A FAKE FOOD GOLDRUSH? · 2019-08-16 · chocolate made entirely from the cocoa fruit, you’d have...

PLANT-BASED MEAT:A FAKE FOOD GOLDRUSH?

HIGH TIMES FORAUGUST 2019 Reporter

CANNABIS FOODS

KETO-DIETS ARE TAKING OFF

SMART FRYING: HOW IT’S DONE

BIG 4 PACKAGING TRENDS

#

AUGUST 2019

# 4 BIG PACKAGING TRENDS 23

# THE A-Z OF SMART FRYING 24

# GAS IN THE DIGITAL AGE 27

# ERP: WHY WE NEED IT 28

# INDUSTRY 4.0: SEE IT AT WORK 30

# THE FAKE FOOD GOLDRUSH 6

# MYCOPROTEIN HAS THE MUSCLE 8

# FOOD VS CANCER 10

# 2019: THE YEAR OF WEED 16

# KETO IS SPRINTING AHEAD 18

# NAVIGATING FOOD AUDITS 20

In this issue...

2 AUGUST 2019 | FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER www.fbreporter.co.za

EDITORIAL

So you thought it wascrazy to invest in SA ...

Endorsed by the SA Association of the

Flavour & Fragrance Industry.

Endorsed by SAAFoST

Publisher & Editor Bruce Cohen

[email protected] Mobile: 083 454 1857

Advertising Director

Wendy [email protected]

Mobile: 083 653 8116

www.fbreporter.co.za

Published by Hanosol (Pty) Ltd13 Macintyre St

JeppestownJohannesburg 2043

Postnet Suite 131Private Bag X11Birnham Park

2196South Africa

Given the parlous state of the South African economy, the appaling spectre of the ruling

party tearing itself to bits, the anarchic trade unions who can’t see beyond yesterday, the capture and the corruption .... not forgetting of course that the lights seem to stay on only by some sort of divine intervention ... you’d wonder why any international investor would be crazy enough to plonk a dollar down on this country right now.

They’d have to have nerves of steel. And balls of platinum.

Well, Hello PepsiCo. Welcome to South Africa. Thanks for seeing past our blemishes and minor tribulations. Thanks for dangling R20-billion at Pioneer Foods.

Clearly there are those who wallowin the misery of the present and there are those who, Chinese-like, take a calm, long view of the situation. PepsiCo, thankfully, is among the latter. Its vote of confidence in the local economy is pretty damn praiseworthy, though one suspects that SA is really just a stepping-stone in their long march to unlock the Sub-Saharan market.

PepsiCo owns global brands such as Pepsi, Lays and Doritos, while Pioneer owns local icons Liqui-Fruit, Sasko and Bokomo. That’s a pretty formidable bag of brands to build on ... just as long as the lights stay on. Pray that it does.

This issue’s lead story on plant-based meat accused of being hyper-processed “dog-food”

raises interesting issues about the future of food.

It brings into sharp focus the divide between those who see food as a technology, a weapon that can save the planet, and those who want us to return to simpler, more natural diets.

The foodtech sector is growing by leaps and bounds, especially in the plant-based, meat-like arena, and the techniques for extracting good-quality protein from myriad non-animal sources are becoming increasingly sophisticated. From duckweed to chickpeas and yeasts ... the list gets bigger and bigger.

At the same time, cellular agriculture, producing “real” meat without killing animals, is now at an advanced stage, and it’s a pretty safe bet that these cultured meats will hit supermarket shelves within the next decade.

With all the venture capital being thrown at these foodtech businesses (both plant and animal), with the armies of PhDs these companies are employing, there can be little doubt that the food chain is in the midst of a revolution, the likes of which we have not seen since the Green Revolution of the Sixties.

How dog-food-like our diets will become is anyone’s guess.Bruce [email protected]


Cadbury Dairy Milk has become the first chocolate in South Africa to bear the Cocoa Life logo. Cocoa

Life is Mondelēz International’s global cocoa sustainability program.

Just over 70% of the world’s cocoa is grown by West African farmers, with the Ivory Coast accounting for just over 40% and Ghana around 20%. Most of these farms responsible for the world’s cocoa supply are family-owned and less than 2ha in size.

Farmers struggle with productivity: many have seen their yields fall over the last few decades due to a variety of factors, including farming being left to older members of the family as younger generations are drawn to city life; farmers clinging to traditional farming methods; diseases which have ravaged cocoa plants; and the far-reaching implications of climate change.

When the program launched in 2012, Mondelēz committed $400 million to Cocoa Life over 10 years to help build a thriving cocoa supply chain - by increasing

cocoa productivity and empowering local cocoa farming communities to improve their resilience.

Today, Cocoa Life grows opportunities for more than

142,000 cocoa farmers and 1,400 communities. The program

focuses on the areas it can make the most

difference: turning cocoa into a business of choice, creating inclusive and empowered communities and conserving and

restoring forests. “We support the

farmers to grow more cocoa from less land

while the communities they

live in are empowered to steer their own development,” says Yaa Peprah Amekudzi, Country Lead of Mondelēz’s Cocoa Life Program in Ghana.

“Cocoa is the essence of our chocolate and vital to our business, so we need to ensure it is ‘made right’,” says Amekudzi.

“Making it right means tackling the complex challenges cocoa farmers face, including climate change, gender inequality, poverty and child labor. Choosing the Cocoa Life logo means everyone can love our chocolate as much as we do, because it’s made the right way.”

By 2025 all of Mondelez’s chocolate brands will source their cocoa through the program.

www.cocoalife.org

If you read all the publicity around Nestlés recent announcement that it has produced a sweet-tasting chocolate made entirely from the cocoa fruit, you’d have

expected diabetics around the world to be celebrating and investors buying up the Swiss company’s shares in barrow-loads.

Unfortunately, it ain’t that simple. That’s not to say Nestle’s innovation has not been ingenious:

they’ve figured out how to replace the added refined sugar used in chocolate with a dried fruit sugar obtained from cocoa pulp. That means it can make KitKats and other chocs using only the cocoa fruit as an ingredient.

Yes, it’s cocoa pulp sugar. But still sugar

Alexander von Maillot, head of Nestlé's strategic business unit for confectionery and ice cream, says the company is proud to have produced a unique chocolate made entirely from the cocoa fruit without adding refined sugar, but stresses it will contain roughly the same amount of calories as a comparable product made with refined sugar.

"It is difficult to compare nutritional content at this stage as there is no final product on the market and it depends on what you then compare it with," Von Maillot told an industry newsletter. In a comparison with other 70% cocoa chocolates sweetened with refined sugar, he said the chocolate with cocoa pulp has around the same calorie count, slightly higher fat and somewhat lower total sugars, but it depends on what’s being compared.

Nestlé is unhappy about the way the media had written about the innovation. Von Maillot said: "What some media have written is 'no added sugar' or 'no sugar'. This is not correct and we do not want people to

have the impression that the new chocolate contains no sugars. What we have said is that we are not adding any refined sugar, but rather using the natural sugar from the cocoa pulp to sweeten the chocolate. As with all chocolate, this is a treat and should be enjoyed in moderation as part of a healthy, balanced diet."

Once cocoa beans are harvested, farmers leave them in the pulp to ferment. However, not all the pulp is required for the fermentation. Nestlé has developed "a gentle mechanical process to extract and maintain the fresh quality

of the pulp", Von Maillot explained. "It extracts the pulp but leaves enough around the beans for the fermentation."

Keen to avoid any suggestion it is presenting a healthier product, and with some uncertainty over exactly how this innovation can be used as a means of boosting farmer incomes, Nestlé has focused the pre-launch marketing of its Kitkat Chocolatory Cacao Fruit Chocolate on its unique formulation and the taste and texture characteristics created. It will be launched in Japan in Spring.

Von Maillot said the company planned touse the pulp to create more premium chocolate offerings.

“The cocoa pulp is a more expensive ingredient that gives the chocolate a special fruity, acidic note and replaces refined sugar,” he said.

That this is a premium launch speaks to the higher costs of obtaining sugar from cocoa pulp, another factor that may limit the opportunities for scaling up.

Nestlé has said it wants to apply the technology to other popular brands but has also made it clear these will all be premium-priced offerings.

BRIEFSINNOVATION

CADBURY SA IN-TUNE WITHTHE COCOA LIFE CAMPAIGN

NESTLE CHOC BREAKTHROUGH... YES, BUT IT’S STILL SUGAR

Gotta hand it to Futurelife ... they have put zest back into the tired old breakfast cereal category with a long list of fuctional innovations. The latest move is to slash

sugar content. The company recently announced a 38% sugar reduction in its Smart Oats and Ancient

Grains (sorghum and quinao) range.

