The Bulletin - July/August 2014

July/August 2014

Annual Award Winners 2014

Gala Dinner Dance

Cool Web a Winner Frozen Sales Rise

Preface Special Report Industry News Diary Dates Health & Safety New Products New Member Profiles Technical & Legislative

depots at

Lockerbie and Grantham

The Bulletin

July/August 2014

Annual Award Winners 2014

Gala Dinner Dance

Cool Web a Winner Frozen Sales Rise

Preface Special Report Industry News Diary Dates Health & Safety New Products New Member Profiles Technical & Legislative

CONTENTS

THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUG 2014

BRIAN YOUNG

CHIEF-EXECUTIVE

PREFACE & BFFF NEWS

04

FACTS & FIGURES

08

NEW PRODUCTS

10

NEWS

12

Welcome to the annual bumper edition of The Bulletin.

In this issue, you’ll find all of the fabulous new frozen products that caught our judges’ attention in the BFFF’s Annual Awards 2014. The 27th awards were fiercely contested and it is a great credit to the taste and innovation of The Authentic Food Company and MDC for coming tops overall in the Catering and Retail sectors. Turn to page 36 to see the winning products and product development teams in all 15 categories.

AWARDS 17

As is tradition, the awards were given out at our Gala Dinner Dance attended by over 800 guests at the London Hilton on Park Lane in June.

It was a time to celebrate and network – as you can see for yourself in the event coverage that begins on page 17. A good time was clearly had by all – including yours truly.

HEALTH & SAFETY

For me personally, the awards and the dinner underlined what an incredibly innovative, resilient and professional industry the UK frozen food business is.

TECHNICAL & LEGISLATIVE 62

Enjoy our bumper summer issue, and if you have something you’d like us to cover, please get in touch.

60

NEW MEMBER PROFILES 65 DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

71

Brian Young 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 T 01400 283090 W www.bfff.co.uk Chief - Executive Brian Young Bulletin Editor Graeme Day Contributors Joanna Hancock and Su Dakin Advertising Manager Kate Miller T 01780 763841 M 07933 704270 E katemiller@bfff.co.uk

The Bulletin is published bi-monthly by the fabl for the British Frozen Food Federation. the fabl is a marketing and publishing agency specialising in strategic brand development, design, engaging content creation and innovative, cross platform delivery. the fabl Nesfield House, Broughton Hall Business Park, Skipton, Yorks, BD23 3AE T 01756 636 777 W www.thefabl.com Managing Director Mags Walker Editor Sarah Hardy

THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 03

PREFACE

The Bulletin

Preface by Brian Young, Chief-executive

PREFACE

Committee Thank You Dinner BFFF recently changed its corporate governance and created a brand new BFFF board of directors to better reflect current practices and to adopt a modern approach.

04 THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014

HOWEVER, ONE MUST not forget that BFFF had for many years been very well served by incredibly supportive, insightful, committed executives from all parts of the membership who gave up their time to serve the Federation for the good of all of its members.

A ‘thank you dinner’ was held at Kelham Hall in Newark, a magnificent Victorian house built in 1863, to recognise the contribution that presidents, committee members and trustees

have made to the development of BFFF. A great night of reminiscence and industry discussion ended with a presentation to our longest serving committee member, Peter Day, who has served twice as president, acted as a trustee and chaired the Audit Committee for many years. I was delighted to present Peter with a set of gold cufflinks as a thank you from all of the members for his outstanding service to the Federation.

Members Update Seminar Autumn

Building on last year’s members update seminar we will be holding another regional event on Thursday October 16.

again be held at the popular Heritage Motor Centre, Warwickshire. Around 50 to 60 attendees and 10 to 12 exhibitors are expected and all attendees will be given name badges; the delegate list will be made available a few days before the event.

This seminar gives members an introduction to BFFF’s services and benefits and would be particularly useful to new members, new main contacts, companies thinking of advertising with the BFFF or sponsoring events and companies thinking of joining.

FOR ASSOCIATE MEMBERS, this is a great opportunity to promote your products and services. The cost to exhibit is £400 + VAT per slot. Alternatively, to be a main sponsor costs £1,200 + VAT. As well as exhibition space, sponsorship includes pre and post publicity on BFFF’s website and in The Bulletin, branding on promotional material plus a five-minute speaking slot included within the main presentation.

www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk THE ‘INTRODUCTION TO BFFF Seminar’ will

SEMINAR PROMOTION OPPORTUNITY

The event includes a 45-minute tour of the fascinating motor museum.

The reception and exhibition starts from 9.30am with presentations closing at 1.00pm, followed by lunch and more networking.

Please contact Graeme Day if you want to exhibit or be a sponsor, and Hazel Cranidge if you wish to attend. graemeday@bfff.co.uk, hazelcranidge@bfff.co.uk or call 01400 283090

With only a limited number of exhibitor slots available, please book your place now.

Exhibitor stands will be set up in the same room as the food and presentations, and positions given on a first come first served basis.

Please contact Graeme Day if you are interested in exhibiting or sponsorship and Hazel Cranidge to book as a delegate.

Graemeday@bfff.co.uk / Hazelcranidge@bfff.co.uk or 01400 283090

SAVE THE DATE BFFF CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2015 The BFFF’s fifth Annual Business Conference is now being planned and this year we’ll be posing the questions: ‘Is this the end of supermarkets as we know them?’, ‘What next for food trends?’ and the slightly tongue-incheek, ‘The recession’s over, so all’s well that ends well – or is it?’

THE CONFERENCE WILL take place at the Chesford Grange Hotel, Kenilworth on March 3, 2015. Clive Beddall is being invited back as conference chair. Roger Martin-Fagg will give us the latest picture on the UK economy and Ed Garner from Kantar will provide us with his latest thoughts on the retail market. The main conference speakers are currently being approached, however 2015’s guest speaker will be the formidable Gerald Ratner, who will give his personal insight into how to succeed,

fail and succeed again in business. Panel debates offer delegates the opportunity to ask questions and the very successful exhibition offers unrivalled networking opportunities.

Between 250 and 300 delegates are expected to attend, consisting of mainly producers, wholesalers and some retailers. Both conference and exhibition provide a great opportunity for associates and producers to promote their products and services with all the ‘great and the good’ in one room on one day!

For anyone associated with the frozen food industry, this is the business conference to attend; why not book your place now by contacting charleyprice@bfff.co.uk If you are interested in exhibiting, please contact KateMiller@bfff.co.uk THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 05

BFFF NEWS

The Bulletin

Port to Plate Experience for Media THIS MONTH BFFF’S chief executive Brian Young and the BFFF press team took some of the industry’s top journalists on a trip to Devon to see the story behind frozen fish products.

Working with BFFF members and partners, journalists from top titles such as The Grocer, Food Manufacture, Pub & Bar and Caterer and Hotelkeeper were able to see the whole production process from port to plate.

The team was up with the larks to see the traditional 6am shout auction at Brixham Fish Market where the journalists were able to see first-hand the quality difference between fish landed on the day of catch and that which had been deteriorating on a trawler for up to a week. This highlighted the importance of frozen fish products to maintain that all important ‘fresh from the sea’ quality.

Following a presentation from Seafish on the issues affecting the industry – such as quotas – the group then travelled 20 miles to BFFF member Paramount 21 to see the manufacturing process.

After a factory tour, during which the media got to see the quick freezing process in Paramount’s gyro freezers, the team was presented with a delicious selection of the company’s fish and vegetarian products for foodservice. The tasting menu was prepared to perfection by Paramount’s business development manager Jake Hannaford – son of the family business’ founder and managing director Ali Hannaford.

The trip was a big success and we look forward to repeating it in other sectors with the help of members.

BFFF Pair Awarded Special Recognition Two of BFFF’s expert team members have been recognised by the Government’s Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO) with a special award for their work on BFFF’s Primary Authority partnerships.

Technical manager, Su Dakin and Health & Safety and Projects manager, Joanna Hancock, were presented with the award following their ground-breaking work in setting up Primary Authority partnerships to benefit the BFFF’s various members.

and in October 2013 BFFF became one of the very first trade associations to sign up to the newly extended Primary Authority scheme.”

BFFF chief-executive Brian Young said: “We’re delighted that the work BFFF - and in particular Jo and Su - did in pioneering primary authorities for trade associations has been recognised by a government body like BRDO.”

Mr Young continued: “The judges pointed to the constructive challenges Jo and Su put to BRDO in setting up some of the first trade association Primary Authority agreements in order to achieve the best outcome for our members. Meeting the needs of members is at the heart of everything we do and our work with BRDO reflects this.”

“Su and Joanna have worked tirelessly to set up partnerships to support BFFF’s members

The pair continue to be heavily involved in developing Primary Authority for trade

06 THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014

associations, including through involvement with business expert groups, (Labelling and Standards, Hygiene and Fire Safety), regulators (HSE, Defra and FSA) and enforcement expert panels (FHFG) exploring mechanisms for regulators and business to work collaboratively.

Primary Authority agreements are a new, highly valuable benefit for BFFF members that enable them to receive assured regulatory advice.

For more information about BFFF’s Primary Authority agreements or other member services, visit bfff.co.uk.

One Year On With BFFF’s Cool Cookery In its first year, Cool Cookery has engaged over 124,500 new and returning visitors and reached a new audience of home cooks that might not have previously chosen frozen food.

LAUNCHED MID-2013 to replace the previous New Ice Age site, Cool Cookery has witnessed incredible growth. For example, over the past six months, Cool Cookery has grown by 101% in terms of total visitors to the site and by 104% in terms of unique visitors to the site.

As well as attracting new visitors, Cool Cookery has also retained existing fans of frozen food.

By uploading regular fresh content in the form of recipes, guest blog posts and competitions, Cool Cookery has encouraged return visits from fans.

Cool Cookery has also worked with BFFF members in order to provide a platform for their frozen food products. For example, it has featured recipes from members such as

Paramount 21, Plus Foods and Alaska Seafood and hopes to feature even more members’ recipes in the coming months.

Brian Young, chief-executive, BFFF said: “The New Ice Age was very much the oracle on frozen food, however we felt that to target those shoppers not already buying frozen, we needed to establish frozen food as a key part of everyday cooking.

“Over the past year, Cool Cookery has done just that. By positioning itself as both an advisory site on how to handle frozen food and a source of inspiration for those wanting quick and easy recipes using frozen ingredients, the site has soared in popularity.”

The Cool Cookery campaign has also engaged with consumers through social media channels and a mobile app. From March 2013 to March 2014, Cool Cookery witnessed a 233% increase in Facebook likes and a 67% increase in Twitter followers. Along with numerical growth, the social media channels have also generated impressive user engagement.

Since launching the Cool Cookery app in November 2013, it has been downloaded by 285 people with users increasing daily. As shoppers are using their mobile phones in supermarkets more often, the Cool Cookery app targets this audience by providing frozen food advice and recipe inspiration on the go.

Mr Young said: “As well as positive research results and endorsement from high-profile chefs such as Jamie Oliver, the Cool Cookery campaign has come a long way in normalising frozen food in the home kitchen. With plans to grow Cool Cookery over the next year, it is expected that we will see a further increase in the number of consumers cooking regularly with frozen food.”

We’re always looking for new content and for our members to be involved with recipes, competitions or guest blogging. If you’d like to be involved in Cool Cookery, please contact Hazel Cranidge at hazelcranidge@bfff.co.uk.

THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 07

FACTS & FIGURES

The Bulletin

Frozen Growth Bucks Flat Retail Trend SOURCE: KANTAR

The latest data kindly supplied

by Kantar Worldpanel shows that the frozen food retail market grew by 2.1% in value for the 52 weeks ending March 30, 2014 comparing very favourably with the latest sales figures announced by the big four retailers which were depressing to various degrees.

THE EXCEPTION TO the retailers’ gloom and doom results has been Farmfoods. The company has shown incredibly impressive growth whilst Iceland continues to grow faster than the retail market.

Frozen sectors that have performed well in

the last year include ice cream, buoyed by last year’s great summer. Year on year growth for ice cream was 7.2%, whilst potatoes enjoyed a 7.7% growth and meat and poultry were up 3.4% on last year.

Data also showed more positive signs for the first time in a year for the ready meals market as the horrendous events of 2013 begin to fade. Although the ready meals market continues to decline, the rate has slowed. It posted a 4.2% year on year figure significantly better than the 8% decline posted just three months ago.

The total retail frozen market is now worth £5.75 billion and has grown by £750 million in the past three years which, given the malign economic climate and the difficulty that major retailers have had in achieving

growth, speaks volumes for the success of the frozen food market.

The latest economic data continues to show an improving picture for the UK economy. GDP is rising more than many forecasters had dared hope for 12 months ago and inflation has fallen significantly. It’s also encouraging to see for the very first time in many years that earnings may have crept ahead of cost increases for hard pressed consumers. However a 0.1% increase in disposable income for consumers will do nothing to fuel the feel good factor and indeed over the Easter weekend, despite the warm weather, retailers did not see the expected increase in footfall in stores. It may well take a long time for consumer confidence to be restored enough for spending to really take off.

RETAIL FROZEN FOOD STATS YEAR ON YEAR GROWTH TO 30 MARCH 2014 VALUE IN £000’s w/e 31st Mar 2013 to w/e 30th Mar 2014

2013

CONFECTIONERY

2014

2013

£772,865 £828,543 £272,552 £271,067 £762,510 £762,955

TOTAL FROZEN FOODS VALUE

2014

2013

£602,849 £623,397 £483,822 £483,843 £640,633 £689,866

2013

£5.63bn

2014

£690,765 £661,694 £412,134 £410,941 £989,795 £1,014,546

2014

£5.75bn

VOLUME IN 000’S kgs w/e 31st Mar 2013 to w/e 30th Mar 2014

2013

CONFECTIONERY

2014

2013

323,329kgs 337,011kgs 74,282kgs 73,994kgs 130,408kgs 128,440kgs

TOTAL FROZEN FOODS VOLUME 08 THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014

2014

2013

166,689kgs 171,910kgs 313,881kgs 306,088kgs 485,782kgs 477,939kgs

2013

2.07bn kgs

2014

181,808kgs 175,005kgs 107,233kgs 105,412kgs 281,879kgs 281,939kgs

2014

2.06bn kgs

NEW PRODUCTS

The Bulletin

Bubble & Squeak Twist Spicy Strips PLUSFOOD HAS ADDED Thai Sweet Chilli Chicken Chunks and Texas BBQ Chicken Strips to its CHIXXS range of frozen chicken snacks.

