LUNCHEON

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1. Martin Forsyth welcomes guests to the Technical Expert Group Table.

2. Paul Murray, Head of Commercial, welcomes guests of the Commercial Team.

3. Members and guests both enjoyed Hal Cruttenden’s humour.

4. Thank you for all your support from the BFFF Staff Table.

5. Peter Allan, BFFF President, welcomed his guests.

6. Health & Safety table hosted by Joanna Hancock.

7. Guests enjoying the Luncheon.

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The Bulletin

HEA LTH + SAFETY

From health and safety manager, Joanna Hancock and Crystal Holmes, technical assistant.

update

Updated BFFF H&S pledge BFFF has published the updated Health & Safety pledge for members in line with the HSE’s revised strategy for the sector.

We are delighted to have engagement from so many members to our current pledge — circa 80 members — and would encourage as many as possible to get involved. It’s free to join and helps to demonstrate commitment to reducing incidents and improving overall health and safety in the workplace.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has recently produced its revised strategy for our sector which will cover a five year period from 2016 to 2021. The revised strategy builds on previous success by focussing on delivering measureable improvements against four key objectives.

The outlined objectives aim to accelerate reduction in ill health and injury rates.

Currently the food and drink manufacturing sector has over twice the average injury rate as other manufacturing sectors, and the BFFF pledge supports the HSE strategy in trying to combat this.

Our sector needs to focus on effective workforce engagement and show commitment to leadership to reduce ill health and injuries in the workplace.

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Ill health / injury reduction Effective management of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) Effective management of slips and trips Occupational health.

Members signing the BFFF Health & Safety pledge are encouraged to commit to the outlined values to:

●● Demonstrate leadership and effective workforce engagement ●● Comply with all current health and safety legislation, codes of practice and industry standards ●● Provide a safe and healthy environment for their employees and all persons affected by their undertaking via cooperation, consultation, training and review ●● Compile an action plan for key industry objective to: —— Reduce accidents and incidents of ill health —— Effectively manage Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) risks —— Effectively manage slip and trip risks —— Deploy an effective occupational health management system ●● Benchmark their company’s health and safety performance with set targets and confidentially share their annual statistics with BFFF

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●● Collaborate and share best practice case studies as a means of improving the health and safety performance of the industry.

The reviewed BFFF H&S pledge reflects the new HSE strategy and the objectives.

We hope to encourage members to take an active part in the reduction of ill health within the workplace and improve health and safety across the sector. BFFF is a member of the HSE’s working party to deliver the strategy and would like to encourage as many members as possible to take part.

We would like to thank all of the BFFF membership that have been part of the pledge so far, and look forward to working with those and more in the future. To get involved, please email crystalholmes@bfff.co.uk.

The Bulletin HEALTH AND SAFETY

The cost of reputational damage The International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM) has recently highlighted the cost of reputational damage associated with health and safety offences.

The Institute pointed out that since the revised sentencing guidelines came into force in February 2016, big businesses have been hit with huge penalties based on their turnover.

High profile cases have included Tesco’s £500,000 fine after a worker suffered bruises following a fall, Network Rail’s £4 million penalty after a pensioner was killed on a level crossing and Merlin’s £5 million fine following the Alton Towers rollercoaster crash — the biggest penalty to date for a non-fatal incident.

However, the IIRSM says this is just part of the impact of health and safety offences on organisations.

As well as the dramatic increase in the levels of fines, the IIRSM notes that s.10 of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 allows the courts to impose publicity orders on convicted firms, attracting additional adverse publicity and potentially damaging the company’s reputation.

Such notices have appeared in local newspapers or, in the case of joinery firm Peter Mawson, on its website. As an example, the company Mobile Sweepers (Reading) Ltd, which was convicted of corporate manslaughter in February 2014, was required to take out advertisements in two local newspapers.

Loss of public confidence after a health and safety offence can have serious impacts. The IIRSM points out that after the King’s Cross fire in 1987, travel on the London Underground dropped by 6% and took two years to recover.

However, it seems that all too often organisations do not have strategies in place to protect their reputation.

A source at IIRSM said: “In today’s global, fast-moving social media landscape, reputational issues can spread and amplify extremely quickly. Often it will come down to the speed at which issues are identified and how they are subsequently handled.”

Health and safety statistics 2016 The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published its latest, finalised statistics for health and safety at work in Britain for 2015/16.

The statistics show that 144 people were killed in accidents at work in 2015/16 (compared with 142 in 2014/15) and that 1.3 million workers were suffering from a work-related illness (new or long-standing) in 2015/16.

Analysis of fatalities in some of the most dangerous sectors highlights the following points. ●● A total of 27 workers were injured in the manufacturing sector during 2015/16, compared to 16 in the previous year.