FUTURELIFE’S PUSH BACK ON SWEETNESS

BRIEFSSUSTAINABILITY

6 AUGUST 2019 | FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER www.fbreporter.co.za www.fbreporter.co.za FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER | AUGUST 2019 7

THOUGHT FOR FOOD

They call it the Alt.Meat industry, one of the fastest-growing sectors in

the food business with billions of dollars being invested in start-ups and new products. They’re the plant-based "alternative" meat foods made famous by companies like Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat.

But now there’s a rising tide of criticism of these ultra-processed products, with critics labelling them as "fake food" masquerading as a healthy alternative to meat.

One researcher says some of these meat analogs are indistinguishable from dog food. Others say the evidence suggests that the ultra-processed plant proteins should come with a health warning that they can cause disease - or premature death!

Is that an over-reaction? It depends on who you talk to. It's true that on the surface, some of the ingredients in plant-based foods for humans don't look all that bad. These may include water (lots of it) and plant proteins like pea or genetically modified soya, and various vegetable oils. But then there are other ingredients, such as genetically-engineered leghemoglobin (which mimics the blood in meat) and various flavourants, colourants and other additives all packed into one food just to try to replicate the real thing.

At the heart of growing concerns over these products is that the companies making these “fake foods” are marketing

them as healthier than the real thing.A study published in the journal Cell

Metabolism earlier this year, for example, shows that when people eat lots of highly-processed food, they're more likely to gain weight. Interestingly, the research shows that the usual suspects – sugar, salt and fat – are not solely to blame. All the other artificial ingredients together appear to add up to a significant health risk because, even when matched for kiloJoules, the research shows that people eat more and gain weight when they're on an ultra-processed diet

Two studies in the BMJ (British Medical Journal) in May looked at

consumption of ultra-processed food and health outcomes. Not unsurprisingly, the news was not good.

One study concluded that increasing the proportion of ultra-processed food in the diet by 10% was associated with significantly higher rates of cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease (heart attack and stroke).

The second study found that people who ate more than four servings of ultra-processed food per day were 62% more likely to die of any cause compared to those who had less than two servings per day.

One problem that the research has identified is that a common approach for reformulating packaged foods by simply reducing their salt, fat and sugar content, or fortifying them with fibre and vitamins, has limited impact.

Says Alexandra Jones, from the George Institute for Global Health in Australia: "You basically can't make an ultra-processed food healthy by just pumping it full of nutrients."

That's one reason why USA animal scientist Prof Frank Mitloehner believes that if highly-processed foods are going anywhere, it's ultimately "to the dogs".

Mitloehner is professor of clean air and animal science at the University of California, Davis. It's an understatement to say that he is no fan of ultra-processed foods in general and plant-based meat and dairy protein alternatives in particular.

Speaking recently on AgriTalk, a radio

show in the USA devoted to farming, he took aim at the two dominant players in the ultra-processed business in the USA: Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat.

Mitloehner claimed the ingredients in both these companies' products are similar to those found in dog food: “When you look at Impossible Burger or Beyond Meat, you will find that they have 21 or 22 highly-processed ingredients. In fact, so processed that you are hard-pressed in identifying the difference between those items, versus, let's say, pet food.”

To prove his point, Mitloehner posted a trivia quiz question on his Twitter account recently, (@GHGGuru): "Following are the ingredients of three food/feed items. Two of them are fake burgers (namely @ImpossibleFoods burger and @BeyondMeat burger, respectively) and the third is premium dog food. Can you pick the latter?" (The premium dog food, it turned out, was a vegan product.)

Mitloehner received more than 100 000 replies to his tweet and, he said, the majority got it wrong.

This proves, he said, that both companies are making food that from a nutritional standpoint might not be all that different to dog food. "Then, adding the flavours and the taste and the smell and, voila! There is your plant-based alternative to the real thing.”

It's probably no real surprise that some analysts predict that Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat are poised to become the "Coke vs Pepsi of alt-meat" even though they have differed in methodology and marketing. Beyond Meat has focused on retail while Impossible Foods has partnered with restaurants.

However, both companies stand out for their powerful and influential investors, like Bill Gates, who have helped propel meat lookalikes from the fringes of the vegan movement into a dominant and growing force in mainstream food culture.

Certainly, plant-based options are already becoming common in restaurants in South Africa. In their ultra-processed meat- and dairy-protein alternative guise, they are also becoming increasingly visible in supermarkets.

Despite the criticisms, it looks like manufacturers of these meat analogs will be ridng the gravy train for some time to come.

BACKLASH: IS THIS A FAKE FOOD

GOLDRUSH?Billions of dollars are pouring into plant-based meat alternatives. But are these products just

hyper-processed junk foods being marketed as healthy options? Miriam Kahn reports.


Amidst all the hype and hope around plant-based proteins, mycoproteins derived from

fungi have become an area of growing nutritional interest.

Mycoprotein researchers say it is unique in the plant world as it is a complete protein with a particularly strong nutrient density. It is also high in fibre and low in saturated fat.

The fungal protein source is the main ingredient used in a UK product range called Quorn, available in South Africa at Checkers outlets.

Quorn has become big business, though not without some controversy. The manufacturer has more than 100 different products in its stable, distributed in 19 countries. In 2018, Quorn’s global sales hit £220-million, and it continues to benefit from the rising trend of plant-based meat alternatives. That's buoyed by claims that Quorn products are as good for the planet as they are for those who inhabit it.

In the UK, scientists at the University of Exeter have been working with

Quorn to compare mycoproteins with animal proteins for muscle building. The Exeter researchers have compared mycoprotein with milk protein and say that mycoprotein has equivalent bioavailability.

In their study, they looked at how well milk protein and mycoprotein were digested by 20 young men at rest and after strenuous resistance exercises. Data showed that the fungal protein source allows amino acids to increase in the bloodstream and become available for muscle building.

And when it came to a head-to-head between animal protein and thel fungus protein, young men who had milk protein increased muscle-building rates by up to 60%, while those who had mycoprotein increased their rates by a significantly higher margin.

The team now wants to assess how good mycoproteins could be at combating muscle loss in older people, and for muscle-building in athletes.

They say that their work could improve our understanding of how the body and muscles handle non-animal derived protein sources. It will also provide useful information for businesses wishing to develop non-animal derived proteins, and inform consumers wanting to reduce their animal food consumption while maintaining or building muscle mass.

They claim, too, that the carbon footprint of mycoprotein is 90% lower than that of beef.

Quorn has had a somewhat controversial history in the food industry over its marketing and also about

concerns about mycoprotein allergy.In 2017, Quorn settled a class-action

lawsuit in the USA that a Los Angeles woman filed. She claimed that Quorn products violated federal and state false advertising and unfair business practices laws. Quorn also agreed to modify its

packaging wording to show that the main ingredient is “mold”.

Mycoprotein currently has GRAS status from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the USA. However, the Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has been pushing

for repeal of that status since 2011 on the basis of reports of adverse allergic reactions, similar to soy. The CSPI says that, at the very least, the FDA should insist on prominent warning labels on all Quorn products.

Whether the University of Exeter's study will boost Quorn’s sales is anyone's guess right now, but mycoprotein has key advantages as an ingredient because it contains complete protein.

Research suggests that it may have benefit for those wanting to lose weight, reduce total cholesterol and blood sugar, making it useful for those with obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

However, given the proliferation of other plant-based protein sources these days, analysts say manufacturers may decide that developing products with mycoprotein just isn't worth the risk.

www.quorn.co.uk

PLANT-BASED

WHAT IS QUORN?Quorn is made by fermentation

of the fungus Fusarium Venenatum. The resulting mycoprotein is exposed to

steaming, chilling and freezing that creates a meat-like texture, similar to chicken breast when

seen under a microscope.

MYCOPROTEINS HAVE PLENTY OF MUSCLEPLANT-BASED

From chocolate toadstools to fermented Youpon ...Sensient has released a new

collection of “Trends to Taste” flavours. The range is based on the

company’s latest insights into consumer interpretations of the past, present and future. The flavours not only give final applications a new aromatic kick; but also inspire insight and achievable innovations that can help narrow the gap between a brand and its consumers.

Where does the story of your product belong – the past, present or future? By addressing this question, Sensient Flavors is offering food and drink manufacturers the latest insights into consumer attitudes. Published annually, the “Trends to Taste” forecast encompasses the company’s syndicated research and horizon-scanning capabilities in pursuit of one clear goal - capturing the latest consumer trends and transferring them

into a flavoursome, aromatic language.Its team of flavourists has examined

current consumer perception of past, present and future times. For each dimension, they identified both positive and negative feelings, which are strong drivers of consumer behaviour. By turning these insights into a flavour collection, the company has created six avant-garde offerings that mirror specific consumer attitudes to each time dimension, and help drive stronger product performance in the marketplace.

Engaging the past

While some of us associate the past with positive feelings of nostalgia, stability and comfort, others use yesteryear to make changes to their future. To reflect the emotions of the former, Sensient has

developed a new variation of Poudre Douce – a warm and comforting medieval spice blend for use in various foods from roasted meats to bakery items. By contrast, Romeu e Julieta - a flavour combination of traditional tropical fruity guava paste and subtly sweet cheese - was designed to create both a new sensory experience, as well as acknowledge the feelings of the latter group of consumers.

