Food & Beverage Asia June/July 2022

JUNE / JULY 2022 

www.foodbeverageasia.com 

Creating sustainable value in food 

Baked goods: The push for clean label, natural ingredients 

The balance of powder with product inspection solutions

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info@heatandcontrol.com | heatandcontrol.com

2 

CONTENTS 

Contents 

26 

MARKET INSIGHTS 

12 Creating sustainable value 

in food 

BITING ISSUES 

15 Symrise / Haofood 

16 Mintel 

17 DSM / Jebsen & Jessen 

18 Above Food / Blommer 

Chocolate Company 

19 Chr. Hansen / Superbrewed 

Food 

20 Pharmactive Biotech 

Products / Plantwise 

21 MISTA / Do Good Foods 

22 Barry Callebaut 

23 Arjuna Natural 

34 

INGREDIENTS 

24 Baked goods: The push 

for clean label, natural 

ingredients 

26 A natural chewing experience: 

Chewing gum with ERYLITE 

erythritol 

30 Building an ironclad immunity 

with gut-friendly food 

ON THE TABLE 

32 Sodexo walks the walk on 

sustainability 

34 The greener side of life: ADM 

delivers botanical additions to 

brands and consumers 

FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA JUNE / JULY 2022

CONTENTS 3 

40 

45 

60 

PROCESSING & PACKAGING 

36 High-performance metal 

detection for expanding 

product ranges 

38 Safeguarding the food 

safety and product quality 

in an indoor vertical farm 

40 Food preservation: Natural, 

clean and safe 

43 Efficient operating 

processes give dairy a 

sustainable impact 

45 The balance of powder 

with product inspection 

solutions 

FIRST LOOKS 

48 Amcor / Smurfit Kappa 

49 NORD Drivesystems 

50 PLF International / Walki 

52 Gericke / Mencom 

53 Thermo Fisher / Bruker 

54 Emerson / TAGBOX 

55 Tetra Pak 

56 Flexicon 

57 Asahi Photoproducts / igus 

58 Elopak / SABIC 

SHOW REVIEW 

60 Increased delivery capacity 

and new products at igus 

press conferences 2022 

62 THAIFEX – Anuga Asia 2022 

concludes with trends in the 

food and beverage industry 

revealed 

REGULARS 

4 Editor’s Note 

6 News 

63 Events Calendar 

64 Advertisers’ Index 


4 

EDITOR’S NOTE 

Securing a 

sustainable future for 

today’s food system 

Agatha Wong 

Assistant Editor 

Just as the world barely emerges from 

the shadow of the pandemic, it plunges 

into other issues: climate change, 

disruption of food exports from global 

conflict, and trade protectionism. In 

these tough times, producers have to 

stand firm and set their eyes on the long 

term to ensure a resilient food system for 

global consumers. 

In an interview with David Hughes, CEO 

of Plant & Food Research, he raised the importance of raising 

the value of food as the way forward. Rather than focusing 

on achieving low cost, Hughes shared that enhancing the 

wellness benefits of foods could provide the sustainable 

solution that consumers are looking for (pp. 12). 

Likewise, Sodexo is leading the path on sustainability as it 

works with local communities and organisations. In Singapore, 

the company has worked together with the local government 

to implement their WasteWatch programme to reduce food 

waste, and partnering with Cryowerx to deploy RFID smart 

fridges (pp. 32). 

Likewise, Synerlink has made its mark on the sustainability 

effort with the use of PET and FFS. By ensuring that the 

lifecycle of plastics remains in a closed, circular loop, 

companies can not only appeal to shifting consumer demands 

for greener packaging but also leave an indelible impact on the 

environment (pp. 43). 

With mounting pressure from both the supply chain and the 

world at large, food and beverage manufacturers must keep 

a sharp eye on how they can play a part in creating a more 

secure food system. Food & Beverage Asia takes a deep dive 

into this journey, bringing you insights into building a better 

future. 

LET’S CONNECT! 

@foodandbeverageasia 

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NEWS 5 

BENEO acquires 

Meatless to 

further expand its 

portfolio of plantbased 

solutions 

BENEO has announced the acquisition of 

Dutch company, Meatless. The move 

comes amid a huge rise in demand 

for plant-based products, with figures 

showing that the market for fish and meat 

alternatives is expected to grow by more 

than 10% CAGR over the next five years. 

The acquisition of Meatless allows BENEO to 

broaden its portfolio and offer customers a 

versatile selection of plant-based solutions 

that serve as texturisers for meat and fish 

alternatives. BENEO sees great prospects 

for the new range of solutions in Europe 

as a focus market in the first instance, 

with plans to further expand globally. 

Meatless, founded in 2005 and located 

in Goes, The Netherlands, is a supplier of 

textured plant-based ingredients with a 

portfolio of solutions derived from different 

raw materials. This range complements 

BENEO’s ingredients portfolio and allows 

for exciting new combinations. Hence, 

BENEO’s customers will benefit from a 

much broader variety and greater flexibility 

that supports the development of meat 

and fish alternatives. 

Meatless’ products are sustainable by 

design, with the production processes 

achieving a very low carbon footprint, further 

supporting BENEO’s aim to use production 

facilities to reduce total CO2 emissions. 

The current management of Meatless will 

stay on board following the acquisition. 

Jos Hugense, CEO of Meatless, commented: 

“We are glad that Meatless can make the 

next step in its corporate development with 

BENEO. BENEO as a strong and experienced 

global player for functional ingredients 

will enable Meatless to meet the growing 

demand and further accelerate expansion 

of the business in new markets.” ■ 

Givaudan announces 

development of 

Customer Foresight 

Aligned with its ambition to shape the 

future of food, Givaudan has announced the 

development of Customer Foresight, which 

aims at helping customers co-create food 

solutions. 

Givaudan’s Customer Foresight 

platform will leverage big data, artificial 

intelligence (AI) technology and 

Givaudan’s knowledge to co-create 

food experiences with customers 

and meet the needs of consumers. 

The food and beverage industry is facing 

profound disruption driven by rapidly 

changing consumer and customer needs. 

From enabling the movement to more 

mindful and planet-friendly diets due 

to growing environmental concerns, to 

providing more nutritious food choices 

and helping consumers achieve their 

wellbeing goals, the industry must think 

differently to address this transformative 

shift. The intent of Givaudan’s Customer 

Foresight is to help food and beverage 

companies deliver on these unmet 

needs and vast expectations. 

Louie D’Amico, president of taste and 

wellbeing at Givaudan, said: “Customer 

Foresight can help anticipate tomorrow’s 

challenges and untangle the future of 

consumer expectations. Its power is 

found in the combination of external 

mass data and proprietary Givaudan 

information, that is harnessed into 

highly valuable insights through AI, 

along with the in-depth knowledge of 

the food ecosystem that our experts 

bring to the equation. This holistic 

approach, combining technologies 

and human expertise, will allow 

our customers to address the full 

scope of future consumer needs.” 

At the heart of Customer Foresight is a 

digital engine that supports Givaudan’s 

specialists in their consideration of the 

future. By partnering with Givaudan, 

customers will be able to detect signals 

and emerging trends to anticipate 

future potential outcome scenarios, 

opening opportunities to enhance 

the current development processes. 

Givaudan’s Customer Foresight is 

currently being piloted in two test 

markets ahead of its launch in 2023. ■ 


6 

NEWS 

Tate & Lyle opens 

new customer 

innovation and 

collaboration centre 

in Chile 

Tate & Lyle has announced the opening 

of a new customer innovation and 

collaboration centre in Santiago, Chile. 

The new centre, which includes 

capabilities for working in application and 

rapid prototyping, will enable Tate & Lyle’s 

food scientists to work with customers in 

the region to address growing demand for 

solutions that help reduce sugar, fat and 

calories, and add fibre, in consumer 

products. 

Through their expertise in categories such 

as beverages, dairy, bakery and soups, 

sauces, and dressings, Tate & Lyle’s 

professionals will support food and 

beverage manufacturers deliver successful 

food formulation and help them drive their 

innovation agenda faster. 

The investment reflects the importance 

and growth potential of the Latin American 

region for Tate & Lyle, and its commitment 

to serve its customers in the region. 

Oswaldo Nardinelli, senior vice-president 

and general manager, Latin America 

at Tate & Lyle, said: “Manufacturers are 

increasingly looking to agile and expert 

partners like Tate & Lyle to help them meet 

growing consumer demand for great tasting 

food and beverages that support balanced 

diets and lifestyles. Tate & Lyle has been 

in Chile for over 15 years and it’s a very 

important market for us. The new centre 

in Santiago will be part of our integrated 

network of centres across Latin America, 

including in Brazil and Mexico! We can’t wait 

to welcome customers to our new centre.” ■ 

Mondi switches all glassine-based 

release liners to certified base paper 

Mondi has been working with a number 

of certification bodies to increase the 

availability of certified wood fibre in its 

key wood sourcing markets in Europe. 

Mondi has switched its entire portfolio of 

glassine-based release liners to certified 

base paper. The change is part of Mondi’s 

ongoing approach to sustainability, which 

includes developing solutions that are 

better for the environment. 

Glassine-based release liners are mainly 

used for labels, tapes, and medical 

applications. By moving to certified base 

paper, Mondi is improving traceability, 

working with partners who manage forests 

responsibly in line with its commitment to 

maintain zero deforestation in its forests 

and supply chain. This latest move to 

certified glassine-based paper is another 

step in Mondi’s commitment to responsible 

sourcing and supply chain transparency. 

Mondi’s close collaboration with partners, 

known as its EcoSolutions approach, 

means that it will continue to develop 

the most sustainable packaging 

solutions to support customers in 

achieving their sustainability goals. 

All of Mondi’s pulp and paper mills 

are PEFC or FSC certified, 100% of its 

own forests are certified and 76% of 

externally sourced wood and 100% of 

sourced pulp is from certified sources. 

Stefan Schönberger, head of product 

sustainability release liner, Mondi, said: “As 

part of our MAP2030 ambitions, we commit 

to taking action on climate change, and 

setting an example for others working in 

international manufacturing, production and 

logistics to help them make sustainability 

a key priority. Offering certified base 

paper is part of this. It is the first step to 

upgrading our entire release liner portfolio, 

which will manage our impacts while 

providing the best possible solutions for 

the customer and the end consumer.” ■ 


NEWS 7 

ICL Planet startup 

hub to partner 

with StartLife 

ICL has announced it has partnered with 

startup accelerator StartLife to invest in 

startups focused on new ways to address 

global challenges in food and agricultural 

production. These challenges range 

from increasing yields and tackling food 

insecurity, to cutting greenhouse gas 

emissions. Both organisations are fully 

geared toward accelerating the business 

development and growth of early-stage 

startups, and this partnership enables 

them to advance in their shared mission. 

ICL Planet Startup Hub serves as the 

vehicle ICL uses to cultivate, nurture and 

accelerate innovation in the agri-food tech 

ecosystem, through open innovation and 

collaboration on a global basis. Potential 

targets also include novel ways to recycle 

minerals, extract them from waste streams 

and convert them to fertilisers or to 

develop innovative functional proteins for 

clean label applications, among others. 

StartLife’s operations director, Laura 

Thissen, said: “Through this partnership, 

StartLife aims to accelerate startups’ 

scaling journey and, at the same time, 

support ICL in finding the best startups, 

which match their innovation challenges. 

Our team is already identifying startups 

looking to partner and to help solve a 

piece of the innovation puzzle for Planet 

Startup. The scope includes crop nutrition, 

such as next generation fertilisers 

and biostimulants, but also precision 

farming and alternative proteins.” 

Organisations are joining forces to develop next 

generation of crop nutrition and food tech startups 

Startups have much to gain from a collaboration 

with ICL Planet Startup Hub, including 

market access, expertise and world class 

scientists, as well as the ability for sample 

testing. As an on-the-ground industrial 

partner, ICL can also provide agronomic or 

food application feedback. ICL Planet Startup 

Hub is already an active investor in several 

AgriFood startups, most recently in alternative 

protein companies Plantible and Protera. ■ 

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consumers are missing 

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8 

NEWS 

Sweegen wins stevia 

Reb M patent lawsuit 

against PureCircle 

Sweegen has announced its win against 

PureCircle in a stevia Rebaudioside M 

(Reb M) patent lawsuit. 

"Today's judgement vindicates 

Sweegen and affirms the company's 

position as an industry leader in 

innovative sweetener solutions," said 

Steven Chen, CEO of Sweegen. 

PureCircle, acquired by Ingredion in 2020, 

had filed the 2018 lawsuit against Sweegen 

in the US District Court for the Central 

District of California, accusing Sweegen 

of infringing two PureCircle patents 

covering the manufacture of Reb M. 

The legal tide turned on PureCircle when 

Sweegen obtained a summary judgement 

that both of PureCircle's asserted patents 

are invalid. Since it is impossible to infringe 

an invalid patent, the court's invalidation 

of the asserted patents ends the 

infringement case against Sweegen at the 

US District Court. 

"As a holder of core proprietary technologies 

of wellness ingredients, Sweegen 

vigourously guards its intellectual 

property rights and respects those of 

others," said Chen. "We have always 

maintained that PureCircle's patents 

were invalid and its case against 

Sweegen spurious." 

Sweegen is the primary producer of the non- 

GMO Reb M originating from the stevia leaf, 

made with a clean bioconversion method. ■ 

Isagenix launches its range of meal shakes 

and food supplements in Mexico through 

Blendhub’s platform 

Isagenix, a specialist in the development 

of nutritional products such as shakes and 

food supplements, has launched its range 

of meal shakes and food supplements in 

Mexico through Blendhub’s platform. 

Isagenix faced two major challenges as 

it was looking to grow in the Mexican 

market: the cost of logistics to import its 

products from the US, and the need to 

offer local flavours, adapted to Mexican 

consumers. Isagenix chose Blendhub 

to solve both challenges and develop 

its first production outside the US. First, 

Blendhub's multi-localised platform, with 

a production hub in Mexico, localises 

production and minimises the cost 

of raw materials, logistics and tariffs, 

thus becoming more competitive. 

Secondly, Blendhub‘s food-as-a-service 

strategy can help food companies launch 

a new product globally in much shorter 

times, identifying the best formulators 

to ensure exclusive and pioneering food 

products in the market, with tailor-made 

solutions. In this case, Blendhub developed 

a rice horchata formula for Isashake shakes. 

Lizeth Bucio, marketing director of Isagenix 

Mexico, highlighted: “The flavour achieved 

for the horchata has been a great success. 

This has allowed us to position quickly in 

the Mexican market and create a feeling 

of belonging among Mexican consumers.” 

Eduardo Aldasoro, regional director of 

Blendhub in America, stated: “This case 

proves how Blendhub's innovation and 

multi-localised production model enables 

food companies to access new markets, 

competing as a local player in a pay-per 

-use model, without need for Capex 

investment.” 

After this launch, both companies have 

expanded their collaboration and Blendhub 

is already working to support Isagenix 

in other markets through its network of 

food-as-a-service hubs on four continents, 

with the possibility of deploying a new hub 

in the US to support Isagenix's innovation 

strategy and growth in North America. ■ 


NEWS 9 

Imagindairy closes its seed round with US$28 million in investment 

Imagindairy has secured an additional 

US$15 million in its extended seedround. 

The initial round in November 2021 

brought in $13 million. This brings the 

total investment capital to $28 million. 

The funding was led by Target Global and 

joined by the company’s existing investors 

Strauss Group, Emerald Technology 

Ventures, Green Circle Foodtech Ventures, 

Collaborative Fund, New Climate Ventures, 

and FoodSparks by PeakBridge. 

The Imagindairy team has created animalfree 

milk proteins from microorganisms 

via precision-fermentation technology. 

The technology allows the production of a 

broad spectrum of dairy analogues, from 

raw milk to cheese, without involving 

animals. Imagindairy’s dairy proteins 

are non-GMO, cholesterol-free, and 

possess the same flavour, texture, 

functionality, and nutritional value of 

their cow-based counterparts. Crucially, 

they eliminate the burden that livestock 

imposes on the environment. 