However, the HSE has pointed out that the latest figure of 27 deaths includes three incidents that resulted in a total of eight deaths

●● In the waste and recycling sector, there were six fatal injuries to workers in 2015/16, compared with five the previous year ●● In the construction sector, 43 workers were fatally injured during 2015/16, compared with 35 in the previous year in 2014/15 ●● Altogether, across all sectors, 144 people were killed in accidents at work in 2015/16, compared with 142 in 2014/15.

●● Around 0.5 million workers were suffering from work-related musculoskeletal disorders (new or long-standing) in 2015/16 ●● Some 0.5 million workers were suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety (new or long-standing) ●● A total of 25.9 million working days were lost due to work-related illness, compared with 23.3 million days in 2014/15.

The HSE’s work-related ill health figures include the following details:

Commenting on the latest annual ill health and injury statistics, Martin Temple, the Chair of HSE, said: “We should all be proud of Great Britain’s health and safety record. However, there is more to do, particularly in tackling work-related ill health, from which everyone can benefit.”

●● It is estimated that in 2015/16, around 1.3 million workers were suffering from a work-related illness (new or long-standing), compared with 1.2 million in 2014/15

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The Bulletin

TEC H N I CA L & L E G I S L AT I V E

From head of technical, Martin Forsyth and Denise Rion, technical manager

update

It is rare that we take all of the T&L space to devote to one topic but all BFFF members will be affected to some degree by the changes proposed by different arms of government.

The ‘total diet’ approach Following on from the last edition of the Bulletin when the government launched its long awaited Childhood Obesity Plan, there is now some flesh being put on the bones.

The UK government approach led by the Department of Health (DoH) and supported

by Public Health England (PHE) is focused on sugar reduction. The main aim of the strategy is to reduce sugar by 20% starting in nine key categories by 2020. Whilst this is at the proposal stage it was clear that industry has to demonstrate a strong case to vary the final figures.

BFFF, alongside a number of members, has been involved in two key categories potentially affecting members; puddings, which includes frozen desserts and pastry products, and ice cream.

Whilst there are a number of technical details to iron out, industry represented around the

table were keen to be seen as part of the solution. In this sense at least, PHE has been clear as to the rationale and the expectations from this challenging reformulation exercise.

Individual members will need to address what approach they take in this area, bearing in mind their product range and positioning as well as any major customer views.

Members who are not involved in these product areas will still need to watch for developments — other categories will be approached in time in order to contribute to sugar reduction overall. Product reformulation expectations can be back-dated, so if you have plans to reduce added sugar in your products, make sure you have the data both

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before and after reformulation.

For the first time there is a desire to take a ‘total diet’ approach. This will mean scrutiny of the out of home sector and its contribution to the overall consumption of sugar. The traditional excuse that there is a lack of data regarding sales in this sector is being addressed and PHE expectations are that targets will be met in this area as well.

Alongside this reformulation expectation, there are proposals for calories caps based on single portion products and regular reviews to ensure industry meets the agreed targets.

The initial targets will be confirmed in March 2017 and then the clock is ticking.

The Bulletin TECHNICAL AND LEGISLATIVE

Standards in Scotland The role of Food Standard Scotland (FSS) has recently been discussed by BFFF Technical expert group. It is worth bearing in mind that FSS, whilst aligned with the London based Food Standards Agency on most areas, is almost a completely separate entity.

We have been reassured that there will not be differences for differences sake. There are a number of areas where there will be significant differences of approach in the future, even leaving aside the forthcoming Brexit debate.

FSS was underwhelmed by the UK Childhood Obesity Strategy which, in its view, does not go far enough to meet the specific needs of Scotland. The Scottish Dietary Goals will be reviewed again in 2017 and FSS will be the lead advisor to the Scottish government in this area.

Nutrition and obesity in Scotland is even more focussed than the rest of the UK. There is a real problem with childhood obesity in Scotland with 40% of children forecast to be obese by 2030 if nothing changes.

Geoff Ogle, FSS Chief Executive, has highlighted:

FSS also has a wider remit than its southern counterpart and there is a governmental tendency to use more ‘levers’ open to it than the rest of the UK. FSS is also keen to be seen as an independent body from the Scottish government and in this context it feels it has an additional responsibility.

In the future, in Scotland, measurable goals will be set. These will be split between the individual, government and industry. This approach is welcome as clear objectives are appreciated by industry who can then plan ahead to achieve the goals set. At least there is an intention to set clear goals for consumer education and the role of government wherever possible.

●● Education on its own is not a solution ●● Retail price promotions are unhealthily balanced in the products that are promoted ●● Reformulation and portion size control are levers ●● Taxation is a possible lever ●● A whole diet approach including eating out of home is needed ●● Mandatory display of calories out of home is possible ●● Reducing sugar consumption in ‘discretionary foods’.