Controlling the present

More and more people consider the modern world to be immersive - an interactive

experience to be explored. For these shoppers, the flavour expert presents the aroma of Timut Peppercorn – a plant highly appreciated by Himalayan natives for its versatile properties. Characterized by peppery notes in combination with zesty fruit aromas, it helps create tailored products that tap into interactive indulgence.

However, there is also an increasing number of people who are rather overwhelmed by today’s multi-sensorial stimulation. For this group, Chocolate Toadstool with deep earthy umami and decadent chocolate notes

helps create authentic products to satisfy a taste for diversion and escapism.

Imagining the future

Today, future visions of a near-perfect society sit alongside dystopian predictions that necessitate a return to a simpler existence, and regionally focused eating. In addressing the utopian idea, Sensient Flavours embraces the ancient description of utopia as a land of “milk and honey”, where honey means the sweetness of dates. Against this backdrop, the manufacturer presents Silan – a harmonic combination of brown dates with a slight bitter edge tempered with creaminess.

Acknowledging the dystopian vision, the flavour company presents Fermented Yaupon, reminiscent of roasted tea

enhanced with floral notes. As North America’s only caffeine-containing plant, Yaupon promises a natural caffeine buzz and, thanks to fermentation – an age-old process used in the preservation of food and beverages – this offering also has a slightly sour edge.

“Our latest ‘Trends to Taste’ collection is designed to offer an understanding of emerging consumer trends, and their translation into actionable insights,” says Ranbir Kooner, Marketing Manager EMEA. “Thanks to our forecast system, we have identified the consumer perspectives that influence their current decision-making and will guide food and beverage landscapes in the years ahead. Understanding the ever-changing trends helps developers to create more attractive products, and support their positioning for maximum effect.”


Using sophisticated machine

learning and ‘food mapping’

techniques, new research

shows how disease-fighting

molecules in fruit and veg

act in similar ways to cancer

drugs. JIM MANSON reports.

The scientists, at Imperial College London, hope that extending our knowledge of specific cancer-

beating molecules (CBMs) will lead to the development of a new generation of “hyperfoods”and personalised diets.

The scientists fed data of 7962 bioactive molecules within foods into a computer model which predicted 110 cancer-beating molecules (using an “anti-cancer drug likeness” threshold). This in turn was used to construct a “food map” with anti-cancer potential of each ingredient defined by the number of cancer-beating molecules found.

Cancer cell arrest

As expected, plant-based foods display the greatest diversity of CBMs, including oranges, grapes, carrots, coriander, dill, cabbage and wild celery. Tea (both black and green) was found to contain particularly high levels of anti-cancer molecules from catechins, which protect against DNA damage and suppress inflammation, leading to cancer cell arrest.

In their paper in Scientific Reports, the researchers wrote: “Being able to first identify food ingredients and later design ‘hyperfoods’ that are richest in CBMs and having health-promoting or therapeutic influence, represents an unprecedented opportunity to

reduce healthcare costs and potentially enhance health outcomes for chronic diseases.”

They added: “Food represents the single biggest modifiable aspect of an individual’s health and the machine-learning strategy here is a first step in

realising the potential role for ‘smart’ nutritional programmes in the prevention and treatment of cancer.”

The London team say they envisage that this first list of cancer-fighting foods will serve as one of the pillars of a new type of gastronomic medicine, and could help develop personalized “food passports” to provide individually tailored and therapeutically functional foods.

The researchers stress that the potential of foods to exert a preventative or therapeutic capacity depends on the the bioavailability and diversity of disease-beating compounds contained in them.

They say that much previous work in this area has been based on “one-dimensional” thinking – that is, applying a focus on molecular components in isolation. When anti-proliferative compounds have been studied when acting in isolation – for example in supplements form – they don’t appear to consistently confer the same level of benefit as when they are present in a whole food.

The team cites the example of apples. Apple extracts, they say, contain bioactive compounds that have been shown to inhibit tumour cell growth in vitro. However, phytochemicals in apples

with the peel preserved inhibit colon cancer cell proliferation by 43%,

whereas this effect was found to be reduced to 29% when apple

without peel was tested. Based on such

observations, the scientists say that the successful implementation of food-based approaches in the fight against complex diseases such as cancer will rely on a “consortium of biologically active substances, such as those present in whole fruits and vegetables, in order to increase the chances of success”.

This article courtesy of: naturalproductsglobal.com

SCIENTISTS PUT THE SPOTLIGHT ON “HYPERFOODS” & “GASTRO-MEDICINE”

FOOD vs CANCER

“Food represents the

single biggest modifiable

aspect of an individual’s

health and the machine-

learning strategy here is

a first step in realising the

potential role for ‘smart’

nutritional programmes

in the prevention and

treatment of cancer.”

RESEARCH


BEVERAGES

Local company I-Drop Water has deployed an innovative

solution to the challenge of supplying clean drinking water at an affordable cost, and has successfully installed its Waterpod system in over 100 retailers across Southern Africa.

The machines dispense purified drinking water refills that retail for up to 80% less than the price of single-use plastic-bottled water. Stores share in the revenue on a per-litre sale. Sales and purchases are monitored using a real time Internet-of-Things (IoT) connected platform developed specifically for the application.

As a for-profit social enterprise, I-Drop Water’s core purpose is to provide affordable, safe drinking water to as many people as possible using business efficiencies and incentives by providing an alternative to single-use plastic water bottles.

Says James Steere, co-founder of I-Drop Water: “Paid-for per litre drinking water refills are an affordable and environmentally-friendly option widely adopted in countries around the world. This offering is now becoming more prevalent in South Africa, especially as people become more sensitive to the need to reduce the use of single-use plastics.”

The sale of drinking water refills has, however, traditionally been limited in its reach, mostly available in shopping malls or through dedicated water-shops. Steere says I-Drop has, in conjunction with Swedish water technology company, Bluewater, developed a mobile trailer that can purify and dispense drinking water, typically for large-scale sports events, film sets and other remote sites.

Recently, I-Drop set up shop at temporary sites at Langa Junction and on the Grand Parade in Cape Town City Centre to test consumer acceptance of the concept.

Working with a small research group of Harvard Business School students, Steere says they encountered “a hugely positive response to this affordable drinking water alternative for people in these areas.”

Steere has been recognised for his innovative solutions to the problem of affordable drinking water - he won the

All Africa Business Leadership Award (AABLA) in 2017, and he was the South African finalist in the 2017 Chivas The Venture competition for social entrepreneurship (he then placed third in the global competition).

I-Drop was also given a Development Award from the SAB Foundation Social Innovation Awards in 2017. idropwater.com

Look Ma, no plastic!

Choose between these 2 options when listing in our directory:


Whichever way you look at it, 2019 belongs to plant-based ingredients, and one of the

most controversial is the worldwide explosion of cannabis-infused foods and beverages.

The experts will tell you that as a functional ingredient, the use of cannabis in general and cannabidiol (CBD, a compound derived from cannabis) in particular, is here to stay, despite all the regulatory uncertainties

Forecasts are that the global market for cannabis-infused beverages could reach $600 million by 2022 with CBD beverages accounting for $260-million, with the remainder coming from THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive ingredient) -infused beverages and edibles capturing 20% of the market.

With CBD-infused products emerging in the food and beverage market and large investments going into the space, experts have been wondering whether the cannabis craze is a passing fad.

The Food-Next Africa summit to be held in Cape Town in September suggests that it is not. The event will include a session looking at what’s out there already, what challenges industry needs to address and how dagga-infused products will become mainstream as a functional ingredient.

The regulatory environment is also favourable - with positive signs in the wake of CBD's recent removal from South Africa's list of strictly-controlled drugs.

Just before health minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi handed the reins to medical colleague, Dr Zweli Mkhize, at the end of May, he gave a leg-up to the food-bev industry: removing low-dose CBD products from the tight scheduling system that controls drugs in South Africa.

However, "terms and conditions apply", as a Business Insider report put it. For manufacturers and retailers, it means they can market products made from cannabis as long as no extra CBD is added, and the final product contains only a tiny amount of CBD (0.0075%) and a maximum of 0.001% THC.

That’s also because all the evidence currently suggests that CBD is not psychoactive (hallucinogenic) or habit-forming, nor does it come with dangerous side-effects. And while efficacy studies are not yet conclusive, CBD is

potentially showing benefit as a potential treatment for anxiety, insomnia and chronic pain.

Business Insider described CBD as the "it" compound because it can be used to treat pain

without making consumers "high", unlike THC. The same applies to CBD as a "chill" ingredient in the food-bev industry.

South Africa's indigenous dagga industry could be worth R27-billion within four years, according to a new report by the pro-marijuana Prohibition Partners group.