The funds raised in this seed round will be 

used for the company’s R&D efforts to launch 

a range of real dairy products without using 

animals. It also will help attract additional 

talent to its team. Imagindairy is currently 

Food in dialogue & Beverage with major dairy Asia, food 132 producers x 205 mm, nutrition,” Linie comp. said Shmuel M, Chafets, CC-en91-AZ078 executive 04/22 

seeking to diversify their product portfolios. 

“We are excited to be able to back the 

Imagindairy team who have made incredible 

inroads in creating dairy products that don't 

rely on industrialised animal agriculture but 

offer the same level of functionality and 

chairman and founder at Target Global. ■ 

ProPak Asia 2022 

Bangkok, 15-18 June 

Hall 99, Stand AK11 

Imagindairy’s platform enables costeffective 

production of animal-free 

milk proteins. This overcomes one of 

the many hurdles in alt-dairy protein 

production, allowing brands to sell 

analogue dairy products at consumerfriendly 

prices — a major requirement 

for mass-market adoption. 

The future starts 

in our heads 

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at krones.com

10 

NEWS 

APPMA announces AUSPACK transition to APPEX 

The Australian Packaging and 

Processing Machinery Association 

(APPMA), has announced that its 

flagship exhibition AUSPACK is 

transitioning into an all-of-industry 

event: APPEX – Australasian 

Processing & Packaging Expo. 

Mark Dingley, chairman of APPMA, 

revealed the news at the APPMA 

Awards of Excellence gala dinner 

when winners of the national 

awards programme for Australia’s 

packaging and processing industry 

were announced. APPMA has run its 

flagship event, AUSPACK, since 1985. 

INDUSTRY SUPPORT 

Dingley said in representing Australia’s 

leading packaging and processing 

machinery and allied component 

companies, the APPMA aims to 

promote, integrate, and foster 

participation and development 

at all levels of the packaging and 

processing machinery industry. 

He added that the development of 

APPEX had strong industry support. 

Tania Carey, general manager of Food 

Processing Equipment Australia & 

New Zealand, said: “We had 

never thought joining APPMA 

until we learned about these 

changes. This is a great change 

for the industry in Australia and 

one we believe will set future 

expos on an exciting new path.” 

Dingley said: “These two 

comments are among many from 

APPMA research into developing 

APPEX, and with all of this broad 

industry momentum, now is the 

time to transition AUSPACK into 

the all-of-industry event APPEX.” 

CHANGES AND BENEFITS 

The transition to APPEX will 

occur after the current AUSPACK 

is completed, with APPEX 

running in March 2024, and every 

three years thereafter. The event 

will be anchored in Melbourne. 

“Three yearly is an optimal 

cycle for a large show with 

more exhibitors and visitors, 

it is a neater flow with other 

international shows and 

facilitates better alignment with 

developments in new technology. 

APPMA chose Melbourne for its 

position as Australia’s premier 

venue for holding larger shows, 

with facilities allowing APPEX 

and Processing & Packaging 

Week to grow while still retaining 

AUSPACK’s renowned experience. 

Operationally, the Melbourne 

Convention and Exhibition Centre 

site facilitates easier move-in 

and move-out for exhibitors.” 

The benefits of APPEX include 

having the largest showcase 

of processing and packaging 

equipment, thus attracting 

more targeted visitors across 

all of industry, noted Dingley. 

“APPEX being run by the industry 

means that exhibitors, APPMA 

members and key players will all 

have a strong voice in the show’s 

development. APPMA will continue 

to reinvest the exhibition’s profits 

to further support and develop 

the processing and packaging 

industry, Australia wide, and with 

more on offer for visitors, the 

Australian marketplace overall 

will benefit,” he added. ■ 


NEWS 11 

Westfalia recognised for carbon neutality 

Westfalia Fruit Group has achieved the One 

Carbon World Carbon Neutral International 

Standard for 15 of its businesses for 2020. 

As part of this project, Westfalia Fruit 

calculated its footprint for 2020 with the 

support of One Carbon World. Westfalia Fruit 

in Peru, Westfalia Colombia, Westfalia Fruit 

Marketing in South Africa and Westfalia 

Fruit in the Netherlands have also achieved 

carbon neutrality status for their Scope 

1 and 2 emissions as well as certification 

under the One Carbon World Carbon 

Neutral International Standard, a carbon 

footprint verification organisation and a 

recognised resource partner in the United 

Nations’ Climate Neutral Now initiative. 

In 2021, Westfalia Fruit made significant 

progress towards its sustainability targets: 

reducing the company’s carbon footprint 

per kilogram of fruit by 5%, waste to 

landfill by almost 9%, liquid fuel used by 

26% and electricity usage by 4%. At the 

same time, it increased recycled waste 

by 28%, water use efficiency by 14% and 

own electricity generation by 50%. 

For example, the company has pioneered a 

low-flow drip irrigation technique that saves 

the volume of the water used to grow the crop, 

while increasing the output and economic 

value of the fruit. It is estimated that the 

approach will bring an overall 50% efficiency 

boost in farms where it is implemented. 

For Westfalia Fruit’s GHG emissions that 

cannot currently be avoided, the company 

compensated with emissions reductions 

certified by VERRA, through afforestation 

projects in South America that are converting 

degraded grasslands into forest plantations. 

Westfalia Fruit UK also achieved a carbon 

neutral certification under Carbon Trust, 

an independent certification body for 

carbon footprints with an internationally 

recognised carbon neutral standard. ■ 

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12 


Creating 

sustainable value 

in food 

Food sustainability is not as simple as generating the 

greenest outcome for the planet. As David Hughes, 

CEO of Plant & Food Research, shares with Agatha Wong, 

creating value-centric products for the consumer and 

the planet might be the best approach to greater 

food resilience. 

The issue of a sustainable food 

system is not a question of if, but 

when. As climate change, a global 

pandemic, rising costs, and population 

growth propel food producers to 

tighter corners, much has to be done 

to ensure that the global food system 

is secure for the coming years. In 

Asia especially, which produces 

most of the world’s food supply, 

food sustainability has become a hot 

topic in both the public and private 

sectors. Singapore, for example, 

launched the “30 by 30” initiative. 

The goal is to fortify the country’s 

agri-food industry’s capabilities and 

to produce 30% of their nutritional 

needs locally and sustainably by 2030. 

David Hughes, CEO of Plant & Food 

Research, told Food & Beverage 

Asia: “Food security questions have 

started to move from a national level 

to a city-specific level, with cities 

wanting to ensure that a portion 

of their food comes from their 

immediate surroundings. Given that 

some super cities are bigger than 

small countries, it is not surprising 

that city leaders are increasingly 

focusing on food security. It makes 

sense to address food security at 

a national, regional and city level.” 

For Singapore, a land- and resourcescarce 

country with a dense 

urban population, the challenge 

of achieving food resilience is a 

particularly sticky one — though 

not necessarily impossible. Already, 

technology such as vertical 

farming and hydroponics have 

proven to be advantageous for 

the island state, and as agri-tech 

start-ups take root, innovations in 

local agriculture are expected. 

“Globally, people are already 

following a successful pathway to 

produce leafy greens and herbs 

using controlled environment 

agriculture (CEA). Additionally, urban 

areas like rooftops are increasingly 

being utilised for agriculture, 

providing value in a range of ways. 

Not only does this utilise urban 

spaces and provide fresh produce 

next door, but it is also positive for 

the city because it creates green 

spaces,” he continued. “Aside from 

the horticultural space, there is also 

potential for cellular agriculture. In 

future, with new growth serums, it 

may be possible to produce meat 

and fish entirely in urban areas.” 

In Hughes’ perspective, the key to 

changing these current challenges 

to potential areas of strength lies 

in focusing on value creation, 

rather than achieving low cost. He 

emphasised the cultural and social 

value that food plays in society, 

specifically Singapore being a food 

city. In this regard, the challenges 

that Singapore faces are presented 

as opportunities, where producers 

can consider moving back to the 

production end of the food chain 

to generate more value. Value, he 

explained, in the form of “positive 

foods” are good for the people 

and the planet, in areas of health, 

wellness, and the environment. 


MARKET INSIGHTS 13 

“Singapore is blessed with agri-tech, 

a strong population and citizens 

who appreciate the value of food — 

an ideal scenario for capturing this 

opportunity. It would be much harder 

to succeed in a cost-conscious, 

unsophisticated food market that 

demands the cheapest, barestminimum 

products. Additionally, 

Singapore has already demonstrated 

a strong ability to create start-ups, 

fund them and see them go global, 

which means that it is in a good 

position to be world-leading with 

this kind of agri-tech and to export 

these innovations to other places.” 

STRENGTH IN TEAMWORK 

Another aspect of Singapore’s plans 

to establish a more resilient food 

system can be found in collaboration. 

On 20 Apr 2022, Singapore and New 

Zealand signed two agreements 

to enhance food and technology 

innovations between the two 

countries — the first being the 

Enhanced Partnership for 

Growth Arrangement 

between Enterprise 

Singapore and 

New Zealand Trade 

and Enterprise, 

and the second 

a collaboration 

agreement between 

the Singapore 

Institute of 

Technology and 

The FoodBowl, a 

food innovation 

network 

supported by 

the New Zealand 

government. 

These 

partnerships 

and agreements 

highlight the importance of continued 

collaboration between countries to 

promote sustainable food systems 

and the commitment towards food 

resilience on a regional level. 

Where Singapore’s core strength has 

been the culinary dimension in food, 

New Zealand has been traditionally 

in the production of food, explained 

Hughes. This makes the two countries’ 

ideals partners with complementary 

skills that generate further value. 

“My organisation has been strong 

in perennial tree crops. There’s an 

opportunity, I think, to bring those 

to vertical farming in urban farming 

environments. We don’t need to do 

that in New Zealand because we’ve 

got large quantities of land available 

to us, but through our working on 

those crops, we’ve developed quite a 

deep understanding of them — what 

makes them grow well, and how 

you could adapt them to different 


14 


environments. That’s the sort of 

crop we could collaborate with 

Singapore on. On the other hand, 

Singapore works on leafy greens 

and herbs, and I think, again, there’s 

another collaboration point — where 

we’ve worked on different things, 

we can join our skills together 

to create quite exciting new 

opportunities,” remarked Hughes. 

“The signing of these agreements 

is a good exemplar of the sort of 

things countries can do. Because, 

again, we’re showing that we can 

work together, we recognise that we 

have complementary capabilities 

that mesh well together. And I 

think the timing of this is perfect 

because with COVID-19, we have 

been denied a lot of opportunities to 

increase the level of collaboration, 

and what we do with each other. As 

the country starts moving through 

COVID-19 and what the future 

holds, we need to start connecting 

even more, and to be building 

on the skills that we have got, 

strengthening those relationships.” 

SMALL BUT VALUABLE 

Moving away from national and 

bilateral collaborations, to a regional 

level, the need for sustainable 

food systems is also clear. Forming 

the backbone of the agricultural 

landscape in Asia are smallholder 

farmers to whom agri-tech startups 

can reach out. Hence, Hughes 

suggested that it is important 

for smallholders to not be drawn 

into the low-cost trap and to 

create value for consumers by 

understanding what consumers 

in their region care about and 

are willing to pay for their food. 

“Smallholder farmers are perfectly 

placed to deliver that value as 

they are close to the food they 

produce. We have seen this 

with Plant & Food Research’s 

international development work 

where farmers have moved away 

from rice production that goes 

into a large pool of rice with none of 

the farmer’s identity attached to it. 

Instead, smallholder or subsistence 

farmers have moved into higher 

value crops delivered to a nearby 

city. With careful attention to food 

safety and good agricultural practice, 

farmers can increase the value of 

these crops and the supermarket 

can stock them with pride. We have 

seen smallholder incomes increase 

dramatically just through ensuring 

that farmers grow the right stuff in the 

right way and that this is connected 

to what the end users value.” 

As producers and farmers concentrate 

more on creating value as opposed 

to keeping costs low, he added that 

consumers will be able to appreciate 

the benefits of the food they consume, 

thus encouraging them to spend 

more on a product. At the same time, 

focusing on value-centric products 

also emphasises greater care for the 

planet and the people, leading to 

better outcomes for the environment. 

“It comes down to adopting a value 

creation mindset instead of a cost 

reduction mindset, which often 

delivers bad health and environmental 

outcomes. It is important to identify 

what people value and provide 

that, rather than just focusing on 

cost,” concluded Hughes. FBA 


BITING ISSUES 15 

Symrise announces 

range of aronia 

health actives with 

cellular antioxidant 

effects 

Symrise has launched a new range of 

aronia health actives. The range contains 

an aronia extract and aronia juice powder, 

both standardised in polyphenols and 

anthocyanins. This range expands the 

diana food portfolio of health actives, 

which forms a part of the taste, nutrition 

and health segment. 

Aronia (Aronia melanocarpa), also known as 

black chokeberry, contains a concentration 

of antioxidants such as polyphenols, 

particularly anthocyanins. Plants produce 

the antioxidants to protect themselves 

from environmental stress. The 

antioxidative properties of aronia relates 

to cardiovascular health, metabolic health, 

and immune system support. Symrise 

has demonstrated the specific cellular 

antioxidative properties of the aronia 

extract on different cell types, including 

intestinal cells, using a cellular model. 

Under the diana food portfolio brand 

of health actives, the aronia extract 

comes with a polyphenols profile: total 

polyphenolic content, proanthocyanins 

content, and a specific proanthocyanidinsto-anthocyanins 

ratio. The carrier-free, 

free-flowing aronia extract in powder 

form features a minimum of both 50% 

total polyphenols and 10% anthocyanins. 

Suggested applications include capsules, 

tablets, powder sticks, nutritional shots, 

and supplement gummies. The spraydried, 

soluble aronia juice powder features 

a minimum of both 2% total polyphenols 

and 0.2% anthocyanins. Applications for 

the juice powder include powder drinks, 

healthy beverages, snacks, and foods. ■ 

Plant-based chicken 

brand Haofood 

partners with 

convenience store 

chain Lawson 

alternative meat products,” shared Astrid 

Prajogo, founder and CEO of Haofood. 

While there is a growing appetite for 

sustainable alternatives to meat, customers 

in China demand great-tasting products. 

Haofood thus delivers its Innotein technology, 

a plant-based chicken with texture similar to 

real meat, and a stronger umami sensation. 

Plant-based chicken brand Haofood has 

announced a new partnership with Chinese 

convenience store Lawson where customers 

will gain greater access to its products. 

Haofood’s new satay nugget on a stick will 

retail at 2,300 Lawson stores in China. 

“At Haofood, our goal is to make plantbased 

chicken products accessible to 

people. We set our focus on China, the 

world’s most populous country for a 

start, as we believe that there can be a 

significant impact on carbon footprint 

reduction as customers here turn towards 

An IPSOS study published in 2020 indicated 

that 95% of consumers in China have heard 

of plant-based meat products, with 61% of 

the opinion that consumption of plant-based 

meat products will be beneficial to their health, 

and 41% of the opinion that it reduces carbon 

footprint. At the same time, stresses from 

modern everyday life, including being in fastpaced 

work environments, have contributed 

to an uptake in convenient ready-to-eat 

products among younger consumers globally. 

With these consumption habits taking 

prevalence, Haofood created the new satay 

Haofood’s all-new satay nugget on a stick 

nugget on a stick for Chinese consumers 

who are looking for convenience and 

particular when it comes to the taste and 

nutritional benefits. For the satay nugget, 

Haofood adopted the use of soybeans, 

coupled with Haofood’s Innotein technology. 

The satay nugget on a stick is high in protein 

and fibre with zero trans-fat, making an 

ideal choice for a busy work day or even a 

summer picnic with friends and family. ■ 


16 

BITING ISSUES 

Mintel’s 2022 Global 

Food and Drink Trends 

explores changing 

consumer behavior 

Mintel’s 2022 Global Consumer Trends 

explores pandemic-induced 

behavioural changes, with insight and 

recommendations for food, drink and 

foodservice brands on how to incorporate 

the trends into future strategy. 

Three key trends offer potential for food, 

drink and foodservice brands: In Control, 

Enjoyment Everywhere and Flexible 

Spaces. 

IN CONTROL 

In Control explores how consumers 

are dealing with pandemic-induced 

uncertainty and the desire to take control 

in the ways available to them. Brands can 

empower consumers to do this within 

their food or drink purchases through 

transparent detail on their products. 

