Food & Beverage Reporter June 2018
Food & Beverage Reporter, South Africa's leading B2B mag for the foodbev manufacturing sector and allied industries
Food & Beverage Reporter, South Africa's leading B2B mag for the foodbev manufacturing sector and allied industries
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JUNE <strong>2018</strong><br />
Processing <strong>Reporter</strong><br />
<strong>Reporter</strong><br />
WHERE’S<br />
WOOLIES<br />
GOING?<br />
CEO ZYDA RYLANDS<br />
TALKS THE WALK ...<br />
Could you<br />
live in<br />
a world<br />
without<br />
chocolate?<br />
(You might have to)<br />
CANNABIS-INFUSED FOODS ARE SMOKIN’ HOT<br />
GO SOCIAL: THE POWER OF INTERACTIVE LABELS<br />
THE TRUTH ABOUT ‘PORTION DISTORTION’
JUNE <strong>2018</strong><br />
HIGHLIGHTS<br />
GOING TO POT<br />
Cannabis + foodbev<br />
= big bucks 14<br />
SWISS CHEESE & LISTERIA:<br />
HOW TO PREVENT A DISASTER 20<br />
SUNSPRAY’S DAVID WATSON<br />
BIDS INDUSTRY FAREWELL 10<br />
COVER STORY<br />
ZYDA’S MISSION<br />
Woolies’ CEO on the<br />
challenges ahead 6<br />
INTERACTIVE LABELS<br />
The future is (VERY) social 32<br />
FINDING THE SWEET SPOT<br />
OF NEW PRODUCT DEV 26<br />
PORTION DISTORTION:<br />
YES, IT’S TRUE 34<br />
OUR WORST NIGHTMARE<br />
A WORLD WITHOUT CHOCOLATE<br />
16
EDITORIAL<br />
“Best Before” has gone<br />
way past its sell-by date<br />
&<br />
<strong>Reporter</strong><br />
Wasted food is just criminal in<br />
a society like ours where so<br />
many people live on the edge of<br />
subsistence, or have fallen right through<br />
the cracks.<br />
Each year, some 1.3 billion tons,<br />
or one-third of all the food produced,<br />
is thrown away, according to the<br />
United Nations’ <strong>Food</strong> and Agriculture<br />
Organization. Recovering just 25 percent<br />
of that wasted food could feed 850<br />
million hungry people – effectively ending<br />
world hunger.<br />
Slowly but surely, the food waste<br />
wheel is beginning to turn. In 2016, for<br />
example, France became the first country<br />
in the world to pass a law forbidding<br />
supermarkets from throwing away<br />
their expired foods, compelling them to<br />
donate the food to charities.<br />
It’s a powerful intervention that, you’d<br />
think, would be embraced in this country.<br />
But I ain’t heard anything, have you?<br />
A few weeks ago, UK supermarket<br />
giant Tesco pushed the anti-food-waste<br />
trolley a little further when it announced<br />
it was removing "Best Before" labels from<br />
many of its fresh produce lines.<br />
It will affect about 70 pre-packaged<br />
produce lines, including apples, potatoes,<br />
tomatoes, citrus fruits and onions.<br />
Tesco will be asking their<br />
customers to start using their eyes to<br />
evaluate the freshness of their produce.<br />
It’s a welcome return to sanity.<br />
The best before label has always been<br />
a middle-class conceit that supermarkets<br />
have pandered to for far too long, and it’s<br />
time our supermarket groups adopted<br />
the same strategy as Tesco.<br />
Talking about waste, on Page 23 of<br />
this issue we share the good news about<br />
the remarkable recycling achievements<br />
of PETCO.<br />
It really is impressive, with over<br />
2 billion PET bottles recycled in 2017,<br />
putting SA among the world leaders with<br />
a 65% PET recycling rate.<br />
Great work!<br />
Bruce Cohen<br />
editor@fbreporter.co.za<br />
Publisher & Editor<br />
Bruce Cohen<br />
editor@fbreporter.co.za<br />
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Mobile: 083 653 8116<br />
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Alice Osburn<br />
admin@fbreporter.co.za<br />
Tel: (011) 026 8220<br />
www.fbreporter.co.za<br />
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2 JUNE <strong>2018</strong> | FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER www.fbreporter.co.za
Selected news items provided by www.foodstuffsa.co.za and www.drinkstuff-sa.co.za<br />
KERRY BUYS SEASON TO SEASON<br />
By BRENDA NEAL<br />
Ireland’s Kerry Group continues to<br />
expand its South African presence<br />
with the purchase of the super-successful<br />
Jo’burg-based flavour company, Season<br />
to Season.<br />
Kerry says: “The acquisition<br />
will enable Kerry to draw on<br />
Season to Season’s R&D<br />
capabilities and technical<br />
expertise in snack seasonings to<br />
help customers meet the demand<br />
for innovative snacks.<br />
“The unique offering and<br />
technical know-how of Season to<br />
Season also fortifies Kerry’s Taste<br />
portfolio, allowing the company<br />
to deliver authentic, wholesome<br />
and delicious snacking<br />
experiences to consumers in Sub-<br />
Saharan Africa and beyond.”<br />
This statement belies<br />
the fabulous feminocentric<br />
entrepreneurial success story<br />
that is Season to Season, and<br />
the very reason it has surely spent<br />
many undeclared millions in acquiring<br />
the business.<br />
It began in 2003 when founder Ronel<br />
Venter decided to go out on her own<br />
after a successful seven-year stint with<br />
McCormick as its sales director that<br />
developed her flair for sales, business,<br />
the savoury snacks game and the<br />
creation of winning flavours.<br />
Her one-woman enterprise had a<br />
lowly genesis: hiring production time<br />
from a factory at night to blend her<br />
seasonings and then doing sales calls and<br />
stock deliveries by day.<br />
Over time, the business grew and<br />
she secured her own 600 m2 factory. It<br />
did not take long for Season to Season to<br />
outstrip this space and 15 years later it<br />
resides in two ISO 2200 certified-factories<br />
in Northriding, Jo’burg.<br />
Venter was joined in 2006 by<br />
business partner, Anneke Potgieter, a<br />
food tech-nologist and close colleague<br />
from her<br />
McCormick<br />
days.<br />
Potgieter,<br />
she says, is a<br />
gifted flavour<br />
R&D expert,<br />
and she credits<br />
her immense<br />
contribution<br />
as crucial in<br />
their growth<br />
and success.<br />
Clearly, Kerry<br />
values her, too,<br />
as Potgieter<br />
is already<br />
ensconced in the new mother ship, based<br />
in Durban with the Kerry R&D team.<br />
Season to Season boasts a headcount<br />
of 74, and it produces several hundred<br />
tons of flavours and seasoning<br />
monthly, serving an impressive clientele<br />
that includes the likes of Nando’s,<br />
Woolworths, Simba and Willards, among<br />
many others.<br />
As Venter comments, the snacks<br />
business is seriously and surprisingly big,<br />
with many big players falling under the<br />
mainstream radar.<br />
Venter credits Season to Season’s<br />
success on getting the basics right; good<br />
Anneke Potgieter & Ronel Venter,<br />
architects of Season to Season.<br />
relationships with clients and delivering<br />
on the necessities of taste, price, quality<br />
and service, and doing that consistently,<br />
irrespective of their growth tangent.<br />
“Apart from our technical strengths,<br />
we have built a strong sensory analysis<br />
team, and this has proved a very valuable<br />
tool in terms of flavour development and<br />
consistency,” she adds.<br />
And all the while, Venter has kept her<br />
focus on keeping her growing contingent<br />
of staff both satisfied and motivated:<br />
“Within the complexities and challenges<br />
of running our company, we strive to<br />
keep things simple. ‘Happy team equals<br />
happy company’,” Venter quips.<br />
An important factor in selling to<br />
Kerry, she hastens to stress, was that the<br />
deal would be “business as usual”, with<br />
no-one in Season to Season losing their<br />
jobs. “So much business success rests on<br />
people – and if people are comfortable,<br />
they feel happy and work hard.”<br />
She and Potgieter are delighted at the<br />
prospect of joining an international stable<br />
of companies within the Kerry Group, and<br />
all the benefits and resources it offers.<br />
She says Kerry is already investing in<br />
upgrades to the Northriding plant.<br />
“Kerry is brilliant, it has wonderful<br />
people, technologies and factories. It’s so<br />
exciting to be part of this international<br />
group, to have the backing to take this<br />
business to new heights,” says Venter<br />
And 15 years later, from bakkie to<br />
big time, from start-up to international<br />
flavour house, how do she and Anneke<br />
feel: “We have built a lovely company and<br />
we hope, in time, to prove to be one of<br />
Kerry’s worthiest acquisitions.”<br />
www.seasontoseason.co.za<br />
4 JUNE <strong>2018</strong> | FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER www.fbreporter.co.za
BRIEFS<br />
RHODES ON A BILLION RAND ROLL<br />
The Rhodes <strong>Food</strong><br />
Group is gearing up<br />
for mega-growth<br />
with a committment<br />
to spending more<br />
than R1-billion over<br />
the next three years to expand production<br />
and improve efficency.<br />
In announcing its half year financials<br />
last month, the company said the<br />
investments include the installation of<br />
a clear-juice-concentrate plant at its<br />
Groot Drakenstein hub, commissioning<br />
a new baked beans production facility in<br />
Gauteng, upgrading production facilities at<br />
Pakco and Ma Baker, as well as a new food<br />
technology laboratory and<br />
product development centre.<br />
CEO Bruce Henderson<br />
said Rhodes <strong>Food</strong>, which owns<br />
15 production facilities across<br />
South Africa and Swaziland,<br />
wanted to gain more market<br />
share through acquisitions and<br />
organic growth.<br />
The group would also increase brand<br />
shares and extract benefits from recent<br />
acquisitions and major projects. “We will<br />
maintain the momentum in sub-Saharan<br />
Africa and expect to benefit from the<br />
addition of the Pakco brands to our<br />
product offering.”<br />
Rhodes <strong>Food</strong> acquired Durban-based<br />
Pakco in 2016 for R197m after the<br />
acquisition of Ma Baker Pies for R212m.<br />
Other RFG<br />
brands include<br />
Bull Brand,<br />
Magpie, Squish,<br />
Bisto and Hinds,<br />
which along<br />
with Pakco grew regional sales by 19.5<br />
percent and 7.6 percent, excluding<br />
acquisitions, for the period. The regional<br />
business accounts for 84 percent of<br />
RFG’s revenue.<br />
Henderson said Pakco performed<br />
ahead of expectations in its first full year<br />
in the group.<br />
“Pakco products are gaining good<br />
traction in the market, and the relaunch<br />
of the brand portfolio in March will<br />
add further sales momentum.<br />
“We have introduced<br />
extensive product innovation,<br />
new pack formats and<br />
refreshed packaging designs<br />
across the Bisto , Hinds,<br />
Pakco and Southern<br />
Coating brands,” he said.<br />
INTENSE SNACKING<br />
If you were at the Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago last<br />
month, your taste buds would have been dazzled by the<br />
direction the US market is heading. Cauliflower, chickpeas<br />
and lentils were among the ingredients cropping up in<br />
new snack products as veg/vegan lifestyles capture<br />
increasing consumer attention.<br />
But there was also a big focus on intense flavours<br />
such as blackberry habanero and fire-roasted chillies.<br />
New products at the show included coconut<br />
caramels in flavours such as ginger rum, Thai iced tea<br />
and Vietnamese coffee. A line of marshmallows included<br />
flavours like<br />
blood orange hibiscus, roasted walnut pecan and black<br />
salt coconut.<br />
Unique flavours are definitely the name of the game,<br />
with products like ginger lime milk chocolate and a banana<br />
rum snack mixes coming on to the market.<br />
LISTERIA: NOW IT’S SWEDEN<br />
Listeria is a truly global problem. In May, seven people died from an<br />
outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes in Sweden. The outbreak has<br />
been linked to ready meals from food company i Lidköping AB.<br />
The pathogen was detected on processing equipment used to<br />
make mashed potato for the ready meals.<br />
Samples of the ready meals showed the same variant of Listeria<br />
serotype: IVb.