All of these are part of the Scottish mix in terms of a solution.

Further points give a sense of where the new dietary goals could be set:

●● 15 years of effort have shown no or little progress so a step change is required ●● Eating out-of-home: the Responsibility Deal was not taken up by foodservice in Scotland and yet the sector contributes as much as retail to the obesity issue ●● FSS approach will be to concentrate on so-called discretionary foods with sugar as a focus; these products include confectionery/cakes/biscuits/pastry/ savoury snacks/sugary drinks ●● Concentrated industry effort is required to reduce the consumption of discretionary foods by over 50% ●● Alcohol consumption will be part of the calorie reduction programme.

However FSS recognises that solutions are long-term. Cross party consensus is required but it is clear a detailed approach is being taken to this issue. If BFFF members are based or operate in Scotland consider these above points in your business plans.

For the rest of us, bear in mind that any ‘levers’ pulled in Scotland will be closely monitored south of the border for what works and what doesn’t — hopefully with the measurement to back up the results.

Final thoughts Government and even the NGOs are agreed that obesity is a complex set of intermingling issues. The focus for industry is clear: reformulation to specific targets, measurable calorie caps and some portion size control — all relatively easily measured.

The long-term danger is that if all of this work does not solve the ‘crisis’ the measurable parts of the problem will be re-approached because out of the three, it is the easiest part to ask for further reductions.

Where there is less clarity is the lack of measures on the role of the individual and the role of government in this multi-factorial problem. It is clear, from what both DoH/PHE and Food Standards Scotland have said, that efforts will be made to address some of these other factors, but without the commitment to measure the results.

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MSC

te ll nF ree B ble Po ub

Fil let

Celebrating 40 Yeas

Over the next 5 years free-from category is expected to RISE by a huge 50% in value The Grocer, 2016

Mintel

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The Bulletin

update

From membership manager, Becky Dobb

More new members As we enter the new year we are looking forward to exhibiting at the International Food and Drink Exhibition (IFE) which takes place at Excel in London.

Over 26,000 people from the food and drink industry attend this event and it is a real focal point for media, Government, trade visitors and exhibitors. With high profile speakers, top chefs and captains of industry, all the great and good are under one roof on the same day!

Oakfield Foods, which is a leading importer of high quality frozen and chilled meats from around the world.

As always, BFFF members are able to come and hold meetings and grab refreshments in the hospitality area and come and speak with the BFFF team on stand number S2740.

Air Liquide UK Ltd, which is a company which offers kryogenic freezing.

New this year, BFFF is working in conjunction with the Craft Guild of Chefs and Fresh Montgomery to raise the profile of frozen food, in both retail and foodservice sectors, by holding a pop up street cafĂŠ called the Ice CafĂŠ on adjacent stand S2750. Buyers and consumers from across the food and drink industry are being asked to sample the delicious, freshly cooked dishes and provide feedback on their perceptions and experience.

GMS, which offers security services, K9, manpower, facial scanning and card systems.

Saddle Point Technologies UK Ltd, which design and develop business solutions using operations research techniques like optimisation, constraint programming, simulation and business analytics.

A. Visbeen en Zonen B.V. who operate extensively throughout the UK and Europe focussing upon delivering excellence in temperature-controlled transport solutions, in particular delivering both groupage and full load shipments of frozen and fresh products or combinations on the same vehicles.

Companies joining BFFF over the last couple of months are: North Star Foods Ltd, which is a privately owned ingredient company specialising in IQF fruit, vegetables, spices and herbs, garlic, ginger, onions, chillies, and aseptic tomatoes as well as ambient, fresh and dried materials from around the globe.

If you know of any company that would be interested in learning more about membership with BFFF, please contact Becky Dobb on 01400 283095.

39

New member profiles

M EM B E R SH I P

The Bulletin

NEW MEMBER PR OFIL E

AIR LIQUIDE The world leader in gases, technologies and services for Industry and Health, Air Liquide is present in 80 countries with 68,000 employees serving more than 3 million customers.

Our portfolio of gases, equipment and services are broad enough to meet the very different requirements of nearly every branch of industry, engineering, science and technology.

Processes involving high speed cryogenic refrigeration play a vital role in food manufacturing since high speed cryogenics enhances product quality (taste, texture and shelf-life), productivity throughput and process flexibility while delivering a competitive freezing or chilling cost.

Air Liquide offers expertise in using gases at all stages of food production, from storing the raw materials to transporting the readyfor-sale product. Our experts are on hand to guide you through the optimum solution to your needs.