Tan Heng Hong, food and drink analyst, 

Asia-Pacific, Mintel, said: “More than half 

of consumers in the Philippines (61%), 

Thailand (56%) and Vietnam (64%) say 

that they check product labels when 

shopping for food or drink. Food and 

drink brands have the complex task of 

conveying clear and reliable guidance so 

that a product will meet consumers’ 

health priorities. They can empower 

consumers to make the right health 

choice by giving clear on pack detail 

linked to dietary requirements.” 

In addition to well-being, Mintel 

Global Consumer research shows 

that consumers in Indonesia (83%), 

Malaysia (65%) and Singapore (66%) 

agree that brands should show their 

impact on the environment on food 

or drink labels. 

ENJOYMENT EVERYWHERE 

Enjoyment Everywhere explores how 

consumers will have a newfound 

appreciation for fun in everyday items 

and activities after long lockdowns. 

Food and drink brands are wellpositioned 

to offer experiences 

that cannot be replicated online. 

“Consumers will be open to food, drink 

and foodservice that engages more 

of the senses to trigger emotional 

connections. Food and drink that 

captivate the senses can appeal to 

the unexpected and the intriguing. At 

the same time, the metaverse offers 

a new arena for brands to engage 

with consumers. Brands can join the 

gaming trend and ‘game-ify’ everyday 

activities like cooking in the digital 

realm where consumers can connect 

or bond with another,” continued Tan. 

FLEXIBLE SPACES 

The pandemic left consumers craving 

for human connection, which, at 

the same time, delivers them the 

convenience of online shopping. Flexible 

Spaces explores how consumers 

have been forced to rethink their work 

and play spaces due to changing 

consumer lifestyles, where blending 

physical and online spaces will be 

key in creating spaces for brands to 

interact with consumers going forward. 

“We will see retailers redefining their 

approaches to space and selling to 

accommodate a more diverse consumer 

base, facilitate deeper consumer-tobrand 

connections and unite those 

that share common passions in both 

physical and online environments. As 

technology becomes more advanced, 

these blended worlds will coexist 

more seamlessly,” concluded Tan. ■ 



DSM and the World Food Programme 

partner to improve global nutrition 

Royal DSM and the World Food Programme 

(WFP) have agreed to extend their 

partnership and scale up rice fortification 

worldwide for a further three years. The 

partnership will seek to improve the 

availability and accessibility of nutritious 

foods in order to reach vulnerable people 

where key dietary decisions are made. 

DSM and the WFP began working together 

in 2007 with the mission of "Improving 

nutrition, improving lives" currently reaching 

35 million people annually with nutritious 

products improved through the partnership. 

During 15 years of collaboration, the two 

organisations have helped fight nutritional 

deficiencies affecting two billion people 

around the world. DSM offers the WFP 

its technical and scientific assistance in 

nutrition, quality assurance and marketing, 

as well as its financial assistance, to improve 

the availability and affordability of fortified, 

nutritious foods for people in need. 

In Bangladesh, for example, the partnership 

has supported more than 70 SMEs in building 

their capacity to produce fortified rice, which 

includes vitamins and minerals that curb 

micronutrient deficiencies. This initiative 

has benefitted local food producers and 

processors and allowed more than seven 

million people in the country access to 

fortified rice through social safety nets. 

In addition, DSM and the WFP are 

working together to drive food systems’ 

transformation, supporting local 

food companies and value chains in 

developing countries to deliver more 

affordable fortified nutritious food options 

to people in their communities. 

In 2021, DSM launched food systems 

commitments, which include a target to help 

close the micronutrient gap of 800 million 

people by 2030. The DSM-WFP partnership 

will play a vital role in contributing to 

this aim by strengthening sustainable 

food systems and improving resilience 

by increasing access to, demand for, and 

consumption of more nutritious foods, 

particularly among the most vulnerable. ■ 

Jebsen & Jessen 

Ingredients and 

Nactarome bringing 

natural colour 

for a variety of applications in the food 

and beverage industry. Due to the 

continued success of our European 

operation, Nactarome has decided 

to work exclusively with Jebsen & 

Jessen to expand our reach in selected 

geographies in the Asia-Pacific.” 

Jebsen & Jessen Ingredients (JJING) 

and Nactarome have announced a 

new partnership agreement that will 

see JJING become the distributor for 

Nactarome’s food and beverage colouring 

solutions in South East Asia and China. 

JJING promotes and distributes 

chemical and life sciences ingredients for 

multiple industries and manufacturing 

applications, including food ingredients, 

with a presence in eight ASEAN countries 

and China. The Nactarome group 

focuses on providing a portfolio of allin-one 

natural flavourings, extracts, 

colourings and functional ingredients for 

the global food and beverage industry. 

The new partnership will see JJING leverage 

its network in South East Asia and China to 

distribute Nactarome’s range of colouring 

solutions, under the brand FiorioColori. These 

clean label colouring products will now be 

available in the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, 

Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia and China. 

Geoff Allen, managing director, Asia-Pacific, 

Nactarome, commented: “The FioriColori 

brand has a successful history of providing 

cost-effective and stable colouring solutions 

“With our strong track record and 

extensive network in South East Asia 

and China, we look forward to bringing 

Nactarome’s high-quality solutions to the 

industry.” said Ratana Vongmukdaporn, 

regional business line head for food 

and pharmaceutical and personal care 

at Jebsen & Jessen Ingredients. 

The range of natural colours from 

FioriColori’s natural and clean label ranges 

will allow JJING to provide customers 

with a wide range of ingredient choices 

for their product developments, and 

meet the growing consumer demand for 

clean label and authentic ingredients. ■ 


18 

BITING ISSUES 

Above Food opens ingredient 

development and processing centre 

Above Food, a plant-based food company, 

has announced the opening of its gluten 

free ingredient development, processing 

and packaging facility: the Above Food 

Ingredient Centre. 

The centre, located in Saskatoon, 

Saskatchewan is a new component of 

Above Food’s seed to fork delivery model. 

It will serve as the centre of the company's 

future product innovations and gluten free 

ingredient processing. It aims to enhance 

Above Food’s specialty ingredients division 

within the CPG industry, while further 

differentiating the company’s CPG brands. 

The centre features advanced technologies 

for cleaning, sorting, polishing, blending, 

and formulating. These technologies 

allow for the development, processing 

and packaging of flours, fibres, starches, 

flakes and texturised ingredients to be 

used by customers across the food value 

chain, including Above’s private label 

and branded CPG products. 

Other notable features of the new centre 

include high-capacity bulk handling of 

over 100-million pounds annually; and 

packaging capabilities for ingredient 

and CPG customers. 

“Our centre is world-class, representing 

what we at Above Food envision as the 

future of food," said Mike Marshall, 

president of Above Food specialty 

ingredients. “It bolsters our specialty 

ingredients capabilities and enables us 

to help customers accelerate ingredient 

innovation. This is a significant growth 

opportunity for Above Food to expand our 

customer reach and bring more value to all 

crops in regenerative agriculture rotations.” 

Lionel Kambeitz, CEO of Above Food, 

added: “The Above Food Ingredient 

Centre allows us to meet the needs of our 

growing customer base, while remaining 

true to our vertically integrated platform. 

Our specialty ingredients division is 

immediately bolstered by the opening of 

the centre, allowing us to handle products, 

ingredients and packaging of all sizes.” ■ 

Blommer Chocolate Company and 

DouxMatok expand partnership with new 

chocolate and confectionery coatings 

to demonstrate that it is possible to 

achieve over 40% sugar reduction in 

some of the beloved snack and bakery 

applications such as nut butter cups, 

bars and chocolate chip cookies. 

Blommer Chocolate Company and 

DouxMatok have announced the launch 

of additional chocolate and confectionery 

products. Earlier this year, Blommer 

launched the Discovery product line, 

supported by DouxMatok’s sugar-based 

sugar reduction solution, Incredo Sugar. 

The first products were chocolate-flavoured 

chips, and they have expanded the product 

line to include additional coatings to 

support utilisation in a broader range of 

food applications, including but not limited 

to panning, enrobing, and moulding. 

Providing sugar-reduced chocolate 

that delivers on taste, sweetness and 

nutrition has been a long-standing 

industry challenge, particularly while 

fulfilling increased consumer interest 

in short and understandable ingredient 

lists. With this new line of milk, dark and 

white coatings, Blommer has delivered 

up to 50% sugar reduction without using 

any high intensity sweeteners or sugar 

alcohols. The team of chocolate scientists 

at Blommer have designed various concepts 

“Global research continues to indicate 

that taste is the first consideration when 

consumers make food choices, but 

they have historically shied away from 

chocolate products with less added 

sugar due to negative taste perception,” 

said David Meggs, COO at Blommer 

Chocolate Company. “We have tremendous 

opportunity at our fingertips to bring 

consumers back to this category who have 

avoided sugar-reduced products because 

they simply didn’t taste good enough.” 

“We’re thrilled about the new opportunities 

that the expanded Discovery product line 

will open up for food brands,” said Kelly 

Thompson, senior vice-president and 

head of North America at DouxMatok. 

“Chocolate-covered snacks are beloved 

by consumers, and they shouldn’t have 

to compromise on taste or nutrition when 

they reach for their favourite treats.” ■ 



Chr. Hansen launches new VEGA Boost 

cultures for development of dairy-free 

cream cheese 

Chr. Hansen has developed a range of VEGA 

Boost cultures as the newest addition to 

the VEGA Culture Kit. The dairy-free fava 

bean cream cheese offers taste, good 

nutrition, sustainability and affordability, in 

a formulation which can be allergen-free. 

Development of the cream cheese was 

performed using expertise and ingredients 

from Ingredion, AAK, and Givaudan, 

who have been working together with 

Chr. Hansen on new plant-based dairyalternative 

concepts at MISTA, a Californiabased 

future-food innovation ecosystem. 

Fava bean proved to have the right sensory, 

affordability and physical properties to 

create a great product with the functional 

and nutritional properties needed in a 

spreadable vegan cream cheese. 

Christian Gilleladen, principal application 

scientist at Chr. Hansen, said: “Producers see 

the relatively low cost and simple recipe and 

production process as an added benefit.” 

The fermented fava bean cream cheese 

alternative can modified using flavours 

or spices that meet regional preferences 

for taste, texture and appearance. 

Key to the creation of this product was 

the development of VEGA Boost, the new 

Chr. Hansen adjunct cultures that offer 

increased flexibility in fast fermentation 

and provide an enhanced flavour experience. 

The new bacterial strains in VEGA Boost offer 

customers an opportunity to change the 

fermentation process for specific product 

needs. Key benefits of using VEGA Boost 

include improved fermentation performance 

and more complex flavours — delivering flavour 

differentiation in plant-based dairy alternatives. 

VEGA customers receive support from 

Chr. Hansen’s team of plant-based 

fermentation specialists and application 

laboratories, beginning during the ideation 

phase and continuing through postlaunch 

troubleshooting. Chr. Hansen also 

invests in consumer and market research 

to ensure alignment between consumer 

needs and the features that VEGA cultures 

bring to plant-based products. ■ 

Superbrewed Food's 

postbiotic cultured 

protein receives selfaffirmed 

GRAS status 

Superbrewed Food has announced that 

its proprietary postbiotic cultured protein 

has achieved self-affirmed GRAS 

(“generally recognised as safe”) status. 

In accordance with the US Food and 

Drug Administration requirements, an 

independent panel of experts reviewed 

Superbrewed Food's safety dossier on its 

postbiotic cultured protein ingredient. The 

panel agreed that the data demonstrates 

safety for consumption in a broad range of 

food applications, and that the ingredient 

poses limited risk as a food allergen. 

Superbrewed Food's postbiotic cultured 

protein is an anaerobically fermented 

whole food protein made from microflora 

found in nature that convert plant starches 

into a nutrient rich protein ingredient. The 

ingredient is more than 80% protein by weight, 

among the highest protein concentration in a 

single microbe ever reported. It is high quality 

protein as it contains all nine essential amino 

acids and more branched-chain and essential 

amino acids than plant-based proteins. It is a 

“whole food” because it is minimally processed 

to retain its natural nutrition beyond protein. 

For example, a 30g serving meets the FDA 

requirements for being a “good source” of five 

B-vitamins, including a full day's supply of B-12, 

and a “good source” of six essential minerals, 

such as iron, phosphorus and magnesium. 

"This is a major milestone in our mission to bring 

many highly nutritious, versatile microbiomebased 

ingredients to market," said Bryan Tracy, 

the CEO and co-founder of Superbrewed 

Food. "Our protein ingredient performs well 

in products ranging from alternative dairy to 

baked goods, due to its neutral taste, natural 

white colour, excellent pH and temperature 

stability, and good emulsification properties. 

Also, our production process is low-cost 

and highly scalable, which renders it as 

an affordable ingredient for companies to 

incorporate in a wide range of products." ■ 


20 

BITING ISSUES 

Affron saffron holds 

first patent for mood 

support in the US 

is based solely on water, resulting in an 

ingredient clean of any solvents or alcohols. 

Affron has also received four international 

awards, including the NutraIngredients Europe 

Award 2022, where affron was declared the 

ingredient of the year for healthy ageing. 

Affron, a Pharmactive Biotech Products 

saffron ingredient, has held its US granted 

patent for low mood support. This patent 

serves as official recognition of the 

company’s process in the formulation of 

affron and its ability to assist individuals 

with low mood related issues. The efficacy 

and quality standards of affron has been 

recognised as a scientifically backed 

saffron ingredient with the support of 

eight published human clinical studies 

including more than 740 participants. 

The trials demonstrated affron’s positive 

effect on multiple aspects of mental wellbeing 

and sleep quality, in different target 

populations, including menopausal women, 

adults. For a commercial extract of saffron, 

it showed its ability to elevate adolescents’ 

moods. 

Affron is also the first in its extraction 

process from saffron stigmas called AFF 

ON Cool-Tech. This process optimises the 

preservation and concentration of the key 

active ingredients without chemicals and 

with minimal industrial processing and energy 

use. Furthermore, this extraction technique 

The affron patent protects the composition 

and dosages of affron that makes it effective 

as a natural mood-support agent. Its 

recommended daily dose is the lowest in 

the market at 28mg and is standardised to 

Lepticrosalides, a proprietary and unique pool 

of bioactives responsible for affron’s activity, 

crimson colour, and prized organoleptic 

qualities. This is verified by means of HPLC 

(high-performance liquid chromatography). 

“This innovation activity recognition has greatly 

supported the sustained growth of our topnotch 

saffron ingredient in the US, in mental 

wellness category,” said Marguerite Gerritsen, 

managing director for Pharmactive. ■ 

Plantwise launches 

formulas to support 

human health 

Plantwise, a newly-launched company, has 

crafted targeted formulas to promote restful 

sleep, pain relief support, increased focus, 

and more, for human health. Plantwise 

products support the endocannabinoid 

system. This regulatory system is 

supplemented with phytocannabinoids from 

plants, along with other botanical nutrients. 

exceptional performance, keep consumers 

feeling great, and thoughtfully support 

different areas of happy human health. 

Plantwise Probiotics and Postbiotics provides 

gut, brain and immune system support with 

acid-resistant capsule that protect good 

bacteria, including 12 DNA-verified probiotic 

strains that supply good bacteria to support 

gut, brain and immune system function. It 

also includes two heat-treated postbiotic 

strains with components for gut and immune 

health activity. And lastly, prebiotic acacia 

fibre helps support and feed the probiotic 

bacteria, helping them do their job. 

asleep quicker and stay asleep longer for 

a restorative night's rest. 

Plantwise Immune Prime supplements 

modulate the immune system, supporting 

balance and readiness for when the immune 

system is needed, both immediately and over 

the long-term. 

Plantwise incorporates organic, regeneratively 

farmed hemp into its dual-capsule formulas. ■ 

In order to deliver targeted, effective results, 

Plantwise has taken particular care in the 

choice and amount of each ingredient 

in its formulas. Its formulas label each 

standardised ingredient clearly, showing 

what is provided inside each serving. 

This year, Plantwise will introduce five 

initial products designed to promote 

Plantwise Mind Spark enhances energy, 

increase focus and enhance performance 

to support the mind when it needs to 

be at its sharpest. 