THOUGHT FOR FOOD<br />
PROUDLY<br />
PRIVATE<br />
LABEL<br />
Over 20 years ago, Zyda Rylands started a career at Woolworths, steadily climbing the corporate<br />
ladder in finance (she is a chartered accountant), operations, human resources and as head of<br />
foods before taking on the CEO role at Woolworths SA in 2015. Whilst the overall Woolworths<br />
business has been tough going in recent times, food has been a bright light of sustained growth<br />
and innovation under her watch. Marisa Spiros caught up with Rylands recently and asked her<br />
about the challenges she and Woolies face at the very top of the South African food chain.<br />
What's your primary focus as CEO?<br />
It is on creating clarity of direction,<br />
building an enabling environment for<br />
the delivery of our strategy, and<br />
strengthening our leadership capability<br />
through a combination of high<br />
challenge and high support.<br />
Have you had mentors in life?<br />
I have been fortunate to work with<br />
incredible people and some exceptional<br />
leaders, who have mentored, encouraged<br />
and believed in me. Simon<br />
Susman, the current Chairman of<br />
Woolworths Holdings, is one of these.<br />
He was the first CEO I worked for<br />
when I joined the Woolworths Board,<br />
and he has guided me throughout my<br />
career at Woolworths. He has been an<br />
invaluable sounding board and advisor.<br />
I also need to acknowledge my<br />
family. They have anchored me<br />
throughout my life and have supported<br />
me in all of my endeavours.<br />
You were born in Cape Town in 1964<br />
during a volatile chapter in South<br />
Africa’s history. What were your early<br />
thoughts for your future?<br />
I realized early on in life that I had to work<br />
hard and stay focused on what I wanted<br />
to achieve. There are no free lunches.<br />
My motto in life has always been that<br />
6 JUNE <strong>2018</strong> | FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER www.fbreporter.co.za
THOUGHT FOR FOOD<br />
“you suffer the pain of<br />
sacrifice or suffer the<br />
pain of regret” and I<br />
did not want to regret<br />
anything in life.<br />
What made you study<br />
accountancy?<br />
Interestingly, my first<br />
job was in retail as a<br />
shop floor assistant,<br />
but I did not know<br />
then that my career<br />
and long-term passion<br />
would be in the retail<br />
sector. I had always<br />
had a good grasp of<br />
numbers, so I decided<br />
to study accountancy.<br />
I received a study<br />
loan from a business<br />
associate of my father<br />
and worked every<br />
weekend and holiday<br />
to repay the loan.<br />
I completed<br />
a B Comm at the<br />
University of Cape<br />
Town and completed<br />
my Honors degree<br />
through the University<br />
of the Western Cape.<br />
I was very proud to<br />
complete my articles<br />
at Kessel Feinstein<br />
and qualified as a<br />
chartered accountant in 1993.<br />
In a nutshell, how do you describe<br />
your job as Woolworths CEO?<br />
In my role as CEO and custodian of<br />
this amazing brand, which covers our<br />
operations in South Africa and the rest<br />
of Africa,<br />
I am accountable for ensuring that<br />
our brand remains relevant for our<br />
customers and our people in a fastchanging<br />
retail world. That’s so that<br />
we can continue to deliver value to all<br />
our stakeholders.<br />
I am clear that I cannot achieve<br />
this on my own, and I am privileged<br />
to lead an incredibly passionate and<br />
talented team.<br />
You were once Woolies Director of<br />
People and Transformation. What a<br />
re your plans to develop your<br />
company's human resources?<br />
My executive team and I are passionate<br />
about people and committed to their<br />
growth and development.<br />
As a private label business, we<br />
have a reliance on specialist skill and<br />
deep appreciation for the strategic<br />
differentiation and value our people<br />
bring, as well as the key role they play<br />
in enabling our customer experience<br />
vision.<br />
Furthermore, as a business deeply<br />
rooted in South Africa, we are also<br />
conscious of the role we need to play in<br />
our country’s transformation journey.<br />
Our people development strategy<br />
therefore encompasses “the company<br />
and the country”.<br />
Our focus and investment are<br />
not only in the people development<br />
“It’s really great that<br />
what I am passionate<br />
about is aligned to what<br />
has been important<br />
to Woolworths for<br />
”<br />
many years.<br />
required to deliver our strategy,<br />
but also includes the creation of<br />
development and work experience<br />
opportunities for young, unemployed<br />
South Africans.<br />
It’s really great that what I am<br />
passionate about is aligned to what<br />
has been important to Woolworths for<br />
many years.<br />
As a business, Woolworths<br />
contributes to South Africa’s socioeconomic<br />
transformation and touches<br />
many lives through all the BB-BEE and<br />
transformation programmes – from<br />
direct shareholding participation,<br />
people empowerment, supporting,<br />
developing and growing SMMEs, and<br />
the difference we make in communities<br />
through education programmes and<br />
addressing food insecurity.<br />
Woolworths has carved a very<br />
profitable niche in the RTE (readyto-eat)<br />
category, with constant<br />
innovation around take-home meals.<br />
That comes at a huge packaging price<br />
in terms of waste. What is Woolies<br />
doing about the avalanche of RTE<br />
plastic it is creating?<br />
Through using recycled material in our<br />
packaging, Woolworths is dedicated<br />
to reducing the consumption of virgin<br />
raw materials in our operations.<br />
Packaging reduction is an important<br />
environmental factor that we are trying<br />
to address, but it needs to be balanced<br />
with the need to ensure that our<br />
products are appropriately protected.<br />
It is essential that our food is kept<br />
safe and hygienic, and that the shelf<br />
life is optimised so that food waste<br />
is not created. To us, this is using<br />
packaging responsibly. We also support<br />
the growth of South Africa’s green<br />
economy through waste recycling<br />
initiatives and making it possible for<br />
customers to recycle more easily.<br />
Woolies still uses non-compostable<br />
plastic bags at check-out. Isn’t it time<br />
to walk your talk about sustainability<br />
and eco-friendliness?<br />
We have recently addressed the issue<br />
of non-recyclability of our <strong>Food</strong>s plastic<br />
shopping bag and are happy to report<br />
that our new, 100% recyclable bags, are<br />
currently in store.<br />
This is a journey and we have taken<br />
several steps to reduce the impact of<br />
single-use plastic bags throughout our<br />
operations. Customers are encouraged<br />
to buy our cause-related reusable<br />
shopper totes, and we continue to<br />
promote the use of recycled content<br />
within our single-use plastic bags.<br />
By selling reusable bags we support<br />
140 jobs and skills development at<br />
two main reusable bag suppliers –<br />
Isikhwama, based in Cape Town, and<br />
Gusco, based in Uitenhage – both small<br />
black-owned businesses supporting<br />
our Enterprise and Supplier<br />
Development drive.<br />
In 2010, Woolworths introduced<br />
limited edition reusable bags that offer<br />
customers the opportunity to help save<br />
our endangered wildlife and marine life<br />
and support community development<br />
programmes such as Operation Smile<br />
and Qubheka. With our customers’<br />
To Page 8<br />
www.fbreporter.co.za FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER | JUNE <strong>2018</strong> 7
THOUGHT FOR FOOD<br />
ZYDA<br />
From Page 7<br />
support, we have raised over R10-<br />
million for these efforts.<br />
How do you strike the balance<br />
between own brand and branded<br />
products? Is there a formula?<br />
We are a proudly private-label retail<br />
business. This means we make<br />
products, not just buy them. Therefore,<br />
the partnerships that we have with<br />
our suppliers are a key element of our<br />
business model.<br />
Woolworths has always enjoyed<br />
significant market share in our fresh<br />
produce and prepared food categories.<br />
In addition, to offer our customers the<br />
convenience of being able to do a wider,<br />
more complete shop with Woolies, we<br />
have steadily extended the breadth and<br />
depth of our range, particularly in longlife<br />
and most-wanted national brands.<br />
This is aligned to our strategy of<br />
becoming a bigger foods business and<br />
making it more convenient to shop at<br />
Woolies. However, the vast majority of<br />
products we sell are private-label.<br />
Similar to the partnerships we have<br />
built over many years with our privatelabel<br />
suppliers, we also have strong<br />
relationships with our branded suppliers.<br />
Ultimately, the objective of our<br />
partnerships is to give our customers<br />
the very best shopping experience at<br />
Woolworths. As such, we work closely<br />
together, sharing insights and data to<br />
better satisfy our customers’ needs.<br />
Woolies has led the way in removing<br />
sweets and other junk from checkout<br />
snake aisles. The rest of your<br />
stores still sell lots of total junk food<br />
– like Nestle Bar One cereal. Even<br />
under your own brand, there are<br />
lots of sugar-drenched beverages<br />
and products. I see sugar in the most<br />
unlikely products, including soup and<br />
sauces. Why the inconsistency? Time<br />
for Woolies to take a stand and clear<br />
ALL your aisles of junk food?<br />
As part of our ongoing nutrition<br />
commitment, we are working to reduce<br />
the sugar and salt content of our<br />
private- label food products. By the<br />
“Our product development<br />
is guided by principles that<br />
address salt reduction;<br />
saturated fat reduction;<br />
reduction in added / free sugar;<br />
assisting our customers in<br />
energy control through portion<br />
control; as well as encouraging<br />
fruit and vegetable intake, and<br />
more whole grains, legumes<br />
and pulses ...<br />
end of <strong>June</strong> 2017, we had removed<br />
29,3-million teaspoons of sugar and<br />
a further 1.9 tonnes of salt from our<br />
Woolworths <strong>Food</strong> products.<br />
We promote a holistic approach<br />
by providing delicious, nutritionallybalanced<br />
food solutions to our<br />
customers, while also promoting<br />
sustainable food production systems.<br />
What principles guide your product<br />
development?<br />
Our product development is guided by<br />
principles that address salt reduction;<br />
saturated fat reduction; reduction<br />
in added / free sugar; assisting our<br />
customers in energy control through<br />
portion control; as well as encouraging<br />
fruit and vegetable intake, and more<br />
whole grains, legumes and pulses<br />
Our sugar reduction approach<br />
across all food categories is to “Reduce,<br />
Remove, and Replace”, and forms<br />
an integral part of our long-term<br />
nutrition strategy.<br />
We actively promote healthy and<br />
informed choices through customer<br />
communications, clear nutrition<br />
labelling, practical tools such as<br />
product information lists, healthy<br />
food promotions and partnerships,<br />
such as Discovery Vitality Healthy<br />
<strong>Food</strong>.<br />
What is WW doing to support<br />
smaller suppliers? There is an<br />
argument that your quality standards<br />
are just too high for small suppliers to<br />
comply with?<br />
The Woolworths Supplier and<br />
Enterprise Development (SED)<br />
programme has been designed<br />
primarily to introduce, support and<br />
grow black- and black women-owned<br />
emerging small and medium sized<br />
businesses in the Woolworths<br />
supply chain.<br />
Investing resources in this space has<br />
allowed Woolworths to meaningfully<br />
contribute to building the small- and<br />
medium-sized business sector. Support<br />
is provided to these enterprises for<br />
a period, after which it should be<br />
demonstrated that the enterprise has<br />
reached a certain level of sustainability.<br />
The partnership we have with our<br />
established suppliers is extended to this<br />
programme and augments our efforts<br />
in growing sustainable SMMEs.<br />
We currently have a total of 48<br />
suppliers as part of this programme.<br />
Over the last three years, Woolworths<br />
has had an accumulated procurement<br />
spend of R1-billion with enterprise<br />
development beneficiaries and<br />
disbursed R25.6-million in loans.<br />
Over 381 people jobs have been<br />
created and conservatively, 3 632<br />
people are positively impacted by these<br />
small enterprises. This is testament to<br />
how the programme is contributing<br />
meaningfully to socio-economic<br />
transformation in South Africa.<br />
How important is online shopping in<br />
your retail footprint? Does it really<br />
have legs in the SA market, or is it<br />
just a nice to have for those timechallenged<br />
wealthy few?<br />
Investment in our digital capabilities<br />
continues to be a core focus for us.<br />
8 JUNE <strong>2018</strong> | FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER www.fbreporter.co.za
THOUGHT FOR FOOD<br />
The face of global retailing is evolving<br />
quickly. Globally, online shopping is<br />
experiencing growth rates in excess<br />
of in-store shopping. Within online<br />
shopping, mobile is experiencing the<br />
strongest growth.<br />
Online shopping has created<br />
more price-savvy consumers who<br />
expect the in-store experience to add<br />
value, be relevant, personalised, and<br />
entertaining, while experiencing<br />
an efficient and effective online<br />
shopping alternative.<br />
Mobile and related technologies<br />
are enabling consumers to interact<br />
with each other and with global<br />
retailers directly.<br />
A mobile phone is our customer’s<br />
remote control, enabling and<br />
enriching their lives. With these<br />
technologies, our customers have the<br />
opportunity to choose from a huge<br />
selection of retailers, both locally and<br />
internationally. And they can compare<br />
us to the best in the world, so the<br />
expectation is massive. This affects<br />
every part of the customer journey –<br />
from browsing products and prices<br />
before purchase, to post-purchase<br />
feedback.<br />
However, along with the rise<br />
in online shopping, customers are<br />
also increasingly directing their<br />
spend towards experiences and<br />
entertainment.<br />
I have been a Woolworths customer<br />
for years and have one of those black<br />
loyalty cards. In truth, I hardly get<br />
much value from it considering the<br />
small fortune I empty into your tills<br />
every month. Is loyalty important to<br />
you? What plans, if any, do you have<br />
to take it to the next level?<br />
Yes, loyalty is an important part of our<br />
business. We have built an incredibly<br />
valuable emotional connection with<br />
our customers over the years – they<br />
love our brand – and this needs to<br />
be protected and nurtured. We are<br />
working hard to ensure we continue<br />
to deliver on their expectations in<br />
what we sell and how we sell to them<br />
(their experience).<br />
Developing a richer understanding<br />
of our customers and building stronger<br />
customer relationships is fundamental<br />
to being a customer-centric business.<br />
Our customer insights and data drive<br />
and inform all our business decisions to<br />
ensure that we offer our customers a<br />
compelling proposition and better serve<br />
their needs.<br />
We use loyalty tools to drive more<br />
personalised interactions with our<br />
customers. We also leverage our<br />
WRewards loyalty programme and<br />
undertake marketing initiatives that<br />
convey our price competitiveness and<br />
our difference to customers.<br />
We continue to invest in price,<br />
using data analytics to tailor price and<br />
promotions profitably. We will continue<br />
to enhance our loyalty proposition<br />
and offer our customers a connected<br />
retail experience<br />
You’ve led the way in mainstreaming<br />
organic foods into the retail channel.<br />
Has it been worth it? What are your<br />
plans for organic? Would you agree<br />
that organic is an over-used and<br />
abused word in SA?<br />
We focus on providing options for our<br />
customer to Live and Eat Well. This is<br />
more than a focus on organic foods.<br />
The Good <strong>Food</strong> Journey is the name<br />
we have given to our on-going pursuit<br />
to offer South Africa food that is better<br />
for our customers, better for the<br />
environment and better for the people<br />
who produce it.<br />
It encompasses everything from<br />
avoiding additives like tartrazine and<br />
all other azo-dyes, MSG, aspartame,<br />
saccharine and cyclamate in our foods,<br />
switching to natural colourants and<br />
flavourants, never using mechanically<br />
deboned meat, labelling ingredients<br />
from potentially GM crop sources and<br />
offering more organic and free-range<br />
choices, to caring for the welfare of<br />
animals and promoting healthy eating<br />
as part of a healthy lifestyle.<br />
Ever read a life-changing book?<br />
I found Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to<br />
Freedom incredibly impactful and his<br />
capacity for forgiveness and his ability<br />
to bring together a nation inspires<br />
me daily<br />
What are you reading now?<br />
I am currently reading Almost is Not<br />
Good Enough: How to Win or Lose in<br />
Retail by Andrew Jennings<br />
What is the best advice anyone ever<br />
gave you?<br />
As a senior leader, always be conscious<br />
of how you make others feel in your<br />
presence.