To meet the changing demands of the food processing industry, Air Liquide has redeveloped its range of batch and continuous cryogenic freezing tunnels. The latest

developments include an improved nitrogen injection manifold design increasing the cooling efficiency and reducing operating cost. The equipment has also been redesigned in terms of hygiene, enabling the user to clean all areas efficiently.

For a premium level of service, we also offer customers our Nexelia™ all-in-one gas solution that combines the best of Air Liquide’s ALIGAL™ food-legislation compliant gases, bespoke application equipment and expert technical support to deliver a customized Performance and Service program for the optimization of your cryogenic process.

This Nexelia™ offer has been designed for those processors that need to achieve a competitive freezing or chilling cost for their food products.

Air Liquide UK has its headquarters in Birmingham with branches throughout the UK. We have joined BFFF to help us to gain a better insight into the needs of the UK market and to help BFFF members gain access to our capability in delivering optimised solutions to the frozen food supply chain and industry.

Tel: +44(0)1782 822061 Website: www.airliquide.com

40

“Air Liquide offers expertise in using gases at all stages of food production”

The Bulletin

NEW MEMBER PROF ILE

ITALIAN TRADITIONS “We have joined BFFF to enable us to network with wholesalers and ready meal industries on a nationwide scale�

With over 20 years of experience in the production of fresh pasta in Italy, targeted to the retail, foodservice and the ready-meal industry, we have now moved to the UK and run an extensive production in Sutton, South London.

We provide a comprehensive line of traditional, plain and filled pasta made with durum wheat semolina, organic flours and ancient grains which we import from major Italian mills. Included in this are spelt, kamut and chickepea flour.

Our pasta is always extruded with a doublecompression method, allowing us to achieve better structured pasta, making it ideal for the needs of the ready meals industry.

Our current daily production capacity is

41

approximately 2,500kgs of pasta, which we produce chilled or frozen. We ensure constant production capability so that our customers can be guaranteed that we can fulfil all orders placed with us.

Our range also includes a variety of Italian sauces and pasta-based ready meals (lasagne, cannelloni, paasticci, etc) which are free of preservatives and have no added flavourings.

We currently supply the foodservice segment, directly and through wholesalers in the London area.

We have joined BFFF to enable us to network with wholesalers and ready meal industries on a nationwide scale within a well renowned body.

Tel: 02037502201 E-mail: commercial@italiantraditions.co.uk Website: www.italiantraditions.co.uk

The Bulletin

NEW MEMBER PR OFIL E

GMS GROUP Midlands based GMS Group is a leading national provider of security and professional services across the UK. Delivering effective, proportionate security strategies encompassing manned guarding, supported by bespoke electronic, NFC and biometric software. Other services offered within the Group are property management encompassing vacant insurance compliance services and Utility Management Broker Services. From their head office in Bromsgrove at the heart of the Midlands GMS Group support customers throughout the UK. Employing over 450 staff nationally they are an Security Industry Authority Approved Contractor; ranked in the top 10% of Security Firms in the UK based. Their ISO9001:2008 Quality Management accreditation, OHAS 18001 Occupational Health & Safety Management, ISO 14001 Environmental Standards and ISO 27001 prove their commitment to continued improvement.

High industry standards, consistent performance and the introduction of technology have cemented long standing national supplier relationships with Jaguar Land Rover, Triumph Motor Cycles, Aldershot Garrison c/o Grainger Plc / MOD, AF Blakemore (Spar), Grant Thornton, PWC to name but a few.

An holistic approach to security / risk management and the integration of biometric and NFC Technology adds real value to the contract. The GMS Operations Cloud Portal provides customers access to instantaneous reports for a fully transparent service.

GMS have joined BFFF to gain a better commercial understanding of the frozen food sector as well as the issues and legislation that impact the sector before engaging with members from a commercial aspect.

Tel: 01527 889180 Website: www.gms-group.co.uk

42

“Delivering effective, proportionate security strategies encompassing manned guarding, supported by bespoke electronic, NFC and biometric software.�

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The Bulletin FOCUS FOCUS ON...

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44

The Bulletin FOCUS ON...

It’s good news for the frozen fish and seafood sector as consumers and health experts continue their love affair with the category.

But despite the positive horizons, it is going to take intricate and considered steps to thrive. The key to driving sales in 2017 lies in learning how to navigate the growing complexity of consumer needs, knowing how to market products in store and taking advantage of upcoming trends to push new products successfully.

Also focussing on the lifestyle aspect of NPD, JCS Fish’s Louise Coulbeck says: “BigFish Brand really is ‘fish without fuss’ and perfect for consumers seeking to increase their consumption of Omega3 rich salmon,” adding that it is a great stand by for time poor cooks who are looking for something ‘healthy and delicious.’

Mintel’s 2017 Global Food and Drink Trends report highlights a number of consumer tendencies which it believes are influencing sales. ‘Time is of the essence’ is one such trend.