The recent and for South Africa, first-ever, Cannabis Expo in Cape Town, showcased various "dagga-inspired",

Cannabis-infused products are trending big globally ...

The Year of Weed ... and consumers are willing

to fork out big bucks for them

TRENDS TRENDS

CBD-infused products, including:# Hemp-infused hand-crafted vodka and gin distilled and brewed by Cape Town

company, Cannergy.# A hemp-infused beer, aptly name Durban Poison.

Across the water in the UK, CBD products are taking off, with estimates that the market is currently generating around £50-million annually.

Love Hemp, one of the country's leading brands of CBD products, is now sold at major retailers, including Holland & Barrett, Sainsbury’s supermarkets, Ocado, the online supermarket store, as well as a growing number of independent outlets.

The range is 100% THC free with every product third-party tested under strict laboratory conditions and with a guaranteed CBD concentration.

UK consumers seem willing to pay a huge premium for the first wave of CBD-infused foods. Love Hemp’s CBD Chocolate Bites, for example, are selling for £14.99 (almost R300) for 100g!

Their CBD Jelly Domes (10mg of CBD oil per dome) retail at a whopping £19.99 (around R400) for 20.

At these prices, it should come as no surprise that entrepreneurs locally and internationally are rushing to cash in on the cannabis opportunity. - MIRIAM KAHN

All the evidence currently

suggests that CBD is not

psychoactive (hallucinogenic)

or habit-forming, nor does it

come with dangerous

side-effects.


Cape Town’s Glen and Yael Finkel are successfully riding the keto wave in the USA and are now bringing that show-how and know-how back to to South Africa.

The couple have been involved in the health and fitness industries for decades.

Their keto products company, Adapt, that they launched in the USA in 2015, and more recently in South Africa, is the fruit of those years. Their small but growing range of “clean” keto bar products includes protein and nut and seed bars.

“South Africa is a very small market when compared to the USA,” says Glen Finkel. But it’s not just a size issue. It’s also about an informed consumer base. The sad reality, says Finkel, is that many consumers in SA tend to go on price above all else. They prefer to buy a bar with “dirty” ingredients, including artificial sweeteners, as long as it’s cheap.

“We have tried to stay true to our core beliefs while providing for those that want ultra-low total or net carbs,” says Finkel.

Their products all undergo stringent testing for effects on blood glucose levels. The Finkels work closely with one of the leading keto health gurus in the USA, Duke University’s professor Eric Westman, to develop their products.

www.adaptyourlife.com

By MIRIAM KAHN

The ketogenic diet - which helps the body switch from glucose to fat as its key energy source - is showing

vibrant growth worldwide. The trend in this country, while strongly upwards, is not yet as dramatic as in the USA and Europe, but all the signs are that SA is following the global trajectory.

Estimates are that the worldwide keto products market will reach between $12-$20-billion by 2024. That's the stuff of economic crystal balls but the movement is clearly upwards. The main driver of the trend is keto products that tap directly into the global health and wellness trends not just for weight-loss and overall health improvement, but also to boost sports performance. Keto products also fit into the trend away from high-sugar products.

It would be a mistake, therefore, to dismiss keto diets and the products that these diets have spawned as a passing fad – as many doctors, dietitians and producers in competitor categories continue to do.

You know that a diet trend is going places when multinationals, like Nestle and Unilever, get in on the act. Many are already producing a wide range of keto products. A quick Google search for keto foods and beverages throws up anything from coffee creamers to ice creams, snack products, meal-replacement shakes, drinks, oils and supplements.

It points to another sign that the keto category is well-established: there is already a split between so-called "clean" and "dirty" keto foods. Dirty keto is the

dismissive term for highly-processed products that continue to come under scrutiny for their negative effects on health long-term.

Clean keto, on the other hand, are nutrient-dense foods as close to their natural state as possible.

Keto diets are on the extreme end of low-carb, high-healthy-fat (LCHF) diets. In essence, the experts will tell you that keto diets work by changing the body's preferred fuel from glucose- to fat-burning (a process called ketosis), with increasing evidence of weight-loss, and health and sports-performance boosts that can follow.

In South Africa, keto products are the

logical extension of the "Banting" diet, as LCHF is commonly known in this country.

The growth of the Banting low-carb food-bev sector in SA is due in no small measure to the pioneering work of internationally recognised Cape Town scientist, Professor Tim Noakes.

His long-running and well-publicised battles with the medical and dietetics establishments, which have tried to silence him for his views on LCHF have, ironically, helped give even more exposure to the benefits of LCHF diets and boost the sales of keto products.

Opportunities in the keto business were highlighted in a recent Market To Next page

LIFESTYLES

THE KETOGENIC DIET IS SPRINTING AHEAD LIFESTYLES

The Adapt team: Glen Finkel, left, Lisa Becker, and Prof Eric Westman, right.

SEEKING A MARKETFOR ‘CLEAN’ KETO

From Previous Page

Research Future (MRF) report, titled ”Ketogenic Diet Market Research Report – Global Forecast till 2023”.

Whilst North America and Europe are the two fastest-growing markets for keto products, thanks to their high per capita disposable incomes and increasing awareness of the health benefits of LCHF, the report says Asia, the Middle East and parts of Africa - especially SA - are at a “nascent stage” with good growth opportunities ahead.

The report segments the keto market into beverages, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, meat/poultry/eggs, seafood and snacks. It forecasts that:# The market for ketogenic beverages

will register the highest growth rate due to the demand for convenient, ready-to-drink products.# Meat, poultry and eggs will hold the largest market share of the segment.

And while the market for ketogenic

foodbev products remains highly fragmented with both global and regional players, MRF says companies are poised to enter into partnerships as part of their growth strategies.

So far, the dominant players internationally are mostly from the USA and include: Ample Diets, Keto and Company Keto Fridge, Perfect Keto, Lovegoodfats, Nutricia and Thrive Market, along with Nestle (Switzerland), and Diet Darzee (India).

In SA, the market is also highly fragmented, with many small players seeking to take advantage of the LCHF trend.

Jumo Phiri, a spokesman for one of them, Lifematrix, says keto has become a central feature of the wellness landscape. “We see the keto market continuing to grow at a healthy rate over the next few years - but the big challenge is affordability .... carbs are cheap, but healthy fats and high-quality proteins are not.”

A quick Google search for keto foods and beverages throws up anything from coffee creamers

to ice creams, snack products, meal-replacement shakes, drinks, oils and supplements.

Prof Tim Noakes: the pioneer of ketogenic diets in South Africa.


FOOD SAFETY TRENDSFOOD SAFETY

AUDIT TYPE WHO IS AUDITED AUDIT REASON AUDIT CRITERA AUDITING BODY COMMENTS

Mandatory Applies to all types of food businesses importing, selling or manufacturing foodstuffs. Excludes all unprocessed agricultural products – see below

Compliance for the issuing of the Certificate of Acceptability prior to commencement of trading and ongoing compliance monitoring

Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, Act 54 of 1972Regulation R638/2018 – General hygiene requirements

Regulation R146/2010 – Labelling of foodstuffs,Municipal Bylaws

Environmental Health Practitioner (EHP) from your local municipality

This is an inspection of the facility to ensure it meets minimum legal requirements. Some documentation is also required

Mandatory The primary producer/processor of agricultural products (there are some exceptions to this list such as jam etc.)

Compliance with compositional regulations for agricultural and other products

Regulations issued under the Agricultural Products Standards Act, Act 119 of 1990

Assignee or Inspector from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

This is a product audit where samples are taken for analysis to ensure compliance with the regulations.

Mandatory The food operator/ business if you are an abattoir

Compliance for the issuing of the registration certificate and monitoring of ongoing compliance

Meat Safety Act, Act 40 of 2000 and associated regulations for abattoirs

Provincial veterinary public health officials

This is an inspection of the facility to ensure it meets minimum legal requirements. Some documentation is also required

Mandatory The food operator/ business if you are exporting any agricultural products. Requirements differ depending on the type of product

Compliance with export regulations for agricultural and other products. There may be additional requirements for the country of destination

Regulations issued under the Agricultural Products Standards Act, Act 119 of 199

Assignee or Inspector from Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. For abattoirs, Provincial veterinary public health officials

This is a site inspection and product audit where samples may be taken for analysis to ensure compliance with the regulations

AUDIT TYPE WHO IS AUDITED AUDIT REASON AUDIT CRITERA AUDITING BODY COMMENTSMandatory The food operator/

business ONLY if you are processing certain frozen fish products, seafood and canned meat.

All food businesses selling product by mass or volume may be subject to inspection for compliance to legal metrology requirements.

Compliance with technical regulations known as VC documents which are gazette, and the associated South African national standard.

The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications Act, Act no. 5 of 2008.

The Food & Associated Industries Department (FAI) is recognized by EU authorities as the competent authority for the inspection and issue of health guarantees of fish or fishery products destined for Europe.