LEADERSHIP<br />
What does it take for a<br />
company to grow from small<br />
beginnings into a thriving<br />
enterprise? Ask outgoing<br />
Sunspray MD, David Watson...<br />
NEW ERA FOR<br />
SUNSPRAY AS<br />
Watson, a chemical engineer by<br />
profession, retired recently<br />
after 39 years in the food<br />
industry, 28 of them at Sunspray. In his<br />
farewell speech at a cocktail function at<br />
the Wanderers Club recently, he gave<br />
an insight into the company's intriguing<br />
provenance and background.<br />
Sunspray started operating as<br />
Nutritional <strong>Food</strong>s (NF) way back in 1944<br />
in Industria, Johannesburg, initially<br />
producing food products for World War II<br />
refugees.<br />
The name change only happened in<br />
2006. But in the interim and in effect,<br />
Sunspray <strong>Food</strong> Ingredients has been<br />
the country’s spray-drying innovator for<br />
more than 50 years. The company is now<br />
also South Africa's largest independent<br />
producer of spray-dried food ingredients<br />
and provides for all spray-drying needs.<br />
At the time of inception, the<br />
company’s flagship product was a<br />
“Protone” soup that Watson described<br />
as "extremely nutritious" but horrible<br />
tasting. Nowadays, he says, customers<br />
are far fussier.<br />
The company erected its first spraydrying<br />
tower on the Industria site in 1958,<br />
and it was initially used to manufacture<br />
Mahewu powder for the mines.<br />
Thereafter, the company did contract<br />
or toll manufacturing of ingredients<br />
for other companies and installed a<br />
second spray dryer in the 1960s. It later<br />
expanded its spray drying portfolio to<br />
include spray-dried fruit and vegetable<br />
powders.<br />
In the 1970’s, NF became the first<br />
company in South Africa to produce<br />
coffee creamers on contract for other<br />
companies. It also bought Clifton, makers<br />
of cooldrink powders and other retail<br />
products. By that time, NF was involved<br />
in social catering markets, retail and food<br />
ingredients.<br />
Watson had enjoyed a thriving<br />
corporate career. However, in the 1980s<br />
he decided that he would rather travel<br />
the entrepreneurial road. Together with<br />
business partner Charles Akeroyd, they<br />
WATSON EXITS<br />
bought NF, bankrolled by Merhold (now<br />
known as Sabvest).<br />
Initially, Watson and Akeroyd focused<br />
on creating their own brands to make the<br />
company less reliant on contracts. Among<br />
product ranges developed, manufactured<br />
and successfully marketed were Caramel<br />
Powder 48000, Meaton, tomato powders<br />
and cheese powders - all fully spray dried.<br />
That allowed the food ingredients<br />
division to start thriving. "We grew the<br />
business organically during the first<br />
10 years," Watson said. "This included<br />
the erection of three new spray drying<br />
towers."<br />
Farewell to David Watson,<br />
who hands over the Sunspray<br />
leadership to René Cross.<br />
In 1998, Watson and Akeroyd bought<br />
Funa <strong>Food</strong>s and became the largest<br />
player in the social catering market.<br />
By 2004, they decided to exit the retail<br />
market as "we were too small a player",<br />
he said.<br />
In 2005, they purchased and<br />
assimilated Ovipro, that is now the<br />
company's Bronkhorstspruit division.<br />
Through this acquisition, NF became a<br />
major force in the egg industry.<br />
However, 2006 was "the watershed<br />
year", Watson said. That was when NF<br />
sold its social catering division and with it,<br />
the company name.<br />
10 JUNE <strong>2018</strong> | FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER www.fbreporter.co.za
LEADERSHIP<br />
Sabvest and Watson bought out his partner and rebranded<br />
the business as Sunspray <strong>Food</strong> Ingredients. At the same time,<br />
René Cross, his successor as Sunspray MD, joined the company.<br />
It's something of an understatement to say that Sunspray<br />
has done exceptionally well over the past 12 years. In 1989 it<br />
achieved R1-million turnover a month.<br />
Now, despite selling off half<br />
the company in 2006,<br />
Sunspray is achieving<br />
The definition of<br />
success changes<br />
through one’s life<br />
- David Watson<br />
sales of around<br />
R1-million a day!<br />
Watson says<br />
that translates to<br />
his initial investment<br />
increasing<br />
1000-fold in<br />
28 years.<br />
The final turn in his<br />
Sunspray journey was the<br />
decision with Sabvest in 2015<br />
to sell just over half the business to a black empowerment<br />
company within RMB Corvest,<br />
with the provision that he stayed on for three years.<br />
There were a few good reasons for that decision, Watson<br />
said: Firstly, it would radically improve BBBEE accreditation.<br />
Secondly, he would have a guaranteed exit strategy. And finally,<br />
selling to a financial institution meant that the company could<br />
achieve "good succession planning without external operational<br />
interferences" and not be in competition with customers.<br />
The three-year period is now over and Watson bid his<br />
farewell at the Wanderers Club function.<br />
Sunspray is clearly a success story and Watson said he was<br />
proud of what was achieved over the 28 years that he was at<br />
the helm (during this period he was also a director<br />
of the Consumer Goods Council of SA and is a past President<br />
of SAAFoST)<br />
However, he said, "success can mean different things<br />
to different people, and the definition of success changes<br />
through one's life".<br />
All businesses have stakeholders and the relationship<br />
between the business and its stakeholders is crucial to its<br />
success, Watson said.<br />
Critical to success are customers, suppliers and other<br />
service providers. Many of those who attended Watson’s<br />
farewell function fell into those categories, and he<br />
thanked them all for the excellent relationships and<br />
friendships nurtured over many years.<br />
Watson ended by saying that the most important<br />
stakeholders are the employees of a company. He<br />
thanked them all for their loyalty and dedication. And in<br />
handing over to Cross, he expressed confidence that Sunspray<br />
would continue on the successful road "for at<br />
least another 28 years".<br />
Cross has had extensive experience in the food and<br />
flavour industry, having worked for Nestlé, Simba and IFF<br />
in various management positions covering QA/QC, production,<br />
operations and marketing.<br />
Sunspray has an impressive list of clients that include DD<br />
Williamson, for toll spray-drying and various other multinational<br />
and global clients for contract manufacturing, packing<br />
and customised spray dried products.<br />
The activities of Sunspray <strong>Food</strong> Ingredients are split into<br />
three categories: <strong>Food</strong> Ingredients, Contract Manufacturing and<br />
Toll spray-drying and blending. By far the largest division is that<br />
of <strong>Food</strong> Ingredients. Sunspray is the appointed agent for DDW<br />
caramel colours and natural colours in South Africa.<br />
The company also serves the retail sector with its own<br />
brands marketed by Stafford Bros. These include spraydried<br />
products Country Pasture Blend, Bravo Gravy<br />
Powder and Housewives Cheese. Sunspray also<br />
manufactures house brands for leading chain stores.<br />
The latest addition to the company’s food ingredient<br />
product portfolio is a 60% creamer to complement<br />
an already comprehensive range of creamers.<br />
Sunspray has an R&D department run by<br />
qualified personnel. The facility is used for the<br />
development of new products, the improvement of<br />
existing products, testing of new and alternative raw<br />
materials and the cost optimisation of products. The pilot plant<br />
tower is utilised by customers for toll spray-drying trials.<br />
At the farewell, Cross paid tribute to Watson, saying that he<br />
left a "remarkable legacy" and put in place the very foundations<br />
that made the business such a success.<br />
"This company, particularly the marketing and R&D<br />
departments, will be somewhat emptier without him," she said.<br />
However, Watson has ensured that he leaves Sunspray with<br />
a new foundation for growth, aptly named Project Sunrise. The<br />
company has bought the property next door for the construction<br />
of a new warehouse, staff training facilities and a clinic.<br />
www.sunspray.co.za
WELLNESS<br />
THE TRUTH<br />
ABOUT<br />
‘PORTION<br />
DISTORTION’<br />
NEW RESEARCH PUTS PRESSURE ON INDUSTRY TO SHRINK PORTION SIZE<br />
By MARISA SPIROS<br />
<strong>Food</strong> and beverage makers often<br />
stand accused of contributing<br />
to obesity and type 2 diabetes<br />
epidemics worldwide by increasing<br />
portion sizes of their products. It's a<br />
phenomenon that dietitians refer to as<br />
"portion distortion".<br />
Just how real is "portion distortion"?<br />
Will forcing the industry to reduce<br />
portion sizes really contribute to<br />
reducing the skyrocketing prevalence<br />
of both obesity and type 2 diabetes<br />
worldwide?<br />
New research by psychologists at<br />
the University of Liverpool believe so.<br />
They say the food industry can and<br />
should make a contribution by reducing<br />
portion sizes.<br />
The research, published recently in<br />
the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,<br />
highlights the benefits of reduced<br />
product portion sizes, claiming it will<br />
make "healthier eating more normal".<br />
The researchers say that historical<br />
increases in the portion sizes of<br />
commercially-available food products<br />
cause "passive" overeating and this has<br />
contributed to the growing worldwide<br />
obesity crisis. This has led public health<br />
bodies to promote the idea that the food<br />
industry needs to reduce portion sizes.<br />
The Liverpool study looked at<br />
whether reducing portion size can<br />
“renormalize” perceptions of what<br />
constitutes a normal amount of that<br />
food to eat. It also investigated whether<br />
this would lead to people selecting and<br />
consuming smaller portions in future.<br />
Says study leader Dr Eric Robinson:<br />
“The present findings indicate that if<br />
portion sizes of commercially-available<br />
foods were reduced, these smaller,<br />
more appropriate portion sizes may<br />
recalibrate perceptions of what<br />
constitutes a 'normal' amount of food to<br />
eat and, in doing so, decrease how much<br />
consumers choose to eat.”<br />
But co-author Dr Inge Kersbergen<br />
added some caveats: “It is unclear from<br />
our research how long the effect would<br />
last. The effects we observed were larger<br />
when we examined food intake the next<br />
day in the laboratory than when we<br />
looked at portion size preference one<br />
week later.”<br />
Based on the idea that the<br />
immediate environment influences<br />
people's perceptions of what a “normal”<br />
portion size is, Kerbergen said that it<br />
was likely that the effect would only<br />
last if consumers encountered smaller<br />
portion sizes more often than supersized<br />
portions.<br />
That has led the authors to<br />
recommend that food manufacturers<br />
begin the process by reducing<br />
portion sizes.<br />
It's an interesting conclusion and<br />
recommendation, given Robinson's<br />
earlier thoughts on reduced portion<br />
sizes – and the idea that one way to<br />
achieve this is by telling people to use<br />
smaller plates.<br />
In an article in The Conversation<br />
in March 2017, he speaks of plate size<br />
recommendation as his "pet hate". In it,<br />
he takes exception to a "commonly held<br />
belief that using smaller plates reduces<br />
the amount of food that people eat".<br />
His team reviewed all the available<br />
research addressing this question and<br />
concluded: "The evidence for the magic<br />
of smaller plates was very unconvincing.<br />
There were more studies that had found<br />
no benefit on calorie consumption of<br />
dining with smaller plates than there<br />
were studies that supported the smaller<br />
plates equals eat less hypothesis.<br />
"Also, the studies that did support<br />
the smaller plate idea all came from the<br />
same research group.”<br />
Robinson and his team conducted<br />
their own study examining whether<br />
giving participants smaller bowls to<br />
serve themselves popcorn reduced the<br />
amount they ate.<br />
If anything, he writes, participants<br />
ate even more when using a smaller bowl<br />
compared to a larger bowl.<br />
One reason, he suggested, is that<br />
smaller bowls allowed people to give<br />
themselves more permission to go back<br />
for "seconds". That tended to offset<br />
any benefit from a reduced portion size<br />
flowing from a smaller bowl.<br />
12 JUNE <strong>2018</strong> | FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER www.fbreporter.co.za
TRENDS<br />
BY MARISA SIPROS<br />
A<br />
"pot of gold" with a difference<br />
is beckoning the global foodbev<br />
industry: dagga, pot, cannabis,<br />
marijuana, weed, grass …<br />
The fast-growing market for cannabisinfused<br />
foods, snacks and drinks is being<br />
driven by the legalisation of marijuana<br />
around the world, not just for medical<br />
use but also for recreational use. In<br />
these countries, especially the USA,<br />
cannabis edibles and drinks are already<br />
generating millions of dollars in revenue<br />
for entrepreneurs.<br />
And as more countries come on<br />
board, analysts predict big changes in<br />
the market. Some say cannabis-infused<br />
drinks could one day be “bigger<br />
than wine”.<br />
Gone are the days of homemade,<br />
gritty, chocolate brownies<br />
containing powdery cannabis grains<br />
that were popular in the flowerpower,<br />
hippie era of the 1960s.<br />
In its place are high-end products<br />
dreamt up by Michelin-star chefs.<br />
Ranges now include cakes, cupcakes,<br />
biscuits and even pizzas. The "candy"<br />
market is proving to be a particularly<br />
rich source, with cannabis-infused<br />
dark chocolate bars, energy bars,<br />
mints and lollipops.<br />
<strong>Beverage</strong>s include cannabisinfused<br />
sparkling waters, herbal teas<br />
and coffees.<br />
The growth of the market is also<br />
due to the versatility of the cannabis<br />
plant’s active ingredients, known as<br />
cannabinoids. These can be integrated<br />
successfully in just about any food<br />
and drink product. Cannabinoids are<br />
responsible for pot’s myriad effects, both<br />
recreational and medicinal. The most<br />
well-known cannabinoid is THC.<br />
In the USA, 29 states and the<br />
country's capital, Washington, DC, now<br />
allow cannabis for medical purposes,<br />
although their approaches differ<br />
significantly. Some states allow<br />
medical cannabis dispensaries and<br />
home cultivation, while others allow<br />
home cultivation only. Still others<br />
allow dispensaries but proscribe<br />
home cultivation.<br />
Nine states in the USA, including<br />
California and the District of Columbia,<br />
have legalized cannabis for both<br />
medicinal and recreational use, and more<br />
are expected to follow by year end.<br />
GOING TO<br />
POT - AND<br />
COINING IT<br />
This has opened up the floodgates<br />
for entrepreneurs to offer marijuanainfused<br />
foods, snacks and drinks. Forbes<br />
magazine estimates that it is already a<br />
multi-million dollar business set to grow<br />
by up to 25% annually in the USA. It's no<br />
surprise that the American Specialty <strong>Food</strong><br />
Association (SFA) has identified cannabisinfused<br />
"edibles" as one of its Top 10<br />
food trends for <strong>2018</strong>.<br />
“As more states legalize recreational<br />
marijuana, the varieties of pot-enhanced<br />
food and beverage will increase,” the<br />
SFA’s Trendspotter Panel said late last<br />
year. “Look out for continued interest and<br />
acceptance in a host of snacks, treats and<br />
beverages with a little something extra.”<br />
Another market report says cannabis<br />
is "seducing the specialty food makers<br />