Salmon and tuna are trusted species, known for their health benefits. They remain a popular choice, so is it going to be a matter of differentiating so brands can boost interest? Andrew Coulbeck, Managing Director of JCS Fish says: “Our new product handles and eats much like salmon but offers an interesting point of difference for consumers.

Our tried and tested prepared and individually portioned frozen format also has strong benefits in terms of consumer accessibility and the long shelf life helps minimise wastage.”

The role time will play in 2017 will become just as important as nutritional or ingredient claims on food says the study. A belief echoed by Steve Chantry, Birds Eye UK Marketing Director, who says its ‘Inspirational’ brand is aimed at those who don’t have time to spend on cooking and preparing something that tastes great.

Above: Bakkafrost Premium Salmon Portions.

Left: Paramount 21 Jack Sprats.

He says: “Frozen as a category has historically been a relatively static market, however, at a total category level, virtually every household in the UK buys into frozen as it’s seen as an incredibly useful way to handle the multiple demands of modern living.”

45

JCS Fish says Kantar was recently noted as saying: “The frozen salmon category has attracted more and more shoppers over the past 12 months due largely to the growing desire of UK consumers to eat more healthily and salmon’s credentials as the acknowledged ‘brain food’.”

The Bulletin FOCUS ON...

Right: North Coast Seafoods Cooked & Peeled Extra Large Cold Water Prawns and Raw Scallops.

Mintel’s predictions also highlight the growing importance of healthy food and drinks and its availability to all demographics, which could have an interesting impact on NPD. The access to healthy food and drink impedes on those with lower incomes and can mean that products that are natural, organic or free from certain ingredients are not as readily available. Because lower income consumers make up a large part of the population with 638.3 million people being classified as low income in 2015, according to data from the World Bank. Therefore new products, including frozen seafood will need to cater for this demographic.

So perhaps turning towards ‘traditional’ is still important. Royal Greenland’s Randall Jennings says that prawns have been a long-term trend in foodservice for

many years. He says: “No wonder, prawn cocktails have become a firm favourite on restaurant menus since the 1960s with food service operators now offering modern variants such as the Nordic style open prawn sandwich.”

and that fish fingers remain popular in both foodservice and consumer areas and that the ‘comfort factor’ which consumers gain from the iconic fish finger is also important to remember.

In order to increase sales of frozen fish and seafood, Steve Chantry says that it is first of all important to understand consumers’ usage and attitudes, including ‘focussing on the key benefits including health, sustainability and freshness.’

He says that the biggest barrier facing the category is how improvements are made in the in-store environment and making products ‘visible.’

However, there has been some change in retail product offerings. North Coast Seafoods, which specialises in cold water prawns, has recently developed its range of added value frozen seafood in the form of their ‘Fishmonger’s Favourite’ brand.

Ian Dillerstone, international sales and procurement manager says the company has become a ‘one stop shop for clients seeking a competitive, reliable, marketreactive and technically proficient frozen seafood offering.’

There will be a continued interest in fruit and vegetables as a means of living a healthy lifestyle, more and more vegan and vegetarian products will become available and flexitarians – an individual defined as someone who predominantly eats a vegetarian diet but has meat and fish occasionally – will become a more common demographic to market to in general.

Birds Eye says that using sustainably sourced cod is key

Paramount21 believes consumer sales are being driven by meatalternatives when eating out. The business says that diners can be fickle and constant innovation is essential adding: “Staying on top of trends is key for us to keep our frozen seafood products relevant and in demand.” Products such as its Fish and Chip Shop Bites can be cooked from frozen in eight minutes and can help chefs who want convenience to help their customers who want a speedy service.

But seafood isn’t just confined to fish. Seaweed is becoming more mainstream and with growing product development in this area as it is fast becoming known as the next superfood. Mintel also says that manufacturers in the

Above: Birds Eye Fish Fingers

46

West have a huge opportunity with seaweed. It says there were 37% of seaweed-flavoured food and drink launches in Europe between 2011 and 2015 that took place in the snack category.

Seakura’s seaweed drops are stored frozen and are designed to add nutrients to a range of different dishes – from smoothies to cold dips. Jon King, Business Development Director at Seakura said the product is being driven by health conscious consumers, adding: “Our seaweed is the most nutritionally dense plant on the planet.”

The drive to produce less waste, along with the gradual but definite move towards a global circular economy is also likely to have an impact on both foodservice and consumer sales. Keith Hepton, purchasing manager at Fairway Foods says frozen offers better portion control for chefs. “Freezing at sea within hours of being caught seals in flavour for longer.

The Bulletin FOCUS ON...

It also enables a year round supply of affordable ingredients as the whole fish can be better utilised in large scale processing. Frozen fish is graded by weight, which aids portion control.”