Both are made from breast fillet and cook from frozen in minutes. Inspired by Thailand, the Land of Smiles, Thai Sweet Chilli Chicken Chunks are wrapped in a delicately crisp flaked-corn crumb, with an inviting sweetness followed by a warm, fruity, chilli burst and a lively finish of fine ginger and zesty lime.

BUBBLE & SQUEAK Rounds are the latest addition to Aviko’s line of premium potato products, developed to help caterers profit from all-day dining, while providing consumers variety out-of-home.

This contemporary twist on a classic dish works equally well as a starter or a side, and will also help caterers cash in on the breakfast boom. The out-of-home breakfast market grew by 8.4% in 2012 (NPD Crest June 2013) to £1.14 billion while lunch and dinner declined.

Made from mashed potatoes, Aviko’s Bubble & Squeak Rounds combine 100% real cream, savoy cabbage, fried onions, parsley, chervil and black pepper for maximum flavour. Aviko general manager, Mohammed Essa said: “This new addition to the range builds upon already established favourites to give our foodservice partners even more opportunities to improve sales and profits throughout the day.”

Bringing you the big flavours of Texas, BBQ Chicken Strips are coated in a crunchy breadcrumb with a smoky flavour as subtle paprika, warm cayenne and sweet maple syrup are partnered with pimento pepper and rich tomato flavours. The CHIXXS range also includes Indian Masala Chicken Goujons, American Hot Chilli Wings and Italian Pesto Chicken Bites.

For more information call 01908 685008 or visit www.plusfood.co.uk

For more information call 0800 633 5611 or visit www.aviko.co.uk

Buns mean Business KARA, THE FOODSERVICE bakery brand of Fletchers Group of Bakeries, has launched a gourmet rolls and buns range to satisfy demand.

“Kara brand’s approach to its new product development process for the Gourmet Range was to look at American influences and the way that they are shaping the market, combined with an increase in restaurants that are positioning hot-dogs and burgers as a first-choice menu item,” said Chris Haddy Fletchers Group head of foodservice. “Using these influences and research data on consumer trends, we have created a range of perfect, brioche-style carriers that offer a really high quality product with either a glazed or poppy seed finish.”

10 THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014

The Gourmet Range contains no preservatives, flavourings or hydrogenated fats. Frozen the minute they leave the oven, the flavour is locked in and the hot dog rolls come unsliced for extra versatility.

“A crucial influence in the development of the Gourmet Range is the fact that the carrier for any hot-dog or burger generally costs less than 20% of the overall outlay for the dish,” adds Chris. “Our aim is to deliver gourmet buns and rolls which enable the caterer to offer premium dishes by upgrading the carrier, which is a highly costeffective way to tap into this growing market.”

For more information, visit www.karafs.co.uk

NEW PRODUCTS

The Bulletin

Consumer Demand Drives New Listings UK RETAIL BRAND leader DS-gluten free has launched its Italian Bontà d’Italia pizza range in selected Waitrose, Tesco, Morrisons and Booths stores nationwide, and Ocado (RSP £3.29).The new listings are driven by consumer demand for a wider variety of deliciously authentic Italian rellaHa m own consumer research am food.MDS-gluten free’s ozzapiiccyy H & & SSp revealed that just 5% are satisfied with the 300g e gluten free Italian food options available to them. ce and

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YEARSLEY FOOD SALES has launched Mr King’s individual Super Subs pizza to fuel the demand for tasty, low-cost snacking options.

The Mr King’s pizza family already includes Cheese, Pepperoni and Ham & Pineapple pizzas, so the new flavours - Mozzarella & Tomato, Mozzarella & Pepperoni and Mozzarella & Spicy Meat - make the Super Subs an ideal addition.

The flavoursome ingredients have been layered onto sub bases, making them soft

Bontà d’Italia Margherita Pizza is available in both single and twin packs, while the Bontà d’Italia Salami Pizza is available in a single pack.

For more information, visit www.dsglutenfree.co.uk

and fluffy on the inside but crispy on the outside. Ian King, food sales director, Yearsley Group, said: “Consumers are continuing to practice conservative food spending but want good quality, tasty products. Being both delicious and reasonably priced Mr King’s Super Subs are the perfect hot snack.”

For more information, visit www.yearsleyfood.co.uk

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THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 11

NEWS

The Bulletin

Workers’ Reluctance Adds Thousands

Sweeten Your Profits SWEDISH BAKER ALMONDY has created a way for operators to effortlessly update dessert menus and profit from the family pound. While Almondy cakes are traditionally enjoyed as a standalone slice, caterers can easily add value – along with a higher markup – by serving them as a sundae alongside ice cream, which remains one of the UK’s favourite desserts.

The new serving suggestions, Toblerone Sundae, Daim Sundae, Daim Kids Sundae and Peanut and Caramel Sundae have been developed to capture the imagination of

children and adults alike. The desserts are available to view on Almondy’s website helping operators tap into the growing demand for confectionery-inspired desserts. Andrew Ely, managing director of Almondy, said, “With the predicted 100 days of summer approaching, sundaes are a winning combination for all ages. We are confident operators will be able to reap the rewards of our serving suggestions.”

To find out more about Almondy, call 01604 858 522 or visit www.almondy.com/en

Snowbird Expands Technical Team Snowbird Foods has made its first new senior management appointment since the management bought the company last year.

The fully cooked and frozen sausage and meatballs company appointed Stephen Collings as technical manager. He will be responsible for product safety, legality and quality.

manager and Otto Antal as specification co-ordinator. Lorena Amad Valesquesa has joined the company as quality auditor.

For more information, visit www.snowbirdfoods.co.uk

Mr Collings has always worked in the frozen meat industry, latterly in senior positions with Tulip Foods and the Tranfield Meat Company.

In an internal promotion, Samantha Farrelly has been appointed new product development 12 THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014

Stephen Collings, technical manager

WAREHOUSE STAFF WHO wrap palletised loads of goods by hand and are reluctant or unwilling to adopt more efficient working practices are adding thousands to the supply chain cost of companies, according to Mike Wardell, sales director of Gloucestershire-based pallet wrap company, Golden Valley Pallet Wrap Specialists Ltd (GVPS).

“Many warehouse staff have set ways of wrapping a pallet and often find it difficult to change a routine they may have had for several years,” he said. “But, as a result, cost saving opportunities are being missed and, in some cases, the operators are putting their own health at risk by failing to adapt to new ways of working.”

Modern wrap – such as GVPS’s Silver or Carbon – offers greater strength and load retention properties, which means less wrap is required to secure a load.

Mike adds, “The type of training needed to demonstrate how to hand-wrap a pallet, quickly, safely and efficiently using modern pallet wrap...takes just a few hours. But many workers are strangely reticent to embrace new techniques that can save them time and effort and, ultimately, save their business money.”

GVPS believe companies who continue to use the same wrap they have for years are missing out on savings that could equate to around 25% per pallet wrapped.

For further information, visit www.gvps.co.uk

Cooking

AT A GLANCE

up Talent WESTMINSTER KINGSWAY COLLEGE triumphed in the 2013/14 Brakes Student Chef Team Challenge live cook-off final, held as part of Hotelympia. The winning team of Theo Dalton-Maag, Nathan Gayle and Samuel Jones impressed five judges by creating a threecourse, four-cover menu inspired by a ‘Back to Basics’ theme in just 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Judges included Christopher Basten, national chairman of the Craft Guild of Chefs and Mark Irish, head of food development at Brakes.

The winning chefs beat off competition from seven other college teams with Farnborough College of Technology coming a close second and South Lanarkshire College taking the third spot. The competition was also sponsored

by BD Foods and ABP Food Group, and supported by the Craft Guild of Chefs.

The result was a double celebration for student chef Nathan Gayle who was offered a full-time role in the kitchen at Harrods after impressing competition judge Allister Bishop, Harrods’ executive sous chef.

“The competition gave me the opportunity to cook for Allister twice, which allowed me to showcase my skills and demonstrate what I was capable of under pressure – this was a big confidence boost and probably helped to give me the edge,” said Nathan. The South Lanarkshire College team was invited to showcase their skills before the Scottish Parliament.

For more information, visit www.brake.co.uk

Brakes in Industry First BRAKES HAS MADE SIGNIFICANT improvements to its online ordering platform. The system, which includes a version specifically for mobile phones, allows customers to place orders 24 hours a day via its website. The system - said to be an industry first - has been designed to fit around customers’ busy schedules

by enabling them to place orders at their convenience, and amend, via their mobiles, right up until the cut-off point on the day prior to delivery. The ordering platform on www.brake.co.uk gives the customer easy access to all products and prices through simple search and browse functions, making ordering with Brakes easier than ever before.

In a Swirl!

Weight Watchers is extending its range of iced desserts with the introduction of new Strawberry Cheesecake and Raspberry Pavlova Mini Pot Swirls, manufactured under license by frozen dessert and ice cream specialist, Icefresh Foods Ltd. The new Mini Pot Swirls join the ten-strong range of Weight Watchers Iced Desserts and have confirmed listings in ASDA stores nationwide with an RRP of £2.00 for a box

of four. At less than 90 calories and a ProPoints value of two per pot, each box contains two Strawberry Cheesecake pots and two Raspberry Pavlova Pots made with real strawberries and raspberries.

For more information, visit www.icefresh-foods.co.uk

A First for Brakes Brakes launches a 24-hour ordering on-line system that allows customers to place or amend orders right up until the cut-off point on the day prior to delivery.

Culinary Talents Westminster Kingsway College triumphed in the 2013/14 Brakes Student Chef Team Challenge live cookoff final. Theo Dalton-Maag, Nathan Gayle – who has been offered a chef’s role at Harrods - and Samuel Jones beat seven other teams with their ‘Back to Basics’ inspired menu.

Mini Puds Weight Watchers is extending its range of iced desserts with the introduction of new Strawberry Cheesecake and Raspberry Pavlova Mini Pot Swirls.

Sweet Profits Almondy has created a range of sundae ideas - Toblerone Sundae, Daim Sundae, Daim Kids Sundae and Peanut and Caramel Sundae - to add to dessert menus to help caterers increase profits.

Workers’ Reluctance Mike Wardell, sales director of Gloucestershire-based pallet wrap company, Golden Valley Pallet Wrap Specialists Ltd (GVPS) believes warehouse staff could save their companies money by adopting more efficient working methods.

THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 13

NEWS

The Bulletin

Oakland Celebrates 1.2m Award-Winning VECTA

Expansion

A Successful Sell PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS (PEP) has announced the sale of Peters Food Group Limited, one of Australia’s oldest consumer businesses, to R&R Ice Cream plc, backed by funds advised by PAI Partners.

Under the agreement, R&R will acquire Peters, with its portfolio of household name ice creams including Drumstick, Connoisseur, Peters Original and Maxibon.

Founded in 1985, R&R is the largest private label ice cream manufacturer in Europe and the second largest ice cream manufacturer overall in Europe. Ibrahim Najafi (above), CEO of R&R, said: “We are delighted to have come to an agreement with Peters. Peters is an iconic Australian business and the leader in the Australian ice cream manufacturing market; it will be an exciting complement to R&R’s European presence.”

Food Safety A Must through its SORTEX A and SORTEX B ranges. The ranges offer processors an even greater level of performance and product superiority in their efforts to safeguard safety standards.

Bühler global product manager, Faisal Baig explains: “The innovations included in this portfolio mean Bühler can now resolve more of the most demanding sorting and food safety challenges facing the food industry, and provide efficient, impressively accurate, high yield sorting options to a wider range of customers whilst delivering clean and safe food.”

THE BÜHLER GROUP has strengthened its optical sorting portfolio for dry commodities – nuts, seeds, pulses, grain, coffee and plastics – 14 THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014

For further information, visit www.buhlergroup.com

PLANNING PERMISSION HAS been secured

by Oakland International to increase its existing cold pallet storage facility at Redditch.

The £1.2m investment will extend its existing frozen food storage capacity by 2,000 pallets and construct a 26-pallet blast freezer by September 2014.

Oakland International managing director, Dean Attwell, said: “Our expansion plans are substantial considering the current size of our frozen business. We have a clear focus to deliver strong organic growth with our existing clients and really focus on our customer service while keeping close to our retailers.

The demand for increased capacity has been driven by our focus on providing additional tempering contracts and the rapid growth of our retail platform models.”

The company has also put in a planning application for a new 60,0000 sqft. of extra ambient and chilled storage, with construction planned during 2015. Oakland’s latest development follows a £2.6m investment made over the last two years to increase its ambient and chilled capacity by an additional 50,000 sqft. In the last three years the company’s workforce has grown from 110 people to a current level of over 210 people in the UK and Ireland.

For more information,visit www.oakland-international.com Above: Oakland International managing director, Dean Attwell

New Contracts for ACS&T to provide tri-temperature transportation and storage for Pinnacle’s pork products.

ACS&T HAS ANNOUNCED two new deals.

The expert food logistics provider has signed a one-year deal with two London-based bakeries within the Michael’s Pitta Bread Group - Eghoyan’s Pitta Bakery and Hollyland’s Pitta. ACS&T will collect bulk quantities of the bakeries’ products, freeze and store them before distributing nationwide.

“ACS&T has significant experience in providing integrated services for a wide range of food manufacturers and we are delighted to be working with both Eghoyan’s and Hollyland bakeries,” said Mike Rice, business development director, ACS&T.