and marketers serving high-end retailers<br />
and well-heeled bellies across the<br />
Internet and America".<br />
One reason for the explosive<br />
growth in the USA, and California<br />
in particular, say analysts, is that as<br />
the cannabis market expands, it is<br />
reaching people who don't want to smoke<br />
the weed, but still want to experience the<br />
“high”. Edibles provide a "discrete, smokefree<br />
experience", Forbes says.<br />
Producing cannabis edibles/<br />
drinkables has its challenges. <strong>Food</strong><br />
and beverage makers face a slew of<br />
safety issues, mostly dose-related, and<br />
complications that could occur from<br />
combining THC with other addictive<br />
substances, chiefly caffeine and alcohol.<br />
This also raises the issue of the need for<br />
responsible marketing and, in particular,<br />
transparent labelling of ingredients.<br />
There's a long way to go before a legal<br />
cannabis edibles market could take root<br />
in South Africa. Attempts to have the drug<br />
legalised for medical use, never mind<br />
recreational, have stalled.<br />
In part, that's due to safety concerns,<br />
and the ongoing debate and controversy<br />
about just how addictive dagga can be<br />
and whether it presents a high risk as<br />
14 JUNE <strong>2018</strong> | FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER www.fbreporter.co.za
TRENDS<br />
a "gateway" drug that<br />
leads to use of harder<br />
substances.<br />
Medical doctors and<br />
psychologists involved in<br />
legalising dagga in South<br />
Africa believe that the<br />
benefits far outweigh the<br />
risks. Cape Town GP Dr<br />
Keith Scott says that South<br />
Africa is “lagging far behind<br />
the international trend<br />
towards dagga legalisation<br />
or decriminalisation”.<br />
Dagga has been unfairly<br />
demonised,” he says, "and<br />
is no more a gateway drug<br />
than tobacco and alcohol".<br />
Scott says that dagga is<br />
not even as toxic as either<br />
alcohol or tobacco."It is far,<br />
far safer, and it is definitely<br />
safer than harder drugs, such as heroin<br />
and morphine."<br />
Under current legislation, medical<br />
practitioners are still legally denied the<br />
right to prescribe cannabis or any of the<br />
commercially-produced cannabinoids<br />
that are approved for the treatment of<br />
cancer-related side effects in the US and<br />
other countries.<br />
That hasn’t stopped a burgeoning<br />
underground market emerging in SA,<br />
with a “whisper-economy” of cannabis<br />
oil (for medical use) as well as a variety<br />
of edibles and drinkables on offer.<br />
Globally, the biggest problem<br />
with dagga, and drugs in general,<br />
says Scott, is that they are mired<br />
in politics and outdated international<br />
treaties formed in the wake of drug<br />
criminalization. These treaties are<br />
collectively known as the “War on Drugs”.<br />
Argues Scott: “The war has been<br />
lost, and it has exacerbated drug<br />
problems worldwide because drugs<br />
by themselves generally don’t make<br />
people addicts.<br />
No drug is free from harm,” he<br />
says, “but any harm must be seen<br />
in perspective”.<br />
www.fbreporter.co.za FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER | JUNE <strong>2018</strong> 15
CONFECTIONERY<br />
By MARISA SPIROS<br />
Warnings that rising temperatures<br />
are threatening the cacao tree,<br />
which produces the pods and<br />
beans from which chocolate is made, are<br />
raising the spectre of a global chocolate<br />
shortage.<br />
In part, that's because of the fragility<br />
of the cacao plant that can only survive in<br />
humid, rainforest conditions. One of the<br />
effects of global warming, say scientists, is to<br />
suck moisture from the soil in which the plant<br />
can grow best and finally become a tree.<br />
As a result, scientists now predict that<br />
by 2050 it will be impossible for farmers<br />
to grow cacao trees. They say that is<br />
particularly the case in the Ivory Coast and<br />
Ghana regions, where farmers currently<br />
produce more than 50% of the world's cocoa.<br />
The experts say that rising temperatures<br />
and droughts will force farmers to move<br />
their trees to higher ground. That won't<br />
be an instant solution and is one filled with<br />
challenges, not least because competition<br />
for land will be fierce and many upland<br />
areas are already protected and restricted<br />
to wildlife.<br />
Cacao trees also take up to four years<br />
to grow and harvesting the pods is timeconsuming<br />
and labour intensive.<br />
That's bad news for makers of chocolate<br />
products because they estimate that there<br />
is a likely chocolate deficit of around<br />
100 000 tons a year over the next few years.<br />
That is a worrying scenario, especially<br />
since the demand for chocolate is already<br />
outstripping supply. The high demand for<br />
the sweet treat has increased in Europe<br />
and North America, with millions on the<br />
Asian and African continents following suit<br />
with a recent uptake of demand.<br />
Another reason for intensified demand<br />
is research into the manifold health benefits<br />
of cacao compared with cocoa, and in<br />
particular, dark chocolate. This has given<br />
chocolate pride of place in the panoply of<br />
health foods and has had a welcome<br />
spin-off for producers of a wide variety of<br />
food and beverage chocolate products.<br />
An aggravating factor, say experts, is<br />
that it is smallholder farmers on subsistence<br />
farms with old-style methods who produce<br />
the majority of the world's cocoa. They<br />
can't afford fertilisers and insecticides<br />
needed to increase supply and fill the<br />
yawning demand gaps for cacao any<br />
time soon.<br />
Could you<br />
live in<br />
a world<br />
without<br />
chocolate?<br />
Continued on Next Page<br />
16 JUNE <strong>2018</strong> | FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER www.fbreporter.co.za
CONFECTIONERY<br />
The bean that’s choc full of health<br />
Here's more good reason<br />
to hope that the predicted<br />
shortage of chocolate by 2050 is<br />
just gloom and doom. Research<br />
into the health benefits of<br />
dark chocolate in particular is<br />
growing and its reputation as<br />
a health food is no overnight<br />
sensation.<br />
A report from the Harvard<br />
Chan School of Public Health<br />
says that dark chocolate is<br />
a highly-treasured food that<br />
dates back to 2000 BC. At that<br />
time, the Maya from Central<br />
America, the first connoisseurs<br />
of chocolate, drank it as a bitter,<br />
fer-mented beverage mixed with<br />
spices or wine.<br />
Today, the long rows of<br />
chocolate squares sitting neatly<br />
on your store shelves are the<br />
end result of many steps that<br />
begin as a cacao pod, larger than the<br />
size of your hand. Seeds (or beans) are<br />
extracted from the pod and fermented,<br />
dried, and roasted into what we<br />
recognize as cocoa beans.<br />
The shells of the bean are then<br />
separated from the meat, or cocoa nibs.<br />
The nibs are ground into a liquid called<br />
chocolate liquor, and separated from<br />
the fatty portion, or cocoa butter. The<br />
liquor is further refined to produce the<br />
cocoa solids and chocolate that we eat.<br />
After removing the nibs, the cocoa<br />
bean is ground into cocoa powder that<br />
is used in baking or beverages.<br />
The Harvard report goes on to<br />
explain the essential differences<br />
Raw cacao powder, which is in demand for its health<br />
benefits, is made by cold-pressing unroasted beans.<br />
This process keeps the enzymes in the cocoa and<br />
removes the fat. Ordinary cocoa powder looks the<br />
same but has been made from roasting the beans<br />
at high temperature.<br />
between dark and milk chocolate: Dark<br />
chocolate contains 50-90% cocoa solids,<br />
cocoa butter and sugar; milk chocolate<br />
contains anything from 10-50% cocoa<br />
solids, cocoa butter, milk in some form,<br />
and sugar.<br />
Dark chocolate, by definition, is not<br />
supposed to contain milk. Depending<br />
on the quality, lower-quality chocolate<br />
products may also contain added<br />
butterfat, vegetable oils, artificial<br />
colours and flavours.<br />
It goes without saying that white<br />
chocolate doesn't really deserve to be<br />
called chocolate at all, as it does not<br />
contain any cocoa solids. Its constituents<br />
are just cocoa butter, sugar and milk.<br />
It is in its dark versions that<br />
chocolate comes into its own and<br />
can truly claim to be a health food.<br />
The Harvard report notes that<br />
cocoa is rich in minerals, chiefly<br />
iron, copper, magnesium, and zinc.<br />
It is also rich in plant flavanols<br />
that are shown to be heart<br />
protective. Dark chocolate<br />
contains up to two to three<br />
times more flavanol-rich cocoa<br />
solids than milk chocolate.<br />
Flavanols support the<br />
production of nitric oxide in the<br />
endolethium (the inner cell lining<br />
of blood vessels). That helps<br />
to relax the blood vessels and<br />
improve blood flow, thereby<br />
lowering blood pressure, the<br />
Harvard report says.<br />
Short-term studies have also<br />
shown that flavanols in chocolate<br />
can increase insulin sensitivity. This<br />
has led to dark chocolate's reputation as<br />
an aid to managing diabetes.<br />
And like all the good things in life,<br />
too much can be bad. Dark chocolate<br />
is yet another case where less is more<br />
when it comes to health benefits.<br />
The Harvard report notes that dark<br />
chocolate can be high in calories<br />
(150-170 calories per ounce) and can<br />
contribute to weight gain if eaten in<br />
excess.<br />
However, just as with nuts, dark<br />
chocolate can induce satiety and in<br />
that way contribute to weight control.<br />
Overall, eating modest quantities of<br />
dark chocolate may offer "the greatest<br />
health benefits".<br />
From Previous Page<br />
A report in Forbes magazine last year<br />
notes that cultivation of cacao has always<br />
been a risky venture. It cites aging trees<br />
as one limit to productivity. Another is<br />
disease that decimates about 30% of<br />
annual production.<br />
And then there's climate change. The<br />
Forbes report quotes research showing<br />
how rising temperatures will adversely<br />
affect the crop.<br />
But Forbes notes a "looming, more<br />
immediate threat" that is confronting<br />
producers of chocolate products globally.<br />
It is one that is "economic and more<br />
personal": young farmers in West Africa,<br />
who do most of the growing of the world's<br />
cocoa, no longer want to grow the crop<br />
that becomes chocolate, because it<br />
doesn't pay them to do so.<br />
As the Forbes report notes, the price<br />
of commodity cocoa has dropped from<br />
$3 000 to $2 000 per ton in the last year.<br />
A 2014 report by the International Labor<br />
Rights Forum noted that the majority of<br />
cocoa producers earn roughly $2 a day.<br />
Little has changed. There are also serious<br />
concerns about the use of child labour.<br />
In a speech at the World Cocoa<br />
Foundation Partnership in Washington<br />
last year, Ghana Cocoa Board chief<br />
executive, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, noted<br />
that prices "send signals to farmers as<br />
to the amount of time and labour to<br />
invest in cocoa production". Therefore,<br />
low prices continue to constitute a<br />
"major threat to the cocoa industry's<br />
sustainability and do nothing to entice<br />
the youth to become farmers.”<br />
That's all about the problems, but<br />
what of solutions? Experts say that<br />
modernising farming techniques is only<br />
To Page 19<br />
www.fbreporter.co.za FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER | JUNE <strong>2018</strong> 17
CONFECTIONERY<br />
NESTLE RAISES THE BAR<br />
By MARISA SPIROS<br />
AS the war against sugar gains<br />
increasing momentum, the<br />
world’s confectionery giants are<br />
aggressively seeking out novel solutions<br />
to the challenge of reducing sugar<br />
without compromising taste. Leading the<br />
way is Nestlé.<br />
The world's largest food company<br />
recently re-launched its iconic Milkybar<br />
chocolate with a whole new look,<br />
rebranded as Wowsomes, with 30% less<br />
sugar.<br />
Nestlé says that Milkybar Wowsomes,<br />
available in the UK and Ireland, are<br />
the first chocolate bars in the world to<br />
use the breakthrough sugar-reduction<br />
technology that it describes as "a<br />
completely new way to use a traditional,<br />
natural ingredient".<br />
The Wowsome bars contain under 37<br />
grams of sugar per 100 grams.<br />
That's 30% less than similar<br />
chocolate products, according to<br />
Nestlé – a significant reduction by<br />
any standards.<br />
It makes good on the promise<br />
by Nestlé chief technology officer<br />
Stefan Catsicas in 2016 that the<br />
technology really is breakthrough<br />
and can change the structure of<br />
sugar to make it more aerated,<br />
so that it safely "dissolves more<br />
quickly on the tongue".<br />
This allows people to<br />
"perceive an almost identical<br />
sweetness" even when much less<br />
sugar is used.<br />
Nestlé isn't resting on any laurels.<br />
It believes the technology can reduce<br />
sugar content by up to 40% in the not too<br />
distant future.<br />
The product launch is a big nod to<br />
the health and wellness trend that is one<br />
of the biggest and growing global trends<br />
in the industry. It's also an answer to<br />
the question on the lips of public health<br />
policy makers worldwide – and one that<br />
Nestlé asks on its own website: What is<br />
WOOLIES WINS LABEL COMPLAINT<br />
The controversial issue of labelling added sugars came into<br />
sharp focus recently when Woolworths “sweet talked” its<br />
way out of a complaint about one of its confectionary lines.<br />
Customer Sally Baikie reported Woolies to the Advertising<br />
Standards Authority (ASA) because she felt that the label on<br />
its Smooth Milk Chocolate Hearts was misleading.<br />
Baikie's complaint was that the front label of the<br />
product stated "NO SUGAR” with the words “ADDED”<br />
in a smaller font, whereas the print on the Nutritional<br />
Information panel indicated sugar content of more than<br />
7%. She further argued that this was not only misleading<br />
but also presented a potential health risk to consumers.<br />
Woolworths is not a member of the ASA. The company<br />
nonetheless responded to the complaint “in the spirit of<br />
responsible advertising”.<br />
Woolworths submitted that its Smooth Milk Chocolate<br />
Hearts did not contain any “added sugar” as defined in<br />
terms of Regulation 146 of the <strong>Food</strong>stuffs Cosmetics and<br />
Disinfectants Act 54 of 1972 because the sugar present<br />
in the product was from lactose naturally present in milk<br />
solids. Therefore, sugar had not actually been added during<br />
the processing of the product.<br />
The ASA ruled in favour of Woolworths by finding that<br />
the statement “NO SUGAR ADDED – WITH MALTITOL” was not<br />
misleading in terms of its code. Its reasoning was that the<br />
ingredient list was clear and unambiguous to consumers<br />
with special dietary needs.<br />
While the ASA’s ruling takes into consideration that<br />
consumers with strict dietary requirements are unlikely<br />
to be misled by the “NO SUGAR ADDED – WITH MALTITOL”<br />
claim, attorney Karen Kitchen of Kisch IP says it is still<br />
questionable why Woolworths saw the need to use a<br />
smaller font for the word “added”.<br />
It is not just by chance that the Draft Guidelines to the<br />
Draft Regulations Relating to the Labelling and Advertising<br />
of <strong>Food</strong>s (R429 of 29 May 2014), provides that “legal font<br />
sizes … shall … be easily legible and sufficiently prominent<br />
to help consumers make their choice in full knowledge of<br />
the facts”, Kitchen says.<br />
The ASA ruling therefore, does not appear to consider<br />
instances where, for example, a non-diabetic person, who<br />
may not be as educated about strict dietary requirements,<br />