An increase in price also needs to be factored into what we can expect from frozen fish and seafood. According to Royal Greenland, the increase is due to a rise in worldwide demand and declining quotas. Randall Jennings, from the firm, says the weakening of the pound has had an impact: “In foodservice and more specifically, kitchens, price increases are impacting on fish and seafood dishes on menus.” He advises to use raw materials and not compromise on taste adding: “It is important that professional buyers to choose a supplier that can guarantee traceability all the way back to the fishery.”

Torkil Davidsen, Head of UK Operations at Bakkafrost said: “It is no surprise that salmon prices have come under pressure as the global supply of salmon does not meet the growth in demand.” He adds: “Ideally the

supply should grow by 7% yearly to maintain the growth in the market, and therefore maintain a more stable market price. Not so long ago The Grocer reported that whole fresh salmon prices were up 88.9% year on year, although there are segments of the market that are able to work with this, there are others that will struggle and will be looking forward to better supply late 2017 and forward.”

With the need and desire for fish and seafood clearly still high on consumers’ agendas and the benefits of frozen becoming more recognised, responding intelligently to the specifics of uncontrollable environmental forces should form a large part of a company’s NPD and marketing approach.

The ‘war on waste’, the fluctuating patterns of sustainability and the increase of the more discerning consumer should all be factored in. Controllable forces like competitor activity, ensuring efficiency with the right suppliers and adopting a customer-centric marketing plan should naturally run alongside new trends and policies.

Above: Seakura Seaweed Drops Left: BigFish Brand Sea Trout Fillets

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From transport partners to solicitors, suppliers to retailers, The Bulletin industry services directory is your go-to guide for member services. Featured this edition is:

Seven Telematics Ltd

XPO Logistics

Buhler

Rick Bestwick

49

Industry services

The Bulletin

The Bulletin

IN DU ST RY S ERV IC E S

SECTOR

Technology

Seven Telematics Ltd Seven Telematics is the leading manufacturer of temperature data loggers, remote monitoring and vehicle tracking for road transport and cold storage applications.

Transcan® temperature data loggers are recognised as the world’s most widely used road transport temperature monitoring device.

Transcan® products have been watching over freight across the globe for over 20 years and provide the standard in monitoring critical cargo conditions whilst in transit.

Seven Telematics combine the trusted format of Transcan® recorders with state of the art technology through their Seven Eye® telematics system, offering both standard vehicle tracking for dry freight vehicles and real-time temperature monitoring and alerts

for refrigerated transport, via satellite links to their range of EN12830 verified temperature data loggers. Live temperature monitoring with alarm alerts deliverable by SMS and/or Email to designated recipients is in addition to all the usual vehicle and driver management data including fuel economy analysis, digital tachograph interface, KPI reporting, fuel tank level, axle load monitoring, etc.

Seven Telematics has been founded on delivering the highest standards of service and product knowledge. Customers demand exacting standards as the transportation and temperature controlled logistics sector begins and ends with product integrity. With years of proven experience in the sector, Seven Telematics will ensure that product standards remain paramount to your transport and logistics operation.

CONTACT DETAILS

ADDRESS The Coach House, 67 London Road, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1RZ WEBSITE www.seventelematics.com TEL +44 (0)1636 550320 EMAIL

KEY TEAM MEMBERS

sales@seventelematics.com

Michael Kane, Sales Director Steve Strong, European Sales Manager

51

Support your business with a

LEADING EUROPEAN FROZEN SUPPLY CHAIN PARTNER

Food and drink: multi temperature Worldwide capabilities Over 25 UK locations Multi-user Co-packing Value added Blast freezing Tempering

CONTACT US NOW: Brooke Hadfield Business Development Manager - Temperature Controlled & Ambient +44 (0)7824 835690 brooke.hadfield@xpo.com uk.xpo.com

Find out how, as a worldwide frozen logistics provider, we can help you.

The Bulletin

IN DU ST RY S ERV IC E S

SECTOR

Logistics & Transport

XPO Logistics XPO Logistics is a top ten global provider of transportation and logistics solutions providing cuttingedge supply chain services.

Services include freight brokerage, intermodal rail, last mile, and expedite by ground and air; highly engineered contract logistics; highvalue-added warehousing and distribution; and global forwarding. XPO serves more than 50,000 customers with a highly integrated network of 1,440 locations in 34 countries with more than 88,000 employees serving the manufacturing, retail, industrial, technology, aerospace, commercial, chemical, life sciences, and government sectors.

XPO Logistics provide robust, responsive and highly cost-effective solutions for major manufacturers and retailers.

As a European leader in temperature controlled logistics, XPO Logistics operates more than 3,900,000 mÂł of specialist temperature controlled warehousing and over 1500 vehicles across 100 chilled and frozen sites in 14 countries.