ACS&T holds both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 quality accreditations. These act as an assurance to customers that ACS&T applies consistent business processes and shows a commitment to both the sector and customer care.

It has also signed a one-year deal with specialist meat and poultry processors Pinnacle Foods

For more information, visit www.acst.co.uk or email sales@acst.co.uk

“Premium quality is of utmost importance in our industry and we rely on our logistics provider to ensure products are delivered in peak condition each and every time. ACS&T is an expert in this field,” said Graham Reed, managing director, Pinnacle Foods.

Towards a Greener Chain centre in Daventry and has so far taken the equivalent of 43 trucks off the road, saving over 4,500kg of CO2 emissions.

FROZEN WAREHOUSING SPECIALISTS Partner Logistics has teamed up with Birds Eye and DHL to take part in a new project that uses double-deck trailers to transport pallets of frozen goods from the warehouse to the distribution centre.

Double-deck trailers hold almost 50% more pallets than a conventional truck and have been proven to improve the efficiency of the supply chain as well as reduce road miles and carbon emissions.

The trial period for the project, which ran for 10 weeks, was based on the 80 mile journey between the Partner Logistics cold store in Wisbech and a customer retail distribution

Graham Watling, distribution manager UK, Birds Eye, said: “Double-deck trailers allow us to look at the best possible opportunities to improve the efficiency of our deliveries for our customers, whilst reducing our road miles.

In our best week so far we have been able to take the equivalent of eight trucks off the road, saving over 300 litres of diesel. These savings are a step in the right direction when it comes to achieving our goal of reducing carbon emissions by 15% by 2020 and we couldn’t have done this without the help of Partner Logistics, DHL and our end customers.”

Birds Eye has estimated that the double-deck trailers that run regularly on this route will see a reduction of 2% in annual total road miles.

AT A GLANCE New Contracts for ACS&T ACS&T, the expert food logistics provider, has signed a one-year deal with two London-based bakeries within the Michael’s Pitta Bread Group and a one-year deal with Pinnacle Foods.

Go Green!

Partner Logistics has teamed up with Birds Eye and DHL to use double-deck trailers to improve the efficiency of the supply chain as well as reduce road miles and carbon emissions.

A Successful Sell Peters Food Group Limited, one of Australia’s oldest consumer businesses, has been bought by R&R Ice Cream plc.

Food Safety A Must The Bühler Group has strengthened its optical sorting portfolio to offer customers hygienic and reliable solutions to help them meet food safety standards.

£1.2m Expansion Oakland International will invest £1.2 million to increase its existing cold pallet storage facility at Redditch.

Its frozen food storage capacity will increase by 2,000 pallets.

For more information, visit www.partnerlogistics.eu THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 15

Annual Luncheon 2014 Tuesday 25th November 2014 London Hilton, on Park Lane The BFFF Annual Luncheon has long been regarded as one of the most prestigious networking events in the frozen food calendar, attracting buyers from both the retail and foodservice sectors, as well as those companies supplying essential services to the industry.

The 2014 event is set to be yet another ‘not-to-be-missed’ occasion for our member companies and their guests.

The Luncheon will provide an ideal opportunity for our members to network with existing and potential customers.

BFFF will also be providing hospitality to an impressive line-up of guests from the many organisations with whom we work on our members’ behalf.

To book your ticket, please contact: Charley Price or Jilly Wallis on 01400 283090 or Email: charleyprice@bfff.co.uk / jillywallis@bfff.co.uk To place an advert in the Annual Luncheon Seating Brochure, please contact: Kate Miller on 07933 704270 or Email: katemiller@bfff.co.uk

We look forward to seeing you there!

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Oh What A Night!

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he Hilton’s ballroom buzzed with anticipation and excitement as members and their valued guests gathered together leaving no doubt that the opportunity for networking – and having a good time greatly appeals to our members.

With an atmosphere to make any party planner proud, the evening was yet again a roaring success and we were delighted by all the positive feedback we received from guests during and after the event. BFFF president Peter Allan welcomed our members and their guests before dinner was served. Executive chef Anthony Marshall and his talented team

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More than 800 BFFF members and guests gathered together for a great night of entertainment on Thursday 12th June at the Hilton on Park Lane for the BFFF Gala Dinner Dance and Annual Awards 2014. And it was an evening no one will forget in a hurry!

did us proud and surpassed our expectations with his delicious menu of red snapper carpaccio, elderflower sorbet with cucumber and gin, fillet of scotch beef on confit of potato with a bourguignon sauce, and mandarin and white chocolate parfait. And judging by all the clean plates that the marvellous waitingon staff cleared away, it’s fair to say it was definitely a shared appreciation!

Support for the event was yet again overwhelming. Not only from members who attended, but also from those companies who showed their additional support through sponsorship. We are very grateful to our

six sponsors who made such a fantastic contribution to the occasion and enabled us to create a prestigious evening of entertainment.

Our thanks go to Iceland for its continued sponsorship of the seating brochure, and to Golden Valley Pallet Wrap Specialists which sponsored the President’s Reception, held in the wonderful Crystal Palace Suite for the first time. New this year was our opening cabaret, Andalus with flamenco dancers, which was sponsored by Snack Food Poco Loco. Sam Browne Foods once again sponsored the cabaret, provided by Faces of Disco this year. Thanks also go to Freiberger for once

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1. Over 800 attended this year’s Gala Dinner Dance 2. Peter Allan delivered his speech effortlessly at his first Gala Dinner Dance as BFFF president 3. Snack Food Poco Loco sponsored this year’s opening cabaret ‘Andalus with flamenco dancers’ 4. Brian Young, chief-executive of the BFFF, announced the Annual Awards 5. Five star food again from executive chef, Anthony Marshall, and his team at the Hilton 6. Michael Cullinane was overjoyed at his win – Retail Product of the Year 7. Sam Browne Foods sponsored the main cabaret ‘Faces of Disco’ MPR Jazz entertained the Wellington Reception Room at the 8. beginning of the evening and during the breakfast at the end 9. Orchids added a touch of ‘class’ to each of the tables

again sponsoring Rollacoaster, which started off the evening’s music after the awards presentations and still had a packed dance floor at the end of the evening. And lastly, thanks to Rick Bestwick for sponsoring the breakfast - enjoyed by night owls as the dancing finished at the end of the evening.

It was certainly an evening to be remembered, not least for the energy shown on the dance floor when Madhen took to the stage for its fabulous set – although I think ‘Brian’ and ‘Graeme’ strutting their stuff on-stage was the evening’s highlight!

We are also grateful to the sponsors of our awards for supporting us in our recognition of new product development in the industry.

Our thanks go to the Yearsley Group, which sponsored the Retail sector for the sixth year running, and to NewCold for sponsoring the Catering sector for the second year.

Your support makes a big difference to the federation’s work in running the Annual Awards and your generosity is very much appreciated.

night for showing their partisan spirit in such a positive way.

There’s lots more to follow in this Bulletin about the Gala Dinner and Annual Awards, but the BFFF would particularly like to thank all of the members and guests present on the

It was certainly an evening to remember and we can’t wait to do it all over again next year.

So please put the date in your diary now – Thursday 11th June 2015.

Congratulations to all the Gold Award winners and also to those companies who achieved Silver and Bronze Awards. It takes a team of people to achieve successful products and all the winning companies should be justly proud of their success in an awards scheme that attracts so many entries.

THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 19

President’s Reception

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1. Neil and Sue Joyce of QK Coldstores with Pat Higgins of Queally Group and James Hicks of GA International (l-r) 2. Anne Watt with Peter Day, BFFF Honorary Life Member

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3. Golden Valley Pallet Wrap Specialists generously sponsored the President’s Champagne Reception 4. Emma Entwistle and Rachel Ferguson of Pelican PR (l-r) 5. Perfect networking opportunities 6. Suzi and Colin Griffiths, Golden Valley Pallet Wrap Specialists 7. Christopher Basten and Andrew Green of The Craft Guild of Chefs (l-r) 8. Mags Walker of the fabl, Bernard Neumeister of Erlenbacher Backwaren, Vanessa Cooper of Sterling Supergroup, Rachel Summers of Thomas Ridley, Ross Beattie of Proper Food 2U, Kirsten Eger of Erlenbacher Backwaren and Nick Ringer of Proper Food 2U (l-r)

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President’s Reception

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Champagne in the Crystal Palace Suite

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THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 21

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With thanks to our

Sponsors

1. Richard Harrow with guests of Freiberger UK, sponsors of the main band Rollacoaster 2. Hans Luts of Pinguin Foods with Piet Meijs and Bram Hage of NewCold, sponsors of the Catering Awards (l-r) 3. Stuart Hancock (third from left) with guests of Rick Bestwick, sponsors of the breakfast

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4. Snack Food Poco Loco, sponsors of the opening cabaret, and Golden Valley Pallet Wrap Specialists, sponsors of the President’s Champagne Reception, share the evening 5. Young’s with guests Nigel and Beverley Broadhurst of Iceland, sponsors of the seating brochure 6. Harry Yearsley (third from right) with guests of Yearsley Group, sponsors of the Retail Awards 7. Tony Worthington and Jo Frost of Sam Browne Foods, sponsors of the main cabaret - Victoria and David Beckham aka Faces of Disco

22 THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014

Sponsors

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THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 23

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Gala Dinner

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5 6 1. 2 Sisters Food Group, BJP Enterprises, Browns Food Group and GA International enjoy the evening together 2. Welcome to Almondy and Scelta Mushrooms 3. Phil Webster with guests of Icefresh Foods 4. Smiles all round from Cargill Meats Europe 5. Bidvest 3663 out in force 6. Goodlife Foods enjoy the evening 7. Welcome to newly re-joined member Macphie of Glenbervie 8. Steve Kemp of Frank Dale with Gary Davies and Kevin Morel of Oliver James Foods, Chris Greenway of Food Portfolio and Mark Jones of Bernard Matthews (l-r)

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THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 25

Gala Dinner

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5 1. & 2. Welcome to all from Ardo UK and their guests 3.

Dawn Foods, DFDS, Roncadin and Sea Products International share the laughs

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Smiles all round from DiSotto Foods

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5. & 6. R&R Ice Cream out in force 7.

Lyons Seafoods and all their guests

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Warm welcome to EDP/Vecta Sales Solutions

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THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 27

Gala Dinner 1

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Sharing the evening – Ercolano and Summit Foods

2. & 7. Warm welcome to everyone at Bar Foods 3.

Welcome to Mars and all their guests

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Phil Eccleston hosting the Golden Foods (Europe) table

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Dawnfresh Seafoods and Partner Logistics raise a glass

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LambWeston dine in style

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Smiles all round from Atlantic Foods

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Food Team International and Orchidwood Mushrooms share the laughter

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Madhen guitarist

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Gala Dinner 1 2

1. Paul Freeston with guests of apetito 2. Girls party on!

3. Keiron Alexander and guests of Karro Food Group 4. Warm welcome to Innovate Foods 5. Ministry of Cake, Pelican PR and Barclays enjoy the evening

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6. Smiles all round from Paramount 21 7. NewCold with guests 8. Thanks to all our members for your great support – from all the BFFF Team!

9. Welcome all from Rosemary and Thyme

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10. Breakfast kindly sponsored by Rick Bestwick Ltd

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THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 31

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Behind the Scenes with Hilton’s Executive Chef BFFF’s 2014 Gala Dinner Dance and Awards evening was another phenomenal success as over 800 guests enjoyed a night to remember at London Hilton on Park Lane.

Yet again, it was the delicious and superbly presented four-course dinner that was one of the stars of the show, surpassing our expectations and raising our curiosity about how a grand banquet is put together.

The London Hilton on Park Lane is no stranger to this type of event. It holds, on average, five a week catering to a minimum of 700 guests per event, and the man in charge of banquets is executive chef Anthony Marshall. Anthony has catered for the Royal Family, international sports awards, celebrities including Tom Jones, Dame Judi Dench and Paul McCartney, and for boxing legend Muhammad Ali’s 60th birthday. Anthony has been dishing up delights for the BFFF’s Gala Dinner Dance for the past 16 years.

“The key to a successful event is organisation,” says Anthony, who started his apprenticeship at the Dorchester hotel with Anton Mosimann.

“I call it ‘Marshall’s Law’ which means you have to be organised and you can’t take any prisoners.”

To plan an event, Anthony’s first step is put a tasting menu - chosen by the clients - together several months in advance of the event. This gives a choice of three starters, mains and desserts, and each dish is one he knows he and his team can put together and execute on the day. He then photographs and dates the chosen dishes so they are served in an identical way on the evening to what was chosen months before.

“There are a lot of places you go to and the menu sounds absolutely delicious but when it comes out it’s nothing like you imagine.

That is why we do the tasting menu to ensure the client is happy on the day and if we need to make any changes we can do,” he explains. “We try to make our banquet food like restaurant food. For the BFFF guests, we like to be especially creative and give them inspiration.”

Anthony admits each year they try to move the goalposts and take the menu to another level. He always tries to create a seasonal menu, as well as one that is colour co-ordinated and looks nice.

“I want to make something visual - after all, we eat with our eyes, so the food has to look as attractive as possible!” he said. “We want the guest to look at their dish and think ‘wow!

Somebody has been to a lot of trouble to make that for me.’”

Working ahead for each event is a must. Most of the food is prepped the day before with cooking on the day. For the BFFF Gala Dinner, 13 chefs worked in the kitchen on the day of the event and an extra 15 were roped in from other kitchens in the hotel to help with plating up - up to 100 waiters served the guests. To get a glimpse of how much work went into the preparation, it took three chefs almost six hours to just make the individual roseshaped butter each guest was given with their hot bread.

Timing is crucial at banquets. It takes the waiters between five and eight minutes to clear, and once the intermediate course went out the chefs had between eight to 10 minutes to get the main course ready to serve.