can also purchase these products on behalf of a diabetic<br />
person/consumer and is less likely to take the additional<br />
step of inspecting the product and ingredient list more<br />
vigorously prior to purchasing it.<br />
"Nonetheless, the ASA’s ruling should alert those in<br />
the business of food packaging to ensure that food labels<br />
are not only in compliance with the Advertising Codes,<br />
but that they also comply with the <strong>Food</strong> Labelling Laws<br />
and Regulations, along with Consumer Protection Laws,"<br />
Kitchen says.<br />
18 JUNE <strong>2018</strong> | FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER www.fbreporter.co.za
CONFECTIONERY<br />
ON SUGAR REDUCTION<br />
your company doing to reduce<br />
sugar in your products?<br />
It's a savvy move, although<br />
it may not be sufficient to<br />
stave off all calls and moves to<br />
regulate products containing<br />
sugar with the same heavy<br />
hand as alcohol and tobacco<br />
products are regulated.<br />
According to Nestlé, the<br />
technique involves spray<br />
drying a mixture of sugar, milk<br />
powder and water to form a<br />
porous, aerated sugar. While<br />
normal sugar comes in crystal<br />
form, this amorphous sugar<br />
dissolves faster in the mouth,<br />
the company says. Sugar structured in<br />
this way is only stable in dry products.<br />
In beverages, the sugar would dissolve<br />
before anyone drinks it. Nestlé UK and<br />
Ireland CEO Stefano Agostini says the<br />
technology is the fruit of "an unrivalled<br />
research and development network, and<br />
the experts at our product technology<br />
center in York".<br />
Nestlé teams in Switzerland, the<br />
United Kingdom and the Czech Republic<br />
took just over a year to turn the<br />
structured sugar innovation into a new<br />
product. Milkybar turned out to be "a<br />
natural fit for the structured sugar", the<br />
company says. Launched in the UK in<br />
1936, Milkybar has retained its status in<br />
the intervening years as one of Nestlé’s<br />
most iconic chocolate brands and a<br />
popular choice with parents for their<br />
children thanks to its mild, creamy taste<br />
and high milk content.<br />
In 2007, the brand moved to allnatural<br />
ingredients. In 2017, milk became<br />
the No. 1 ingredient in the recipe. With<br />
the launch of Milkybar Wowsomes this<br />
year, milk is still the main ingredient,<br />
with a crispy oat cereal that is a source<br />
of fibre. The chocolate also contains<br />
no artificial sweeteners, preservatives,<br />
colours or flavourings.<br />
Nestlé say the Wowsomes launch is<br />
the latest step on a sugar journey that the<br />
company began in 2000. It established a<br />
formal policy on sugars in 2007. Nestlé's<br />
policy goal is to reduce sugars added<br />
in its products by an average of at least<br />
5% over four years (2017–2020). That<br />
includes desserts and ice cream.<br />
However, the policy is not unlimited<br />
and specific areas are excluded.<br />
Nestlé says that it "actively supports<br />
scientific advancements in the area of<br />
sugars and their effects on health".<br />
The company has vowed as part of<br />
its cereal joint venture with General Mills<br />
to reduce sugar in breakfast cereals<br />
marketed to children and teenagers to<br />
9g per serving.<br />
A world without chocolate?<br />
From Page 17<br />
a partial answer to improving yields.<br />
Mapping the genetic code of cacao trees<br />
may be another. Most cacao trees grown<br />
in Ivory Coast and Ghana descend from<br />
the same few plants in the upper<br />
Amazon, say scientists.<br />
To that end, USA chocolate giant<br />
Mars pledged $1-billion late last<br />
year towards sustainability efforts<br />
to save chocolate from future harm.<br />
According to media reports, the<br />
corporation has recruited University<br />
of California researchers to develop<br />
a sturdier cacao plant that won't wilt in<br />
drier climates.<br />
The hope is that these hybrids will<br />
be able to withstand rising temperatures<br />
from climate change and still produce<br />
high-quality cacao.<br />
That prompted one of the world's<br />
largest chocolate manufacturers, USA<br />
giant Hershey's, also to rise to the<br />
occasion. The Hershey Company has<br />
pledged to invest $500 million by 2030<br />
on cocoa-sustainability initiatives in<br />
Ghana and Ivory Coast. In a recent<br />
announcement, the Pennsylvania-based<br />
confectionery and snack company said<br />
that its "Cocoa For Good" programme will<br />
focus on "poverty, poor nutrition, at-risk<br />
youth and vulnerable ecosystems".<br />
“A sustainable cocoa supply depends<br />
on a multi-stakeholder collaborative<br />
approach to find solutions to the social,<br />
environmental and economic challenges<br />
facing cocoa-growing communities,”<br />
Susanna Zhu, Hershey's Chief<br />
Procurement Officer, said in a statement.<br />
“As a critical player in the cocoa value<br />
chain, we are committed to doing our<br />
part,” she said, adding: “The Hershey<br />
Company has been partnering with key<br />
stakeholders in the cocoa sector for more<br />
than 100 years. Under Cocoa For Good,<br />
we continue to work toward a future<br />
where there’s a long-term, sustainable<br />
cocoa supply, the natural environment is<br />
protected, and we are creating better<br />
lives for everyone.”<br />
Within all the hype, there is also<br />
hope and lessons to be learned from<br />
history. Some analysts say that fears<br />
of a world without chocolate need to<br />
be seen in proper perspective. After<br />
all, initial dire predictions envisioned<br />
a chocolate-less world by 2020. That<br />
has been pushed back to 2050.<br />
The reality is that shortages in the<br />
face of massively increased demand don’t<br />
always end up in complete scarcity of a<br />
product. Instead, the scarcity tends to<br />
drive prices up into the stratosphere and<br />
consumption spiralling downwards.<br />
The law of gravity aside, what goes<br />
down, sometimes goes up even higher.<br />
And next to diamonds, chocolates remain<br />
a girl's best friend the world over.<br />
www.fbreporter.co.za FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER | JUNE <strong>2018</strong> 19
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responsibility. Find out more at www.foodfocus.co.za<br />
By Linda Jackson<br />
Having spent the last 20 years of<br />
my life invested in food safety<br />
management systems in the<br />
South African food industry, I have to say<br />
the Listeriosis outbreak has caused some<br />
self-doubt. What have we done wrong?<br />
What have we missed? Seems I am not<br />
the only one.<br />
Although nothing we can do now<br />
will change the tragic outcome of this<br />
outbreak, it is imperative that in the<br />
root cause analysis of the incident,<br />
collectively as an industry we apply the<br />
learnings.<br />
It is my opinion that multiple failures<br />
have led to this incident. In addition to<br />
the company in question, other authors<br />
have commented on the potential role<br />
of the supply chain, the regulators,<br />
the certification bodies and even the<br />
auditors.<br />
Given the prominence of the brand,<br />
it is likely that many of us have been<br />
involved in some capacity over the<br />
years. Perhaps we have all contributed<br />
in some way to this incident too. It is<br />
clear from the update below from the<br />
NICD that we still face a number of<br />
challenges. LmST 6 does seem to be the<br />
tip of a very very big iceberg:<br />
“Whole-genome sequencing analysis has<br />
been performed on 521 clinical isolates to<br />
date. Of these, 85% (443/521) were identified<br />
as sequence type (ST) 6. The remaining isolates<br />
(15%, 83/521) represented 19 sequence types<br />
including, ST1, ST54, ST876, ST2, ST5, ST204,<br />
ST219. ST224, ST71, ST101, ST121, ST155, ST3,<br />
ST403, ST515, ST7, ST8 and ST88.<br />
Whole genome sequencing has been<br />
performed on 595 food and environmental<br />
isolates. Of these, 13% (79/595) were identified<br />
as ST6. The remaining isolates (87%, 516/595)<br />
represented 26 sequence types, including ST20,<br />
ST1, ST121, ST5. ST321, ST9, ST155, ST2, ST3,<br />
ST87, ST120, ST378, ST101, ST108, ST2288,<br />
ST31, ST7, ST11, ST122, ST14, ST37, ST4, ST54,<br />
ST76 and ST88.”<br />
What controls should be in place?<br />
Although we cannot generalize in<br />
all sectors of the food industry, as a<br />
manufacturer you should have the<br />
following levels of<br />
protection in place:<br />
1. Minimum<br />
compliance<br />
A valid certificate<br />
of acceptability<br />
issued by the local<br />
municipality in terms of<br />
Regulation 962 of the<br />
<strong>Food</strong>stuffs, Cosmetics<br />
& Disinfectants Act.<br />
Its general hygiene<br />
requirement is as low<br />
as you can go. This<br />
certificate should<br />
ensure your facility is<br />
adequately designed<br />
and constructed to<br />
handle food. The<br />
waste systems should<br />
conform to municipal<br />
requirements and<br />
the National Building<br />
Regulations.<br />
This regulation does place emphasis<br />
on the training and behavior of food<br />
handlers – often a weak link in any food<br />
safety chain. It also places the full legal<br />
liability on the person in charge.<br />
There are many other regulations<br />
under the FCDA that relate to the<br />
composition of your product.<br />
There is the letter of the law and then<br />
there is the spirit of the law. Although our<br />
approach of our National Department of<br />
Health is reactive, the intention is that<br />
you as a responsible manufacturer<br />
should be proactive.<br />
2. Pre-requisite programmes<br />
Call them PRPs, GMPs or whatever you<br />
like, but make sure you have the basics<br />
in place. The focus of many retail and<br />
hygiene audits are the basic building<br />
blocks of cleaning and sanitation,<br />
preventive maintenance, supplier<br />
controls, storage and preservation of your<br />
product and personnel hygiene practices.<br />
The new draft regulation R364 which<br />
will hopefully soon replace R962, will<br />
include more of these requirements as a<br />
legal foundation.<br />
And with these requirements comes<br />
LISTERIA &<br />
THE SWISS<br />
CHEESE<br />
MODEL OF<br />
DISASTER<br />
the need for documentation to defend<br />
your systems and the effective daily<br />
implementation of the right practices.<br />
3. HACCP<br />
Once the basics are covered, we should<br />
be engaging in a formal risk assessment<br />
of the product and processes. What is it<br />
about YOUR product and process that<br />
could go wrong and in so doing harm<br />
the consumer? What makes ready-to-eat<br />
products such a high risk in comparison<br />
to handling ingredients like dry rice?<br />
What are YOUR specific hazards in<br />
the process and how can you be sure you<br />
are controlling these? And control means<br />
you can reduce, eliminate or prevent<br />
them – not manage them as best you can!<br />
We have seen this as a voluntary<br />
requirement in most sectors of the food<br />
chain. It’s time to revisit that thinking.<br />
Ensuring you as a manufacturer fully<br />
understand and control hazards to<br />
consumers health is not a nice to have –<br />
it’s your legal and moral obligation.<br />
Along with this goes the processes of<br />
validating and verifying those processes<br />
– can you trust them, and can you prove<br />
they work?<br />
20 JUNE <strong>2018</strong> | FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER www.fbreporter.co.za
4. Certification<br />
Taking the next step to comply with<br />
customer requirements can be seen<br />
as a grudge purchase. Surviving the<br />
plethora of audits has not been seen to<br />
add value in many companies. Having all<br />
the right certificates does not guarantee<br />
your systems, as we have seen. Ensuring<br />
robust internal audits are in place that<br />
fully interrogate your food safety activities<br />
should be the focus. Competent external<br />
auditors can then verify implementation,<br />
but you should be validating your science.<br />
Relying on external auditors during a brief<br />
announced visit will not be an adequate<br />
assessment of your system’s health.<br />
5. The next step<br />
CLEANING?<br />
The Swiss cheese model of accident<br />
causation illustrates that, although many<br />
layers of defense lie between hazards and<br />
accidents, there are flaws in each layer that,<br />
if aligned, can allow the accident to occur.<br />
If you have it all in place, where do you go<br />
to from here? The next step is open and<br />
transparent sharing of information in the<br />
food chain to ensure we do have food<br />
safety from farm-to-fork.<br />
Confidentiality agreements have<br />
hampered the progress in identifying the<br />
source of the outbreak. Is it time to revisit<br />
this thinking? Do we need a forum where<br />
we can share results without fear of<br />
litigation in order to improve our response<br />
times to the next outbreak? We need to<br />
build a bridge with the regulators not<br />
higher walls in order to regain consumer<br />
confidence.<br />
But we have all that in place? What<br />
went wrong?<br />
Given that we have so many layers<br />
of protection in place, how could an<br />
outbreak of this magnitude occur? Given<br />
what is in place, it would seem that<br />
company, auditors, labs and retailers all<br />
missed something.<br />
Seems we may have to consult the<br />
WATER TREATMENT?<br />
LAB TEST PROCEDURES?<br />
BUDGET CUTS?<br />
rocket scientists on this one. The Swiss<br />
cheese model of accident causation is<br />
a model used in risk analysis and risk<br />
management, including aviation safety,<br />
engineering and healthcare. It is often<br />
used as the principle behind layered<br />
security such as cybersecurity systems.<br />
In the Swiss cheese model, an<br />
organisation's defenses against failure<br />
are modeled as a series of barriers,<br />
represented as slices of cheese.<br />
As we have seen in food safety, we<br />
rely on a series of barriers previously<br />
discussed. The holes in the slices<br />
represent<br />
weaknesses in<br />
individual parts of<br />
the system and are<br />
continually varying<br />
in size and position<br />
across the slices.<br />
When an<br />
incident occurs,<br />
it is a result of a<br />
gap or failure in a<br />
barrier. A gap or a<br />
failure produces<br />
a weakness in<br />
our food safety<br />
management<br />
system.<br />
If we do not<br />
address this gap,<br />
with time it can,<br />
along with other<br />
gaps, cause a<br />
crisis. This would<br />
be when a hole in<br />
each slice (barrier)<br />
momentarily aligns,<br />
permitting (in<br />
Reason's words) "a<br />
trajectory of accident<br />
opportunity", so that<br />
a hazard passes through holes in all of the<br />
slices, leading to a catastrophic failure<br />
Each failure on its own would have<br />
been minor, but the cumulative act effect<br />
can have far reaching consequences.<br />
The model includes both active and<br />
latent failures. Active failures encompass<br />
the unsafe acts that can be directly<br />
linked to an incident. Latent failures<br />
include contributory factors that may lie<br />
dormant for days, weeks, or months until<br />
they contribute to the accident. Latent<br />
failures can be organizational influences,<br />
supervision, preconditions, and specific<br />
acts or omissions.<br />
In the application of HACCP and FSSC<br />
22000, we are required to analyse our<br />
hazards and the consequences. Do we<br />
do this in relation to the series of controls<br />
we apply and the potential simultaneous<br />
failure of one of more of these control<br />
measures? Is it time we also reviewed the<br />
effectiveness of organizational influences<br />
and supervision in the same way as we<br />
calibrate temperature probes?<br />
Do we truly understand our processes<br />
and are we reviewing the hazards and<br />
how they can change and adapt with the<br />
right level of scrutiny?<br />
I would respectfully suggest that we<br />
need to take a good look at our cheese.