We design dedicated and shared-user solutions of large and small manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and food service companies, creating best-in-class warehousing and distribution services to meet any requirement, regardless of size and complexity.

In the UK, our customers include: Bernard Matthews, Birds Eye, Iceland, The Cooperative Group, Hain Daniels, Lantmännen, Marlow Foods, McCains, Tesco, WM Morrisons and Mars Petcare.

We understand the critical aspects of the supply chain and use state-of-the-art technology to provide visibility, feasibility and control.

CONTACT DETAILS

ADDRESS XPO House, Lodge Way, New Duston, Norhtampton, NN5 7SL WEBSITE www.xpo.com TEL 07824835690 EMAIL Brooke.Hadfield@xpo.com

KEY TEAM MEMBERS Martin Atkinson, Business Unit Director Brooke Hadfield, Business Development Manager

53

Providing a unique portfolio of services and pioneering technology to bring bespoke solutions to the food industry

TEMPER ATURE CONTROLLED STOR AGE

PA R T OF THE M AGN AVA L E GRO U P

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CROSS DOCK CONTAINER LOADING & UNLOADING RETAIL & FOODSERVICE CONSOLIDATION E XPORTS

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DISTRIBUTION PARTNER

Rick Bestwick 01246 854 999 www.rickbestwick.com

The Bulletin

IN DU ST RY S ERV IC E S

SECTOR

Cold Storage & Logistics

Rick Bestwick Combining over 30 years of expertise in food manufacturing with cutting edge technology and processes, Rick Bestwick is one of the UK’s leading temperaturecontrolled food specialists.

With sites in Chesterfield, Scunthorpe, Warrington, Liverpool and Lancaster, the company has built a reputation of being a trusted ‘just in time’ partner for food manufacturers and retailers and a true onestop solution.

Rick Bestwick not only has the country’s largest blast freezing capacity but has recently expanded their up-tempering services with investment in a multi-million pound purposebuilt state-of-the-art up-tempering facility, now the largest in Europe. With their unique portfolio of services, which includes bespoke

temperature regimes, advanced coding, sleeving and co-packing services, and pioneering technology, Rick Bestwick is at the forefront of bringing specialist solutions to the food industry.

In 2015, Rick Bestwick entered into a longterm distribution partnership with Northern Europe’s largest logistics provider, DFDS Logistics. Through this partnership, Rick Bestwick is able to provide an increased number of transport solutions throughout the UK and Europe, delivering a consistently high performance and superior reliability through shipping and port terminal services and transport and logistics solutions.

With operations running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whatever your temperature controlled food requirements, Rick Bestwick has the solution.

CONTACT DETAILS

ADDRESS Park Road, Holmewood Industrial Park, Holmewood, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S42 5UY WEBSITE www.rickbestwick.com TEL 01246 854999 EMAIL enquiries@rickbestwick.com

KEY TEAM MEMBERS Kevin Hancock, Managing Director

55

SORTEX F Fruit and vegetables sorting, redefined.

The SORTEX F is Bühler’s new optical sorter for fruit and vegetable processors who are serious about food safety.

Designed to lower the risk of contamination whilst delivering unprecedented foreign material detection for your cleanest and safest produce yet.

Got a question? Let’s talk about it. sortexenquiries@buhlergroup.com

Innovations for a better world.

The Bulletin

IN DU ST RY S ERV IC E S

SECTOR

Optical sorting

Bühler Bühler is a leading global supplier of optical sorting solutions to the food and non-food processing industries and has been at the forefront of pioneering optical sorting technology for almost 70 years, tackling the most challenging food safety and quality concerns for decades.

With consumers now increasingly demanding convenient and fast-to-prepare foods, frozen fruit and vegetables such as green peas, beans or berries is a fast growing segment in the food industry. As the amount of frozen fruit and vegetables being processed increases, food safety regulations are tightening and processors have to guarantee the safety and quality of their products.

Bühler’s leading range of SORTEX sorters, which are suitable for processors of all sizes,

deliver outstanding performance in removing discoloured or misshaped product, extraneous vegetable matter (EVM) and foreign material (FM) from a wide range of frozen produce.

SORTEX sorters are equipped with the latest innovations in optical sorting which includes the all-new SORTEX PolarVision™ foreign material detection technology, high definition InGaAsHD cameras, custom-built visible cameras, soft landing kit and PROfileTM (shape) technology for high capacity precision sorting that delivers top quality produce that is safe to eat – every time.

As well as the innovative optical sorting technologies, SORTEX sorters for frozen fruit and vegetable processors have also been designed with the most stringent hygiene requirements in mind, featuring open design, stainless steel frames for easy cleaning.