FAI is an internationally accredited inspection body and fully complies with SANS/ISO 17020.

This is a site inspection and product and process audit where samples are taken for analysis to ensure compliance with the regulations.

Mandatory The food operator/business ONLY if you are processing ready-to-eat meat or poultry products or peanuts.

Compliance with HACCP.

Regulation R908 as amended by R607, Codex HACCP requirements.

SANS 10330 or ISO/FSSC 22000 are acceptable alternatives.

SANAS-accredited certification body, verification by the EHP from your local municipality.

The audit will be conducted by A SANAS accredited certification company (check www.sanas.org.za). This will be at your own cost. A verification inspection will be done by your local EHP.

Voluntary The food operator/ business if you are exporting

Compliance with the customers’ food safety requirements for approved supplier status.

This may differ from customer to customer. All retailers are members of the CGCSA – FSI and therefore require compliance to this set of requirements, as a minimum.

The lowest level of compliance would be Basic level for an audit. The historically-accepted option would be the FSA audit.

Accredited or unaccredited auditing companies as approved by the customer

Although this is a voluntary audit, it is mandatory to become and remain an approved supplier.

Each retailer does have their own business rules in relation to the required level of audit and the preferred auditing company.

Voluntary – Certification

The food operator/ business if you are exporting.

Recognition of your food safety management system for strategic business reasons or to comply with customer requirements.

Certification to a national or international food safety management system standard.

Accredited certification body either SANAS or some other accreditation body.

Always select an accredited certification body, preferably one with mutual recognition by SANAS.

Also ensure that any third party accreditation is in place e.g. for FSSC as this is a separate accreditation process and not all certification bodies will opt for this.

Voluntary The food operator/ business if you are supplying organic, Kosher, Halaal or any other claims listed on your label.

Compliance with the relevant body’s’ requirements to be able to apply the claim on your label. May often be a requirement from a customer

The relevant body’s requirements

The religious organisation’s auditors or the organisation selected for organic certification (if any).

This process may differ depending on the organisations requirements. There are no legal requirements related to these voluntary certifications. This is a self-regulated activity at your own cost.

Voluntary – Accreditation

The auditing company

Recognition of auditing competence for specific standards and sector scopes in the food industry.

ISO 17021/ISO 17020 – requirements for certification or inspection bodies

Accreditation body such as SANAS or some other body that is part of the International accreditation forum community to ensure international recognition.

Always select an accredited certification body as this gives you improved confidence that the company is competent and operates to international standards.

Food & Beverage Reporter has partnered with Food Focus to bring you enhanced coverage of food safety/compliance issues. Food Focus addresses the full range of compliance factors which South African food businesses have to face, including occupational health and safety hazards, environmental demands and corporate social responsibility. Find out more at www.foodfocus.co.za

NAVIGATING THE AUDIT LANDSCAPE

We at FoodFocus receive many calls from companies entering the food safety audit arena for

the first time. They are often confronted with a lot of jargon about audits and inspections they will have to comply with.

We put this table together to help you understand what interactions must and can take place at your business, the reasons for these and the requirements you will need to comply with.

While this may not be an exhaustive list, we do hope we have highlighted the main role players you should consider in

your food safety journey. You should consider all the

mandatory requirements first. These are legal requirements and are the most basic requirements you are supposed to comply with.

The voluntary audits will be dependent on your sector and customer requirements.

Your customer will often make use of a third party audit programme to ensure their suppliers meet their requirements. You would choose the audit based on your commercial relationship.

Once you have signed a contract agreeing to your customer’s requirements, this audit is now a mandatory activity.

But remember you chose to supply the customer – that is the voluntary part. All voluntary audits will require that you have met all the mandatory audit requirements for your sector.

We can’t apologise for the long list – we are only the messengers. If we have left any audit or inspection out, please feel free to let us know.

Good luck!


TRADE SHOWS

Now in its 33rd year, Europe's

leading expo for ingredients

promises inspirational ideas

and exciting business

opportunities

From December 3-5, Food ingredients Europe & Natural ingredients (FiE/Ni) will once

again be the food industry’s epicentre. Over the course of three days, the Parc des Expositions in Paris will become the Number 1 platform where leading ingredient manufacturers establish numerous high-quality business connections.

Across an exhibition area of more than 80 000 m2, experts from all sectors – including product developers and decision-makers from the food and beverage industry, as well as representatives of major brand companies – will do business face-to-face with top buyers and specialists from across the F&B supply chain.

Key topics of this year’s event are Clean label, Reduction & reformulation, Healthy and functional and Plant-derived ingredients. Trade fair organiser Informa Markets is expecting 1 700 exhibitors from 135-plus nations,

including world-leading companies such as Kerry, Cargill, Naturex, DSM, Barry Callebaut and FrieslandCampina.

This year’s show will feature free-to-attend presentations on industry trends and key market insights, a programme on food processing quality and safety in collaboration with IUFoST, as well as a special Plant-based Experience with ProVeg International featuring cooking shows, tastings, panel discussions and guided tours. The paid-to-attend

conference programme will offer leading-edge expert insights into current and future opportunities for F&B professionals.

Keynote presentations, panel discussions and master classes at the two-day Fi Conference (3/4 December) will focus on tackling current challenges and identifying immediate opportunities for professionals in the F&B industry. At the pre-event Future of Nutrition Summit (2 December) independent futurist thinkers, startups and pioneers from across and beyond the industry will share their insights.

Over the last three decades, Fi Europe & Ni has established itself as a 360° event and comprehensive platform for the food industry. Numerous theme pavilions from “Free From” to “Natural ingredients” will help guide visitors sourcing specific specialty ingredients.

At the Expo FoodTec Pavilion, they will also be able to source bespoke ingredient processing and packaging solutions and services. At the new Tasting Bar, visitors will have the opportunity to taste and learn more about exhibitors’ products all in one central location

www.figlobal.com/fieurope

Ingredient expo beckons Processing Reporter&

By JIM MANSON

Leading market intelligence agency Mintel has named what it says are the four biggest trends currently

impacting the global packaging industry:# Connected Packaging: Multiple

technologies are enabling brands to connect physical packaging to the virtual world.

# Closing the Loop: Brands have an opportunity to differentiate and ride consumer awareness of recycling issues.

# Reinventing the Box: With online shopping set to gain further popularity, brands must fully establish an e-commerce packaging strategy.

# Plastic-Free: As the momentum behind plastic-free supermarket aisles grow, brands need to consider what packaging solutions can give them shelf space.

Looking ahead, David Luttenberger, global packaging director at Mintel, discusses below these major trends influencing the packaging sector worldwide, including implications for consumers, brands and manufacturers.

# Connected Packaging

Connected packaging is witnessing renewed interest, driven by growth in ownership of connected devices worldwide and advancement in technologies that link packaging to the online world.

Brands have a wealth of options to connect virtually with packaging – from QR codes and other graphic markers to near field communication, radio frequency identification, bluetooth and augmented reality.

A vital link between physical and digital shopping worlds, brands can capitalise on connected packaging to influence how they are viewed online, together with delivering engaging

content and product-specific information to directly influence purchasing decisions.”

# Closing the Loop

Proclamations by brands and converters touting commitment to 100% recyclable materials or packaging being 100% recycled dominate industry headlines.

But the reality that few of them have yet to fully consider is how, where, and who will be supplying and recycling these materials. Though recyclable packaging claims have become common, claims to include recycled content are still rare.

Low availability of high-quality recycled plastic and concerns over food safety are hampering the use of recycled material in food and drink.

And while recycling may be second nature to some, inconvenience and confusion surrounding recycling are a barrier for others. To Page 26

“A vital link between physical and digital shopping worlds, brands can capitalise on connected packaging to influence how they are viewed online, together with delivering engaging content and product-specific information to directly influence purchasing decisions.”- David Luttenberger

UNBOXED: FOUR BIGPACKAGING TRENDS


PROCESSING PROCESSING

Oil is the critical factor in the product quality of fried foods and thus determines the

best frying system to use. But it’s also important to consider floor space, production capacity, acquisition price and the method of heating the cooking oil. In this article, Heat and Control, one of the world’s leading suppliers of deep frying solutions, offers an overview of the various systems available to the food industry.

Batch Fryers

Batch fryers are used for hard bite, slow cooked potato chips due to their unique temperature profile. The high-moisture content of potatoes requires a specially designed batch fryer.

Potato-specific batch fryers use a kettle of static, hot oil that’s direct-heated by a gas burner under the fryer pan or by heat-transfer tubes immersed in the oil. These tubes can be heated by a gas burner, steam, or thermal fluid.

As each batch of potato slices enters the oil, the cooking oil temperature drops and then gradually increases as the burner fires up to regain proper frying temperature.

This “inverted bell curve” temperature profile produces the distinctive hard-bite texture that has made these chips the fastest-growing segment of the potato chip market.