IT’S BIGGER<br />
& BETTER<br />
THAN EVER!<br />
Our <strong>2018</strong> Supplier<br />
Directory is packed with<br />
info on South Africa’s<br />
leading foodbev industry<br />
suppliers.<br />
This year’s 40-page<br />
edition has more<br />
categories, more<br />
companies. It’s got<br />
whatever you’re<br />
looking for, from<br />
ingredients & flavours<br />
to packaging and<br />
processing equipment,<br />
consumables and key<br />
industry services.<br />
If you missed the<br />
print edition, the<br />
Directory is always<br />
available online (a PDF<br />
file you can quickly<br />
download) at:<br />
www.fbreporter.co.za<br />
Get it at www.fbreporter.co.za
GREEN ECONOMY<br />
REMARKABLE YEAR FOR PETCO<br />
Despite tough trading<br />
conditions and a 13% fall<br />
in the total PET market,<br />
the South African plastic industry<br />
recycled a record 2.15 billion PET<br />
plastic bottles in 2017, setting a<br />
post-consumer recycling rate of<br />
65% to put the country on par<br />
with international standards.<br />
The 93 235 tonnes of<br />
collected PET exceeded the<br />
industry target of 58% for the<br />
year 2017 and created 64 000<br />
income-generating opportunities<br />
for waste pickers, collectors and<br />
recyclers, saving 578 000m3 of<br />
landfill space and 139 000 tonnes<br />
of carbon in the process.<br />
This was announced by<br />
national industry body, PETCO,<br />
which is responsible for fulfilling<br />
the sector’s mandate of extended<br />
producer responsibility (EPR).<br />
PETCO said the 3% yearon-year<br />
increase in tonnage<br />
(versus 90 749 tonnes in 2016) was particularly significant against<br />
the backdrop of the political and economic instability, volatile<br />
exchange rates and industrial strike action, which had affected<br />
some of the major industry players in 2017.<br />
According to the organisation, water shortages in the Western<br />
Cape had seen an increased consumer demand for bottled water<br />
during the latter part of the year, which grew the waste volumes<br />
available for recycling in this region.<br />
PETCO chief executive officer Cheri Scholtz said the<br />
organisation was thrilled with the latest figures, which<br />
demonstrated both the industry’s commitment to recycling<br />
and the economic value of post-consumer PET in the<br />
circular economy.<br />
“Through the remarkable network of people, companies and<br />
organisations we work with, 5.9 million PET bottles were collected<br />
for recycling across South Africa every day during the course of<br />
2017, creating thousands of income-generating opportunities for<br />
small and micro-collectors, and changing their lives and those of<br />
their families in immeasurable ways.”<br />
Scholtz said PETCO members paid a voluntary recycling fee on<br />
every tonne of raw material purchased, which funded their efforts<br />
and supported a sustainable recycling industry.<br />
Since the organisation’s incorporation in 2004, a total of R2.3<br />
billion has been paid by contracted recyclers to collectors for<br />
baled bottles, with a total of 609 306 tonnes of PET recycled to<br />
date. This has saved more than 900 000 tonnes of carbon and<br />
almost four million cubic metres of landfill space.<br />
PETCO chairman Casper Durandt, who is also head of<br />
technical for Coca-Cola’s South African franchise, said the<br />
organisation’s accomplishment could not have been achieved<br />
without its dedicated partners.<br />
www.petco.co.za<br />
• SA’s PET industry hits new high with 2.15 billion bottles recycled.<br />
• 65% recycling rate on par with international standards.<br />
• 64 000 income-generating opportunities created.
& Processing <strong>Reporter</strong><br />
Finding the<br />
sweet spot in<br />
new product<br />
development<br />
In developed and maturing markets, food and beverage<br />
manufacturers are struggling with slowing growth and are therefore<br />
seeking new growth opportunities. The challenge is establishing the<br />
right consumer space to identify the right customers and create the<br />
right kind of products. It’s a similar story for emerging markets where<br />
the challenge is to provide relevant consumer products, and service<br />
areas where there’s unlocked potential.<br />
Markus Boehm, Chief Market Officer at SIG, one of the world’s leading<br />
solution providers for the food and beverage industry, discusses<br />
what product innovation and differentiation really mean now and in<br />
the future.<br />
Why is product innovation becoming<br />
so important?<br />
Boehm: The way we live, work and<br />
consume is changing. From digitalisation<br />
and urbanisation to faster on-the go<br />
lifestyles, a whole series of megatrends<br />
are transforming the way people think<br />
of products.<br />
What we’re seeing is that mobile<br />
and connected consumers want more<br />
from their products of choice. They want<br />
high-quality, authentic and convenient<br />
packaging that’s easy to use, enhances<br />
their experience and scores in terms of<br />
sustainability. This means consumers<br />
are willing to pay premium prices for<br />
innovative, sustainable and differentiated<br />
products with real benefits.<br />
What are the challenges of developing<br />
new products?<br />
It’s clear that consumers are no longer<br />
driven purely by price. So, to gain a<br />
competitive edge, producers are battling<br />
it out to offer products that can offer<br />
better health, quality, and experience.<br />
But achieving greater product novelty<br />
requires the right consumer insights<br />
to realise new opportunities. All while<br />
meeting individual consumer needs<br />
and ensuring products stand out at the<br />
point of sale.<br />
What can producers do to overcome<br />
these challenges?<br />
Producers need to develop products for<br />
the next generation that enable them to<br />
meet changing needs and capitalise on<br />
market trends. But to do this, they need<br />
more creative design concepts, more<br />
filling potential for products and more<br />
unique packaging possibilities.<br />
To Next Page<br />
www.fbreporter.co.za FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER | JUNE <strong>2018</strong> 25
PEOPLE<br />
NEW MD FOR TETRA PAK SOUTHERN AFRICA<br />
Stefan Fageräng has taken over as MD<br />
of Tetra Pak Southern Africa, replacing<br />
John Strömblad.<br />
“It gives us great pleasure to<br />
welcome Stefan as the head of Tetra<br />
Pak Southern Africa as we celebrate the<br />
company’s 60th anniversary in South<br />
Africa,” says Penny Ntuli, Tetra Pak’s<br />
communications director for SA.<br />
Fageräng is an industry stalwart who<br />
rose through Tetra Pak’s ranks, from<br />
management trainee in Sweden to<br />
senior management, during his 27 years<br />
of tenure.<br />
He has been MD of Tetra Pak North<br />
West Europe, Benelux and Eastern<br />
Mediterranean, to name a few, as well<br />
as VP of Sales and Marketing in the<br />
company’s Processing Division.<br />
Fageräng has served the<br />
company in 12 different<br />
countries in nearly every<br />
department of its global<br />
portfolio.<br />
He graduated from<br />
Uppsala University in<br />
Sweden where he earned<br />
his Bachelor’s degree in<br />
Business Administration<br />
and Economics.<br />
Fageräng also<br />
completed several<br />
executive programmes<br />
in leadership and management<br />
at IMD in Switzerland.<br />
www.tetrapak.com<br />
Markus Boehm<br />
From Previous Page<br />
<strong>Food</strong> and beverage manufacturers<br />
need to find that product “sweet spot”<br />
that enables them to open up new<br />
segments and reach new target groups,<br />
while also growing their existing and wellestablished<br />
core markets.<br />
How can brands stand out in a<br />
crowded market?<br />
Creating more convenient or premium<br />
products is one thing. Making them<br />
authentic and unique is something<br />
else. To truly stand out from the crowd,<br />
producers can be the first in the market<br />
with real product innovation. They can<br />
broaden their portfolio and open up new<br />
consumer segments. And they can move<br />
beyond standard offerings, which in turn<br />
will help them reach attractive margin<br />
levels. Examples of how SIG is enabling<br />
this is with combismile, combidome and<br />
drinksplus. These solutions can help meet<br />
the demand for unique products and<br />
position brands in a competitive market.<br />
What product and packaging<br />
innovations can we expect in<br />
the future?<br />
Well, we can expect product innovations<br />
to come to life faster than ever. But<br />
a growing trend for the future is the<br />
development of more individualised<br />
products with smart packaging – ones<br />
that can be perfectly tailored to fit a<br />
consumer’s personality, lifestyle,<br />
and image.<br />
This move from mass production to<br />
mass personalisation will gather pace<br />
and have a significant impact on<br />
producers, from driving new technology<br />
and business models to unlocking<br />
value-rich data. It will require investment<br />
but the rewards will be great. In fact,<br />
according to Deloitte research, one in five<br />
consumers interested in personalised<br />
products are willing to pay a 20%<br />
premium.<br />
How is your company positioning itself<br />
for these new trends?<br />
SIG aims to drive product Innovation<br />
and differentiation in the beverage<br />
and food industry. With consumerfocused<br />
insights and marketing<br />
intelligence, the company delivers<br />
innovative product and packaging<br />
solutions that enable businesses to<br />
satisfy ever-changing needs. SIG is<br />
currently expanding its offering with a<br />
growing team of product and technical<br />
engineers, while developing test facilities<br />
to prototype product ideas.<br />
• SIG is one of the world's leading solution<br />
providers for the food and beverage<br />
industry within the field of carton packs<br />
and filling technology. In 2017, the<br />
company achieved a turnover of 1.66<br />
billion Euro with more than<br />
5 000 employees.<br />
www.sig.biz<br />
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26 JUNE <strong>2018</strong> | FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER www.fbreporter.co.za
M&A<br />
Spain’s Iberchem snaps<br />
up SA’s Versachem<br />
Spain’s Iberchem Group is acquiring<br />
a majority stake in Versachem, the<br />
Pretoria-based specialist in food<br />
flavours and colours.<br />
Rina Wulfsohn, founder and CEO of<br />
Versachem, will continue to run<br />
the business.<br />
"We are glad to be welcoming<br />
all of Versachem's employees within<br />
the Iberchem Group's family," says<br />
Ramón Fernández, CEO of Iberchem.<br />
"Versachem's portfolio and expertise,<br />
as well as its corporate culture, are<br />
highly complementary to the ones of<br />
the Group. This acquisition will help<br />
us to quickly expand our offer in what<br />
represents a key market for both our<br />
flavour and fragrance divisions. It will<br />
definitely accelerate our commitment to<br />
developing unique products tailored to<br />
local preferences and characteristics.<br />
Our team looks forward to leveraging<br />
on Versachem's expertise.”<br />
Fernández said the deal comes as<br />
a first milestone in Iberchem Group's<br />
2020 strategy of accelerating its<br />
organic growth through mergers and<br />
acquisitions. The Group is also currently<br />
focusing on the expansion of the<br />
footprint and capabilities of its flavour<br />
division, Scentium, within key fastgrowing<br />
markets.<br />
"We are delighted to be teaming<br />
with the Iberchem Group," says<br />
Wulfsohn. "This alliance will highly<br />
benefit our trusted customers in<br />
the region, mostly by strengthening<br />
our existing capabilities and abilities in<br />
the development of innovative flavour<br />
solutions. It will allow both companies to<br />
broaden their offering in South Africa and<br />
its neighbouring countries."<br />
With a commercial presence in over<br />
120 countries and counting on 12 R&D/<br />
production facilities strategically located<br />
around the world, Iberchem has become<br />
a leading reference in the flavour and<br />
fragrance industry since its foundation<br />
in Spain in 1985. In 2017, the group<br />
reported sales of €125m.<br />
www.versachem.co.za<br />
www.iberchem.com<br />
www.fbreporter.co.za FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER | JUNE <strong>2018</strong> 27
ANNIVERSARY<br />
BUCKLE’S 40 YEARS OF BAG<br />
CLOSING EXCELLENCE<br />
When Buckle Packaging<br />
started in 1979, it was<br />
with the aim of supplying<br />
the agricultural sector with quality<br />
end-of-line packaging machinery.<br />
As sole agents for Fischbein-Saxon<br />
from the USA and UK, this familyrun<br />
packaging company was able<br />
to supply a solution to the bag<br />
closing needs of the agricultural<br />
industry.<br />
Fast forward to <strong>2018</strong>, one year<br />
short of their 40-year anniversary,<br />
and Buckle Packaging can boast<br />
of being one of South Africa’s<br />
leading importers and distributors<br />
of packaging machinery. Still family<br />
run, they continue to follow their<br />
steadfast mission of supplying<br />
only the best quality machinery.<br />
Buckle Packaging’s range of<br />
machinery spans from machines to<br />
close bags for nuts, spices, sugar,<br />
and fertilizer; basically any product<br />
that needs to be sealed or sewn<br />
into an open mouth bag.<br />
Its bagging solutions cover an array<br />
of different industries including grain,<br />
flour and sugar milling, animal feed and<br />
fertilizer to name a few, and is a leading<br />
supplier of packaging machines to the<br />
fruit and vegetable sector.<br />
Within the potato farming fraternity,<br />
one of Buckle Packaging’s most soughtafter<br />
items is the Fischbein range of bag<br />
stitching machines. From portable handheld<br />
units for lower production runs,<br />
through to the heavy-duty, high-speed<br />
in-line stitchers, this equipment is sturdy,<br />
durable and designed for working long<br />
hours.<br />
The high-speed stitcher is adaptable<br />
to all makes of carousel units, and<br />
uses a self-lubricating system which<br />
makes it reliable and sturdy for the<br />
tough job of packaging potatoes daily.<br />
The machine comes standard with a<br />
variable-speed pulley which allows for<br />
easy synchronisation to the speed of the<br />
conveyor or carousel. The stitch length is<br />
also adjustable depending on the specific<br />
bags being used.<br />
The Fischbein Auto-Bag<br />
Stitcher, one of Buckle<br />
Packaging’s range of machines.<br />
This packaging system is designed<br />
to work at high speeds, making sure the<br />
volumes of potato pockets are closed<br />
securely and within the fastest time. The<br />
Fischbein stitcher is completely sealed<br />
in oil against dust and dirt allowing for<br />
smooth operation.<br />