“I have cooked for well-known and prestigious people but I still get butterflies in my stomach,” admits Anthony. “It’s an experience cooking like this and there are not many people who can run events for a 1,000 people - especially when you get a two-star Michelin chef Sat Bains calling the banquet food you serve ‘amazing’. But you’re only as good as the people you have around you and I’m lucky to have had them with me a long time.”

THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 33

SPONSORS ADVERTORIALS

Sam Browne Foods

Sponsors Cabaret At The Dinner Dance BFFF WAS DELIGHTED that Sam Browne Foods (SBF) once again sponsored the main cabaret at the BFFF Gala Dinner Dance.

Established in 1999, SBF, based in East Yorkshire, manufactures globally procured meat and poultry in a variety of formats and flavours to meet their customer requirements.

With a customer base that includes retailers, manufacturers and the foodservice sector, SBF is ideally placed to highlight its brand to the audience of buyers from every sector of the cold chain who will be present on the evening.

BFFF would like to thank Sam Browne Foods for once again adding their support to this industry event. www.sambrownefoods.co.uk

Freiberger Add Their Name To Sponsorship

Of Gala Dinner Dance

BFFF WAS DELIGHTED that major European company, Freiberger, added their support again to this year’s Gala Dinner Dance with sponsorship of the main band, Rollacoaster.

The Freiberger Group has been developing and maufacturing frozen and chilled pizzas

34 THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014

for the international retail sector for more than 35 years. The product portfolio includes frozen snacks, baguettes and pasta meals.

BFFF would like to thank Richard and the Freiberger team for adding their tremendous support to the entertainment at this year’s Gala Dinner Dance.

www.freiberger.de

GLUTEN FREE Ready Meals & Soups Range Available Chilled & Frozen

As increasingly more consumers choose free from and special diet alternatives, both out of necessity, and as part of a healthier lifestyle, RGF Foods and Nicco Foods are pleased to announce, in partnership, the launch of the Ridge’s brand of Gluten Free Frozen and Chilled Ready Meals and Soups.

This exciting new range, which will feature an increasingly comprehensive range of gluten free products, is targeted towards Retail, Foodservice, and Travel Sectors alike.

The Ridge’s brand is now available from July 2014.

For further information on our exciting new range please contact our sales office on 01606 541597 or Email: sales@rgffoods.com.

Nicco F O O D S

L I M I T E D

RETAIL and the

winners are...

FINEST IN FROZEN 2014 Chief-executive Brian Young introduces the winners of the BFFF Annual Awards 2014 Retail Category.

Over the past 27 years, BFFF has run the ultimate new product awards event, which has become widely known as the ‘Oscars of the Frozen Food Industry’. The rationale for this highly prestigious awards scheme is to reward the terrific quality and product development in the frozen food market by recognising the very best frozen food products that have been brought to market over the past year.

For 2014, the Retail Product of the Year trophy went to MDC Foods Ltd for its ‘Aldi Asia Specialities’ Hoisin Chicken. The winning product – from the ‘Asia Specialities’ range – contains tender pieces of chicken breast, red peppers, water chestnuts and spring onions in a delicious Hoisin sauce. It retails at £1.49.

The Retail Product of the Year is a triumph for both Aldi and for MDC, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Other 2014 category gold retailer winners include Coppenrath & Wiese, Dr. Oetker, Iceland, Lakeside Food Group and Wessex Foods.

The retail sector products are judged by panels of consumers throughout the UK, who mark each entry on appearance, taste, innovation, packaging, preparation instructions, likelihood of purchase and value for money. The BFFF Retail awards represent ‘the people’s choice’ 36 THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014

and many consumers have endured a very difficult two years through the credit crunch and the recession. However, there is no doubt that consumers continue to be aspirational and the frozen food sector is well able to meet many of those aspirations.

According to the latest data from Kantar Worldpanel for the year ending March 30 2014, the frozen retail market has grown £750 million in the past 3 years. It is now worth £5.75 billion. At a time when retailers are finding growth really difficult to come by, the frozen food market has enjoyed growth in each of the past 17 quarters.

One reason is that consumers have been turning to frozen food as disposable income has been squeezed. Shoppers have learnt to manage tight house-hold budgets by changing their shopping habits, wasting less food and generally becoming more savvy. In this new enlightened era consumers have found frozen food offers great value, ‘locked in goodness’ and minimal waste. As a result, frozen food has continued to shine in a difficult retail environment.

For the sixth year running the BFFF Retail Awards have been sponsored by the Yearsley Group, leaders in frozen foods via its two divisions: logistics and food.

Managing director Harry Yearsley said: “Yearsley Group’s involvement once again demonstrates our commitment to the frozen food industry. It’s important that quality and

innovation in the industry are rewarded and we are extremely honoured and proud to be involved as sponsors of this year’s retail awards and add our support to this wellestablished event.”

In the past 18 months, Yearsley Group has acquired a 42,000 pallet automated store, built a new store at Heywood with cart automation, installed 12,000 solar panels and retro-fitted LED lighting to all 13 sites. It has also started an apprenticeship scheme and significantly upgraded its bespoke operating system and web portal.

“In our business, we believe passionately in investing in our systems, infrastructure and people to deliver a sustainable future. Innovation and quality and are both cornerstones of this strategy, as we constantly strive to deliver better systems, services and products to our customers,” said Harry.

Established in 1955 and headquartered in Heywood, near Manchester, frozen food specialist Yearsley Group has more than 1,200 employees, an annual turnover of around £170m and operates two separate divisions: Yearsley Logistics and Yearsley Food. Yearsley Logistics is the country’s largest provider of frozen food logistics.

Sponsored by

BFFF Annual Awards 2014 RETAIL Awards Results

Retail Product of the Year ‘Aldi Asia Specialities’ Hoisin Chicken produced by MDC Foods Ltd

Best New Fish Based Product

‘Aldi Specially Selected’ Four Coquilles St Jacques ‘Aldi Specially Selected’ Luxury Topped Side of Salmon ‘Aldi Specially Selected’ Smoked Salmon Terrine

Best New Poultry Based Product

MDC Foods Ltd ‘Aldi Asia Specialities’ Hoisin Chicken ‘Iceland 18 Piece Party’ Chippy Style Chicken Strips with chip shop style curry dip Iceland Foods Ltd Iceland Foods Ltd ‘Iceland Meal in a Bag’ Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry

Best New Pizza, Savouries and Savoury Bread Product

‘Dr. Oetker Stoneoven Tradizionale’ Mozzarella Pizza ‘Iceland 24 Piece Party’ Sweet & Savoury Croissants ‘Aldi Specially Selected’ Four Large Beef Dripping Yorkshire Puddings

Dr. Oetker (UK) Ltd Iceland Foods Ltd Greencore Grocery Leeds

Best New Meat Based Product

‘Iceland Luxury’ Pork Loin Rack with an Apple Crust ‘Iceland Luxury’ Venison Garland ‘Asda Chosen by you’ Two Pulled Beef Wellingtons

Iceland Foods Ltd Iceland Foods Ltd Oliver James Foods

Best New VegetableBased Product

‘Asda Chosen by you’ Broccoli & Stilton Risotto Bakes ‘Morrisons’ Vegetable Lasagne ‘Eazy Herbs’ Coriander

Wessex Foods Laila’s Fine Foods Ltdd Dujardin Foods Group NV

Best New Ice Cream/ Ice Cream Dessert Product

‘Gianni’s’ Scrumptious Cherry Ice Cream ‘Tesco Finest*’ Three Cornish Sea Salted Caramel Ice Creams ‘Supervalu’ Caramel Biscuit Ice Cream

Aldi Stores Ltd R&R Ice Cream UK Ltd Lakeland Dairy Sales Ltd

Best New Dessert/ Confectionery Product

‘Conditorei Sweet Dreams’ Stracciatella Torte ‘Aldi Specially Selected’ Dark Chocolate & Orange Mascarpone Cheesecake ‘Iceland Party’ Raspberry Eton Mess Dessert

Coppenrath & Wiese (UK) Ltd Aldi Stores Ltd Coppenrath & Wiese (UK) Ltd

Lakeside Food Group Ltd Lakeside Food Group Ltd Lakeside Food Group Ltd

Details compiled from entry forms

THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 37

Three in a row...

BRONZ

GOLD

E

AWARD

NER IN W

ARD W AW I

NER N

RETAIL OF TH E CT AR YE

PROD U

Proud to celebrate 25 years and three wins

2014

2014

2014

WINNER Retail product of the year 2014

GOLD Best new poultry-based product

BRONZE Best new catering multi-portion product

+44 (0)1582 730014 | www.mdc-foods.co.uk

BFFF Annual Awards 2014

RETAIL Awards Product of the Year

CHINESE CHICKEN WINS RETAIL FOR MDC FOODS IN SILVER ANNIVERSARY YEAR MDC Foods ‘Aldi Asia Specialities’ Hoisin Chicken awarded Retail Product of the Year for 2014

MDC FOODS HOISIN Chicken produced for Aldi and retailed under its ‘Aldi Asia Specialities’ brand won the top frozen retail honour being named Retail Product of the Year 2014. It also scooped the Gold Award in the Best New Poultry Product category. The win is the icing on the cake for MDC which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and has long been recognised for its commitment to quality and innovation.

“Everyone at MDC Foods is delighted to have won this award. It is a great endorsement of the quality and commitment of our development team and our valued relationship with Aldi,” says Samantha Wise, marketing co-ordinator, MDC Foods.

The product, Hoisin Chicken from the ‘Asia Specialities’ range from Retailer of the Year Aldi, sells for a remarkable £1.49 and consists

Retail Product of the Year ‘Aldi Asia Specialities’ Hoisin Chicken by MDC Foods

of tender pieces of chicken breast, red peppers, water chestnuts and spring onions in a delicious Hoisin sauce.

Brian Young, BFFF chief-executive, says: “The Retail Product of the Year is a triumph for both Aldi and for MDC, which is celebrating its 25th year anniversary of being in business. This incredibly convenient product, that can be ready from microwave in only eight minutes ticks all the boxes for hard-pressed consumers offering delicious authentic food at incredibly good value prices and, of course, being frozen it guarantees minimal waste.”

He adds: “Consumers have been turning to frozen food as disposable income has been squeezed and they have learnt to manage tight household budgets by changing their shopping habits, wasting less food and generally becoming more savvy.”

Retail Product of the Year Peter Allan (l), BFFF president, Michael Cullinane, MDC Foods Ltd and Harry Yearsley (r), Yearsley Group

The winners in the retail sector are decided by panels of consumers throughout the UK, who mark the products for appearance, taste, innovation, packaging, preparation instructions, likelihood of purchase and value for money.

The BFFF Retail Awards represent ‘the people’s choice’ in frozen.

THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 39

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… and it’s possible.

BFFF Annual Awards 2014 RETAIL Awards

Best New Poultry Based Product ALDI ASIA SPECIALITIES Hoisin Chicken by MDC Foods Ltd scooped the Gold Award in this popular category. The product sells for a remarkable £1.49 and consists of tender pieces of chicken breast, red peppers and water chestnuts and spring onions in a delicious Hoisin sauce that can be microwaved from frozen in only eight minutes and ticks all the boxes for hard-pressed and busy consumers. Iceland 18 Piece Party Chippy Style Chicken with chip shop style curry dip won the Silver Award for its fabulous value - £3 per party pack – and convenience. It is a ‘cook from frozen’ product that can be microwaved and ready in less than two minutes. The Bronze Award also went to Iceland for its ‘Iceland Meal in a Bag’ Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry. The ‘cooked from frozen’ product serves two and retails for £2.

Gold Poultry GOLD Peter Allan (l), BFFF president, Michael Cullinane (c) MDC Foods Ltd and Harry Yearsley (r), Yearsley Group

Silver Poultry SILVER Jonathan Baker (l), Yearsley Group and Nicola Conway, Iceland Foods Ltd

Bronze Poultry BRONZE Jonathan Baker (l), Yearsley Group and Alison Shone, Iceland Foods Ltd

WINNER - ‘Aldi Asia Specialities’ Hoisin Chicken

Best New Pizza, Savouries & Savoury Bread Product GOLD WINNER FOR 2014 is Dr. Oetker’s Stoneoven Tradizionale Mozzarella Pizza product which retails for £3.50.

Made the Italian way on hot stones, this incredibly crispy pizza is richly topped with mozzarella and Edam cheeses and cherry tomatoes. Iceland Foods took the Silver Award with its 24 Piece Party Sweet & Savoury Croissants which retail for £3. Part of the hugely successful Party range pioneered by Iceland, this product contains 12 ham and cheese croissants and 12 chocolate croissants. Greencore Grocery Leeds took the Bronze Award with its Four Large Beef Dripping Yorkshire Puddings under the Aldi Specially Selected range. These traditional Yorkshires are made using British Milk, free-range eggs and British Beef Dripping and retail at 99p.

Gold Pizza/Savoury GOLD Peter Allan (l), BFFF president, Jan McKee, Dr. Oetker (UK) Ltd, and Harry Yearsley (r), Yearsley Group

Silver Pizza/Savoury SILVER Jonathan Baker (l), Yearsley Group and Karl Hassall, Iceland Foods Ltd

Bronze Pizza/Savoury BRONZE Jonathan Baker (l), Yearsley Group, Paul Cunningham (cl), Aldi and Sharon Barker & Adam Kappel (r), Greencore Grocery Leeds

WINNER - ‘Dr. Oetker Stoneoven Tradizionale’ Mozzarella Pizza

THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 41

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Best New Meat Based Product ANOTHER TRIUMPH FOR Iceland winning both Gold and Silver awards with its Luxury product range. Taking the Gold Award is Iceland’s Pork Loin Rack with an Apple Crust which serves 6-8 people and retails at £10. This 1.7kg Pork Loin Rack can be roasted from frozen. The Silver Award was won by Iceland’s Venison Garland, an innovative dish of venison marinaded in red wine, with an onion, spinach, portobello mushroom, butternut squash, cranberry and bacon lardon fusion wrapped in puff pastry. It comes with a separate serving of cranberry, port and orange sauce. Serving 4-6 people for £10, it can also be cooked from frozen. Winning the Bronze Award is Asda Chosen by you Two Pulled Beef Wellingtons, made by Oliver James Foods.