The art of adjusting the oil temp-erature profile gives processors the ability to create subtle differences in chip texture. Once these cooking parameters are set, sophisticated batch fryers use a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) to assure repeatable frying of each batch of chips.

Continuous Fryers

There are numerous designs of continuous fryers, varying in heat load, product handling, oil filtration, and production capacity, but all commonly

cook a continuous flow of product. Potato products such as potato

chips and sticks require an externally-heated continuous fryer design due to the large amount of moisture that must be boiled off during the frying process.

External-heat exchangers heat the cooking oil using gas or light oil burners, steam, or thermal fluid. These fryers continuously circulate oil through a filter, an external-heat exchanger, and single or multiple inlets and outlets in the fryer.

Continuous oil circulation provides multiple advantages:# Maintaining a consistent oil

temperature and temperature drop through the fryer

# Separating and advancing products; through the fryer for uniform cooking without clusters;

# Keeping product particles in suspension for more-efficient filtration and clean fryer operation.

Unique characteristics and production capacities of different potato products have prompted the development of specially-designed continuous fryer systems, including Multi-Zone Fryers, Multi-Stage Fryers, Thermal-Fluid-Heated Fryers, and Vacuum Fryers.

Multi-Zone Fryers

In these fryers, oil is introduced and removed at different points along the length of the fryer pan to provide accurate control of the temperature drop that occurs during cooking, known as Delta-T.

This enables processors to develop custom colour and texture characteristics for different products. It also permits frying at lower temperatures, which produces a lighter colour product and reduces oil degradation.

Multi-stage Fryers

These are a variation of the multi-zone design and provide a greater range of frying temperatures. Each fryer stage uses a separate continuous oil filter, oil-circulation pump and heat exchanger. Multi-stage fryer systems are especially useful for batter-coated fries, french fries, or fine particle-intensive co-products.

Thermal-Fluid Heated Batch Fryers

This direct-heated fryer uses a patent-pending thermal-fluid heat exchanger that heats oil uniformly throughout the fryer. A fines removal conveyor and spacing between the heat-transfer tubes prevent product particles from accumulating inside the fryer.

Vacuum Fryers

Operating at 10% or less of normal atmospheric pressure, a vacuum fryer boils off product moisture at a lower temp than traditional fryers. This means high-sugar content potatoes can be fried without browning of finished chips.

Formation of acrylamide can be controlled because oil temperature can be kept below the 120°C point at which acrylamide forms.

What type of fryers are better for oil reduction?

Indirect-heated fryers are used when reduced oil volumes, minimal thermal degradation and full oil filtration

are required. These systems are more expensive than a direct-heated system for the initial outlay of costs, but in the long term the operator will see cost savings achieved through oil reduction.

Indirect-heated fryers heat oil by circulating it through an external heat exchanger. The cooking oil is also circulated through the frying pan and a filtration system.

This type of frying system has the ability to match the product heat load requirements to the square meters of frying area required by the product.

The indirect system minimises the oil volume required for cooking but will guarantee the highest product quality. In the frying vessel, only enough oil is needed to cover the product. This usually results in up to 40% less oil volume in the entire system compared to direct-heated fryers of a similar size.

Because of the lower oil volume, indirect-heated fryers deliver excellent oil turnover rates.

With indirect-heated fryers, oil is filtered in a very short period because it is continuously circulated through the fryer and its components. Product particles are constantly removed from the oil, preventing fines and carbon build-up anywhere in the system.

The indirect-heated fryer system does use some form of external heat exchanger. The most common ones include the Coil-Type Heat Exchanger (CTHX) or some type of shell and tube heat exchanger, i.e. thermal fluid or steam.

These systems deliver gentle oil heating compared to other designs because the oil flow rate is engineered to maximise heat transfer without thermally degrading or scorching the oil.

These fryers can be configured with either inside or outside return conveyors along with a tempura in-feed or free fry area. Oil is introduced to the fryer through single or multiple inlets located at the bottom of the pan. Oil flow can be adjusted at inlet points to match product flow patterns and to minimise temperature drop (ΔT) along the fryer’s length. In addition, zone control can be provided for multiple cooking profiles, which can affect the product’s characteristics.

Cleaning indirect-heated fryers is very simple. These fryers have a built-in, clean-in-place system and the cleaning solution takes the same path as the cooking oil, ensuring that all areas of the fryer are cleaned using a minimal amount of chemicals in a minimal amount of time.

Heat and Control’s range of fryers have been engineered to treat oil as carefully as the product itself. With precise temperature control, quick fines removal, and rapid oil turnover, they allow manufacturers to deliver the freshest and most consistent fried food products possible.

Each frying system is designed to suit an individual customer’s specifications. Oil temperature can be set to the required point and precisely aligned to production requirements. Temperatures can be kept the same throughout production which will result in a continuously consistent product and have the added benefit of maximising the life of the frying oil.

Heat and Control fryers are able to achieve increased throughput, extended oil life, reduced oil usage, easy cleaning and better, more consistent product.

SEE FRYING TIPS ON NEXT PAGE

Heat and Control’s batch fryer systems produce truly superior hard-bite potato chips.

A-Z OF SMART FRYING SYSTEMS


PROCESSING GASES

Afrox gas cylinders, onsite bulk tanks and gas analysers will in the near future be connected to the Internet. It will not only allow automatic reordering for just-in-time delivery, the data collected will also be used to analyse gas quality, usage trends and much more. Afrox’s M J Strydom explains how it will work.

You won’t believe what our Afrox gas cylinders will soon be able to do. They will know when the

gas inside them is getting low and they can send the gas supplier a message to deliver a full cylinder as soon as possible.

Does this sound like science fiction from another planet? No, this is already being tested through a secure Internet portal between our customers and Afrox’s gas ordering system. Hosted by a contracted telemetry provider, the portal offers real time updates on gas pressure and a host of other parameters.

Machine-to-machine Internet connectivity between gas users and their supplier will ensure that the gas they depend on never runs out.

The advantages do not end there. Compressed gas laboratories will be able to use connected gas analysers. Locally collected information from any gas sample and any laboratory will be sent for comparative analysis online via a common central computer, monitoring the purity and accuracy of Afrox’s industrial gas product ranges.

Gas analysers can already be programmed to capture samples and record the analysis simultaneously and with certainty, bringing significant benefits in terms of costs, efficiency, reaction times, safety and end quality.

For special gases, connectivity and digitalisation will allow specific formulas to be ordered, mixed and checked online before delivery.

Where purity of the gas is critical, the production or laboratory process system can be monitored by an analyser so that analysis data can be obtained and used as a reference for validation of the process in real-time.

By analysing time versus pressure data from cylinders or bulk gas supply systems, graphs can be created and detailed usage reports generated.

This will give managers an excellent tool to see when and how the gas is being used and how much it is costing, making planning and accounting far easier. Once benchmarks have been established, this information can also

trigger alarms as soon as leaks in the system emerge, reducing waste and saving money.

You may ask how much it will cost to connect your gas to the Internet? Instead, maybe you should ask how much can be saved.

How much damage will be done when a procedure or an industrial process has to be aborted or shut down because of a gas supply interruption. How much income will be lost, how much lost production time results, what are the reparation consequences and how will your reputation be affected?

The 4th Industrial revolution has arrived and, in the not so distant future, Afrox will be able to use it to help manage gas availability and use.afrox.co.za

The connected future of our gas supply... From Page 23

With no option to ship packaging waste off-shore and out of sight, we are likely to see fast improvements in recycling facilities. This will drive up capacity for high-quality recycled material.

Going forward, brands have an opportunity to ride consumer awareness of recycling issues by being part of the solution and committing to using recycled material in new packaging.

# Reinventing the Box

There are now limitless opportunities for brand marketers to think about the next generation of shelf presence, the ‘hero images’ on retailers’ websites, and the ‘unboxing’ experience.

The rapid development of e-commerce has had more of an impact on the design of packaging globally than anything the industry has experienced in the past several decades.

In e-commerce, brands are learning that messaging and branding should be split between the shipping container and the interior of the box – with the latter incorporating elements that give consumers a sense of delight and surprise when opening the parcel.

While most consumers currently prefer to buy groceries in-store instead of online, the convenience of purchasing online will eventually spill over into food, drink, and household products. Only through an established e-commerce packaging strategy can brands design packs for the worst-case distribution scenario.

Meanwhile, there will be huge financial, social, and brand equity gains to be made in the e-commerce packaging arena just by exploiting elements of package optimisation rooted in sustainability.

# Plastic-Free

Marine plastic pollution has become one of the world’s most serious environmental problems, and there

is a growing need for different attitudes to the material.

New opportunities such as plastic-free aisles, package-free stores and alternative pack materials allow consumers to actively make choices about the plastic that is put out in the world. But these incentives are not without their own challenges.

While plastic-free aisles reflect consumer exhaustion with excess plastic packaging, in reality, few would want to lose the convenience and benefits plastic packaging can bring.