This system would be just as efficient<br />
for the bagging of other fruit and<br />
vegetables such as macadamias, maize,<br />
groundnuts, sorghum and popcorn to<br />
name a few. Stitching and heat sealing<br />
does away with wire ties and taping of<br />
bags which is labour-intensive and not<br />
as secure. Stitching and sealing of bags<br />
has also proven to be tamper-proof;<br />
product cannot be removed from the<br />
bag as easily.<br />
If it's nuts that you’re farming, Buckle<br />
Packaging can assist nut farmers and<br />
packers throughout the country with<br />
Fishbein-Saxon bag closing equipment.<br />
The larger 25kg and 50kg woven poly<br />
bags are sewn closed and in many cases<br />
bagged for export.<br />
If nuts are being packaged in smaller<br />
stand-up pouches, polyethylene or foil<br />
packets, Buckle Packaging recommends<br />
heat sealing these bags with the Saxon<br />
SH1000 continuous heat sealer for a<br />
neat closure.<br />
Buckle Packaging's services and<br />
expertise do not stop here. The company<br />
has years of experience in helping and<br />
advising you on the best system to solve<br />
your individual bagging problem.<br />
They have a large range of premium<br />
quality bag sewing thread. This ring-spun<br />
polyester product is available in various<br />
cone sizes for portable bag stitching<br />
machines, as well as industrial sewing<br />
systems with cones up to 10kg. The<br />
standard colour range is white with an<br />
option of six other colours. Inferior quality<br />
thread with knots and flaws leads to<br />
machine downtime and low productivity.<br />
This also poses the danger of product<br />
loss during transportation and handling.<br />
Buckle offers installation of their<br />
systems, machine servicing and repairs,<br />
and provides spare parts needed to<br />
maintain these important machines.<br />
www.bucklepack.co.za<br />
28 JUNE <strong>2018</strong> | FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER www.fbreporter.co.za
SMART IDEAS<br />
FLEXICON’S BAG<br />
CONDITIONER<br />
NOW LASER SAFE<br />
A new BLOCK-BUSTER Bulk Bag Conditioner from Flexicon<br />
Corporation features a laser safety curtain that automatically<br />
stops the system's hydraulic rams, scissor lift and turntable if<br />
the laser beam is obstructed, eliminating the need for safetyhinged<br />
doors and interlock switches for operator safety.<br />
The conditioner loosens densely-packed bulk solid<br />
materials in bulk bags by means of hydraulic rams with<br />
specially contoured end plates that press and release<br />
opposing sides<br />
of the bag. A<br />
hydraulicallyactuated,<br />
variableheight<br />
scissor lift<br />
with accordionstyle<br />
dust skirt and<br />
turntable allows<br />
conditioning of the<br />
bag on all sides at all<br />
heights.<br />
The number<br />
and pressure of<br />
hydraulic ram<br />
actuations, the<br />
height of the<br />
turntable, and<br />
the number of<br />
90-degree rotations<br />
are user adjustable.<br />
The system<br />
controller and<br />
hydraulic pump can<br />
be mounted on the exterior of the frame or remotely.<br />
The new conditioner is intended for bulk bags containing<br />
hygroscopic chemicals, certain types of spice blends, heatsensitive<br />
products, and other materials prone to solidifying<br />
to the point at which pneumatically-actuated flow promotion<br />
accessories integral to bulk bag dischargers are inefficient or<br />
completely ineffective.<br />
Available as a stand-alone unit or integral component of<br />
a bulk bag discharger, the unit measures 2210 mm H X 3378<br />
mm W X 1981 mm D, accommodates bulk bags of all popular<br />
sizes, and requires only an electrical power connection for<br />
operation.<br />
The company also manufactures bulk bag dischargers,<br />
bulk bag fillers, flexible screw conveyors, pneumatic<br />
conveying systems, tubular cable conveyors, manual<br />
dumping stations, drum/box/container tippers, weigh<br />
batching systems, and automated plant-wide systems<br />
integrated with new or existing process equipment.<br />
www.flexicon.co.za<br />
ISHIDA SOLVES<br />
PROBLEM OF<br />
WATER INGRESS<br />
Ishida Europe has introduced an internal moisture sensor<br />
and monitoring system for its latest multihead weighers,<br />
which will enable fresh and frozen food producers to more<br />
easily control and prevent water ingress into their critical<br />
production equipment.<br />
Coupled with Ishida’s advanced Sentinel monitoring and<br />
reporting system, this will ensure an enhanced performance<br />
and longer term reliability.<br />
Water ingress is a common problem in the fresh and<br />
frozen weighing and packing environment. While models<br />
for these applications typically have appropriate IP ratings<br />
and waterproof washdown designs, these cannot prevent<br />
incidents such as doors and drive weigh units being loosely<br />
torqued, or doors being inadvertently left open, even if just<br />
for a short while.<br />
In addition, air purge systems designed to push out moist<br />
air may be poorly maintained and lead to humid air being<br />
used. Excessive water or humidity within a multihead weigher<br />
will cause loss of machine performance and significant<br />
damage that can result in expensive downtime and repairs.<br />
The Ishida solution is three dew and temperature sensors<br />
placed at key points within the weigher, providing a constant<br />
monitoring of humidity levels and sending out a series of<br />
escalating alerts to operators if levels become too high.<br />
There are three stages of alerts. A humidity level of<br />
between 70% and 79% triggers a yellow alert. This humidity<br />
can typically be cleared by use of the air purge system.<br />
Humidity levels between 80% and 89% - which could occur<br />
if the air purge system itself is compromised - create a red<br />
alert that results in the weigher’s power being automatically<br />
switched off. It cannot then be switched back on until<br />
moisture levels have dropped below the 80% threshold.<br />
Anything above the 90% critical level will see a bespoke<br />
input/output module come into operation. This can be<br />
configured to customer requirements such as an audible<br />
alarm or a series of beacon warning lights to indicate that<br />
critical moisture levels have been reached.<br />
“Our multihead weighers are renowned for their reliability<br />
and efficiency, but the downside to this is that the machines<br />
can still continue to operate for a long time even in harsh<br />
environments where their levels of protection have been<br />
compromised,” explains Ian Atkinson, Ishida Europe’s<br />
Business Manager EMEA – Multihead Weighers.<br />
As a result, says Atkinson, “operators may be unaware of<br />
major faults until it is too late to take remedial action, leading<br />
to unwanted downtime and frustration. The availability of<br />
our moisture sensors, together with the real time reporting<br />
capabilities of Sentinel, eliminates this problem.”<br />
torsten.giese@ishidaeurope.com<br />
www.ishidaeurope.com<br />
30 JUNE <strong>2018</strong> | FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER www.fbreporter.co.za
CASE STUDY<br />
THE POWER OF<br />
INTERACTIVE LABELS<br />
How does a young, dynamic brand<br />
like Thirsti increase sales volumes<br />
over their summer campaign by a<br />
massive 45% year-on-year in an intensely<br />
competitive market?<br />
Look to the use of a ground-breaking<br />
interactive label concept that links the<br />
world of print with a mobile digital<br />
platform.<br />
The interactive label, the brainchild of<br />
Uniprint, was the face of the 2017/<strong>2018</strong><br />
“Thirsti 4 Summer” campaign. This<br />
scannable label, which carried Facebook<br />
Messenger codes, allowed consumers to<br />
connect directly to the Thirsti Facebook<br />
Messenger page via their smartphone,<br />
and to interact with a sophisticated<br />
“chat bot”.<br />
The “bot”, which was driven by<br />
artificial intelligence (AI) software, was<br />
able to offer a personalised, immediate<br />
engagement with consumers using their<br />
Facebook Messenger profile. At the<br />
same time, the “bot” was able to advise<br />
on hydration and sipping frequency<br />
and facilitate entries for a Spin and Win<br />
competition on the uWina platform.<br />
The Thirsti project, the first of its<br />
kind in South Africa - and possibly<br />
worldwide - integrated print, digital<br />
technology and social media to offer<br />
the brand the ability to handshake with<br />
the client without the requirement for<br />
full variable data printing to achieve<br />
personalisation.<br />
The project was designed, developed<br />
and implemented in a mere three<br />
months and has paved the way for<br />
interactive labels to change the face of<br />
marketing forever.<br />
Design Wizardry<br />
The existing Thirsti label features a clean,<br />
contemporary, one-colour design that<br />
reflects the youth and dynamism of the<br />
company. The digital campaign required<br />
that the label carry promotional text, a<br />
scannable code and a unique number<br />
for the competition entry, while still<br />
maintaining the brand’s clean look<br />
and feel.<br />
The design team, in tandem<br />
with the digital team, set to work to<br />
creatively maximise the existing<br />
label space. Blue and white<br />
promotional graphics were inlaid<br />
into the existing design along<br />
with space for the scannable<br />
Facebook Messenger code. The<br />
team recognised that the label<br />
design had to make consumers<br />
feel confident they could easily<br />
navigate through to the Facebook<br />
page as well as handle the<br />
competition entry.<br />
The size and placement of the<br />
scannable code and the sequential<br />
numbering involved late nights,<br />
extensive trials and plenty of<br />
technical knowledge and skill. Placing<br />
a scannable code on a curved bottle<br />
surface that could be read by any<br />
smart phone was by itself a huge ask.<br />
Software Wizardry<br />
Behind the scenes, further work<br />
was going on at UNIPRINT and its<br />
partners. While the “chat bot” was being<br />
developed, so that it could successfully<br />
engage with consumers, the Spin and<br />
Win competition was also evolving.<br />
Crucial to the promotion was a<br />
system that could process the unique<br />
number found on each bottle via the<br />
Facebook Messenger page.<br />
This ensured that consumers could<br />
only enter the competition by purchasing<br />
a bottle but also provided a database for<br />
tracking and delivering prizes as well as<br />
valuable marketing information.<br />
The competition team had to ensure<br />
that the prizes, which varied from<br />
cellular data to shopping vouchers, were<br />
purchased, recorded and delivered<br />
correctly. The campaign attracted over<br />
12 000 entries over a three-month<br />
period, which was unusually high for such<br />
a promotion.<br />
32 JUNE <strong>2018</strong> | FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER www.fbreporter.co.za
Printing Wizardry<br />
The decision to print the label flexographically required<br />
plenty of technical know-how from Uniprint. The promotional<br />
label design, which anticipated a cmyk print, was reproduced<br />
in three spot colours to ensure tight registration and<br />
therefore, perfect “scannability”. The Facebook Messenger<br />
codes were reproduced using barcode-printing technology<br />
and, critically, any gain in the print process was compensated<br />
for in the repro stages.<br />
It was essential to ensure that the flexo plates were<br />
sufficiently durable to maintain the accuracy over the long<br />
print runs that were required by the customer.<br />
The messenger codes and label design were printed in-line,<br />
in blue, onto the white ink - as opposed to directly onto<br />
the substrate. Ink choice and compatibility were critical.<br />
The white background had to be sufficiently opaque in<br />
order to prevent the Messenger code’s scannability being<br />
compromised by light reflections through the bottle. The fine<br />
type on the clear label is testament to the quality of the<br />
flexo printing.<br />
“Success is no longer about who<br />
has the biggest factory or the<br />
largest range of equipment.”<br />
- Uniprint MDGrant Hubbard<br />
The chosen substrate was an ultra clear polypropylene<br />
so that the self-adhesive label would have a “no-label” look,<br />
critical to the established brand identity of Thirsti.<br />
The unique variable number for the competition was<br />
ink-jet printed during the final rewinding process, as opposed<br />
to on press. This was to ensure that no numbers were lost in<br />
the set-up stages and roll changes through the process.<br />
The “Thirsti for Summer” campaign was so successful that<br />
Uniprint had to produce a second run of labels.<br />
To ensure success of the promotion and drive awareness<br />
of the new engagement technology and competition<br />
possibilities, Uniprint’s partners at Hirt & Carter reproduced<br />
the concept design on in-store, point-of-sale stands,<br />
wobblers, banners and shelf talkers. Ultimately, the campaign<br />
drove a surge in sales for Thirsti.<br />
Uniprint MD Grant Hubbard puts it in a nutshell, “Success is<br />
no longer about who has the biggest factory or the largest<br />
range of equipment. The market is challenging us to combine<br />
technologies in new and innovative ways, so that we can<br />
offer customers new and innovative solutions in order to<br />
differentiate themselves in the market. In the past, media<br />
and print technologies were often seen as rivals but now they<br />
are in partnership. They complement one another. We’ve<br />
taken full advantage of our partners’ capabilities to harness<br />
complementary technologies and create unique solutions.”<br />
Adds Hubbard: “We are continually up-skilling our<br />
workforce and our technology so that what was considered<br />
impossible just yesterday is a reality today. It’s a very exciting<br />
time for everyone.”<br />
www.uniprint.co.za
FOOD SAFETY<br />
PATHOGEN CONTROL FOR MEAT/POULTRY<br />
ANTIMICROBIAL SPRAYS:<br />
EFFECTIVE & VERSATILE<br />
In the aftermath of the Listeria disaster, Josh DeVoll looks at the benefits and<br />
challenges of using antimicrobial sprays to keep pathogens at bay.<br />
When it comes to food safety,<br />
there is no room for risk-taking.<br />
The challenge isn’t whether to<br />
protect products against pathogens; it’s<br />
to identify the best approach for your<br />
processing operations. There are many<br />
options available and technology is<br />
changing rapidly.<br />
In this white paper, you’ll learn a<br />
bit about the different approaches<br />
to pathogen control and a lot about<br />
one technology that is highly effective,<br />
versatile and lower cost than other<br />
options: applying antimicrobials to<br />
processed meats/poultry prior to<br />
packaging.<br />
There are four equipment options for<br />