Gold Meat GOLD Peter Allan (l), BFFF president, Warren Hamer, Iceland Foods Ltd and Harry Yearsley (r), Yearsley Group

Silver Meat SILVER Ray Perry (l), NewCold and the Iceland Team

Bronze Meat BRONZE Jonathan Baker (l), Yearsley Group, Kevin Morel and Gary Davies (r), Oliver James Foods

WINNER - ‘Iceland Luxury’ Pork Loin Rack with an Apple Crust

Best New Vegetable Based Product ASDA TRIUMPHED WITH its Broccoli & Stilton Risotto Bakes from its Chosen by You range, made by Wessex Foods. Wrapped in crispy golden breadcrumb, this sells for £1.58 and can be cooked from frozen in 25 minutes. It is approved by the Vegetarian Society and contains no artificial colours, flavours or hydrogenated fat. The Silver Award went to Morrisons Vegetable Lasagne (£1.50) produced by Laila’s Fine Foods Ltd and made from grilled courgettes, peppers and mushroom in a rich tomato sauce, layered with pasta sheets and topped with béchamel sauce and Cheddar cheese. Bronze was won by ‘Eazy Herbs’ Coriander from the Dujardin Foods Group NV. This frozen chopped and ready to use East Anglian coriander is 100% natural and comes in 75g packs. It’s frozen within hours to retain freshness and flavour, and retails at £1.79.

Gold Vegetable GOLD Peter Allan (l), BFFF president, Alan Harris and Pippa Hawkins, Wessex Foods and Harry Yearsley (r), Yearsley Group

Silver Vegetable SILVER Jonathan Baker (l), Yearsley Group, Zera Remtulla (c) and Rishma Remtulla, Laila’s Fine Foods Ltd

WINNER - ‘Asda Chosen by you’ Broccoli & Stilton Risotto Bakes

Bronze Vegetable BRONZE Jonathan Baker (l), Yearsley Group, Jens Vande Maele (c), Dujardin Foods Group NV and Paul Farrow (r), Rosemary & Thyme

THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 43

BFFF Annual Awards 2014 RETAIL Awards

Best New Ice Cream, Ice Cream Dessert Product ALDI’S GIANNI’S’ SCRUMPTIOUS Cherry Ice Cream took this year’s Gold Award. Made with vanilla flavoured ice cream, rippled with cherry sauce and topped with whole cherries, it retails for just £1.49. The Silver Award winner was R&R Ice Cream UK for its Tesco Finest* three Cornish Sea Salted Caramel Ice Creams for just £2.79. Made with Devon double cream and full cream milk, it’s swirled with caramel sauce, and thickly coated in rich milk chocolate with butterscotch pieces added for extra indulgence. The Bronze Award winner comes from Lakeland Dairy Sales with its Supervalu Caramel Biscuit Ice Cream served in 500ml tubs. It has a recommended selling price of £2.50.

Gold Ice Cream GOLD Peter Allan (l), BFFF president, Laura Whiting, Aldi Stores Ltd and Harry Yearsley (r), Yearsley Group

Silver Ice Cream

Bronze Ice Cream

SILVER Jonathan Baker, (l), Yearsley Group, Hannah Braithwaite & Ross Elsworth (r), R&R Ice Cream UK Ltd

WINNER - ‘Gianni’s’ Scrumptious Cherry Ice Cream

BRONZE Jonathan Baker (l), Yearsley Group with representatives from Lakeland Dairy Sales Ltd & Musgraves

Best New Dessert, Confectionery Product COPPENRATH & WIESE won both Gold and Bronze in this year’s awards. Its Gold Award winning product is Stracciatella Torte from the Sweet Dreams range for Conditorei Coppenrath & Wiese. This cherry torte product is a moist chocolate sponge layered with a light stracciatella cream infused with juicy cherries, on a crisp biscuit base, with a fruit cherry mousse and chocolate drops. It retails for £4. The Silver Award winner is from Aldi’s Specially Selected range. A dark chocolate and orange mascarpone cheesecake is topped with a rich Belgian dark chocolate glace and retails for £2.99. The Bronze Award winner from Coppenrath & Wiese (UK) is the ‘Iceland Party’ Raspberry Eton Mess Dessert.

Gold Dessert GOLD Peter Allan (l), BFFF president, Bernard Maher, Coppenrath & Wiese (UK) Ltd and Harry Yearsley (r), Yearsley Group

Silver Dessert SILVER Jonathan Baker (l), Yearsley Group and Laura Whiting, Aldi Stores Ltd

WINNER - ‘Conditorei Sweet Dreams’ Stracciatella Torte

Silver Poultry SILVER Jonathan Baker (l), Yearsley Group and Nicola Conway, Iceland Foods Ltd

BFFF Annual Awards 2014 RETAIL Awards Best New Fish Based Product ALDI SPECIALLY SELECTED range managed a clean sweep in the fish category with all products created by Lakeside Food Group. The Gold Award winner is Four Coquilles St. Jacques containing dive-caught Peruvian scallops smothered in a cheese, mushroom and white wine sauce and topped with creamy potato and a crunchy cheese crumb. It retails for the great value price of ÂŁ3.99. The product is hand-made using tender scallops caught off the coast of Peru. The Silver Award was won by Aldi Specially Selected Luxury Topped Side of Salmon by Lakeside Food Group. Aldi Specially Selected Smoked Salmon Terrine by Lakeside Food Group won the Bronze Award.

Gold Fish GOLD (from left) Peter Allan, BFFF president, Paul Cunningham, Aldi, Rebecca Parker, Lakeside Food Group, and Harry Yearsley, Yearsley Group

Silver Fish Bronze Fish

WINNER - Aldi Specially Selected Four Coquilles St Jacques

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THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 45

In With The New

FINE FOODS PLC

KK Fine Foods is updating its image with a new logo, rebranding and website. As well as giving the company a fresh new look, the rebrand is aimed ensuring that customers are aware that KK is much more than a frozen food manufacturer.

“We’ve moved on massively in terms of innovation and development and we want to give customers more of an idea of what we can do,” says Sally Nicholson, Sales & Marketing Manager. “It’s about keeping our current customers interested and winning new business.”

KK Commences its £4.2m Factory Expansion Having had consecutive years of growth, KK Fine foods has now commenced on an expansion for its production facility, both to cope with current demand and to future proof the factory.

As well as creating more production capacity both for ready meals and protein cooking there has been heavy investment in specialist equipment to supplement the sous vide operation. “The sous vide process is becoming even more popular with our customers” says Samir Edwards, so this investment is a vital part of the expansion and we are looking forward to further developing our product range in this area.

New Managing Director As well as a new image and logo KK has a new MD! Samir Edwards son of Leyla Edwards has been promoted to Managing Director.

Leyla continues to be active within the business as CEO. Samir has pretty much worked in every department of the factory from sales to supply chain, with the expansion plans now underway Samir is ready to move the business on and take it through this exciting stage of development.

“There’s a lot of development going on and we’ve got a real opportunity to evolve and expand” says Samir Edwards. “The future looks good.”

KK SCORES GOLDEN HAT-TRICK

As the 2014 World Cup kicked off in Brazil, KK Fine Foods Plc were celebrating a hat trick of their own by picking up three gold catering awards at the BFFF gala dinner.

The prestigious event, held annually at the Hilton on Park Lane, recognises the best and most innovative products across the frozen food industry.

The Golds were picked up for the following:BEST NEW MAIN COURSE/MEAL CENTRE PRODUCT for ‘JD Wetherspoon’ Beef & Pancetta Lasagne BEST NEW MEAT FREE/VEGETARIAN PRODUCT for Gluten Free Cauliflower Gratin Tart BEST NEW MULTI-PORTION PRODUCT for ‘Café Rouge’ Ratatouille Bake In addition to topping the lot in 3 out of 9 categories there was also a silver in the BEST NEW STARTER/BUFFET/APPETISER PRODUCT for rare sliced beef.

Managing Director, Samir Edwards said “We had an amazing evening and these awards demonstrate our commitment as a business to continually deliver quality, innovative and great tasting products to our valued customers” While KK Fine Foods has always been less about simply manufacturing products and more about establishing what customers want and delivering solutions, this strategy is now even more to the fore. A lot of time is spent on product innovation – the company has a team of development chefs and invests time in analysing the marketplace and exchanging ideas to bring the best products to its customers. The team have been travelling the country, looking at the marketplace and bringing innovative ideas back to the NPD team, which can be offered to customers so that they can make a point of difference for their brand.

Right: Ratatouille Bake, Winner of the Best New Multi-Portion Product

For more information on all of our products please contact Sally Nicholson: sallynicholson@kkfinefoods.com | 01244 286 200 | www.kkfinefoods.co.uk

CATERING and the

winners are...

FINEST IN FROZEN 2014 Chief executive Brian Young introduces the winners of the BFFF Annual Awards 2014 Catering Category.

Winner of the Catering Product of the Year for 2014 was The Authentic Food Company’s Butternut Squash Pakoras. In a hotly contested category, these sweet and spicy starters have everything that the foodservice industry needs to get back on its feet - quality, innovation and flavour. Made with butternut squash, onion, potato, gram flour, the pakoras’ sweetness is enhanced with cinnamon and fennel, all of which give it a unique texture and flavour. Ideal as a premium snack developed from an authentic Indian recipe, it’s no surprise that Gate Gourmet included it in their range for Club and First Class British Airways flights.

Many actively involved in the foodservice market are hoping that this summer sees the beginnings of real growth being restored to the foodservice sector. The recession has proved to be very long and deep and has been very difficult for all those involved in foodservice.

However, the good news is that some of the declines that have been experienced are now beginning to turn around. As disposable income begins to edge up, the prospects for the foodservice market are brighter now than they have been at any time in the part five years. An improving economy, incredibly innovative products and improvements in disposable income hopefully are the hallmarks of a new foodservice renaissance.

The BFFF’s expert judges from the Craft Guild of Chefs loved this product with one saying, “Great tasting, great looking product – lovely bite and good eat. Lovely product!” Whilst another said, “Really nice flavour, well-seasoned, just the right level of spice. Eats really well.”

Tough times have resulted in the food service sector having to be even more ingenious, inventive and in-tune with consumer needs.

The quality and quantity of entries in this year’s Catering Awards are a great testament to our food service members showing that once again they’ve come up with the goods in producing a fabulous range of new products from a wide variety of companies. Other Catering Gold winners included Brakes, Frecco Food & Beverage, KK Fine Foods and Oliver James Foods.

Scooping the Gold Award marks another high point in a stellar year for Manchester- based, The Authentic Food Company. Earlier this year, its founder Kamal Basran was presented with an OBE from HRH The Prince of Wales for her services to business and charity.

The winners in the catering sector are judged by representatives of the Craft Guild of Chefs which include executive chefs, catering managers and recipe developers. These judges are experts in their field and uncompromising in their assessments of the entries. They are

48 THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014

always impressed by products that take the labour out of prestigious dishes that normally require intensive preparation in the kitchen. In the foodservice sector, frozen foods, with their established logistical benefits, have gained still higher acceptance through clever innovative ideas in both recipe formulation and preparation functionality as well as product sector insight.

Backed by a deep understanding of the catering market, frozen foods continue to make significant progress in the foodservice sector as end users demand enhanced quality, recipe authenticity and significant laboursavings in the kitchen.

The BFFF Catering Awards have been sponsored

by NewCold, which specialises in frozen food supply chain solutions and offers state of the art, large scale automated warehouse services, as the centrepiece of its scope of supply.

David Richardson, president and CEO, NewCold says, “NewCold is relatively new as a service provider in the Cold Supply Chain and we start the development of our first cold store in the UK this year. We sponsored the catering awards in 2013 for the first time. The very positive feedback we received from participants and members proves that the BFFF event is highly appreciated and therefore we are pleased to continue our sponsorship in 2014.”

Sponsored by

BFFF Annual Awards 2014 CATERING Awards Results

Catering Product of the Year Butternut Squash Pakoras by The Authentic Food Company Ltd

Best New Starter/Buffet/ Appetiser Product

Butternut Squash Pakoras Sliced Rare Beef Cooked Pork Belly Bites

The Authentic Food Company Ltd KK Fine Foods Plc Brakes

Best New Accompaniment/ Potato/Vegetable Product

Spiced Apple Fruit Infusion Drink Cranberry Fruit Infusion Drink Cowboy BBQ Beans

Frecco Food & Beverage Ltd Frecco Food & Beverage Ltd Bar Foods Ltd.