And while the term ‘plastic-free’ may appear to be a simple one, there is no universal definition; even plastic-free packaging often includes plant-based plastics, showing the lack of clarity in the plastic-free call.

Brands should act now, either to ensure a place in emerging plastic-free zones by switching to acceptable pack materials, or by engaging with the debate, clearly explaining the benefits of plastic packaging to their product, and addressing plastic pollution concerns with appropriate end of life pack solutions.

FRYING: HOW TO MAINTAIN OIL QUALITYHeat and Control’s Frying tips that help maintain good oil quality:

# Start as late as possible

Fill and start heating the fryer system only when production is about to begin. Pumping and heating oil without cooking any food not only damages the oil but results in additional operating costs.

# Keep the fryer closed

Keep the fryer closed as much as possible to protect the modified atmosphere (e.g. steam) within the fryer. This also inhibits the ingress of fresh air into the fryer. The machine operator should not lift the fryer hood or its openings as the machine will quickly lose this protective atmosphere.

# Fresh oil may need older oil

Fresh oil does not have the flavour characteristics that are developed during the frying process, and some processors purposely age their oil when starting with a clean fryer.

They may “bruise or condition” the oil by heating it without product or simply put some older oil in with the fresh oil to get this fried flavour into the product when they start production.

After commencement, they revert to using fresh oil, thereby allowing these flavour characteristics to develop in the oil but at a controlled rate.

# Cool and store as soon as possible

After production or during extended production stoppages, the oil should be cooled to below 100ºC as quickly as possible and then stored in the appropriate storage areas.

www.heatandcontrol.com

UNBOXED: FOUR BIGPACKAGING TRENDS

New opportunities such as plastic-

free aisles, package- free stores and alternative pack materials allow

consumers to actively make choices about the plastic that is put

out in the world.


A new TIP-TITE™ Drum Dumping System from Flexicon automatically conditions fibreboard drums containing bulk solid material, dumps the material into downstream

equipment, and accumulates empty drums on a roller conveyor for removal.

The system is intended for low- to high-volume handling of drums containing material that has solidified or agglomerated during storage or shipment, while eliminating the dust, spillage, labour cost and potential injury associated

with manual drum handling. A powered roller conveyor moves

each full drum into a conditioning station where hydraulic rams press and release it on opposite sides. A turntable then rotates the drum in user-selected increments for subsequent press-and-release cycles sufficient to loosen the material.

The conveyor automatically sends the conditioned drum to a TIP-TITE® dumping station that hydraulically raises and seats the drum rim against a discharge hood equipped with a slide gate. A second hydraulic cylinder lifts and tips the drum to an angle of 45, 60 or 90 degrees with a motion-dampening feature. At full rotation, the slide gate opens to allow controlled discharge of material into downstream process equipment.

Once the empty drum is returned to its upright position, the rollers are reversed, sending the drum to a pneumatically-actuated ram that pushes it onto a separate roller conveyor where empty drums are accumulated for removal.

Photoelectric sensors located along the roller conveyor relay the position of empty and full drums to the system controller, which powers the rollers to advance and stop drums as desired during each phase of the process.

The system is designed to accommodate fibreboard drums of all popular sizes weighing up to 340 kg, and is also offered in high-lift configurations for dumping into elevated receiving equipment.www.flexicon.co.za

Drum conditioning &dumping made simple

HANDLING

Today, food and beverage companies operate in a very different environment to

that of a few years ago. Massive changes over the years, as a result of increasing consumer demands and changing trends, have made planning around product life more difficult than ever before. And with increased regulations around quality and traceability, innovation is now critical for survival.

Let’s take the listeriosis outbreak in South Africa where contaminated processed meats led to not only fatalities, but the irreparable damage of a company’s brand and reputation - something which is hard to bounce back from. Regaining consumer confidence is a mammoth task. Endless campaigns may not salvage a brand once it has been tarnished.

The outbreak highlighted the need for better quality products, enhanced traceability and stricter adherence to regulations. It’s also a clear example of how having preventative measures in place is easier than having to recall products and do damage control. Long-term, it’s more cost-effective too.

Ezra Taft Benson summed it up perfectly: “It is better to prepare and prevent than it is to repair and repent.” Fortunately, the demand for innovation couldn’t come at a better time. With advancements in technology, a company can keep tabs on the entire process, ultimately avoiding recalls and public prosecution all together. # Reduce product recalls Product recalls having risen significantly over the past decade. Increased regulations and harsher penalties, growing consumer awareness, and the uptake of social media are just some of the contributing factors.

A report by Allianz Global Corporate & Speciality revealed that the food and beverage industry is the second most impacted sector in terms of product recalls.

But using technology, a company can reduce the likelihood of product recalls, as every step of the process is monitored. And if errors do occur, the business is better equipped to pin-point exactly what went wrong and where.

# Quality assurance Ensuring quality of raw materials, such as ingredients, processing aids and packaging, is essential in the manufacture of any finished food product. The ability to monitor and track all these components allows a company to meet its specifications and, at the same time, regulatory requirements.

Increased access to complex materials, global sourcing, handling methods, customer locations, plus regulations, requires an expert team. But with the help of technology, a company can overcome such hurdles.

# Improve time to market Constant innovation is a key factor if businesses want to remain competitive. On-going research and development into new and improved products are integral to the industry. And shorter product life cycles mean the speed with which companies deliver these innovations to the market is crucial if they want to

stay ahead of the game and remain profitable.

# Enhance traceability

To meet the stringent food safety requirements, companies can harness technology to identify and trace every ingredient consumed in the manufacturing process, from receipt through processing, packaging, and shipping to customer location.

Whether it be used for compliance or as an analysis tool for continuous improvement strategy, traceability is a vital capability.

# Technology as an enabler By implementing a suitable Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, you can minimise risks in the production process, while maximising profitability through shorter lead times and operation efficiency.

For example, SYSPRO ERP for Food and Beverage better equips a company to handle the complexities of the industry, where the challenges of regulatory compliance, food safety issues and the demand for

fast turnaround times are all important. With this software, a company

can provide full bi-directional traceability from source to consumption, produce detailed audit trails of all transactions,

and implement successful recalls. It means, companies can quickly trace and analyse the source of any defects. Plus, they can meet strict compliance requirements with comprehensive record-keeping.

The Work in Progress function provides quality inspection points, allowing the collection of physical product data to facilitate statistical process control, as well as the opportunity for sample material review in the event of a non-conformance.

Using technology, businesses can modernise their supply chains and maximise their profits. It’s time to say goodbye to unnecessary product recalls and hello to compliance, quality control, enhanced traceability, and the real win – unwavering consumer confidence.www.syspro.com

“It’s better to prepare and prevent than

to repair and repent ”

The foodbev industry faces

myriad challenges, such as

regulatory compliance, traceability

and quality assurance.

ERP can help companies

regain control of their supply chains,

says SYSPRO MD Mark Wilson.

TECHNOLOGY


PROCESSING

The entire beverage sector is talking about digitization and Industry 4.0 – but what do these oft-cited terms

actually mean for the beverage industry? One thing is clear: their potential

is vast. Digital technologies simplify processes, intelligently network systems with one another and relieve operator workloads.

At the same time, the digital revolution presents beverage producers and engineering companies with many mighty challenges. As one of the leading systems suppliers, KHS is well aware of the significance these complex change processes hold for the success of a business. The Dortmund machine and systems manufacturer is thus driving a number of research and development projects which specifically focus on digital networking and line optimization.

For KHS, one goal of its group strategy is to boost line efficiency and cut down on the amount of resources used such as materials and energy. “When deciding whether we implement an idea or not, it’s the added value for the customer that counts for us,” says Dr Matthias Schopp, head of Engineering Systems at KHS.

KHS has found it prudent to enter into close cooperative partnerships with its clients to this end. “These provide the perfect conditions in which to approach new technologies with realistic expectations and with an open mind as to their outcome,” says Schopp. “This is demonstrated by our various sponsorship projects, for instance, where we can experiment with new technologies in a kind of ‘protected space’ to try out new ideas that carry a certain risk of implementation.”

Networking and cooperation

KHS believes one vital driver of progress to be networking and cooperation with external research institutes and universities. At the time of writing, for example, KHS is involved in a project for additive production in maintenance logistics managed by a research consortium comprising scientists from the TU Dortmund, Ruhr University in

Bochum and Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML).

In this process, which is also described as 3D printing, components are produced layer by layer. Among other things, this form of manufacture permits complex component structures to be fabricated that cannot be made using conventional methods and are to simplify the production of machines in the future.

The 3D printing process also speeds up the supply of spare parts as production is much faster than conventional manufacture.

“The overriding aim of our research activities is to make our lines and machines even more energy efficient and gentler on resources so that our

customers also profit from these projects in the future,” Schopp explains.