Plantwise Relax and Rest provides support 

for those who experience occasional 

sleeplessness. It helps to reduce stress, calm 

the mind and enable consumers to fall 



MISTA invites 

Sempera Organics 

as newest member, 

adding functional 

fungi to its food 

innovation platform 

Mushroom ingredient supplier Sempera 

Organics has joined MISTA, the food 

innovation platform. MISTA helps its 

member businesses innovate by providing 

access to experts from nearly every 

discipline in the food system as well as 

commercial kitchens and development 

labs to facilitate new food advances. 

From tea, to flour, to meat substitutes, 

mushrooms have a plethora of uses 

in food that have grown increasingly 

popular. Sempera Organics looks forward 

to discovering and refining the next uses 

for mushrooms with its MISTA partners. 

“Demand for functional mushrooms is 

growing as more people learn about their 

health benefits, and we are grateful that 

MISTA has given us the opportunity to 

develop new methods of using them in food,” 

said Nirmal Nair, CEO of Sempera Organics, 

Scott May, founder and head of MISTA, said: 

“Mushroom and mycelium solutions will be 

critical in delivering on the consumer promise 

of taste, nutrition, clean label and cost.” 

As demand for functional mushrooms 

increases and they continue being used in 

food products and nutraceuticals, Sempera 

Organics serves as the supplier meeting 

this need. Cultivating mushroom varieties 

such as lion's mane, cordyceps, reishi, 

chaga, turkey tail, shitake, maitake, almond 

mushroom, agarikon, and king oyster in its 

own lab, Sempera Organics' growing methods 

maximises these varietals' growth, produce 

the most nutrient-dense mushrooms, and 

accelerate production time for products. 

Additionally, Sempera brings companies 

these ingredients on a reduced supply 

chain, assuring faster and more reliable 

delivery than other ingredient suppliers. 

The development labs and commercial 

kitchens at the MISTA Innovation Centre in 

San Francisco provide a space for Sempera 

Organics and other member business to 

innovate and quickly develop new products. ■ 

Do Good Foods launches carbon-reduced 

chicken to tackle food waste 

Do Good Foods, has launched Do Good 

Chicken, a simple, tasty option that tackles 

food waste and combat climate change. 

The product will be launched across grocers 

in Philadelphia. 

Each year, about 40% of healthy grocery 

food gets tossed into landfills. According 

to the United Nation Food and Agriculture 

Organization, if food waste were its own 

country, it would be the third largest emitter 

of greenhouse gases in the world. To help 

keep this healthy food from going to waste, 

Do Good Foods has partnered with grocers 

for a smart, impactful solution to protect 

the planet. 

After community donations, Do Good Foods 

takes healthy surplus food from grocery 

stores and upcycles it into nutrient-dense 

chicken feed that mimics a chicken's 

natural diet. The high quality, carbonreduced 

chicken is then made available 

for purchase at those same markets, 

closing the loop and helping combat 

food waste. Each delicious Do Good 

Chicken saves approximately four pounds 

of surplus groceries from being thrown 

away, thus preventing approximately 

three pounds of greenhouse gases. 

Do Good Foods has teamed up with 

Philadelphia native, chef and founder 

of Carroll Couture Cuisine and Spice 

Finch, Jennifer Carroll, to provide home 

cooks with an easy, climate-friendly 

recipe using delicious Do Good Chicken, 

spices, herbs and fresh vegetables. 

"Good food should be eaten, not wasted," 

said Jennifer Carroll. "As a chef, restauranter 

and someone who just wants to do better 

for the environment, it is so exciting to 

partner with a brand that is on a mission 

to help everyone — from home cooks 

to professional chefs — create smarter 

meals that make a real impact." ■ 


22 

BITING ISSUES 

Barry Callebaut establishes Farm of the Future 

to promote cocoa farming research 

and innovation 

With a deep knowledge of 

agricultural production, Ecuador 

is the world’s third-largest cocoa 

producer and one of the fastestgrowing 

cocoa origins, as well as 

the largest global producer of fine 

flavour cocoa. Combined with Barry 

Callebaut’s knowledge in innovation 

and sustainability, Ecuador was 

an ideal location for the company 

to build a hub for cocoa farming 

research, supporting cocoa farming 

resilience and productivity. 

“Our Farm of the Future aims to 

be a contributor to the global 

movement on food system 

innovation. The establishment 

of this hub is a valuable vehicle 

for providing new opportunities 

for sustainable cocoa farming, 

innovation, and research,” said 

Pablo Perversi, chief innovation, 

sustainability and quality officer, 

global head of gourmet. 

The 640-hectare property is located 

in the Cerecita Valley in Ecuador. 

Operations and infrastructure 

development will start immediately 

with the planting of cocoa seedlings 

on the farm’s 400 hectares of 

non-planted land. Integration 

of high-yielding and maximum 

flavour varieties in the planting 

design will also support crosslearning 

between cocoa farms of 

all sizes, in different locations and 

climates from around the world. 

Next to cocoa bean variety, 

agronomics research will also 

test resilient farming techniques, 

pre- and post-harvest processes, 

fermentation control, diversification 

of income, and improved cost 

control. Ultimately, the company 

aims to establish optimal cocoa 

farming practices that are climatesmart 

and enhance sustainability 

and farm profitability. Once the 

farm is fully operational, it seeks 

to employ approximately 80 

people from the local area. 

Integration of high-yielding and 

maximum flavour varieties in the 

planting design will support crosslearning 

between cocoa farms of 

all sizes, in different locations and 

climates from around the world. 

“With the opening of Farm of the 

Future, Barry Callebaut is further 

strengthening its cocoa farming 

research capabilities for the benefit 

of cocoa yield, sustainability, and 

quality,” commented Steven 

Retzlaff, president global cocoa. 

The Farm of the Future is geared 

towards meeting Barry Callebaut’s 

Forever Chocolate plan, which 

aims to make sustainable 

chocolate the norm by 2025. New 

findings from their farms of the 

future will further help support 

the company’s research, and 

will feed into their Farm Services 

programme, reaching cocoa 

farmers of all origins in Barry 

Callebaut’s supply chain. This 

supports Barry Callebaut’s goal 

to secure and improve farmers’ 

livelihoods by increasing the value 

of their cocoa through improved 

quality and higher yield. ■ 



Euromed 

Arjuna Natural’s Rhuleave-K blend 

demonstrated in study to relief workout pain 

Results of a study has demonstrated Arjuna 

Natural’s Rhuleave-K offers relief of acute 

musculoskeletal pain in multiple body 

parts following exercise. 

Arjuna has joined two anti-inflammatory 

botanicals — curcuminoids and Boswellia — 

into a high-dissolution composition. The 

formula is bound by a black sesame oil base, 

which acts as an effective carrier and is known 

for its own wellness properties. The 

SPEEDTECHTM technology is applied to 

ensure fast and uniform dispersal of the 

actives. 

The clinical study, published in the Journal 

of Applied Medical Sciences (Mar 2022) 

evaluated the effect of Rhuleave-K in 232 

healthy individuals suffering from acute 

musculoskeletal pain of the head and neck, 

upper and lower limbs, trunk, and general 

body following exercise. Pain intensity 

was measured using a numerical rating 

scale (NRS) in which zero represents no 

pain and 10 represents the worst pain 

possible. Only participants with a screening 

score of five or greater were enrolled. 

Moreover, pain levels were assessed at 

rest, on the movement of the affected 

part, and on the application of pressure. 

The study was conducted in India across 

six different regional sites. Participants 

were given 1,000mg of Rhuleave-K 

in two softgels, or a placebo. 

While the placebo group experienced 

no significant decrease in any of the five 

location categories of pain, the Rhuleave-K 

group reported fast pain recovery. Pain 

alleviation could be felt as early as 40 

minutes following supplementation, with 

complete pain relief achieved by as early 

as 160 minutes. Subjects in the head and 

neck category experienced the fastest 

relief. The maximum length of time reported 

for reaching meaningful total pain relief 

was 216 minutes, predominantly among 

those subjects suffering from pain in 

the trunk, specifically the chest, pelvis, 

abdomen, and back. Rhuleave-K also 

elicited improved range of movement. ■ 


24 

INGREDIENTS 

Baked goods: The push for 

clean label, natural ingredients 

Consumers are turning to bakery products with no artificial 

ingredients as they seek out foods that are wholesome and 

natural and that support their healthy lifestyle. 

By Clarissa Neo, regional business development manager, AH&N, Kerry Asia Pacific, 

Middle East & Africa 

Kerry’s 2021 Sustainability in Motion 

study covering Asia-Pacific, Middle 

East and Africa (APMEA) revealed that 

consumers’ key sustainability concerns 

are around health and nutrition, 

environment preservation and food 

production practices, with food waste 

emerging slightly higher in baked 

goods — 54% are concerned about 

food waste in baked goods compared 

to 52% in meat. It also revealed that “no 

artificial ingredients” is an expectation 

— more so in meat, snacks, meals, 

and baked goods, although 20% are 

interested in longer shelf-life products. 

This has impacted bakers and, 

consequently, the ingredients market 

because the needs of consumers 

present conflicting challenges in 

production. Taking heed of consumer 

sentiment for natural ingredients, some 

supermarkets and restaurant chains 

are creating no-no lists, eliminating 

many conventional preservation 

options. The industry has had to 

reformulate to protect the quality 

of its products in the supply chain, 

right through to consumers’ homes. 

While there is interest in products 

with longer shelf lives, 84% of APMEA 

consumers are starting to focus on 

food waste reduction. Sustainability 

and food waste are a hot topic in 

the bakery goods market because 

baked goods like bread are the 

highest volume category of 

prepared food waste (excluding 

fresh produce) globally. Food waste 

across all points of the supply chain 

is ranked highly among consumer 

concerns. This means there is a 

huge opportunity to reduce these 

volumes and extend the reach 

of resources that go into the 

bakery goods industry, creating 

opportunities to feed more people 

instead of creating food waste. 

Food safety is less of an issue in the 

bakery industry as bread most often 

becomes mouldy or stale, both of 

which are quality issues rather than 

safety issues. While contamination 

is possible, it is a less frequent issue 

than in other product categories. 

SUSTAINABLE PRESERVATION 

SOLUTIONS THAT DELIVER ON 

TASTE 

Within the bakery category, the 

APMEA sustainability research 

also revealed that 36% of APMEA 

consumers are concerned about 

addressing sustainability through 

no artificial ingredients and clean 

labels. Clean label is a high-value 

market segment which is why it 

has received so much focus over 

the last 20 years, and it resonates 

with 81% of APMEA consumers’ 

desire to learn more about better 

nutrition and healthier food 

options. Therefore, clean label 

preservation technologies are 

helping to meet the demand 

for familiar ingredients without 

compromising on shelf life or 

creating food waste. Without 

them, consumers would 

find themselves with a 

lot of mouldy bread and 

have to modify their 

shopping patterns. 

Yet, premium, allnatural 

only products 

are largely not reflected 

in sales. Conventional 

preservative ingredients are 

still the solution behind most 

food volumes sold today. 

Despite this, the most popular 

clean label preservation solution 

globally for bread is based on 

fermented wheat, which is very 


INGREDIENTS 25 

consumer-friendly 

and does a great 

job of protecting 

bread quality. It 

does come at a 

premium over 

conventional 

commodity 

ingredients, 

but consumers 

seeking no 

artificial ingredients 

are showing a 

willingness to buy more 

premium bread to satisfy 

this need. In APMEA, 81% of 

consumers surveyed believe 

that while sustainable products 

may be expensive right now, 

there will be greater savings for 

the region in the long term. 

What this means is that the food 

industry has had to pivot to ensure 

the authenticity of clean label 

ingredients supplied. Ingredients 

from natural processes like 

fermentation require expertise to 

deliver consistent functionality 

and sensory profiles. 

Brands and manufacturers 

often use both clean label 

and conventional preservation 

methods as they have multiple 

product lines targeting different 

consumer segments. Clean label 

preservation technologies and 

front-of-pack claims and positions 

can help a product stand out 

on the shelf and often gain a 

consumer premium. They can 

also deliver a better final taste and 

appeal score than conventional 

preservation solutions. 

In one external study comparing 

calcium propionate, fermented 

wheat, and vinegar-based 

solutions with unpreserved bread, 

it was found that the vinegarbased 

innovation had the closest 

score to the unpreserved bread in 

terms of appeal — scoring much 

higher than the most popular 

conventional and clean label 

solutions. While propionates and 

fermentates are widely accepted 

and some of the most popular 

solutions for shelf-life in a bakery, 

it shows the opportunity to stand 

out in a competitive market with 

a cleaner, more appealing taste 

that is closer to homemade bread. 

All are viable ways to extend the 

shelf life of bread, reduce its waste 

and increase its sustainability. 

It is important therefore to find 

next-generation preservation 

solutions to support more 

sustainable nutrition and create 

healthier, more naturally derived 

foods. There are opportunities to 

create combination solutions to 

allow lower dosing of individual 

components for the same or 

greater protection and cleaner 

tastes — the bakery space presents 

a great chance to help protect the 

planet’s resources, reduce waste 

and feed more people. FBA 


26 

INGREDIENTS 

A natural chewing 

experience: Chewing 

gum with ERYLITE erythritol 

With a growing demand for natural products, 

a study at Jungbunzlauer demonstrates 

the performance of alternative sweeteners 

for chewing gum. 

By Dr Marianne Dölz, technical service, Jungbunzlauer International; 

Florian Gutschalk, application technology, Jungbunzlauer Ladenburg; 

Johanna Guse, application technology, Jungbunzlauer Ladenburg 

Jungbunzlauer’s ERYLITE erythritol is a 

polyol manufactured by fermentation from 

glucose syrup, which is obtained from maize. 

Since the fermentation process does not 

involve genetically modified organisms, 

and the use of chemicals is avoided during 

processing, Jungbunzlauer considers 

ERYLITE to be a natural sweetener. The 

idea of using erythritol in chewing gum is 

not new, but its use was widely patented 

in the early nineties, which restrict the 

development of new recipes over a 

prolonged period. However, many of those 

patents have expired over the past 15 

years and all of the major market players 

have launched chewing gums containing 

erythritol. The studies reported in this 

article illustrate the basic functions of 

ERYLITE as a chewing gum ingredient. 

Erythritol provides only about 60% of the 

sweetness of sugar, so high-intensity 

sweeteners such as stevia need to be 

added to augment the sweetness in most 

cases. Even so, the negative heat of the 

solution generated by ERYLITE makes it 

an interesting candidate for inclusion in 

chewing gum. The dissolution of ERYLITE 

induces a cooling effect in the mouth, 

which pairs well with mint flavours. In 

the following experiments, xylitol was 

used as a reference polyol, because it 

demonstrates a similar cooling effect and 

appeared to exhibit the greatest similarity 

with ERYLITE out of all the polyols currently 

used in the chewing gum industry. 

DEVELOPMENT OF CHEWING GUM 

RECIPES 

Two recipes were developed (Table 1) using 

a natural chicle gum base and a synthetic 

gum base which are commonly used in 

the confectionery industry. Both of these 

recipes contain Jungbunzlauer’s ERYLITE 

in combination with stevia rebaudioside A 

(RebA) to adjust the sweetness. 

Jungbunzlauer produces ERYLITE F8030 

granules, with a maximum of 25% of particles 

above 800µm and a maximum of 10% below 

300µm. However, the ERYLITE was milled and 

sieved to obtain the finer particles required 

for chewing gum with a pleasant mouthfeel 

and chewing experience. Only particles 

smaller than 150µm were used in the recipe. 

Glycerine acts as a moisturiser and prevents 

chewing gum from drying out. Maltitol 

syrup is a sugar-free alternative to glucose 

syrup. It also serves as a binding agent and 

plasticiser. Furthermore, it gives texture to 

the chewing gum. As the chicle gum base is 

soft and elastic, adding maltitol syrup to the 

chicle gum was unnecessary. A mixture of 

liquid and powdered mint flavours provided 

a pleasant, fresh aroma. The flavourings 

also function as plasticisers. Lecithin 

additionally supports the homogenous 

distribution of the flavour and plasticisers. 