treating meat and poultry for pathogen<br />
protection and each relies on different<br />
technology.<br />
1. Ultra pasteurization<br />
2. High-pressure pasteurization<br />
3. Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP)<br />
4. Spray application of antimicrobials<br />
1. ULTRA PASTEURIZATION is the<br />
process of thermally treating packaged<br />
meats at elevated temperatures. Exposure<br />
to these temperatures must be at<br />
the surface of the meat for a length of<br />
time such that all potential contamination<br />
is exposed to the treatment. Under the<br />
right conditions, this method can be<br />
effective.<br />
This method doesn’t work with<br />
overlapped products because it<br />
requires a prolonged exposure to heat.<br />
Depending on the type of product,<br />
organoleptic properties also become<br />
a concern.<br />
2. HIGH-PRESSURE PASTEURIZATION<br />
(HPP) utilizes high pressure at between<br />
1 000 to 88 000 psi to kill pathogens.<br />
It is extremely effective and typically<br />
achieves 4-8 log reductions, but can limit<br />
production because it is a batch process.<br />
3. MODIFIED ATMOSPHERIC<br />
PACKAGING (MAP) uses specific<br />
packaging in which the internal<br />
atmosphere of the package is flushed<br />
with N2, CO2, CO or a mixture of those<br />
elements. MAP is effective for shelf<br />
life extension and has no effect on<br />
organoleptic properties. However, the<br />
effectiveness of the process is dependent<br />
on the packaging. The use cost of MAP<br />
is generally twice the cost of traditional<br />
vacuum packaging.<br />
4. SPRAY APPLICATION OF<br />
ANTIMICROBIALS is the fourth option.<br />
The antimicrobials are often applied in<br />
the package but it can be done prior to<br />
packaging as well. The system enables<br />
easy adjustment of the volume of<br />
antimicrobial being applied<br />
Antimicrobials come in a variety of<br />
forms and options must be carefully<br />
evaluated. Factors such as ingredients,<br />
efficacy and handling, shelf life, clean<br />
labelling requirements, application<br />
requirements and cost can vary widely,<br />
and will drive the ultimate selection. Keep<br />
in mind that the application equipment<br />
can have a significant impact on the<br />
effectiveness of the antimicrobial.<br />
Most antimicrobials are shipped in<br />
a concentrated form and require mixing<br />
on-site with water at a determined<br />
ratio. The storage temperature of the<br />
concentrate and mixed solution may<br />
differ so be sure to understand the<br />
requirements early in the evaluation<br />
process.<br />
Also, keep in mind that most<br />
antimicrobials have a shelf life after being<br />
mixed, usually one to five days.<br />
Some antimicrobials must be listed<br />
on product labels; some do not. It<br />
34 JUNE <strong>2018</strong> | FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER www.fbreporter.co.za
FOOD SAFETY<br />
depends on whether the antimicrobial is<br />
considered a processing aid.<br />
BEST PRACTICES<br />
• Applying antimicrobials in the package<br />
is ideal. The package is the last point<br />
of intervention after exposure to other<br />
potential sources of contamination,<br />
such as conveyors, tables and<br />
personnel<br />
“Applying antimicrobials<br />
with spray equipment<br />
offers many advantages<br />
over other technologies.”<br />
• If spraying just prior to packaging,<br />
choose a point where contact surfaces<br />
of the product are accessible. If the<br />
product comes into contact with other<br />
surfaces after application, be sure<br />
those surfaces have been sanitized.<br />
• Trim and other products that are going<br />
to be ground should be sprayed with<br />
antimicrobial prior to grinding. Exposed<br />
product surfaces that could have<br />
potential contamination are lowest at<br />
this point. The antimicrobial is typically<br />
sprayed into a blender or mixer.<br />
• Any type of equipment that comes<br />
in contact with the products should be<br />
sprayed periodically with sanitizers to<br />
limit the spread of contaminants.<br />
• Consult with experts. Spraying<br />
antimicrobials requires a high-level of<br />
precision and is not attainable with<br />
workers using spray bottles or holes<br />
drilled in pipes<br />
DILUTION, MIXING AND DOSING<br />
Nearly every antimicrobial comes in a<br />
concentrated form and requires dilution.<br />
Antimicrobials can be mixed manually.<br />
However, because manual mixing is<br />
operator dependent, it isn’t very precise<br />
or repeatable.<br />
Automated mixing/refill equipment<br />
eliminates the variations found in manual<br />
mixing and reduces the potential for<br />
contamination. When antimicrobials<br />
are exposed to airborne bacteria<br />
and surfaces such as containers, the<br />
opportunity for contamination exists.<br />
Most processors run a variety of<br />
products on a single line. Each product<br />
may require a different volume of<br />
antimicrobial. Spray equipment should be<br />
able to easily and quickly accommodate<br />
different products. In fact, it should<br />
be as easy as a couple of taps on a<br />
touch screen. If physical changes to the<br />
equipment are required, quality control is<br />
typically compromised.<br />
The efficacy of antimicrobials is<br />
based on the concentration and volume<br />
applied. An automated refill system can<br />
help ensure the proper concentration<br />
is achieved. The volume of antimicrobial<br />
applied is just as important.<br />
Over-application of the antimicrobial<br />
can cause a variety of negative effects:<br />
• Customer satisfaction may decrease as<br />
over-application can create unpleasant<br />
smells or liquid in packages<br />
• Regulatory limits can be exceeded and<br />
result in fines or recalls<br />
• Costs can spiral out of control.<br />
CONCLUSION<br />
Applying antimicrobials with spray<br />
equipment offers many advantages over<br />
other technologies. Cost, ease-of-use<br />
and precision application are attractive<br />
to processors of all sizes. Depending on<br />
which antimicrobials are used, shelflife<br />
extension, cleaner labels, improved<br />
customer satisfaction.<br />
• Josh DeVoll is a Director of Market<br />
Solutions at Spraying Systems<br />
Co, headquartered in Chicago. It<br />
is represented in SA by Monitor<br />
Engineering.<br />
www.spray.co.za<br />
CALL US FOR ALL YOUR EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS<br />
Various machines - ranging from Vacuum Tumblers, Injectors, Sausage Fillers, Vacuum machines,<br />
Clippers and many more....<br />
Pallet washer Brine Injector Vacuum Tumbler Hygiene Station Crate Washer/Sanitiser Bowel Cutter<br />
• Tel: +27 11 664 8212 • Email: info@bmpe.co.za<br />
• www.bmpe.co.za<br />
Branches in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban
DINNERMATES<br />
Tel: +27 11 462 0020<br />
+27 11 032 8600<br />
Fax: +27 11 462 0032<br />
sales@dinnermates.co.za<br />
www.dinnermates.co.za<br />
Suppliers to the hospitality and<br />
food industries of quality portioncontrolled,<br />
chilled, frozen and dried meat products. Service<br />
excellence, innovation and flexibility give Dinnermates the<br />
edge in providing meat and chicken products tailored for<br />
special applications in the food industry.<br />
PHT-SA TRADING<br />
INTERNATIONAL<br />
Tel: +27 861 777 993<br />
info@pht.co.za<br />
www.pht.co.za<br />
PHT, your partner for hygiene and technology, plans and<br />
offers hygiene, food safety and technology solutions for<br />
food and beverage companies of any size; personnel<br />
hygiene equipment, change room equipment, drain<br />
technology, cleaning machines, foam cleaning technology,<br />
consumable goods, ergonomic handling systems, doors<br />
and components, deboning conveyor and racking systems,<br />
stunning and slaughter systems, water treatment systems,<br />
smoking and cooking systems, wood, pan releasing agents,<br />
speciality ingredients.<br />
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY<br />
MATRIX SOFTWARE<br />
Tel: +27 16 423 5537<br />
Fax: +27 86 605 5406<br />
info@matrixsoftware.co.za<br />
• Complete software solution<br />
for the food and meat industry<br />
• Full traceable stock control<br />
• Full MRP and traceability solutions<br />
• Specialists in meat systems (abattoir/debone<br />
/processing)<br />
• Retail point of sale<br />
• Scales, label printing and probes integration<br />
• Recipes and yield control systems<br />
• Integration with most known financial systems<br />
AROMATECH FLAVOURS<br />
Tel: + 27 10 010 6147<br />
+ 27 11 452 1760<br />
admin@aromatech.co.za<br />
www.aromatech.co.za<br />
For the past 30 years, Aromatech has specialised in the<br />
development and manufacture of flavours for snacks.<br />
Today, besides snack seasonings, with the co-operation of<br />
some of the world’s finest French flavour chemists, we now<br />
offer flavours for the whole of the food, dairy, pharmaceutical<br />
and beverage industries.<br />
We are also able to offer single vitamins and vitamin<br />
pre-mixes, of the highest quality.<br />
Aromatech will not compromise on quality, and offer<br />
extremely competitive prices, low minimum order quantities<br />
and outstanding technical and personal service.<br />
We are passionate about what we do. Make us your<br />
next flavour partner.<br />
LAKE FOODS<br />
Unit 2 Galaxy Office Park,<br />
17 Galaxy Avenue, Linbro Business Park, Sandton<br />
Tel +27 11 409 5000<br />
www.lakefoods.co.za<br />
Lake <strong>Food</strong>s is the exclusive<br />
representative for leading<br />
international manufacturers and suppliers of specialty<br />
ingredients and commodities, offering products and services<br />
into the dairy, beverage, wine, meat, poultry, bakery, health and<br />
nutrition industries.<br />
Offering a full service to their customers, Lake <strong>Food</strong>s has<br />
a well-equipped pilot facility at Linbro Park, Sandton, which<br />
enables the technical department to assist customers with new<br />
product innovation, development and product improvements.<br />
Products in our portfolio include bacterial cultures, enzymes,<br />
natural colours, test systems, phosphates, stabilisers,<br />
emulsifiers, baking powders, brines, spice blends, marinades<br />
and various other food ingredients.<br />
STORAGE SOLUTIONS<br />
BARPRO STORAGE<br />
Cape Town Tel: +27 (0)21 552 9190<br />
Johannesburg Tel: +27 (0)11 450 1075<br />
info@barpro.co.za<br />
www.barprostorage.co.za<br />
Double your warehouse and cold store capacity<br />
without adding another square metre.<br />
Storax mobile racking is designed to fit in either new or<br />
existing warehouses and cold stores where space is at a<br />
premium. Mobile racking can double pallet capacity while still<br />
allowing immediate access to every pallet position.<br />
Barpro has offices in both Joburg and Cape Town, can<br />
manufacture locally, has spares and trained technicians<br />
on hand.<br />
36 JUNE <strong>2018</strong> | FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER www.fbreporter.co.za
PRODUCT SOLUTIONS & SERVICE SUPPLIER<br />
ABB SOUTH AFRICA (PTY) LTD<br />
ABB Campus, 2 Lake Rd,<br />
Longmeadow Business Estate (North),<br />
Modderfontein, 1609<br />
Tel: +27 10 202 5000<br />
contact.center@za.abb.com<br />
www.abb.com/africa<br />
ABB’s food & beverage solutions<br />
Plant-wide solutions to optimize productivity,<br />
efficiency and uptime.<br />
ABB’s broad digital portfolio enables increased control and<br />
visibility for better optimisation and productivity with less<br />
energy and water, realize improved food safety and<br />
traceability, and minimise waste. ABB can help you build<br />
the flexible, cost effective production systems needed to<br />
manage your risks and gain the most from today’s trends.<br />
ABB use the Internet of Things, Services and People to help<br />
you get the most out of your assets and improve uptime.<br />
Find out more about our full range of solutions at<br />
www.abb.com/food&beverage, or contact your local<br />
ABB office.<br />
CCS LOGISTICS<br />
PO Box 686, Cape Town, 8000<br />
Vrystaat Road, Paarden Eiland<br />
Cape Town, South Africa<br />
Tel +27 87 350 7350<br />
www.ccslogistics.co.za<br />
www.linebooker.co.za<br />
As the largest cold store operator in Africa, operating since<br />
1971 and a 100% subsidiary of the Oceana Group, CCS<br />
Logistics owns and operates eleven modern refrigerated<br />
facilities in the major centres and harbours of South Africa,<br />
Namibia and Angola. Collectively, CCS offer 140 000 tons<br />
of multi temperature controlled storage and handling from<br />
ambient to minus 60 degrees.<br />
Dynamic warehouse management systems incorporating<br />
radio frequency technology and integration capabilities<br />
support our range of services that include picking, blast<br />
freezing, bonded facilities, bulk vessel quayside operations<br />
and stevedoring. Customised services range from container<br />
consolidation, cross-docking, palletisation, transport and<br />
facilitation of clearing and forwarding.<br />
PRODUCT SOLUTIONS & SERVICE SUPPLIER<br />
CCS LOGISTICS-LINEBOOKER<br />
PO Box 686, Cape Town, 8000<br />
Vrystaat Road, Paarden Eiland<br />
Cape Town, South Africa<br />
Tel: +27 87 350 7283<br />
linebooker@ccslogistics.co.za<br />
www.linebooker.co.za<br />
Linebooker is not a brokerage. Linebooker is an online<br />
business where customers have easy access to the majority<br />
of transport companies is South Africa. How it works: the<br />
customer would publish a load request on our platform<br />
and multiple pre-approved transport companies would<br />
bid for your load. Our customer can then choose to accept<br />
the lowest bid. We take care of the rest. Transporters on<br />
the other hand have access to more customers, thus more<br />
loads which assists in lane balancing and reduces the need<br />
to subcontract. We pay the transporter within 15 days and<br />
take care of all admin.<br />
VEOLIA<br />
Tel: +27 11 974 8161<br />
Fax: +27 11 974 8867<br />
gerhard.burger@veoliawater.com<br />
www.veoliawaterst.co.za<br />
Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies SA is a specialist<br />
provider of complete water and wastewater treatment<br />
solutions and is active throughout southern and sub-<br />
Saharan Africa.<br />
As a subsidiary of the multinational Veolia Water,<br />
the company offers a full range of products and services<br />
to a variety of industries, including food and beverage,<br />
petrochemical, mining, municipalities, and numerous others.<br />
Veolia employs leading technology for disinfection,<br />
filtration and general purification, including environmental<br />
protection.<br />
Solutions are completed by in-house capacity to provide<br />
a speciality chemical treatment range - Hydrex - as well as<br />
SABS-approved hygiene products and services.<br />
ADVERTISE IN OUR<br />
SUPPLIER SHOWCASE<br />
Email wendy@fbreporter.co.za Tel: 083 653 8116<br />
www.fbreporter.co.za FOOD & BEVERAGE REPORTER | JUNE <strong>2018</strong> 37