Best New Main Course/ Meal Centre Product

‘JD Wetherspoon’ Beef & Pancetta Lasagne Chicken with Portobello Mushrooms & Madeira Pulled Beef Chilli ‘Whitbread’ Lamb Shank ‘Dawn Chef’ Bourbon Pulled Pork Joint

KK Fine Foods Plc Oliver James Foods Brakes Dawn Meats Crosshands Dawn Meats Crosshands

Best New Meat Free/ Vegetarian Product

Gluten Free Cauliflower Gratin Tart ‘Proper Pies’ Tomato Chutney, Spring Onion & Wyke Farm Vintage Cheddar Quiche ‘Hiestand’ Hand Held Margherita Pizza

KK Fine Foods Plc Oliver James Foods

Best New Multi-Portion Product

‘Café Rouge’ Ratatouille Bake Chicken Korma ‘Ikea’ Chickpea Biryani

KK Fine Foods Plc Laila’s Fine Foods Ltd MDC Foods Ltd

Best New Bakery/Pastries Product

Iced Victorian Fruit Cake Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cherry Tomato & Oregano Focaccia

Brakes D. Sidoli & Sons (Shrewsbury) Ltd Bidvest 3663

Best Ice Cream Product

‘Fruitfull’ Strawberry Juice Lollies Cocotella Gelato ‘Loseley Dairy Ice Cream’ Treacle Toffee

DiSotto Foods DiSotto Foods Beechdean Dairies Ltd

Best Dessert/Confectionery Product

‘Barton & White’ Orange Liqueur Bread & Butter Pudding ‘Barton & White’ Pecan Tart Wheat Free Sticky Toffee Pudding Cheesecake

Oliver James Foods Oliver James Foods Bidvest 3663

Details compiled from entry forms

Delice de France Plc

THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 49

Award-Winning Products Award-Winning Chef BFFF Catering Product of the Year The Butternut Squash Pakora Developed by The Authentic Indian Team, led by Sanjay Sighat Craft Guild of Chefs Development Chef of the Year.

www.tafc.com

BFFF Annual Awards 2014

CATERING Awards Product of the Year

GOLDEN YEAR FOR AUTHENTIC FOOD COMPANY Butternut Squash Pakoras awarded Catering Product of the Year for 2014

JUDGES FROM THE Craft Guild of Chefs loved The Authentic Food Company’s starter Butternut Squash Pakoras so much they named it the 2014 winner of the Catering Awards. One said “Great tasting, great looking product – lovely bite and good eat. Lovely product!” Whilst another said, “Really nice flavour, well-seasoned, just the right level of spice. Eats really well.”

Made with butternut squash, onion, potato and gram flour, the pakoras’ sweetness is enhanced with cinnamon and fennel, all of which give it a unique texture and flavour.

Ideal as a premium snack developed from an authentic Indian recipe, it’s no surprise that Gate Gourmet included it in their range for Club and First Class British Airways flights.

The last year has seen challenging times for the food service industry with disposable income being squeezed and consumers looking to economise wherever and whenever they can. The new circumstances have resulted in the food service sector having to be even more ingenious, inventive and in-tune with consumer needs.

The winners in the catering sector are judged by representatives of the Craft Guild of Chefs, who, as executive chefs, catering managers and recipe developers, are experts in their field and uncompromising in their assessments of the entries.

Catering Product of the Year Butternut Squash Pakoras

by The Authentic Food Company Ltd

Catering Product of the Year (from left) Peter Allan, BFFF president, Christopher Basten, chairman of the Craft Guild of Chefs, Nik Basran, The Authentic Food Company and Bram Hage, NewCold

Brian Young, BFFF chief-executive, says: “Scooping the Gold Award marks another high point in a stellar year for Manchester- based, The Authentic Food Company. Earlier this year, its founder Kamal Basran was presented with an OBE from HRH The Prince of Wales for her services to business and charity.”

Over the last 27 years, BFFF has run the ultimate new product awards event, which has become known as the ‘Oscars of the Frozen Food Industry’. The rationale for this highly prestigious awards scheme is to reward and recognise the terrific quality and product development in the frozen food market during the last year.

THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 51

BFFF Annual Awards 2014 CATERING Awards Results Best New Starter, Buffet, Appetiser Product THE AUTHENTIC FOOD Company scooped the Gold Award with its stunning new starter, Butternut Squash Pakoras.

With a sweet and spicy character, the pakoras are made with butternut squash, onion, potato, gram flour. The sweetness is enhanced with cinnamon and fennel, all of which gives the product a unique texture and flavour.

The Silver Award went to KK Fine Foods’ Sliced Rare Beef with its multiple menu applications. Made from a seared, seasoned sliced British Beef – it offers superb portion control and is easy to serve. Winning the Bronze Award was Brakes’ Cooked Pork Belly Bites - roasted in sea salt, chilli and spices and perfect as a starter or on a buffet.

Gold Starter GOLD (from left) Peter Allan, BFFF president, Nik Basran, The Authentic Food Company and Bram Hage, NewCold

Silver Starter SILVER (from left) Ray Perry, NewCold, Samir Edwards and Stuart Davey, KK Fine Foods

Bronze Starter BRONZE (from left) Ray Perry of NewCold, Louise Hatch and Marcel Obry of Brakes

WINNER - Butternut Squash Pakoras

Best New Accompaniment, Potato, Vegetable Product FRECCO FOOD & BEVERAGE triumphed with its highly innovative products winning both the Gold and Silver Awards.

Gold winner was its innovative Spiced Apple Fruit Infusion Drink described by judges as “refreshing and perfectly spicy.” It won Silver for its Cranberry Fruit Infusion Drink. Both products are made with only natural ingredients and frozen for best freshness and quality. Bronze Award winner was Bar Foods’ Cowboy BBQ Beans. Part of the Greene King Hungry Horse menu, the product includes five types of beans and coffee.

Gold Accompaniment GOLD Peter Allan (l), BFFF president, collects award for Frecco Food & Beverages and Bram Hage, NewCold

Silver Accompaniment SILVER Frecco Cranberry Fruit Infusion Drink

WINNER - Spiced Apple Fruit Infusion Drink 52 THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014

Bronze Accompaniment BRONZE Ray Perry (l), NewCold and David Wilkinson, Bar Foods

BFFF Annual Awards 2014 CATERING Awards Results Best New Main Course, Meal Centre Product WINNING THE GOLD AWARD is JD Wetherspoon Beef & Pancetta Lasagne from KK Fine Foods. Made with four layers of free-range Italian egg lasagne, interleaved with slow cooked minced beef and pancetta bolognaise sauce and a touch of Italian red wine with a layer of smooth creamy vintage Cheddar cheese sauce. One judge said “Lovely flavour, good meat, content well balanced. Very well delivered.” Silver Award winner is Oliver James Foods’ Chicken with Portobello Mushrooms & Maderia, whilst the Bronze Award was shared by three products: Brakes’ Pulled Beef Chilli, and Dawn Meats Crosshands Whitbread Lamb Shank and Dawn Chef Bourbon Pulled Pork Joint.

Gold Main GOLD (from left) Peter Allan, BFFF president, Paul Chittenden and Samir Edwards, KK Fine Foods and Bram Hage of NewCold

Silver Main SILVER (from left) Jonathan Baker, Yearsley Group, Kevin Morel and Gary Davies, Oliver James Foods

Bronze Main SHARED BRONZE Ray Perry, NewCold and Louise Hatch, Brakes. Dawn Meats (above)

WINNER - KK Foods Beef & Pancetta Lasagne

Best New Meat-Free, Vegetarian Product The Gold Award was won by KK Fine Foods’ Gluten Free Cauliflower Gratin Tart. Made with butter enriched gluten free pastry with cauliflower florets in a creamy Cheddar cheese sauce topped with mozzarella and mature Cheddar cheese.

Judges said it was a “lovely product for the coeliac/vegetarian.

Good shape and size. Textures and flavours good.” Silver Award winner is Oliver James Foods’ Proper Pies Tomato Chutney, Spring Onion & Wyke Farm Vintage Cheddar Quiche. The Bronze Award winner is Delice de France’s Hiestand Hand Held Margherita Pizza.

Gold Vegetarian GOLD (from left) Peter Allan, BFFF president, Stuart Davey and Samir Edwards, KK Fine Foods and Bram Hage, NewCold

Silver Vegetarian SILVER (from left) Jonathan Baker, Yearsley Group, Kevin Morel and Gary Davies, Oliver James Foods

Bronze Vegetarian BRONZE (from left) Ray Perry, NewCold, Neville Moon and Mariam French, Delice de France Plc

WINNER - Gluten Free Cauliflower Gratin Tart THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 53

BFFF Annual Awards 2014 CATERING Awards Results Best New Multi-Portion Product KK FINE FOODS’ Café Rouge Ratatouille Bake wins the Gold Award. It’s made of layers of sliced butternut squash, grill roasted aubergines, courgette ribbons and chargrilled red peppers in a rich slow roast tomato sauce topped with breadcrumbs, pumpkin seed, Pecorino cheese, olive oil and sage.

Laila’s Fine Foods’ Chicken Korma scooped the Silver with the Bronze being won by MDC Foods for its ‘Ikea’ Chickpea Biryani.

Gold Multi-Portion GOLD (from left) Peter Allan, BFFF president, Stuart Davey, KK Fine Foods Plc and Bram Hage, NewCold

Silver Multi-Portion SILVER (from left) Jonathan Baker, Yearsley Group, Zera Remtulla and Rishma Remtulla, Laila’s Fine Foods

Bronze Multi-Portion BRONZE (from left) Ray Perry, NewCold, Paul Turner, Michael Cullinane and Paul Blackler, MDC Foods

WINNER - Café Rouge Ratatouille Bake

Best New Bakery, Pastries Product GOLD WINNER IS Brakes’ Iced Victorian Fruit Cake, a delicious loaf cake rich in sultanas and cherries with a hint of sherry, lightly glazed and topped with marzipan and swirls of white icing. One judge said, “Good flavour, good amount of fruit, eats well. Just the right amount of icing/marzipan.” Winning Silver was D. Sidoli & Sons (Shrewsbury) Gluten Free Carrot Cake whilst the Bronze was won by Bidvest 3663 with its Cherry Tomato & Oregano Focaccia.

Gold Bakery GOLD (from left) Peter Allan, BFFF president, Des Cloke, Brakes and Bram Hage, NewCold

Silver Bakery SILVER Ray Perry (l), NewCold and Neil Turner, D. Sidoli & Sons (Shrewsbury)

WINNER - Iced Victorian Fruit Cake 54 THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014

Bronze Bakery BRONZE (from left) Ray Perry, NewCold, Christa Heydon, Pamela Macken, Lucas Williams and Andy Small, Bidvest 3663

Best New Ice Cream Product TAKING THE GOLD AWARD is DiSotto Foods Fruitfull Strawberry Juice Lollies, crammed full of 100% strawberries and natural ingredients on a stick and then frozen. The judges said, “Very good product, superb taste, a good portion, LOVE IT!” DiSotto Foods also won the Silver Award with its Cocotella Gelato whilst the Bronze Award went to Beechdean Dairies for its Loseley Dairy Ice Cream Treacle Toffee.

Gold Ice Cream GOLD (from left) Peter Allan, BFFF president, Marcello Dionisi and Robert Marciano, DiSotto Foods and Bram Hage, NewCold

Silver Ice Cream SILVER Ray Perry (l), NewCold with the DiSotto Team

Bronze Ice Cream BRONZE Ray Perry (l), NewCold and Andrew Howard, Beechdean Dairies

WINNER - Fruitfull Strawberry Juice Lollies

Best New Dessert, Confectionery Product OLIVER JAMES FOODS picked up both Gold and Silver in this fiercely contested category. Winning Gold is its Barton & White Orange Liqueur Bread & Butter Pudding. Barton & White supplies some of the UK’s largest food chains across the travel, retail and hospitality sectors. Our judges said, “A good clean product, well-produced. Good size and shape, looks good and eats well.” Silver winner is Oliver James Foods’ Pecan Tart Wheat Free whilst the Bronze winner is Bidvest 3663’s Sticky Toffee Pudding Cheesecake.

Gold Dessert GOLD (from left) Peter Allan, BFFF president, Gary Davies, Oliver James Foods and Bram Hage, NewCold

Silver Dessert SILVER (from left) Jonathan Baker,Yearsley Group, Kevin Morel and Gary Davies, Oliver James Foods

Bronze Dessert BRONZE (from left) Ray Perry, NewCold, Christa Heydon, Pamela Macken, Lucas Williams and Andy Small, Bidvest 3663

WINNER - Barton & White Orange Liqueur Bread & Butter Pudding THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 55

Celebrating the

Industry Winners

Bidvest 3663 Delighted For

Recognition Of New Own Brand Products GRAEME MCKENZIE, HEAD of offer development, said about the accolade: “Bakery and dessert items have formed a key part of the innovation we’ve undertaken over the past 12 months. Through speaking to our customers and our insights team predicting future trends, we recognised the need for innovation to tempt the health-conscious public to indulge.

“We are delighted with these award wins as they will provide further recognition for two of the new products we’ve launched, which are already selling well and becoming an established part of our range.

“Our own brand cherry tomato and oregano Italian Focaccia picked up bronze in the best new bakery and pastries category.

Gold won by ‘Fruitfull’ Strawberry Juice Lollies

by DiSotto Foods THIS SUMPTUOUS PRODUCT is very simple, crammed full of 100% strawberries and natural ingredients on a stick and then frozen. It’s fat-free, gluten free, forms one of your 5 a day, is suitable for vegetarians and also Kosher and Halal approved. The Fruitfull range is exclusive to DiSotto Foods and there are 11 flavours within the range.

The BFFF judges loved this award winning Strawberry Lolly with one saying, “Very good product, superb taste, a good portion, LOVE IT!” Whilst another said, “Good clean product which will excite the palate. Meets the needs of coeliacs and diets – refreshes the taste buds.”

56 THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014

We launched the part-baked focaccia to provide customers with an alternate to a burger bun, complimenting the premium burger trend.

“We were also pleased to pick up a bronze award in the best new dessert and confectionery product category. Launched early last year, our own brand sticky toffee pudding cheesecake formed part of a range of desserts with ‘a twist’, designed specifically for key calendar occasions. Tapping into the popular cheesecake category and incorporating a nostalgic flavour such as sticky toffee pudding, this dessert has proved successful with our customers.

“We are honored that our products have been selected by the expert judging panel.”

Silver won by Cocotella Vero Gelato

by DiSotto Foods THIS ICE CREAM is part of Vero Gelato range, the true natural gelato selection from DiSotto Foods made to the authentic method using only the finest all natural ingredients. Vero Gelato Cocotella has a rich and velvety texture with a deep coconut sensation and the association of chocolate and hazelnut ripple gives a luxury appeal to it. An indulgent treat for all, gluten free and suitable for vegetarian too. The BFFF judges agreed with the product description with one saying, “Smooth and rich – coconut within this ice cream adds to the texture.”