Preliminary trials were conducted on the 

fortification of these two chewing gum 

products with zinc, using 15% of the 

recommended nutrient reference value (NRV) 

per 100g product. Jungbunzlauer zinc salts 

are often used in dental care products such 

as toothpastes, mouthwashes and chewing 

gums due to their antimicrobial and antiinflammatory 

effects and their ability to reduce 

or inhibit the formation of dental plaque and 

tartar. Jungbunzlauer produces zinc lactate 

and zinc citrate, which differ in terms of 

mineral content and solubility (zinc lactate 

is 23% zinc with a solubility of 55 g/L; zinc 

citrate dihydrate is 32% zinc with a solubility of 

2.6 g/L). Fortification with minerals may alter 

the taste of the final product, and this must be 

taken into consideration when formulating the 

product. However, the recommended NRV for 

zinc is very low, thus only small amounts are 

needed to fulfil oral hygiene benefit claims. 



ANALYSIS METHODS FOR CHEWING 

GUM 

Shelf-life test and storage 

Chewing gum strips of each recipe were 

stored unpacked under different climatic 

conditions and relative humidities (RH) for 

two months: 

• Temperate condition: Room 

temperature (21°C); 40 – 60% RH 

• Subtropical/Mediterranean 

condition: 30°C, 50% RH 

• Hot/humid condition: 30°C, 65% RH 

Chewing gums can dry out or bind water, 

which causes them to lose or gain weight 

and shorten their shelf life. The samples were 

weighed regularly to document the changes 

in mass, which are associated with instability. 

Texture analysis 

Chewing gums were cut into strips of the 

same dimensions (40mmx15mmx2mm) 

and pre-heated to 50°C in a climatic 

cabinet. Shortly before the measurement 

started, the samples were removed and 

fixed centrally to a sample platform and 

hook. The analysis started at 35°C ± 2°C, 

simulating oral temperature. Once a trigger 

force of 5g was attained, the hook was 

used to extend the chewing gum sample 

until its elastic limit (at maximum force) 

was exceeded and the sample broke. At 

this point, force and distance were noted 

and used as an indication of chewing gum 

extensibility. The maximum force required 

to break the chewing gum into two pieces 

is expressed as “resistance to extension”. 

The degree or distance to which a product 

can be extended before it breaks is referred 

to as “extensibility” and correlates to the 

elasticity of a product 1 . The texture analysis 

was carried out 10 times per recipe. 

SYNTHETIC GUM BASE 

Table 1: Chewing gum recipe with synthetic and natural chicle gum 

[g] [%] 

ERYLITE 610.00 60.65 

Stevia RebA 0.732 0.07 

Synthetic gum base 300.00 29.83 

Maltitol syrup 50.00 4.97 

Glycerine 99.5% 15.00 1.49 

Lecithin 5.00 0.50 

Mint flavour (liquid) 5.00 0.50 

Peppermint flavour (solid) 7.50 0.75 

Mint flavour (solid) 12.50 1.24 

Zinc citrate dihydrate* 0.049 0.005 

Total 1006 100 

SYNTHETIC GUM BASE 

[g] [%] 

ERYLITE 640.00 63.65 

Stevia RebA 0.768 0.08 

Natural chicle gum base 300.00 29.83 

Glycerine 99.5% 40.00 3.98 

Mint flavour (liquid) 5.00 0.50 

Peppermint flavour (solid) 7.50 0.75 

Mint flavour (solid) 12.50 1.24 

Zinc citrate dihydrate* 0.049 0.005 

Total 1006 100 

*Zinc citrate dihyrdrate or zinc lactate were only tested for off-noted in a sensory 

screening as indicated and not contained in the standard recipe 

Sensory evaluation 

Jungbunzlauer’s internal sensory panel 

conducted an initial sensory screening of 

chewing gums using the “just-about-right” 

(JAR) scale. This provided information on 

perceptions of texture, sweetness as well 

as flavour intensity and cooling sensation, 

and their possible impact on the acceptance 

of the various products. Attributes were 

evaluated over time starting at 10 seconds 

and ending after 120 seconds of chewing. 

Panellists had to evaluate whether the 

intensity of each attribute is perceived as 

“just right”, as opposed to either too much, 

not enough, too soft or too hard. 

A further discriminative evaluation (paired 

comparison tests) was conducted. The 

panellists directly compared the two versions 

in terms of hardness, sweetness and cooling 

effect. There were 19 to 26 panellists 

present for the sensory sessions and the 

significance level applied for statistical 

analysis was set atαα=0.05. 

Finally, chewing gums to which zinc 

salts had been added manually were 

also evaluated for off-notes. Zinc 

lactate and zinc citrate were mixed 

into the synthetic-based chewing gum 

with ERYLITE. This sensory session 

with 12 participants took place under 

informal conditions and expressiveness 

is therefore limited. Nevertheless, the 

data provide an initial indication of 

the impact of zinc salts on the taste 

of chewing gums with ERYLITE. 


28 

INGREDIENTS 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

Storage tests 

During storage under subtropical conditions, 

and at room temperature, mass changes 

were very small for all samples. The highest 

mass changes, ranging from 2.6-4.6%, were 

observed under humid conditions (Fig. 1). 

According to the literature, xylitol is 

highly hygroscopic while erythritol is not 

hygroscopic, as compared to sugar or other 

sugar alcohols 2 . Nevertheless, the storage 

tests showed both recipes to be relatively 

stable at room temperature and under 

Mediterranean storage conditions. While 

small differences were observed between 

the synthetic and the chicle gum base with 

xylitol under humid conditions, the samples 

with ERYLITE exhibited similar behaviour 

regardless of which gum base was used. 

Fig. 1: Relative mass change of chewing gum with synthetic or natural chicle gum base, 

sweetened with xylitol or ERYLITE and stored under humid conditions 

Texture analysis 

The following Figure 2 shows that the force 

required to break the chewing gums is 

similar regardless of whether they contain 

ERYLITE or xylitol. Although the synthetic 

gum containing xylitol appeared to be 

more resistant to extension, this was not 

statistically significant, and ERYLITE and 

xylitol are comparable in this respect. 

Fig. 2: Resistance to extension of chewing gum with synthetic or natural chicle gum base, 

sweetened with xylitol or ERYLITE 

The extensibility (Fig. 3), ie. the distance 

until the chewing gums break, is the same 

for ERYLITE and xylitol, in combination 

with both the synthetic gum base 

and the natural chicle gum base 

The texture analysis represents an attempt 

to illustrate the effects of ERYLITE and 

xylitol on texture based on quantitative 

data. Although the method might miss 

some physiological aspects like the 

influence of saliva, it provides a good 

indication that adding ERYLITE or xylitol 

will lead to similar effects in each case. 

Sensory evaluation 

For the JAR analysis, each product 

was evaluated in a separate session on 

different days and so there was no direct 

comparison in this set-up. The following 

graphs show the results expressed as 

frequencies of each attribute for synthetic 

chewing gum with ERYLITE or xylitol as 

well as chicle gum with ERYLITE or xylitol. 

Fig. 3: Extensibility of chewing gum with synthetic or natural chicle gum base, sweetened 

with xylitol or ERYLITE 

Both sensory evaluations with chewing 

gum using the synthetic gum base 

(Fig. 4) indicate that the texture of the 

chewing gum was perceived as too hard, 

both initially and after 120 seconds of 

chewing. The initial sweetness was mostly 

rated “just right” but overall sweetness 

intensity decreased while chewing. This 

was especially the case for chewing gums 

with ERYLITE. The flavour was not intense 

enough in either product. The cooling 

sensation was perceived as “just right” by 

62% (ERYLITE) and 68% (xylitol), respectively. 

Irrespective of whether ERYLITE or xylitol 

was used, both chewing gums with the 

chicle gum base (Fig.5) were perceived as 

too hard at the initial stage. However, the 

chicle gum versions were rated as less hard 

compared to the synthetic gum base. 



Fig. 4: Results of JAR analysis of synthetic gums with ERYLITE 

and xylitol 

Fig.5: Results of JAR analysis of natural chicle gums with ERYLITE 

and xylitol 

The initial and overall sweetness of xylitol 

seems to be higher (“just right” compared 

to ERYLITE (initial sweetness vs sweetness 

intensity). 

Flavour expression was too low in both 

chicle-based chewing gums. The cooling 

sensation was pleasant and with ERYLITE 

even more acceptable (65% “just right”) 

than with xylitol (50% “just right”). 

PAIRED 

COMPARISON TESTS 

Synthetic gum base 

ERYLITE vs xylitol 

Natural gum base: 

ERYLITE vs xylitol 

SWEETNESS HARDNESS COOLING EFFECT 

No sign. difference 

(p-value:0.3593) 

Sign. difference 

(p-value:0.0192) 


(p-value:0.0636) 


(p-value:>0.9999) 

Table 2: Results of paired comparison tests (n=19, sign. level α=0.05) 

sign. difference 

(p-value:0.0192) 


(p-value:0.3593) 

Detection of potential differences between 

the two sweetening systems was enhanced 

by comparing both versions of synthetic 

gum and natural chicle gum directly through 

paired comparison tests for attributes of 

specific interest (sweetness, hardness and 

cooling sensation) as shown in Table 2. 

There was no significant difference between 

the synthetic chewing gum with ERYLITE or 

xylitol in terms of sweetness or hardness. 

This corroborates the findings of the JAR 

evaluation where both synthetic gums 

were perceived as too hard and overall 

sweetness values were low. In this direct 

comparison, the cooling effect was perceived 

as significantly stronger for the xylitol version. 

The chewing gums based on chicle did 

not differ significantly in terms of hardness 

or cooling effect, but here xylitol was 

perceived as significantly sweeter than 

ERYLITE, which can be also seen in the 

results of the “just-about-right” analysis 

(initial and sweetness intensity). 

The results of the paired comparison 

tests complement the findings of the JAR 

evaluation and reveal that, in general, 

there may be differences between ERYLITE 

and xylitol. However, no conclusions can 

be drawn from this study regarding the 

extent to which these differences are 

due to the inherent properties of the 

sweetener or the overall recipe (influence 

of gum bases or other ingredients). 

Finally, an informal sensory screening 

comparing chewing gums with and without 

zinc salts indicated that Jungbunzlauer 

zinc salts do not seem to impact on 

taste. However, since these results were 

obtained only with a small test panel 

and the addition of only 15% NRV in 100g 

of chewing gum, further experiments 

and testing are recommended. 

SUMMARY 

In conclusion, the results show that ERYLITE 

can be used as a sweetener in chewing 

gums and offers a natural alternative to 

other commonly used sweeteners. Results 

for recipes with ERYLITE were very similar 

to those with xylitol in terms of storage 

stability and texture analysis. Some 

differences that were detected during the 

sensory evaluation can be addressed easily 

by making adjustments to the recipe. FBA 

REFERENCES 

1 

Stable Micro Systems. “How to Measure 

Extensibility/Elongation”. https://www. 

stablemicrosystems.com/MeasureExtensibility. 

html, accessed 10 February 2022, 16:50 

2 

Mitchell H. Sweeteners and Sugar Alternatives 

in Food Technology. Oxford:Wiley-Blackwell, 

2006 


30 

INGREDIENTS 

Building an ironclad 

immunity with 

gut-friendly food 

As the world emerges from 

the shadow of the pandemic, 

maintaining gut health remains an 

ever-relevant issue for consumers. 

By Christian Philippsen, managing director at 

BENEO Asia-Pacific 

As more countries in Asia ease 

COVID-19 restrictions, maintaining 

good health and immunity continues 

to remain at the top of many 

people’s agendas. Consumers 

have made it their utmost priority 

to strengthen and maintain their 

immune system — the body’s first 

line of defence against diseases. 

What most may not know, is that 

our gut houses 70% of our inner 

defence system, therefore making 

it an instrumental target for any 

nutritional plan. A balanced diet and 

a smart choice of nutrient intake 

that reinforces digestive health is 

thus a great way to support our 

inner defence system in a longlasting 

manner, ensuring we are 

in optimal condition to fend off 

current and future health threats. 

Imagine the gut as a steel pipe 

with room inside for food residue, 

faeces and microbiota biomass. 

The surrounding steel symbolises 

the gut wall structure — a wall 

to protect the inside from the 

outside and vice versa. The cells 

of the immune system in the 

intestine and the microbiota living 

there are interconnected, as a 

human “inner defence force”. 

The composition of the 

microorganism populations living in 

the large intestine is influenced by 

many factors. There is, however, a 

natural way to selectively promote 

the growth of good bacteria: 

providing the bifidobacteria with 

food that helps them grow in the 

quickest possible way. Gut friendly 

foods, such as prebiotics, can 

be supportive in nourishing the 

microbiota. The selective increase 

in bifidobacteria helps to support a 

person’s digestive health and overall 

wellbeing, whilst helping to keep their 

inner defence system in good shape. 

BREAKING DOWN THE 

SCIENCE 

The large intestine, the section of 

our gut that houses the majority 

of our immune system, is home 

to trillions of microorganisms that 

live both inside the gut and on the 

inner surface of the gut wall. 


BENEO’s Orafti inulin and 

oligofructose (chicory root fibres) 

are natural prebiotics that can 

be added to various products to 

suit the palate of the consumer. 

Furthermore, chicory root fibres 

are plant-based prebiotics. 

BENEO’s functional fibres have 

been shown to support a healthy 

microbiota and the selective 

increase in bifidobacteria in more 

than 50 human intervention 

studies. Health benefits related 

include, among others, improved 

digestive health as well as a boosted 

inner defence and immunity that 

counteract systemic inflammation 

and other aspects. An EU-approved 

health claim granted for BENEO’s 

Orafti inulin also confirms the 

beneficial effect on digestive health 

by improving bowel regularity. 

THE BENEFITS OF CHICORY 

ROOT FOR YOUNG AND OLD 

The plethora of benefits extend 

across the age spectrum as 

well. Inulin and oligofructose 

can support bifidobacteria 

growth not only in adults, but in 

infants and small children too. 

In a systematic review and metaanalysis 

that assessed the efficacy of 

prebiotics in the prevention of acute 

infectious diseases in children 0-24 

months old, researchers concluded 

that “prebiotics may also be effective 

in decreasing the rate of overall 

infections” in that age group 1 . 

A human intervention study 2 was 

also conducted on 142 elderly 

patients hospitalised for Clostridium 

difficile-induced diarrhoea. One 

group of patients received 12g/day of 

oligofructose, while the other received 

12g/day of sucrose as a placebo, 

for 30 days. Relapses of diarrhoea 

were significantly more common 

in the placebo group than in the 

oligofructose group, which resulted 

in significantly longer hospitalisation 

for the patients who received 

the placebo. Improvements in 

aspects of immune response 

were proven in other studies 

of vaccination trials 3 as well. 

HOW FOOD 

MANUFACTURERS COME 

INTO THE PICTURE 

With 77% of Asia Pacific consumers 

saying they recognise the 

connection between digestive 

health issues and their overall 

health 4 , food manufacturers 

now have a reason to 

reinvent their catalogues. 

Apart from the ironclad scientific 

evidence of its health benefits, 

BENEO’s Orafti inulin and 

oligofructose (chicory root 

fibres) also boast technicalities 

that allow them to be easily 

used in most food and drink 

applications, making them ideal 

in production processes. There is 

no better time than now for food 

manufacturers to start supporting 

consumers on their journey 

to a healthier lifestyle. FBA 

REFERENCES 

1 

Lohner S, Kullenberg D, Antes G 

et al. (2014) “Prebiotics in healthy 

infants and children for prevention 

of acute infectious diseases: a 

systematic review and metaanalysis”. 

Nutr Rev 72(8): 523–531. 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ 

pubmed/24903007 

2 

Lewis S, Burmeister S, Brazier 

J (2005) “Effect of the prebiotic 

oligofructose on relapse of 

Clostridium difficile-associated 

diarrhea: a randomized, controlled 

study”. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 

3 (5): 442–448. 

3 

Lomax AR, Cheung LV, Noakes PS, 

Miles EA, Calder PC (2015) “Inulin- 

Type β2-1 Fructans have Some 

Effect on the Antibody Response 

to Seasonal Influenza Vaccination 

in Healthy Middle-Aged Humans”. 

Front Immunol. 22;6:490. 