CONTACT DETAILS

ADDRESS 20 Atlantis Avenue London E16 2BF United Kingdom WEBSITE www.buhlergroup.com TEL 020 7055 7700 EMAIL sortexenquiries@buhlergroup.com

KEY TEAM MEMBERS Stephen Jacobs, Global Product Manager

57

The Bulletin

M EM B ERS M A RKETPLACE

Food Sector Lawyers • Contracts • Debt recovery • Product recalls • Agents and distributors • Employment • Intellectual property and branding • Transport and logistics • Competition • Corporate and commercial

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The Bulletin

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Call us today on 01564 702269 Specialists in the Design, Project Management and Construction of Hygienic, Fire Rated and Temperature Controlled Environments We know food inside out Strategic counsel, brand identity, media relations, crisis management, internal communications, digital & social media, design and much more.

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59

The Bulletin MEET THE TEAM

Meet the team

In this series The Bulletin catches up with one of the BFFF team. This edition we spend five minutes with...

Emma Cranidge Financial controller How long have you worked at BFFF? 18½ years – officially the longest serving employee!

What do you enjoy most about your job?

The variety the job brings and the fabulous team of people I work with.

What is your favourite colour?

Pink, I’m very girly!

What do you like to do at the weekend?

Watch my children in their various sporting activities and spending quality family time together. I also enjoy socialising with my friends over a glass of wine or two!

Starter and main or main and dessert?

Starter and main definitely, not a sweet toothed girl.

Do you have any hobbies?

Who inspires you?

Martine McCutcheon! I have always loved her and watching her in Eastenders when I was younger I wanted to be her. She continued to inspire me when she became a leading lady in the West End and after battling ME for over 8 years, she has fought back, has a two year old son and is back on our TV screens.

What is your biggest achievement?

Giving birth to my two beautiful children, Lola who is nine and Finlay who is six.

What is your favourite place?

Being at home with my husband and children.

If you could invite one person round for dinner, who would it be and what would you eat?

Goes without saying… Robbie Williams! We would eat chocolate and strawberries whilst sipping champagne.

Ok a girl can dream!

I’ve started the new craze of ‘Boogie Bounce’ and I love it!

“The variety the job brings and the fabulous team of people I work with.”

EMMA CRANIDGE

60

DAT E S

The Bulletin

f o r y our

D I A RY

2017 2nd February Thinking of Joining Seminar Towcester Racecourse, Towcester www.bfff.co.uk

Find out the benefits of membership to BFFF

7th March BFFF Conference Birmingham Hilton Metropole www.bfff.co.uk

Find out about the future of frozen food.

19th–22nd March IFE Excel, London www.ife.co.uk

The UK’s largest food and drink event.

25th–27th April

8th June BFFF Dinner Dance & Annual Awards Evening London Hilton on Park Lane www.bfff.co.uk

The definitive awards for the frozen food industry.

8th June BFFF Industry Forum Venue TBC www.bfff.co.uk

Keep up to date with the latest industry news.

3rd July Thinking of Joining Seminar Castle Hotel, Windsor www.bfff.co.uk

Find out the benefits of membership to BFFF.

5th July

Brussels Seafood Expo Brussels Expo, Belgium www.seafoodexpo.com/global

Health and Safety Seminar Belton Woods Hotel, Belton, Grantham www.bfff.co.uk

The world’s largest seafood trade fair.

Question specialists, consultants and peers.

17th May

13th–14th September TCS&D Exhibition Ricoh Arena, Coventry 01732 868288

The UK’s only event for the perishable product supply chain.

7th–11th October Anuga 2017 Kolnmesse, Cologne, Germany www.anuga.com

The world’s leading food fair for the retail trade, foodservice and catering.

21st November BFFF Annual Luncheon London Hilton on Park Lane www.bfff.co.uk

Top networking event for retail and foodservice.

Look out for The Bulletin March/April Edition Visit bfff.co.uk for even more news from the frozen food industry.

Frozen & Chilled Foods Golf Day Carden Park, Cheshire 01732 868288

Social event.

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lan Royal Green

FIT FOR E FOODSERVIC & GASTRO

DISCOVER OUR FOODSERVICE RANGE C ATERS TO EVERY NEED IN THE KITCHEN Royal Greenland takes pride in delivering the best from the rich fishing grounds in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans and as a true vertically integrated company handle every step of the way from sea to table.

This enables us to deliver a selection of consistent and high quality fish and shellfish straight to the hands of our customers.

Our products are designed to cater to every need in the professional kitchen year round.

Explore our entire range here: www.royalgreenland.com/foodservice/products Royal Greenland UK, Gateway House, North Wing 2nd Floor, Styal Road, Manchester, M22 5WY enquiryuk@royalgreenland.com www.royalgreenland.com