Brakes wins three awards for each course at BFFF Annual Awards BRAKES HAS WON three awards at the British Frozen Food Federation’s (BFFF) Annual Awards, which took place on 12 June at the Hilton in Park Lane, London. The UK’s leading foodservice supplier received gold for its Iced Victorian Fruit Cake in the Best New Bakery/ Pastries category.

Brakes also won two bronze awards – one for its Cooked Pork Belly Bites in the Best New Starter/Buffet/Appetiser category and the other for its Pulled Beef Chilli in the Best New Main Course/Meal Centre Product category.

Adam Martin, Brakes’ Category Director, said: “We ensure that quality is at the heart of everything that we do and we pride ourselves on delivering delicious ingredients that offer caterers versatility, affordability and convenience at their fingertips.

“It is always gratifying for hard work to be recognised and it is particularly pleasing to have won three awards.”

Delice de France wins Bronze award

for Best New Meat Free/Vegetarian Product at the BFFF Awards DELICE DE FRANCE collected their second award of 2014 for their fantastic Hand-held Pizza. Having recently won gold at the Essential Café Awards for Product Launch of the Year, Delice de France were delighted to receive a BFFF Bronze Award, in the best new meat free/vegetarian product category.

Although the Italian Hand-held Margherita Pizza’s origins lie within the region of Veneto, the dough is crafted from authentic flour (type 0), sourced within the Prosecco region. Using a traditional process, the dough is hand rolled, filled with tomato and mozzarella, pinched in the middle twice and stone baked. With the UK Pizza market demonstrating annual sales now over £2 billion in 2013 1) this product superbly carves a slice into this growing sector.

This little award winner re-affirms that this is a great product for consumers who dislike the, often messy, difficulties of pizza eating; and for those who want a delicious snack on the go. Due to time starved lifestyles, we’ve found that 39% of consumers surveyed rely on food-to-go, with 59% wanting a ‘grab and go’ option at lunchtime. “The Delice de France Hand-held Margherita Pizza is an ideal

solution for busy consumers”, commented Mariam French - Head of Marketing.

For ease and convenience, this product is delivered frozen, Ready-to-Bake, and in quantities of 24 units per case, making it very attractive for customers with limited storage space.

There is also a potential for a variety of serving suggestions, for example: on its own as a snack, or with a salad, chips, dipping sauce, or additions of other toppings. And, treading tentatively into the debate as to whether a Pizza is better eaten hot or cold: this product is tantalising at either temperature; thus, catering to all tastes, ‘Perfetto!’

With all of the aforementioned qualities denoting the Delice de France Hand-held Pizza as a delicious, versatile and trendy option - it is no wonder that this product is topping the competitors for awards.

Delice de France offer a choice of two hand-held options: The Award Winning Margherita, and Ham & Cheese Pizzas.

“Aldi has a long standing association with the BFFF having entered key products in various categories over the last few years. The awards are regarded as one of the most prestigious in the frozen foods industry, so we are really proud to have won eight awards this year” All copy supplied by featured companies.

THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 57

DiscounteD for Bfff MeMBers Ae sMArt coulD help you AvoiD fines of up to £2,500 per DAy? Auto-enrolment regulations are complex and the fines for noncompliance severe (£400 plus £2,500 per day if you employ between 50 and 249 or £400 plus £500 per day if you employ between 5 and 49).

JLT Employee Benefits, one of the UK’s leading pension and employee benefit advisers and an associate member of BFFF, is offering AE Smart, its auto-enrolment service specifically created for SMEs, at a discounted price to BFFF Members.

AE Smart provides targeted, affordable help throughout your autoenrolment journey, including providing access to a streamlined pension scheme selection process from a pre-selected list of leading providers, with competitive charges.

JLT Employee Benefits are with you every step of the way and will: • Establish your specific needs and create a project plan for your circumstances.

• Guide you through the management of your project.

Contact Sarah James at JLT Employee Benefits on 0121 712 7941 or

sarah_james@jltgroup.com quoting the reference BFFFAES.

• Provide fact sheets to explain issues applicable to your project.

• Answer your queries.

So, if you share any of these auto-enrolment concerns: • Controlling costs • Choosing the right pension scheme • Following the rules

JLT Employee Benefits. A trading name of JLT Benefit Solutions Limited. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. A member of the Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group. Registered Office: The St Botolph Building, 138 Houndsditch, London EC3A 7AW. Registered in England No. 02240496. VAT No. 244 2321 96. 9052 06/14.

WORKPLACE PENSIONS - WE’RE ALL IN “Workplace pensions - we’re all in” has become a familiar cry from tv screens and billboards across the country. Millions of workers will be saving for their retirement for the first time because of new rules that make employers put their workers into pension schemes automatically, without the worker needing to do anything. Not only that, but employers must pay into their workers’pension pots for the first time. The Government has set minimum rates that all employers must pay.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO? 1. Find out when the new rules apply to you

April 2015 including a maximum member charge of 0.75%. If you don’t already have a pension scheme, you will need to choose one.

3. Decide how you will manage the new processes Every pay period you will need to identify which workers you need to automatically enrol and which have a right to join your scheme if they ask.

You will have to calculate and deduct pension contributions and pay them across to the pension provider. You will need to handle people who want to opt in to the scheme and those who want to opt-out. You will need to send statutory notices to everyone and keep records of what you have done.

The date the rules apply to you is called your staging date. You can find out your staging date (and lots more useful information) on The Pension Regulator’s website at www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/ employers/tools/staging-date.aspx.

Your payroll system should be able to do a lot of this, but it may not do everything. You should understand what it can do, and decide how you will handle the things it can’t.

2. Choose a pension scheme

4. Complete your declaration of compliance with The Pensions Regulator

If you already have a company scheme, you need to check that it meets the rules for auto-enrolment.

There are new rules coming in from

When you have done everything you have to and enrolled your first workers, you must tell The Pensions Regulator.

5. Don’t panic Preparing for and managing autoenrolment can seem daunting, but it needn’t be. The Pensions Regulator has lots of useful information and tools on their website. If you don’t want to deal with this all yourself JLT Employee Benefits has been helping employers implement auto-enrolment since the very beginning and we have unrivalled experience we can share with you.

Please call Sarah James on 0121 7127941 email her at sarah_james@jltgroup.com, quoting the reference BFFFAES if you would like to know more.

JLT Benefit Solutions Ltd. Blenheim Court, Radcliff House, Solihull, B91 2AA JLT Benefit Solutions Ltd. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

A member of the Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group.

Registered Office: The St Botolph Building, 138 Houndsditch, London EC3A 7AW Registered in England Number 02240496.

VAT No. 244 2321 96

THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 59

HEALTH & SAFETY

The Bulletin

Written and compiled by Health and Safety manager, Joanna Hancock

Workplace Health Advice A Welcome Perk Problems with stress were matched only by absences following

Compensation Culture – Truth or Myth?

Asked by the then Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron, to review health and safety in the UK, Lord Young came back with a report that argued that a compensation culture driven by litigation was at the heart of the problems that he had identified.

FOUR YEARS LATER, the belief that many employers are ever more risk averse as they fear compensation claims backed by ambulance-chasing lawyers is prevalent but, according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC), is not supported by the evidence.

According to The Compensation Myth, a report produced by the TUC with the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), workplace compensation cases have fallen by more than half in the last decade — down from 183,342 in 2002/03 to 91,115 in 2012/13.

The TUC also highlights that more than six out of seven (85.7%) of workers who are injured or made ill at work get no compensation whatsoever.

60 THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014

bereavements as a reason for taking time off work last year, affecting 20% of employees according to a survey by MetLife Employee Benefits.

Where damages are paid, they are not “a gift or a windfall” for the injured individual, the report argues, but designed with the sole aim of putting claimants back to the position they were in before being injured.

THE SURVEY FOUND that, on average, those who have taken time off for stress were absent for five days, but nearly one in 10 employees have had to take more than six days off work because of stress-related illness.

Another common perception that the report rebuffs is the size of compensation payments.

The majority of workplace damages paid to injured workers in 2011 was for less than £5,000, and around 75% of cases involve damages under £10,000.

The nationwide study also found that nearly two-thirds (63%) of employees would welcome help and advice in the workplace on how to improve their health. Currently 61% receive some form of health and wellness support at work, with health advice the most popular.

The TUC report also looks at ways the existing bill could be cut without unnecessarily penalising injured workers and bluntly suggests that employers should stop acting negligently and stop killing and injuring workers.

Insurance companies could help by linking premiums much more closely to the actual risk within specific workplaces and more readily offering risk-based premiums that reflect an employer’s health and safety history, the TUC argues.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The Government is forever trying to brainwash us into thinking the UK has a rampant compensation culture, but — as this new report shows — the facts tell a very different story. Even those dying from work-related diseases have precious little chance of getting a decent payout.”

MetLife Employee Benefits’ director Tom Gaynor said: “It is clear that staff would welcome more support and help from employers on health and wellness in the workplace and it is also clear that employers have recognised the need to provide support.

There is a genuine benefit for both employers and employees in promoting good health at work.”

The survey also highlighted problems other than stress affecting attendance at work.

For example, a significant 10% of staff have had to take time off work due to sportsrelated injuries in the past year while 8% have been absent due to hangovers and other alcohol-related issues.

HSE Food Industry Case Study

Arm Broken by Unguarded Bakery Pressure Rollers This case study outlines the prosecution of a bakery company after a nightshift cleaner got caught-up in the unguarded machinery of a moving conveyor belt and had to be released by co-workers.

SUMMARY The worker had both forearm bones broken in her right arm when the incident happened in the early hours of December 10, 2010.

The 27-year-old worker was part of a team cleaning the production equipment at the company’s bakery. She had been instructed to clean a conveyor production line by the previous shift cleaning supervisor, who had left site a few hours before the incident.

The line was running when she began working on the conveyor. She started cleaning dough from a moving steel pressure roller on the end of the conveyor using a metal scraper blade.

The scraper slipped and her gloved right hand and arm were drawn into the nip or ‘pinch point’ between the steel roller and the rubber belt of the conveyor, breaking both bones in her right forearm.

The HSE investigation revealed that the fixed guard that should have been in place on the equipment had been missing for a considerable period of time - at least a year - before the incident happened. The worker had also not received training on how to clean the conveyor safely, nor had she seen the machine’s cleaning instructions.

HSE found that the company’s training systems, staff training records and cleaning instructions were inadequate, inconsistent and confusing. Whilst some staff cleaned the

conveyor when it was stopped, others cleaned the roller in the same manner as the injured employee.

The Court heard there had been a previous incident and a number of near-misses relating to the unguarded rollers, which management was not aware of. The cleaning staff had been exposed, over many months, to a serious risk due to the missing guard and incomplete training procedures.

ACTION The company pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and guilty to breaching Regulation 11 (1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. They were fined a total of £14,000 and ordered to pay £15,000 in costs.

ADVICE Speaking after the investigation the HSE inspector said: “This serious incident at the bakery was a classic ‘accident waiting to happen’.

“Machinery such as conveyors should be fitted with a guard to prevent this sort of accident happening. There is plenty of well-established guidance from the HSE and the industry on how machinery can still be properly cleaned with appropriate guards in place.

“HSE produced specific guidance on flat belt conveyor safeguarding as this causes over

30% of all food industry machinery accidents - more than any other type. Many of these accidents happen during normal activities like cleaning, as in this case.

“The worker had surgery on her broken arm and has experienced a great deal of pain and discomfort through her ordeal. It has taken a considerable period of time since the accident for her to recover to a more normal situation with her injured right arm. The company has provided physiotherapy and supported her rehabilitation and she remains an employee.

“Employers should avoid the risks of serious accidents by ensuring appropriate guards are fitted and used along with safe working procedures. Good training for all staff is vital and should ensure tasks can be done safely.

This company fell short of what their health and safety responsibilities required.”

Further information on safe use of conveyor belts in the food industry can be found on the HSE website at www.hse.gov.uk/food/ machinery.htm THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 61

TECHNICAL & LEGISLATIVE

The Bulletin

Written and compiled by Technical and Legislative manager, Su Dakin supported

by Crystal Holmes, Technical assistant

EFSA Update on Hepatitis A Outbreak Since January 1 2013, over 1,300 cases of the Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection have been reported by 11 Member States as potentially linked to an ongoing HAV outbreak. Of these, 240 were confirmed outbreak cases.

WHEN FIRST DECLARED, the outbreak was associated with travel to Italy. In addition to Italy, seven other Member States have now reported cases with no travel history: France, Germany, Ireland, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has now published a second report on the outbreak.

The virus is very resistant in the environment as well as to several preservation methods used in the food industry, e.g. acidification or freezing. As a result, it is essential that any possible food-borne transmission be investigated when cases are reported.

Epidemiological, microbiological and environmental investigations of the most recent cases indicate frozen berries as the

62 THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014

vehicle of infection and suggest that it could be a single outbreak, linked to a common, continuous source in the EU. However other hypotheses cannot be excluded, such as cross contamination in a food production environment or an outbreak strain that is already widespread but has, to date, gone undetected.

Due to the characteristics of the pathogen (i.e. low infectivity dose and long incubation period – up to 50 days), the long shelf life of frozen berries and sometimes complex supply chain, EFSA expects that more cases will be reported and other Member States involved.

Despite co-ordinated efforts from EFSA, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), affected Member States and the European Commission (HAV-Trace Working Group), the actual source of contamination has not yet been confirmed.

EFSA are recommending that affected Member States should consider implementing mitigating measures at national levels. In particular risk communication, recommending heat treatment of frozen berries before consumption and encouraging HAV vaccination

of those in contact with cases and throughout the larger community. Higher levels of surveillance for HAV by Member States across EU/EEA is also encouraged.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has reported four cases of HAV in the UK, two of which are associated with travel to Italy. There has been an association made between a Norwegian berry cake mix and the virus; the cake mix was distributed to 2 UK restaurants, but has not been on sale. The FSA is suggesting that there is no imminent risk in UK at this moment in time, and so are not recommending UK businesses take any additional precautions beyond observing good practice in procurement and supplier management.