4 

FMCG Gurus (2020), Digestive 

Health Survey 


32 

ON THE TABLE 

Sodexo walks 

the walk on 

sustainability 

Though most companies have drafted 

greener strategies in a bid for greater 

sustainability, considerable results can be 

achieved not by only looking inward, but also 

by reaching out to local communities. 

By Agatha Wong 

While the call for greater sustainability has 

always been clear on the public front, the 

private sector’s commitment to the issue has 

been residing in a greyer area. Greenwashing 

and lobbying are some of the accusations that 

were levelled at corporations in past years as 

the world pays greater attention to its actions 

on the planet. Many expect companies to 

not only talk the talk but also walk the walk. 

As other companies are stirring from 

their hesitance to adopt greater 

sustainability measures, Sodexo has been 

supportive of its goals 

towards a sustainable future. 

On its website, Sodexo, a global integrated 

facilities management company, claims to be 

“the first food service company” to align its 

objectives to limit its global temperature rise 

to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Amongst 

other objectives, the company has also 

listed actions it plans to take to meet these 

targets, especially as a food service provider. 

“Sodexo is committed to encouraging our 

consumers to develop good eating habits 

and healthy lifestyles. With the help of our 

nutritionists, we create balanced, nourishing 

meals adapted to guests’ lifestyles and the 

diversity of their tastes around the world. 

Our approach to sustainable and healthy 

eating relies on four main factors: 

responsible sourcing; promoting plant-based 

meals; nutrition, health, and well-being; 

and the prevention of food waste,” shared 

Lee Qi Ni, corporate responsibility and 

diversity, equity and inclusion lead, 

Malaysia and Singapore at Sodexo. 

that end, the company has been working 

with local food providers and producers. 

“In April 2022, we announced our 

partnership with celebrity chef Bjorn Shen 

to bring his culinary expertise to create 

plant-based menus for Sodexo’s existing 

consumers. This partnership reaffirms 

Sodexo’s commitment to doing good 

business in a good way by ramping up its 

food sustainability efforts. Through Chef 

Bjorn’s elevation of plant-based foods, 

Sodexo hopes to inspire consumers to get 

creative with simple, everyday alternatives.” 

While promoting greener business 

operations — such as reducing carbon 

emissions, transitioning to cleaner energy, 

decreasing plastic waste and more — are 

familiar to many, building a sustainable 

food system requires more than that. 

Besides enabling greener production 

lines, the focus has also shifted to the 

food itself, and how it is being managed. 

LOCAL INITIATIVES 

In Singapore, Sodexo has aligned 

itself with the country’s 30 by 30 

goals — the initiative which aims 

to produce 30% of the country’s 

nutritional needs by 2030. To 

SPOTLIGHT ON FOOD WASTE 

The global food system is currently able 

to produce more than enough food for the 

global population. However, one-third of 

the food produced is lost and wasted, with 

others being purchased faster before it is 


ON THE TABLE 33 

consumed. The United Nations Environment 

Programme estimated that 1.3 billion tonnes 

of food are lost or wasted every year. 

Yet, food waste is not something which 

comes to the front of people’s minds when 

discussing food sustainability, according to 

Lee, even when it is responsible for 10% of all 

emissions caused by human activity globally. 

“Fighting food waste requires a huge effort 

from all participants in the food chain to make a 

decisive positive impact. Studies show that food 

waste occurs at every phase of the industry 

value chain, from production to consumption,” 

revealed Lee. “Sodexo is part of the International 

Food Waste Coalition (IFWC) whereby we 

work with other companies to address the 

issue of food waste through a collaborative 

‘farm-to-fork’ approach. This approach 

engages with each actor calling on them to 

take their responsibility in the fight against 

food waste and to adopt a global strategy.” 

In the case of food waste management, 

the use of data can be an efficient tool for 

monitoring and minimising waste, enabling 

resources to be used, or reused, sustainably. For 

example, Sodexo has created the WasteWatch 

programme which uses leverages data 

analytics to identify how certain ingredients 

are wasted in their kitchens at various stages 

and redirects resources to productive use. 

“Our very own WasteWatch programme has 

helped educational institutions and other 

industry partners reduce carbon footprints. 

Powered by LeanPath, the WasteWatch 

programme transparently measures food 

waste. It taps on data analytics to accurately 

measure and feedback demand for and waste 

of certain ingredients. This helps businesses 

to rapidly and easily capture food waste 

data, giving clear insights into what is being 

wasted in their kitchens and why,” explained 

Lee. “Targeted waste management not 

only helps us to source responsibly, reduce 

our carbon footprints — it also reduces 

bottom line costs. Ultimately, better use and 

stewardship of the resources available to us 

ensure that there’s more of it to go around.” 

Singapore is one of many developed nations 

that have taken on the mantle of reducing food 

waste. In the last 10 years, the island nation has 

Sodexo has partnered with chef Bjorn Shen (right) to create plant-based menus for the company 

seen a 20% increase in food waste, with around landscape — they make up for more than 90% 

744 million kilograms of food waste generated of all companies in Singapore and contribute 

in 2019. For food-scarce countries such as to nearly half of Singapore's GDP and 

Singapore, which imports most of its food, this employ about 70% of the local workforce.” 

is a considerable issue — as more resources 

are required to meet food demands, more Drawing on an example, Lee pointed out that 

facilities to manage food waste are needed Sodexo has been working with local startups 

on food solutions. In Singapore, Sodexo 

as well. The issue is thus one of multiplicity. 

has partnered with Cryowerx to deploy 

“Since the implementation of WasteWatch RFID smart fridges and a corresponding 

at an international school in Singapore in mobile application to provide employees 

2018, we’ve helped them save approximately and consumers with convenient access 

30 metric tonnes of carbon. We are on 

to fresh meals without the need to queue 

our way to meet our target of 50% food 

in long lines. The company’s supply chain 

waste reduction by 2025,” shared Lee. 

experts are also increasingly sourcing 

local and seasonal produce and working 

NO MATTER THE SIZE 

with local farmers and producers. 

Going from the macro to the micro, another 

aspect of managing food waste also lies in These strategies from the company prove 

reaching out to small and medium-sized that the path towards sustainability can only 

enterprises (SMEs). These businesses, 

be found in teamwork. While strategies such 

though small, can establish significant power as cutting carbon emissions and creating a 

over the industry as a whole. Extending the more circular economy are helpful measures, 

sustainability agenda to these organisations it is only when companies also actively take 

will therefore be a big step forward for 

the reins and reach out to 

the overall cause, Lee acknowledged. 

the local communities, 

that a sustainable 

“It is important that SMEs be a part of the future can become 

conversation. After all, they are the drivers of a reality. FBA 

green and inclusive growth, but they can often 

be overlooked. Shouldering equal responsibility 

towards the economic, social and natural 

environments as large corporations, SMEs are a 

force to be reckoned with, especially since they 

are the backbone of Singapore's economic 


34 

ON THE TABLE 

The greener side of life: 

ADM delivers botanical additions 

to brands and consumers 

Good and green are the two main attributes consumers associate with 

botanical ingredients. Lois Mo, marketing director, health and wellness, 

Asia-Pacific, ADM, reveals how brands can leverage these advantages for 

their products, and tap into a demand for herbs, spices, and everything nice. 

By Agatha Wong 

Botanicals and other plant-derived ingredients 

have been enjoying a surge in popularity in 

recent years, due to a growing concern 

with health and a fad for naturally-derived 

ingredients. According to a report by Mordor 

Intelligence, the global botanicals extract 

market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 

6.63%, from 2022-2027. It seems, then, that 

this trend is here to stay, even as the larger 

food and beverage industry emerges from 

the pandemic and settles into a new normal. 

“Botanicals can satisfy consumers’ increased 

need for adventure by offering authentic 

flavours and exotic sensory experiences. 

As the body of scientific evidence on the 

potential of botanical extracts to support 

aspects of well-being continues to grow, it 

builds credibility and makes botanicals even 

more attractive than before,” affirmed Lois Mo, 

marketing director, health and wellness, Asia- 

Pacific, ADM. “Today, consumers associate 

botanicals with being natural, trustworthy, 

safe, sustainable and health-forward, and 

they perceive them as having a ‘healthy halo’.” 

With this, according to Mo, more people 

are seeking out these naturally sourced 

ingredients that are recognisable, such as 

botanical ingredients, and wanting foods 

that can help support aspects of health 

and wellness, such as immune function, 

cardiovascular and digestive health, with 

attributes associated 

with positive mood, 

relaxation, and quality 

sleep. Brands can therefore 

tap into botanicals to meet the health 

and wellness demands of consumers. 

NOT SO EXOTIC 

The potential for botanicals in the Asian 

market is also significant. Botanicals are 

no stranger to the Asian diet. The region is 

home to traditional Chinese medicine, where 

herbs are used to treat ailments and support 

everyday wellness; likewise, Indian ayurvedic 

medicine has had a long history of use in 

the region. These forms of holistic medicine 

have achieved mainstream prominence 

not only in Asia, but in other parts of the 

world, as ingredients for supplements. 

“Over the years, botanical ingredients with 

standardised composition have evolved 

in tandem with consumers’ evolving 

definition of health. For example, turmeric 

is a spice that has become an integral 

part of South Asian food, culture, and 

traditional medicine. In Ayurvedic practices, 

turmeric is thought to have many medicinal 

properties,” noted Mo. “Turmeric has been 

associated with multiple benefits linked to 

its primary bioactive component, curcumin. 

Curcumin is associated with antioxidant 

and anti-inflammatory properties.” 


ON THE TABLE 35 

As consumers in Asia-Pacific increasingly 

seek to incorporate botanicals into their daily 

lives, she continued, brands can provide 

flexible and convenient formats that fit into 

consumers’ lifestyles. This goes beyond 

providing traditional products in tablet form 

but extending their formats to different 

forms, such as a stir-in supplement. In the 

case of turmeric, this spice lends itself well 

in golden drinks such as a golden latte or 

golden milk, as well as fruit smoothies. 

Altogether, the trend towards botanicals in 

general, alongside the long history of herbs 

and other naturally-derived ingredients in this 

region, can provide brands with the stepping 

stone they need for their first steps into 

developing products for consumers in the 

region. With this familiarity, brands can also 

be emboldened to try different combinations 

with different botanical ingredients. 

TWO TO TANGO 

In recent years, consumers are also moving 

on from single ingredients to botanical 

pairings for enhanced benefits. These 

pairings often provide complementary 

functions that can encourage better 

performance. Brands can also utilise these 

pairings to signal certain wellness benefits 

to consumers. With 46% of global consumers 

willing to pay more for products with better 

functions or performance benefits, as 

reflected in a NielsenIQ report, there is an 

opportunity for brands to incorporate more 

than one ingredient into their products. 

“Botanical pairings can indeed complement 

one another to support consumer appeal 

grounded in shifting health and wellness 

trends. For example, botanicals like lavender 

and chamomile pair well, as they are thought 

by consumers to signal a calming effect and 

support healthy sleep. Consumers associate 

edible flowers like hibiscus and elderflower 

with positive wellness attributes, and these 

pair well with other wellness-signalling 

flavours, such as lemon, orange, and mint,” 

suggested Mo. “Additionally, a combination of 

botanicals and other functional ingredients 

appeal to discerning consumers. For example, 

consumers associate prebiotics, probiotics 

and postbiotics with support for aspects 

of metabolic and digestive health, as well 

as immune function and skin health.” 

IN THE RIGHT DOSES 

However, there are also potential issues that 

can come with implementing botanicals. 

Regulatory issues, interactions with other 

ingredients, and potential contaminations 

are some problems that might plague 

manufacturers. Other issues include 

authenticity and traceability, which can 

pose serious problems to consumers if the 

ingredients are not well-validated. Indeed, not 

all that is plant-derived is automatically safe. 

Mo added: “Some botanicals may break 

down or become unstable during the 

formulation process. ADM understands 

the chemistry of our botanical ingredients, 

and our technical experts can help guide 

formulators in choosing the right botanicals 

for the specific processing conditions of the 

product to ensure optimal stability. We also 

test for organoleptic parameters or solubility, 

to be able to add delicate botanicals to 

various food and beverage formulations.” 

For companies like ADM, Mo shared, who 

can use their portfolio of botanical extracts, 

science-backed microbiome solutions, and 

functional ingredients, brands also easily 

ascertain the quality of their products. 

“ADM places great emphasis on the 

authenticity of our products as well as 

the traceability and sustainability of our 

supply chain. We take pride in our longstanding 

extraction know-how to produce 

in-house, standardised products, and our 

manufacturing sites are located close to 

the growing regions of key raw materials, 

such as in the Mediterranean for carob 

or in the Amazonas for ‘superfruits'." 

Botanicals have a strong appeal of being 

sourced from nature, reiterated Mo. As 

consumers look for clean labels and natural 

ways to meet their wellness goals, brands 

should seek out producers who provide 

botanicals derived directly from nature 

and have kitchen-level ingredient appeal 

on product labels to attract shoppers. With 

taste and science-backed objectives in 

mind, brands can thus deliver safe and 

premium products for their customers. 

“We have developed several concepts that 

incorporate our standardised botanicals 

in indulgent health-forward foods and 

beverages. For instance, our delicious 

chocolate coffee energy syrup shot is a 

perfect addition to coffee, smoothies, and 

shakes. It includes our guarana and green 

coffee extracts as well as our Fibersol dietary 

fibre and award-winning BPL1 strain, which 

combine to provide energy and support for 

factors related to metabolic health.” FBA 


36 

PROCESSING AND PACKAGING 

High-performance 

metal detection for 

expanding product ranges 

Multi-spectrum technology can help food producers meet 

demands for different product varieties and characteristics. 

Food processing is a competitive 

market and consumer demand 

for new and different product 

varieties are constantly growing. 

Expanding one’s product range can 

present challenges when it comes 

to choosing the right inspection 

equipment needed to cope with a 

variety of product characteristics. 

However, advancements in 

technology can now enable food 

processors to run multiple products 

through the same production lines. 

and capture new markets, the 

pandemic has also seen them 

putting in additional production 

lines — to help them pivot their 

operations and meet the demand 

for new and different products. 

In many cases, their standard 

metal detector is no longer able to 

cope with the variety of products 

running down their new lines, but 

by utilising high-performance 

solutions which incorporate multispectrum 

technology, they are now 

able to successfully manage the 

variation of products produced. 

MAKING MULTI-SPECTRUM 

THE STANDARD 

As a manufacturer of metal detectors, 

CEIA produces metal detectors 

using multi-spectrum technology. 

This innovative technology uses 

multiple frequencies simultaneously, 

CHOOSING THE RIGHT METAL 

DETECTOR 

Choosing the right metal detector 

can be a complex process, especially 

when product characteristics such 

as salt content and temperature 

variations are involved. It becomes 

critical to then choose the correct 

model of metal detector to best cope 

with these variations. Partnering 

with a supplier with extensive 

experience, and who understands 

and can explain the various concepts 

behind the technology becomes 

even more critical to success. 

Heat and Control has been offering 

packaging and inspection solutions 

for the food industry. While many 

processors expand their product 

ranges to remain competitive 

The CEIA THS/MS21 is the world’s only multi-spectrum metal detector 


PROCESSING AND PACKAGING 37 

meaning that they can increase 

sensitivity, reduce false rejects, 

and detect thin metal fragments. 

The CEIA THS/MS21 is a multispectrum 

metal detector. It has 

specialised detection capabilities 

and extreme sensitivity to magnetic, 

non-magnetic, and 316 stainlesssteel 

metal contaminants; and is 

available in a USDA-approved design. 

It is suitable for nearly all variations of 

food product characteristics and can 

detect foreign objects while operating 

simply, efficiently and at high speed at 

the same time, collecting and retaining 

important production run data. 

The integrated auto-learn function 

allows these metal detectors to be 

easily set up for new products all the 

while ensuring high levels of sensitivity. 

With minimal manual adjustment, the 

metal detector can quickly learn the 

properties of any new product and 

informs the user on how many passes 

it needs to understand and map 

the new product. More importantly, 

the MS21 also self-calibrates itself 

continuously and logs the result in 

the data stream, confirming that the 

unit is operating at its optimum level. 