Self-optimizing systems

One research project KHS recently brought to a successful conclusion with its partners bears the name DnSPro. This acronym describes the development of a filling system that is equipped with various sensors and an intelligent logic controller. “The results from this project can form the basis for future filling machines where the machine can perfectly adjust itself to a new project automatically, with the automated variation of filling parameters replacing manual setup procedures,”says Schopp.

This development centers on the application of machine learning for perfect adaptation to the bottle form, making the filling process quicker and more efficient.

The project has evolved from a cooperation between five German industrial companies and the Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences and Ruhr University in Bochum.

Sustainability

When developing new products, KHS attaches special importance to the subject of efficiency. Significant aspects here include saving on materials, media and energy and the optimization of lines and machines. KHS is constantly working to make its systems even more efficient. Each component, however small, is therefore seen as an important part of the whole. “New functions in individual assemblies are successively changing our systems and machinery. We’re constantly working on giving all components the maximum efficiency and perfectly coordinating them with one another,” says Schopp.

KHS is also hoping to gain new impetus for this endeavor from the EnAP project. The goal here is to devise energy-saving concepts and line optimization processes that can be used in pneumatic and electrical handling systems. The project, funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, not only intends to help save energy and resources but also to enable the beverage industry to keep its overall operating costs down to a minimum.

Relieving operator workloads

Another primary future concern for KHS is the interaction between man and machine. “Our aim must be to make the operation of the increasingly complex technology demanded by growing market requirements easier for human operators. With the help of artificial intelligence we want to engineer self-learning and self-optimizing systems,” explains Schopp.

At the moment KHS is examining the main basic principles in this area under the umbrella of the CyProAssist project. The objective is to develop an assistance system for production which supports optimum human machine operation. “We want to help machine operators so that operating errors are avoided and error states corrected as quickly as possible to permit high line availability,” says Schopp.

“All told, we can observe that our current sponsored projects lie in the right fields of research and are yielding results that are directly tangible. Besides these, our projects are also having a positive influence on the expertise gleaned by our employees. After all, we all also learn as we work,” Schopp sums up.www.khs.com

PUTTING INDUSTRY 4.0 TO WORK

The KHS Innofill Glass DRS glass bottle filler: is now benefitting from a number of important new digital features.

www.fbreporter.co.za FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER | AUGUST 2019 33 32 AUGUST 2019 | FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER www.fbreporter.co.za

DINNERMATES Tel: +27 11 462 0020 +27 11 032 8600Fax: +27 11 462 [email protected]

Suppliers to the hospitality and food industries of quality portion-controlled, chilled, frozen anddriedmeat products. Service excellence, innovation and flexibility give Dinnermates the edge in providing meat and chicken products tailored for special applications in the food industry

PHT-SA TRADING INTERNATIONAL Tel: +27 861 777 [email protected]

Your PARTNER for HYGIENE and TECHNOLOGYAs a successful, producing enterprise of hygiene-sensitive products you have to keep many aspects of the requirements and regulations of hygiene and food safety in mind. We support you in this task and deliver customized hygiene solutions, as well as innovative technology. We develop the perfect fit, specific to your business, complete hygiene-concept and are reliably, along with our expertise, available by your side. In addition to this, after implementing our solution, we continue to be available to you for advice, regular service and for emergencies.

The PHT group with locations in North- and South-Germany, Austria, Benelux and South Africa is one of the leading outfitters of the modern, up-to-date technology for hygiene and food safety.

KRONESTel: +27 11 065 5700 Fax: +27 86 645 8119 [email protected] www.krones.co.za

Krones plans, develops and manufactures machines and complete lines for turnkey installations of filling and packaging lines.

Every day, millions of bottles, cans and specially-shaped containers are handled on Krones lines producing beer, soft drinks, juices, water, spirits, wines and dairy amongst others. This is backed by worldwide 24/7 service support and expertise.

Krones’ product portfolio covers: blow-moulding, filling and closing, aseptic filling, labelling, inspection and monitoring, cleaning, rinsers and pasteurisers, water treatment, packing, palletising, conveyors, processing equipment, syrup rooms, intralogistics, brewing equipment, information technology, PET recycling, factory planning, greenfield solutions, valves etc.

FILLING & CAPPING

VERSACHEM (PTY) LTDTel +27 12 653 4447 [email protected]

Colours, Flavours & FragrancesVersachem manufactures and supplies consistently high-quality products into the following industries:Colours & Flavours Fragrances• Extruded Snacks •Fine fragrances • Soya •Home care • Dairy • Laundry care • Baking • Personal care• Beverages • Baby care• Potato Chips• Meat• Candy• Confectionery

FLAVOURS

Should you require any additional information, please contact Keshav Beachen (NOSA Testing National Sales Manager) at [email protected] or +27 76 114 9420.

PRODUCT SOLUTIONS & SERVICE SUPPLIER

CCS LOGISTICS PO Box 686, Cape Town, 8000Vrystaat Road, Paarden EilandCape Town, South AfricaTel +27 87 350 7350www.ccslogistics.co.zawww.linebooker.co.za

As the largest cold store operator in Africa, operating since 1971 and a 100% subsidiary of the Oceana Group, CCS Logistics owns and operates eleven modern refrigerated facilities in the major centres and harbours of South Africa, Namibia and Angola. Collectively, CCS offer 140 000 tons of multi temperature controlled storage and handling from ambient to minus 60 degrees.

Dynamic warehouse management systems incorporating radio frequency technology and integration capabilities support our range of services that include picking, blast freezing, bonded facilities, bulk vessel quayside operations and stevedoring. Customised services range from container consolidation, cross-docking, palletisation, transport and facilitation of clearing and forwarding.

NOSA TESTING Porta Nova Building, Gazelle Close, Corporate Park South,Old Pretoria Road, Ranjesfontein, Midrand

How NOSA Testing ensures crystalline silica in respirable airborne dust is no longer your problemNOSA Testing now offers accredited gravimetric weighing and crystalline silica analysis.

LABORATORY SERVICES

MATRIX SOFTWARETel: +27 16 423 5537Fax: +27 86 605 [email protected]

• Complete software solution for the food and meat industry• Full traceable stock control• Full MRP and traceability solutions• Specialists in meat systems (abattoir/debone /processing)• Retail point of sale• Scales, label printing and probes integration• Recipes and yield control systems• Integration with most known financial systems

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

LIQUID, FILLING & CAPPING

FILMATIC130 Jan van Riebeeck Drive, 7645, PaarlTel: +27 21 862 2192Fax: +27 21 862 [email protected]

As one of South Africa’s top packaging systems design and manufacturing companies, Filmatic supplies packaging equipment solutions that can accommodate packaging of all types of glass and plastic bottles, sachets, tubs, cups and literally most conceivable containers and closures. We provide our services to the dairy, cream, water, beer, fruit juice, jam, honey, shampoo, dish washing liquid, ketchup, vinegar, motor oil, edible oil, wine and cider production industries to name but a few.

To this end, we at Filmatic remain invested in our industry through our people and our equipment, to strive for innovative solutions and improvement in packaging technology, not forgetting to deliver on cost effective solutions to our customers

Analysis Sampling Media Method Based On Accredited TAT Size

Inhalable and Respirable (Gravimetric)

Inhalable and Respirable (Gravimetric)

NIOSH 0500 & 0600 Yes 48 Hours 37mm, 5µm

Crystalline Silica Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Filters

NIOSH 7602 Yes 10 working days

37mm, 5µm

Tel: +27 76 114 [email protected]

CAPE FOOD INGREDIENTSTel: +27 21 789 1885Fax: +27 21 789 [email protected]

Formulations and technical assistance. Specialists in: • Beverages - powdered and liquid, still and carbonated• Bakery - enzymes, pre-mixes, antioxidants, inclusions• Dairy - cultures, flavours, preservatives, AB Test Kits• Batch-packs • Sweetener blends

We manufacture and supply flavours (sweet and savoury), speciality acids (Fruitaric Acid), colours (including natural) and a host of specialised ingredients. Factories in Cape Town and Nairobi, distribution throughout Africa

KONICA MINOLTA35 Modulus Road OrmondeTel +27 11 661 9000 [email protected] Accuriolabel 190 Digital Label Printer

FULL COLOUR LABEL PRINTING SYSTEM The AccurioLabel 190 can be used for a variety of applications

From samples to full production of small to mid volume labels for various markets. Achieves high image quality and productivity thanks to its cutting-edge digital print technologies.

The Konica Minolta AccurioLabel 190 system benefits from stable colour consistency and 1200x1200 dpi offset-like quality. No pre-coating is required. The new machine comes with a web guiding system as a standard. Customers benefit from its ease of operation, production flexibility, fast turnaround and variable data printing capabilities, as well as world-class support and service.

The toners of AccurioLabel 190 are in compliance with FDA standards considering the safety of indirect food packaging labels.

As a leading global services provider in the field of IT and document processes as well as digital production printing solutions the company excels in services-led business consulting, implementation and management and provides a range of world-leading printing systems and solutions.

LABELS

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