There is also no action recommended for the protection of consumers at this point.

EFSA, ECDC and the European Commission, in co-operation with the Member States, are to continue their efforts to identify the vehicle and source of infection and closely monitor this event. The risk assessment will be updated as soon as any new relevant information becomes available.

New F Gas Regulation Published The EU Fluorinated Gas Regulation has had a significant impact on refrigeration systems and refrigerants in use across Europe since its introduction in 2006.

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION has now completed a review of the original Regulation and published a new Regulation with which they intend to cut the EU’s F Gas emissions by two-thirds by 2030 compared with 2014 levels.

The new rules replace the current Regulation and will apply from January 1 2015.

Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 16 2014

ACRIB Statement: ACRIB, REPRESENTING UK refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump industry welcomes the publication this week of the new F Gas Regulation in the Official Journal on May 20 2014 (web link http://eur-lex.europa. eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ .L_.2014.150.01.0195.01.ENG).

This means that the existing F Gas Regulation will be repealed; the new Regulation enters into force on the June 9 and begins to take effect from the January 1 2015. This was followed by publication of the European Commission’s notice to producers and importers of HFCs and new entrants – one of the most critical elements of the new regulation in that it sets the rules for HFC quota allocations and managing the HFC Phase Down. The notice set application deadlines and describes the procedure that importers and producers,

provided the statement below on the new Regulation. More information on the activity of ACRIB and on its involvement in the F Gas review can be found on its website: www.acrib. org.uk/Q6I12U60634

on fluorinated greenhouse gases and repealing Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 was published in ACRIB members have also put together a the Official Journal of the European Union at the very useful reference guide on the relative end of May. The Regulation can be access via GWP values (global warming potential) of the this link: http://tinyurl.com/pnpgda2 various refrigerants and refrigerant mixes, which is on the ACRIB website and can also be ACRIB, the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration found in the Technical Guidance section of the Industry Board, represents the industry’s BFFF website. interests at UK level. BFFF has a seat on the Board and Technical Committee of ACRIB, which

including the new entrants, have to follow in order to be eligible to receive quota from the Commission. The notice confirms that placing on the market of these substances needs to be accounted for in the quota system laid down in the Regulation. More information is available: http://ec.europa.eu/clima/news/articles/ news_2014052102_en.htm.

All this is the culmination of many years of intensive work collecting feedback from industry, submitting responses to the Commission consultations and liaising with UK Government representatives. ACRIB is pleased to see that many of our recommendations were taken up and that elements of the new regulation will strengthen areas identified by UK industry as weak in the original regulation.

The phase down and limited bans for certain applications will provide certainty for the industry to move forward with choices for new systems, given the impending R22 phase out.

However, work will continue to clarify definitions

and requirements and to increase awareness of the changes and updates will be posted regularly on this website. Implementation acts will be announced and official guidance is expected in the coming months. In response to demand from industry ACRIB will be holding a conference on November 11 in London to review these changes and provide a summary of guidance available.

The ACRIB conference on November 11 2014 will be held at Carisbrooke Hall, London W1 and delegates will have the opportunity to get clear and reliable information on the changes being introduced as well as having the opportunity to ask questions.

The agenda covers the new Regulation and its impacts throughout the supply chain including the implications for installers and service contractors.

If you are interested in finding out more about the conference, please contact Sudakin@bfff.co.uk

THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 63

need a helping hand?

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NEW MEMBER

PROFILE

SANTIA CONSULTING LTD From retail to manufacturing the work of Santia Consulting has had a direct impact on the success of today’s most trusted brands FOR MORE THAN 20 years Santia has been the UK’s leading provider of integrated health, safety, environmental and food risk management solutions, offering the broadest range of services in the market.

Through our food safety services brand The Food Safety Consortium (FSC), we provide consultancy, training and audits to help food businesses achieve and sustain the highest food safety standards. We are a fresh pair of eyes that will provide practical insight and solutions to drive continuous improvement within your business.

We have a unique level of specialist food safety knowledge and experience in the global food sector, built on a 25 year business relationship with Marks & Spencer plc. Our team of food

safety consultants, all of whom have held technical, QA or NPD roles within the food industry, have a wealth of auditing, consulting and training experience against BRC Standards and retailer codes of practice. Their hands on experiences mean that you can be confident that they understand the practical implications of the advice and support provided.

Tel: Email: Web:

We will provide solutions to the challenges your business faces, build your change programme and where needed deliver the solution. In addition we can train and develop your people to enable them to adopt GMP; food safety certification and applied training solutions that ensure your organisation embraces a food safety culture.

Contact Information: Don Meredith, Director of Food Telephone:02920 852 852

Email: mailus@thefsc.co.uk Website: www.thefsc.co.uk

THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 65

NEW MEMBER

PROFILE

BURNT TREE REFRIGERENTAL A fresh approach to temperature controlled vehicle rental LAST YEAR, LEADING independent vehicle hire company Burnt Tree announced the launch of its brand-new temperature controlled vehicle rental and contract hire operation, under the name of ‘Refrigerental’. Since then, Refrigerental has made a significant impact attracting the attention of some big names and brands within the temperature controlled distribution business.

This initial interest in Refrigerental has been translated into regular ongoing business, not just from existing Burnt Tree customers, but also from new customers to the business, including major blue chip organisations such as Domino’s Pizza, Morrisons Supermarkets and Moy Park to name but a few.

Burnt Tree Director Mark Howell explains, “Quite simply, we looked long and hard at what customers really want from a fridge vehicle provider. By developing this fresh approach, covering a comprehensive range of the latest state of the art vehicles, combined

Contact Information: Neil Murphy, General Manager, Refrigerental Telephone:0870 444 6554 66 THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014

with national availability through 21 regional branches and full refrigeration manufacturer support, we have certainly hit the spot.”

“All this activity has been supported by a significant investment into the ongoing marketing of the Refrigerental brand. We even have our own dedicated temperature controlled website www.refrigerental.co.uk from which visitors to the site can obtain a comprehensive vehicle selection guide that outlines the ever-growing range of vehicles available,” added Mark.

Although Refrigerental is a new name to the industry, the name of Burnt Tree is well known and respected. Burnt Tree has a tremendous background and reputation for customer service, built over the past 30 years with the infrastructure and financial stability in place to invest in a sizeable range of brand new refrigerated vehicles, from CDVs right up to 26t multi-temp rigids.

Email: info@refrigerental.co.uk Website: www.refrigerental.co.uk

NEW MEMBER

PROFILE

VIESSMANN

Viessmann expands its cooling offer to the food sector VIESSMANN EPITOMISES THE highest quality German engineering. Through every product of its recently extended range – spanning ‘back of house’ cold storage to chiller cabinets for retail and food service - the specialists in commercial refrigeration offer energy efficiency, superior hygiene, low life cycle costs and innovative food and drink shopping experiences.

The cold rooms that Viessmann has long been associated with are the market leaders in terms of quality and durability. Each one is fully weatherproof thanks to the unique interlocking panel system and high quality gasket sealing. They can also be constructed to precise client specifications with a choice of over 1,000 doors and floors. All are covered in an antimicrobial powder coating, meaning that

they are equipped for the most demanding hygiene requirements.

Following Viessmann’s acquisition of Finnish refrigeration experts Norpe, the company can now boast top quality refrigeration solutions for front of house, as well as back.

The cabinets, lamellas and power packs are designed to use less energy and less floor space, providing the most appealing point of sale display to increase sales.

Viessmann offers a single point of contact in the UK for sales, product specification and aftersales support. As its recent acquisition demonstrates, Viessmann is serious about becoming a full-service provider for cooling technology for the food industry.

Contact Information: Viessmann Cold Technology UK Ltd 1556 Stratford Road, Hall Green Birmingham B28 9HA

Telephone: 01217 440422 Website: www.vkag.com/en THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 67

NEW MEMBER

PROFILE

FREIGHTEX Temperature controlled transport for the food and drinks industries WE SPECIALISE IN the supply of temperature controlled vehicles for chilled and frozen goods across Europe. Our customers in the sector range from large and mid-sized retailers to global food brands as well as niche suppliers to the industry.

We understand the industry’s particular fulfilment requirements including complex collection and delivery schedules, tight timed delivery slots, pre-bookings processes, communications with DCs and short notice deliveries.

We can supply fridges for full (FTL) and part (LTL) loads and all types of specialist equipment e.g. multi-temperature units. We service international routes in and out of the UK to all areas of Europe as well as UK domestic routes.

Our customers have secure access to real-time load status and visibility of order from time it is placed to invoice.

Contact Information: Daniel Smith-Cox Telephone: 07960 604119

68 THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014

Our commitment to food safety and hygiene go without saying and we are proud to now be a member of the British Frozen Food Federation.

We keep prices down by using capacity which comes available at short notice, and by avoiding detours or long delays. We offer fixed pricing for regular work with our service guaranteed by our dedicated fleet of trucks.

Our company commitment is that our team will impress you so much that you recommend us to others.

CONTACTS: Contact our sales manager, Daniel Smith-Cox on 07960 604119 to discuss your requirements.

Or check you are paying the right price for a route, with no obligation, by sending an email to enquiries@freightex.com, quoting your BFFF membership.

Email: enquiries@freightex.com Website: www.freightex.com

NEW MEMBER

PROFILE

THE FOOD ADVANCED TRAINING PARTNERSHIP The Food ATP provides Fresh Thought for Food through educating and challenging food professionals to create a culture of sustainable, quality food production that benefits human health and promotes a responsible, profitable food industry for the future.

THE FOOD ATP has developed unique training programmes to offer food industry professionals the opportunity to develop their skills, challenge the status quo and implement change within their business.

The Food ATP, led by the University of Reading, brings together the UK’s leading food research and training providers to offer flexible, modular training building towards postgraduate qualifications, with single modules being available to address specific skills gaps.

Food industry professionals now have the opportunity to accelerate their career development through the Food ATP flexible training packages and in-company research projects. Employers benefit from the

development of highly skilled individuals within their businesses who are able to shape and lead their company in the future.

By enhancing the research culture within the food industry, the Food ATP aims to deliver the skills base that will support food companies over the coming decades. The training programmes have been designed in partnership with the University of Birmingham, Leatherhead Food Research and Rothamsted Research and representatives of the food industry, focusing on the needs of the entire food chain from farm to fork.

industry to enable our participants to develop cutting edge solutions through innovative thinking with a global and long term view.”

Professor Richard Frazier, Director of the Food ATP.

“This is a refreshing approach to training for both the academics and participants and we have worked closely with members of the food

Contact Information:

Libby Good, Business Development Manager The Food Advanced Training Partnership 1.43 Department of Food & Nutritional Sciences The University of Reading, PO Box 226, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AP

Telephone: 0118 378 8722 Email: info@foodatp.co.uk Website: www.foodatp.co.uk THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 69

NEW MEMBER

PROFILE

JCS FISH JCS Fish is one of the UK’s leading seafood companies and a specialist in

salmon. Founded in 2000 by Andrew and Louise Coulbeck, we have many years’ experience and high quality facilities in Grimsby - at the heart of the UK’s fish processing industry.

WE AIM TO bring a fresh, dynamic approach, to help our customers make the most of salmon as one of the most delicious, healthy and readily available fish.

In our facilities we combine the most modern equipment with the very best elements of the local seafood heritage which is so important to our company. We supply both fresh and frozen products both through our own Big Fish brand and for customers own label, all with the benefit of our compact and hands-on approach.

We source only the finest quality fish from accredited salmon farms in Scotland, Norway

Contact Information: Enterprise Food Units, Murray Street Fish Docks, Grimsby, DN31 3RD 70 THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014

and the Faroes with whom we have long and mutually respectful business relationships.

We are accredited to the BRC Global Standard (Food) Issue 6 – the benchmark for all responsible producers and recognised globally as a standard which guarantees product safety, quality, legality and full traceability.

Please take the time to visit our website www.jcsfish.co.uk where you will find the link to our Big Fish Brand.

If you have any comments or queries please contact us.

Telephone: 01472 355217 Email: contact@jcsfish.co.uk Website: www.jcsfish.co.uk

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 2014 28th Jul

16th Oct

Mercure, Windsor Castle Hotel

Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon

16th Sep

19th - 23rd Oct

National Motorcycle Museum, Solihull

Parc des Expositions - Paris www.sialparis.com

BFFF Seminar - Thinking of Joining the BFFF

TCS&D Awards Dinner

BFFF Seminar - Introduction to the BFFF

SIAL

25th Nov

BFFF Annual Luncheon Hilton on Park Lane, London

26th Nov

BFFF Industry Forum Barclays Offices, London

2015 3rd Mar

11th June

Chesford Grange Hotel, Kenilworth

Hilton on Park Lane, London

BFFF Business Conference & Exhibition

BFFF Dinner Dance & Awards Evening

22nd - 25th Mar

10th - 14th Oct

Excel, London www.ife.co.uk

Kolnmesse, Cologne www.anuga.com

IFE 2015

28th - 30th Apr Seafood Expo Global Brussels Expo, Brussels www.seafoodexpo.com

ANUGA

24th Nov

BFFF Annual Luncheon Hilton on Park Lane, London

11th Jun

25th Nov

Venue TBA, London

Venue TBA, London

BFFF Industry Forum

BFFF Industry Forum

THE BULLETIN I JULY/AUGUST 2014 71

If it’s not here, you can’t sell it!

Order today, here tomorrow.

You need stock to sell stock. Our massive, high-tech facility enables us to deliver retail frozen foods nationwide, in exactly the volumes you need: large or small, or both. Reed Boardall supplies whatever you need to stay in stock round-the-clock.

We call it constant replenishment.

You’ll call it service like no other.

The Reed Boardall Group, Bar Lane, Boroughbridge, North Yorks YO51 9NN Tel: 01423 321322 Email: jrae@reedboardall.com

www.reedboardall.com

Reed Boardall