If there is a problem in its calibration 

the unit raises an alarm, which can 

be audible and visual highlighting 

that there is noncompliance. This 

feature not only saves on the 

possibility of a contaminant escaping 

detection, it also more importantly 

reduces the risk of a potentially 

expensive recall, along with 

damaging the brand of a product. 

The auto-learn function also 

outperforms other metal detectors 

which experience difficulty inspecting 

non-homogenous products. Inferior, 

traditional metal detectors commonly 

trigger “false positives” during metal 

detection, usually when food 

composition and mineral levels 

incorrectly indicate the presence of 

metal. This leads to a perfectly good 

product being rejected and the loss 

of a profitable, saleable product. 

Currently, metal detectors are 

only able to use one frequency at 

any one time. Processors using a 

limited frequency unit must reduce 

the unit’s sensitivity to prevent 

false reject signals caused by salt, 

moisture content, and other product 

effect conditions that may produce 

a signal on the metal detector which 

is close to the product signal. As the 

CEIA multi-spectrum technology 

utilises multiple frequencies at 

the same time it can understand 

the product effect better than 

any other to then allow maximum 

metal detection performance, and 

therefore outstanding detection 

capabilities. FBA 


38 


Safeguarding 

the food safety and 

product quality in an 

indoor vertical farm 

Harvesting daily in a high-rise building 

in Singapore, Sustenir Agriculture 

has installed a TOMRA optical sorting 

machine, enhancing product quality and 

reducing food waste. 

Although it is home to 5.6 million 

people, the city-state of Singapore is 

located on a small island that covers 

merely 715km 2 . As a consequence of 

crowding, it has been necessary to 

expand upwards, accommodating 

residents and businesses in highrise 

buildings. Land is in such great 

demand in Singapore that only 1% is 

used for conventional farming, with 

local food production meeting less 

than 10% of residents' nutritional 

needs. But now agriculture, too, is 

reaching for the skies: investment is 

increasing in indoor vertical farming. 

Hong Kong and will open another 

in Jakarta by early 2023. Sustenir 

describes itself as a specialist in 

growing "superfoods for supercities, 

farming at the heart of demand 

in urban populations to minimise 

carbon footprint whilst maximising 

positive impact in local communities." 

Sustenir's Singapore farm, located 

in the Sembawang district at the 

northern tip of the state, employs 90 

people and occupies 4,000m 2 over 

four floors of a light industrial building 

that has multiple commercial tenants. 

Here, baby leaf crops are grown in 

five to six layers on rigs 2.5m high. 

Sustenir harvests crops daily 

throughout the year, selling them as 

100% clean, with no need for washing 

before eating. The company's indoor 

farm uses no pesticides, generates 92% 

lesser carbon emissions than imported 

produce and consumes 95% less water 

than conventional farming on arable 

land. The company recently decided to 

take care of food safety and product 

quality by investing in its first optical 

sorting machine from TOMRA Food. 

This trend is being encouraged by the 

Singapore Food Agency (SFA), the 

national authority entrusted with the 

mission of ensuring that the nation 

has a resilient supply of food safety 

and food security from farm to fork. 

According to SFA, multi-storey LED 

vegetable farms can produce 10-15 

times more vegetables, per square 

metre, than conventional farms. 

One company that focuses on vertical 

farming is Sustenir Agriculture, which 

runs indoor farms in Malaysia and 



As well as removing foreign materials 

and product defects, Sustenir's sorter 

was set up by TOMRA's to minimise 

food waste and maximise revenue 

by making products saleable at two 

different food grades. This is made 

possible by sorting the crops twice. 

In the first stage, Sustenir sorts the 

crops for top-grade products for 

retail. The sorter is programmed to 

detect and eject all product that 

is misshapen or holed or has any 

yellowish or brown leaves. Though 

this sorting task demands high 

accuracy, TOMRA's machine 

achieves it with a low false 

reject rate of less than 2%. 

INDOOR FARMING CHALLENGES 

Sustenir's Singapore farm grows 

kale, curly kale, spinach, arugula 

(rocket), and lettuce. Even when 

grown in a precisely-controlled 

indoor environment, these crops 

are vulnerable to a wide range of 

natural defects: chlorosis, black spot, 

crystallisation, black rot, tip burn, light 

burn, discolouration, and purple leaf. 

Another risk at indoor farms is 

foreign materials. Though it is 

true that indoor crops are grown 

in clean and dry conditions, even 

so, they face the threats of insect 

damage (from the tiny fungus gnat), 

foam, and fragments of plastic. 

Sustenir initially removed defects and 

foreign materials manually, relying on 

the vision and concentration of 20 

people. However, human sorters are 

subjective, imperfect and significantly 

less accurate when tired or bored. 

Since manual sorting is a relatively 

slow process, it restricts throughput. 

An optical sorting machine, however, 

is accurate, consistent and fast. 

Furthermore, optical sorters also 

reduce food waste by enhancing 

yields and recuperating some rejected 

products for sale at lower grades. 

It was only logical, then, that Sustenir 

should transition from manual to 

mechanical sorting. When Sustenir's 

team witnessed a live online 

demonstration of a TOMRA machine 

sorting baby leaf vegetables, with 

results precisely quantified, they 

decided to acquire the machine. 

STRICT SORTING CRITERIA AND 

PAYBACK 

To deliver the sorting machine to 

the third floor of the building in 

Sembawang, via a lift with limited space 

and access, TOMRA's engineers had 

to separate its upper and lower halves. 

Then the machine was reassembled 

at its working location before TOMRA's 

team commissioned and calibrated 

it. According to Lawrence de Leon, 

project manager, automation, 

Sustenir, these tasks were performed 

“smoothly and expertly, with patience 

and dedication. Although delivering 

the machine was a challenge, it 

was met very successfully.” 

The second stage involves products 

for sale to restaurants, Sustenir 

re-sorts the product rejected during 

the first sort. On this second run 

through the machine, there is again 

zero acceptance of brown products, 

but now the sorting programme is 

set to accept leaves which are up to 

20% yellowish, as well as accepting 

misshapen or holed products. All 

products rejected during this second 

sorting are discarded as compost. 

Environmentally, TOMRA's sorter 

has enabled Sustenir to take a 

step forward in reducing food 

waste — a key objective for the 

company and SFA. Economically, 

the sorter is delivering significant 

savings: €30,000 every month. 

De Leon commented: "We're delighted 

with the effectiveness of TOMRA's 

sorter and with the financial payback. 

Investment in machinery typically 

takes more than three years to 

deliver a full return on investment, 

but with TOMRA's machine, ROI will 

be achieved in less than a year. We 

will be investing in more TOMRA 

sorters as part of our expansion." 

Sustenir has been considering 

acquiring three more TOMRA 

sorters, for indoor farms in Hong 

Kong, Jakarta and Malaysia. FBA 


40 


Food preservation: 

Natural, clean and safe 

Discerning consumers are 

driving the need for more 

natural alternatives in food 

preservation, to maintain 

freshness and taste. 

Herbs and spices have traditionally been used for food preservation for thousands of years 

The consumer demand for minimally 

processed foods has been rapidly 

increasing. Today’s consumers 

look for natural and nutritious 

ingredients, free from additives 

and excessive heating. This trend 

is motivated by consumers’ new 

consciousness as they become 

more aware of the effects of 

excessive heat in food that often 

damage the ingredients, resulting 

in sensorial and nutritional loss. 

These sophisticated, well-informed 

consumers are not only demanding 

fresh foods that look as good as they 

taste but also how those products 

affect their health. In specialty 

grocery stores and supermarkets, 

we are seeing an increased presence 

of fermented foods, from the now 

ubiquitous live probiotic yoghurts to 

a wide range of probiotic beverages 

and foods such as kombucha tea, 

kimchi, kefir, pickled vegetables 

and sauerkraut. In short, the 

fermentation process does 

more than enhance flavours 

— it also imparts a level of 

acidity that helps to extend 

the shelf life of products. 

Across Asia-Pacific, FMCG Gurus 

has shown that consumers want 

products they deem to be natural. 

This cuts across all demographic 

groups with an average of 74% 

stating they look for groceries 

that are 100% natural. The importance 

of natural products stems from 

consumers associating these products 

with a variety of benefits such as the 

products being safer, healthier, better 

quality, local, and more transparent. 

These factors have become more 

important to consumers over the last 

18 months, FMCG Gurus reports. 

To cater to the rising consumer 

demand, food processors are diving 

Food-grade gases like nitrogen not only prohibits 

further wine fermentation but also the formation 

of bacteria and mould in the bottle 

deeper into the natural preservation 

space with innovations, modern 

technologies and ingredients to 

keep labels as clean as possible. 

“In the clean label space, much of the 

success in preservation and shelf-life 

extension are found when utilising 

multiple products, methods and 

technologies to achieve the desired 

outcomes,” said Nalin Amunugama, 

general manager, BOGE Kompressoren 



and acerola extracts with natural 

antimicrobial solutions, such as 

cultured dextrose and buffered 

vinegar. The water-dispersible 

dry powders have been shown to 

improve both shelf life and food 

safety in a variety of applications, 

including meat and poultry, deli 

salads, dips, sauces and dressings. 

Kalsec’s blend of traditional antioxidant products with natural antimicrobial solutions 

improve both shelf life and food safety in various applications (Image: Kalsec) 

FOOD-GRADE GASES 

In beverage manufacturing, nitrogen 

is essential to processes like 

sparging and inerting, and provides 

internal pressure and rigidity to 

stabilise thin-walled receptacles like 

polyethylene terephthalate (PET) 

bottles. It is also useful in preventing 

discolouration and undesirable 

flavours in beverages in noncarbonated 

drinks like wine, iced 

tea, fruit juices or milk by removing 

dissolved oxygen in the liquids. For 

facilities that require continuous 

nitrogen flow, from processing right 

up to the filling stage, reliable onsite 

nitrogen generation is critical. 

Asia-Pacific. “Pairing these methods 

allows ingredient makers to 

develop new portfolios of naturally 

derived preservatives that maintain 

clean auras on product labels.” 

PLANT-BASED 

TECHNOLOGIES 

Innovations in plant-based 

technologies present solutions 

from plant-derived extracts with 

properties that combat microbial 

spoilage. Extracts from plants 

like rosemary, green tea and 

mushrooms possess antioxidant 

properties that slow oxidative 

degradation and quality loss. The 

extracts come with the added 

benefit that under typical use, they 

are flavourless. Rosmarinic acid is 

a naturally occurring polyphenol 

in the rosemary plant. The acid 

serves as an ideal alternative to 

synthetic antioxidants used in food 

preservation due to its antioxidant 

and antimicrobial properties. 

Flavour and fragrance company, 

Blue California, in partnership with 

Conagen, has launched naturebased 

preservation offerings that 

include Rosavel rosmarinic acid and 

Taxifolin BC-DHQ. As a sustainable 

source of rosmarinic acid made 

possible with enzymatic bioconversion 

manufacturing, it produces a greater 

than 95% pure compound without 

the colour or flavour associated with 

rosemary. Taxifolin, also known as 

dihydroquercetin, is a potent lipidsoluble 

antioxidant found in onions, 

apples and larch trees. Promising data 

show that Taxifolin BC-DHQ has an 

antioxidant activity similar to Trolox, 

⍺-tocopherol, BHT and BHA which can 

be used to extend shelf life, prevent 

oxidation and preserve colour in fish 

like salmon and ground meats. 

Kalsec, is also targeting natural 

preservation demands. The company’s 

latest product launch blends traditional 

antioxidant products like rosemary 

BOGE Kompressoren’s scroll 

compressor technology is designed 

for such sensitive applications 

with its Eccentric Oil-free series. 

Aluminium spirals in the compressor 

Nalin Amunugama, general manager, 

BOGE Kompressoren Asia-Pacific 


42 


chamber intermesh without 

touching, generating pulsation 

and oil-free compressed air for 

beverage manufacturing. Once the 

compressors connect to a nitrogen 

pressure swing adsorption (PSA) 

generator, pure compressed air is 

readily supplied. Nitrogen prohibits 

further wine fermentation and the 

formation of bacteria and mould 

in the bottle, preserving the high 

quality and taste even over a lengthy 

ageing process. In applications like 

decanting wine, this is advantageous. 

COLD PRESERVATION AND HPP 

In recent years, the food and beverage 

industry has experienced a notable 

change in consumer demand for 

fresh, healthy and natural products, 

without the use of harmful additives 

for preservation. Notably, the 

COVID-19 pandemic has also upended 

the cold chain logistics sector with 

massive changes in operations, supply 

chains and regulations. In South East 

Asia, the growing urban population 

and changing consumer perception 

have boosted refrigerated storage 

and transport. As the distribution of 

food products shifts from traditional 

markets to supermarkets and 

convenience stores, many consumers 

are becoming more discriminating 

with their food purchases in terms 

of naturalness and degree of 

processing. With meat and poultry, 

shoppers are drawn to fresh-frozen 

raw poultry, minimally processed 

prepared frozen or RTE meals and 

meats with natural, organic or freefrom 

claims and longer shelf life. 

Many of us are familiar with hummus, 

a light-yellow paste that is often 

used as a dip. It is also popular 

among those seeking healthier 

alternatives. Unlike most brands 

that blend their hummus while 

the chickpeas are still hot, Ithaca 

Hummus cools the chickpeas and 

blends their hummus cold to keep 

the ingredients fresh. As one of 

America's fastest-growing hummus 

brands, the company uses fresh 

ingredients, such as cold-pressed 

lemon juice and fresh garlic, in 

conjunction with high pressure 

processing (HPP), a cold preservation 

method to maintain the freshness 

and home-made characteristics, 

without the need for heat. HPP 

helps to eliminate acidifiers and 

preservatives, extend the shelf 

life of the products, inactivate 

pathogenic bacteria responsible for 

spoilage, and reduce food waste. 

The company has added several 

flavours to their range, including 

dill pickle-flavoured hummus. 

PRESERVING THE FUTURE 

As developers progress with creating 

naturally preserved products that 

are comparable to conventionally 

preserved foods, a better 

understanding of the shelf-life 

expectations of naturally preserved 

foods will be paramount as the 

applications of natural shelf-life 

extenders increase across all 

food manufacturing categories. 

For example, processors shifting 

to plant-based and other natural 

preservatives, controls during 

shipment and storage will be 

required to maintain the integrity 

of finished products, as some 

natural preservatives are more 

susceptible to temperature and 

environmental fluctuations. 

Just as important is the need for 

increased consumer education 

around the capabilities and 

shortcomings of clean-label 

preservatives and shelf-life 

extenders. Today’s consumers are 

savvy and they value brands that 

meet their labelling desires upfront, 

with no surprises or gimmicks. 

“All it takes is a few taps on a 

smartphone to figure out if a 

food product is clean. Food 

manufacturers and processors 

have to overcome the challenge 

to meet the growing consumer 

demand for natural and cleanlabel 

products — without 

sacrificing the finished products’ 

flavour, appearance or shelf life,” 

Amunugama reiterated. FBA 



Efficient operating processes 

give dairy packaging a 

sustainable impact 

By Daniel Pereira, equipment and material qualification engineer at Synerlink 

Plastic packaging has become 

the focus of global sustainability 

conversations. Although packaged 

food is essential in our busy world, 

single-use plastic packaging is an 

area of opportunity for communities 

working to reduce solid waste 

and preserve marine ecologies. 

Consumers are calling for solutions 

that reduce and reuse plastics 

without forfeiting food safety and 

convenience. Individual countries 

and localities are passing laws and 

regulations designed to reduce 

plastic waste, promote recycling, 

and build demand for recycled 

plastics. As a result, many packagers 

need alternatives to the materials 

they have traditionally relied upon. 

Fortunately, a better yoghurt cup 

could lead the way for EU food 

packagers to reduce plastic use and 

make products more recyclable — 

and the materials and technology 

are already widely available. As 

packagers look for solutions that 

will meet disparate regulations in 

different countries, form fill seal 

(FFS) machines with polyethylene 

terephthalate (PET) plastics are 

emerging as effective options. 

FFS AND PET CAN MEET NEW 

RECYCLING STANDARDS 

In late 2020, the UK banned certain 

plastics and single-use plastic 

items to reduce the amount of 

plastic that ends up in landfills 

and oceans. In summer 2021, 

the EU implemented its plastic 

restrictions, and by April 2022, 

the UK will tax plastic packaging 

that contains less than 30% 

recycled material. Demand for 

packaging that is recyclable 

and, in some cases, recycled, can 

be expected to continue growing. 

The ideal solution, in which all 

plastics can be recycled, is not yet 

supported by the recycling chain. In 

Europe, dairy products are currently 

mainly packed in polystyrene (PS). 

Some plastics are destroyed by 

current recycling processes. Other 

packaging processes sandwich plastics 

between layers of other materials, 

rendering them non-recyclable. 

PET packaging is currently a plastic 

in the EU that can be recycled back 

into food-grade plastic packaging. In 

France, a chemical recycling channel is 

under construction for polystyrene PS. 

Synerlink, which specialises in form 

fill seal (FFS) technology, has been 

manufacturing FFS machines for 


44 


years that work with PET, PP, PP- 

EVOH-PP and other recyclable and 

recycled products. For packagers 

looking to close the loop on truly 

recyclable food packaging, FFS 

systems offer the opportunity to 

switch to PET plastics and meet 

new packaging standards while 

leveraging existing technologies. 

FFS MACHINERY SUPPORTS 

SUSTAINABILITY 

Synerlink’s form-fill-seal machines 

convert plastic film into customformed 

cups, fill them with the 

product, seal the packages and 

cut the packages to order. They 

are designed to allow packagers 

the ability to customise materials, 

package shapes, lid designs, 

labels and more at high speeds. 

However, FFS machines can 

also support companies that 

want to reduce their carbon 

footprint and cut plastic waste. 

• FFS machines already use 

recyclable materials: FFS 

machines can adapt to PET, 

PLA, rPET and other recyclable 

plastics, allowing companies to 

switch to the best solution for 

each product or target market. 

• PET cups require less material: 

PET cups can be made with 

thinner walls than other plastics, 

which means PET cups can be 

produced using less material. 

Less plastic going into the cup 

means less waste to manage. 

THE PUBLIC RECYCLING 

CHAIN IS THE MISSING 

SUSTAINABILITY LINK 

Closing the recycling loop will 

require having plastic collected, 

sorted, recycled, and re-used 

post-consumer, and today’s waste 

management systems are not built 

to that standard. Getting the right 

materials into the right recycling 

loop will involve cooperation 

between packaging producers and 

waste management systems. Some 

producers who do not currently 

need a new packaging solution are 

working with their communities to 

build a better recycling environment. 

FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE PET 

PACKAGING 

The current regulatory uncertainty 

can leave packagers with questions. 

Does it make sense to choose a 

solution now or to wait for further 

developments? Do we gamble on 

new technology or make new use of 

proven technology? Some answers 

depend on the customer and the 

market. However, the advantages 

of FFS with PET are clear. FFS 

is fast, flexible, and hygienic. It 

allows packagers to use earthfriendly 

polymer film materials and 

to create effective, eye-catching 

packaging with less plastic, PET is 

more transparent and sturdy, and 

the material is recyclable, and it 

allows packagers to create custom 

packaging with thinner material. 

The features of FFS and PET match 

up with the efficiency needs of 

customers and the sustainability 

needs of consumers, creating a 

solution with staying power. And 

there are additional benefits to 

adapting sooner rather than later. 

Packagers face both a challenge 

and an opportunity to make different 

choices. Companies that reduce 

post-consumer waste and contribute 

to a circular economy for plastics 

will have a distinct advantage over 

those who delay. Many single-use 

plastics are already banned in the 

United Kingdom and throughout the 

European Union, and restrictions 

are being added by communities 

worldwide. Consumers are becoming 

more sensitive to their own carbon 

footprint and are better educated 

about the impact of their purchasing 

decisions. Customers who want to 

enhance the sustainability of their 

supply chains and their product 

lifecycles will prefer vendors that 

support those goals. Companies that 

adopt more sustainable technologies, 

like FFS with PET, can create both a 

market advantage and a better world. 

FBA 



The balance of powder 

with product inspection 

solutions 

As a manufacturer of goods from rice to soup mixes and sugar sachets, 

flexibility and quality are Rex Pak’s priorities to meet consumers’ 

expectations for packaged, dry-powder products. 

Founded by Louis Sabatini in 1973, Rex Pak is 

a Canadian co-packer of dry powder goods. 

The company produces everything from rice 

and pasta to cheese and soup mixes, as well 

as sugar and sugar-substitute sachets. 

“There is a 60% chance that if you open 

up your cupboards, you're going to find a 

nationally-branded product in there that was 

packaged by us,” explained Denise Sabatini 

Fuina, vice-president of operations for Rex 

Pak who manages the day-to-day operations 

with her brother, Devin Sabatini, who helms 

the role as vice-president of manufacturing. 

The past 10 years have seen many consumerpackaged 

goods (CPG) brand-owners 

increasing delegation of their manufacturing 

functions to companies like Rex Pak. 

“Prior to that most of the major brand-owners 

employed their own packaging division 

at their own plant,” explained Sabatini. 

bulk products to the exacting standards 

of its many national brand-owning 

customers as a key core competency. 

FLEXIBILITY IS KEY 

Serving customers in the ever-changing 

food industry requires a lot of flexibility 

from its co-packing business partners in 

order to keep brand owners happy and 

ready to respond quickly to new trends. 

“This is why we provide such 

a wide range of options,” 

said Sabatini, stressing 

the company’s priority of 

meeting customers' 

specifications and 

ensuring that 

consumers receive 

the safest, highestquality 

finished 

product possible. 

“Our quality assurance team performs rigorous 

tests on all in-house blending and finished 

goods as per our customers' specifications." 

“Over the years there have been instances 

where our customers have given us 

specific requirements regarding 

what they need for food safety 

assurance and compliance,” 

Co-packers have been manufacturing 

and packaging a wide range of branded 

products and sending them complete to the 

customers’ distribution centre for them. 

“This development has allowed Rex Pak 

to become a market leader in the dry 

powder segment, allowing us to grow our 

business by leaps and bounds over the 

past few years,” explained Sabatini Fuina, 

referring to the company’s experience in 

custom blending of powdered and dry 


46 


The X36 x-ray units, along with the X33 

x-ray system, can each run at speeds 

up to 250ft per minute as standard or 

up to a rate of 450fpm on the X36 with 

a different conveyor configuration. The 

actual running speed is limited only by the 

product handling and rejection speeds. 

Sabatini added, noting the plant has reccently 

updated its HACCP (Hazard Analysis and 

Critical Control Points) and the SQF (Safe 

Quality Food Institute) Level 2 certifications. 

LABORATORY EQUIPMENT 

SOLUTIONS 

Rex Pak currently uses Mettler-Toledo’s 

Titrator Excellence T5 system to conduct 

a chemical analysis to identify the 

concentration of ingredients to meet 

customers’ specifications. 

The lab also employs other Mettler-Toledo 

laboratory equipment such as the 

SmartSample Flexibility reader, the InMotion 

Flex Autosampler analysis machine, and a 

model P25 printer. 

PRODUCT INSPECTION SOLUTIONS 

"Quality is the cornerstone," Sabatini revealed. 

In addition to x-ray systems, Rex Pak also 

uses additional Mettler-Toledo product 

inspection technology, supplied in Canada 

by Oakville-based Shawpack Systems. 

On the production floor, each of the 30 lines 

is equipped with Mettler-Toledo checkweighers 

to weigh pouch fills. There 

is also a checkweigher at the end of the 

line to weigh the total weight of each 

finished packed product. 

"We've had nothing but great results 

from using these checkweighers. 

However, we're now upgrading to a 

new controller — HMI (human-machine 

interface)," revealed Sabatini. 

“This is a major benefit to Rex Pak as they 

don't have to replace complete systems, as 

some of these units are highly integrated with 

the existing packaging systems," explained 

Larry Swift, vice-president of Shawpak. “The 

upgrade will provide optimal data capture 

and statistical reporting functionality that 

will allow Rex Pak to track full production 

data while enabling it to achieve quick ROI 

(return-on-investment) by controlling all 

the product trends more accurately." 

Other recent capital investments in product 

inspection at the plant include the installation 

of three Mettler-Toledo x-ray systems, 

including an X33 installed in 2013 and two 

X36 models, which have been up and 

running since early 2016. The systems are 

used for finished product inspection of filled, 

sealed and weighed bags. 

“Rex Pak opted for the X33 system, running at 

a mere 20W of power, due to its very low cost 

of ownership,” explained Swift. Rex Pak utilises 

the X36 platform on its larger products, which 

is suited to handling multiple product types. 

This solution gives Rex Pak complete flexibility 

which is important in helping to accommodate 

customer requests, as he added: “We're very 

happy with these new x-ray systems, they're 

very reliable, and the data they provide us 

with goes a long way to fortifying our formal 

product safety quality control procedures.” 

Value-added features of the x-ray systems 

include: 

• Optimal traceability, with the units offering 

full built-in due diligence and production 

monitoring statistics, along with realtime 

process monitoring and the ability 

to save all the generated x-ray images; 

• Customisable material handling solutions, 

with Mettler-Toledo and Shawpak working 

together to design the system to fit the 

customer’s production line requirements; 

• Live HMI x-ray power change, a key 

factor for co-packers that allows them 

to adjust the x-ray power requirements 

to the product being produced without 

needing a service technician; 

• Data capture for food safety certification 

requirements; 

• Large technical service support 

across the US and Canada. 

Many of the package types utilised by Rex Pak 

contain a metal barrier within the film, so 

the only viable option for a proper safety 

inspection, noted Sabatini, is to use an 

industrial x-ray inspection solution. 

“The x-ray systems allow us to search for a 

wide range of contaminants such as small 

mineral stones and other natural products,” 

he explained. 

“Our Mettler-Toledo equipment, from the 

check weighing systems to our new x-ray 

and laboratory equipment provides both 

the customer and us with complete peace 

of mind that only safe food is going to 

go out in the market. More and more, our 

customer discussions reveal a high level 

of interest in having their products x-rayinspected, 

and we have also had many 

potential ‘would-be’ customers contact 

us to ask if we have x-ray inspection units 

in place. So, when the need arises to add 

some more x-ray inspection systems to 

our operations,” concluded Sabatini, “we 

know exactly where to turn.” FBA 


FIRST LOOKS 47 


48 

FIRST LOOKS 

Amcor PowerPost 

offers lighter and 

greener option 

Amcor Rigid Packaging has announced 

the creation and launch of PowerPost. By 

displacing the vacuum in the container 

after filling, PowerPost technology 

delivers a bottle nearly one-third lighter, 

with 30% energy reduction and 30% 

carbon savings over most 600ml bottles 

available today. It also allows for up to 

100% recycled material use and provides 

an enhanced consumer experience, 

preventing any spills upon opening. 

PowerPost is one of the most advanced 

lightweighting technology for hot-fill 

beverages on the market. PowerPost 

builds on Amcor’s, vacuum-absorbing 

technology PowerStrap. The PowerPost 

base has two key technologies: an 

invertible, central post that actively 

displaces vacuum, and PowerStrap, the 

flexible ring surrounding the post. After 

filling, the post is inverted to actively 

displace vacuum inside the container and, 

as the product cools down, the 

surrounding ring flexes to passively 

absorb any remaining vacuum. 

By eliminating the vacuum panels, 

PowerPost offers increased design freedom, 

premium appearance and consumer 

appeal, while addressing sustainability 

goals. Eliminating the panels in the body 

also drives operational improvements 

at the fillers. Bottle labels are applied 

more efficiently. 

With its goal to develop all its packaging to 

be recyclable, compostable or reusable by 

2025, Amcor is innovating more sustainable 

bottles. In the hot-fill arena, Amcor provides 

the knowledge and technology for its 

products. 

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), has rapidly 

become the world’s preferred packaging 

material. It is lightweight, shatterproof, 

recloseable, resealable, reusable and 

recyclable*. 

In addition, PET bottles often have the 

lowest carbon footprint, and their production 

results in up to 70% less greenhouse gas 

emissions than other packaging materials, 

according to Amcor’s ASSET life cycle analysis. 

*with existing technologies, such as 

chemical recycling ■ 

Smurfit Kappa launches 

water-resistant AquaStop paper 

Smurfit Kappa has developed an innovative 

and sustainable water-resistant paper. 

AquaStop is part of Smurfit Kappa’s new 

TechniPaper portfolio, which consists of 

an array of papers designed to handle 

even the most complex supply chains. 

The AquaStop paper is water-resistant due 

to a special coating which is added during 

the manufacturing process. This coating 

does not compromise the recyclability of the 

product and can be recycled in the same 

way as standard paper-based packaging. 

AquaStop is the latest innovation in Smurfit 

Kappa’s Better Planet Packaging portfolio 

of products, which offer sustainable 

alternatives to single-use plastics. As it is 

designed to withstand exposure to water 

without being damaged, it is suitable for 

eCommerce packaging and packaging 

for products such as flowers, detergent 

and fruit and vegetables where temporary 

protection against water is needed. 

It is also particularly suitable for use in 

humid conditions as the box remains 

intact while protecting the contents, 

making it a solution for the transport and 

storage of refrigerated products where 

there is exposure to condensation. 

Lars Henriksson, vice-president of 

product development at the Smurfit 

Kappa paper division, said: “We are very 

excited about AquaStop and believe it 

is a truly revolutionary paper. We’re 

expecting AquaStop to interest many of our 

customers, particularly those who transport 

goods in more demanding environments, 

because of the peace of mind it will give 

them that their products will remain in 

perfect condition even if exposed to water. 

“Our product development team, along 

with our colleagues in Spain, have 

created something very special that has 

superior functionality, whilst at the same 

time remaining 100% recyclable.” ■ 



NORD provides efficiency solutions for warehouse automation 

With the growing e-commerce 

sector and the demand for 

greater warehouse automation 

and flexible warehouse systems, 

NORD DRIVESYSTEMS offers a 

variety of solutions suited for 

various applications and 

requirements in warehouse 

logistics. 

NORD offers drive solutions for 

warehouse logistics, managing 

investment, operating and 

maintenance costs. With motor 

efficiency class IE4 and system 

efficiency class IES2, the drive 

units achieve efficiencies in the 

partial load and speed range. The 

latest generation IE5 permanent 

magnet synchronous motors 

achieve an even higher energy 

efficiency and reduces the energy 

consumption. The constant torque 

over a wide speed range allows 

for a targeted version reduction. 

This minimises administrative 

expenses, and streamlines 

manufacturing, logistics, storage 

and service processes. 

THE DECENTRALISED NOR- 

DAC ON FREQUENCY INVERT- 

ER 

The decentralised NORDAC ON 

frequency inverter has been 

developed for horizontal conveyor 

technology requirements in 

warehousing, and the NORDAC 

ON+ variant for interaction with 

the new IE5+ synchronous motor. 

It is characterised by an integrated 

Ethernet interface, and its ease of 

maintenance through complete 

pluggability and an extremely 

compact design — providing 

an economical and intelligent 

plug-and-play solution for IIoT 

environments. The compact, smart 

frequency inverter for decentralised 

use can be mounted directly on 

the geared motor. It covers lower 

power ranges of up to 2.2kW and 

has an energy-saving function 

in the partial load range. The 

integrated Ethernet interface 

reduces the effort for integration 

into modern automation systems: 

Whether for ProfiNet, EtherNet/IP 

or EtherCAT, the required protocol 

can be easily set via parameters. 

MORE EFFICIENCY IN CON- 

VEYOR TECHNOLOGY 

The NORDAC FLEX SK 205E series 

is also suited for applications in 

warehouse logistics. The compact, 

decentralised and energy-efficient 

frequency inverter offers a wide 

power range of up to 22kW and 

enables energy savings over the 

entire load range. The inverter 

can be used to control standard 

asynchronous motors, highefficiency 

synchronous motors 

and brake motors. It can be 

installed close to the drive in the 

field or motor-mounted. Power 

and data cable connections are 

available as plug-in versions. 

The decentralised system enables 

short motor and encoder cables 

as well as short supply cables 

to sensors. Encoder feedback 

can be included, for example, 

for position-controlled transport 

systems. The large overload 

capacity of the NORDAC FLEX SK 

205E makes dynamic movements 

with short start and stop times 

or cyclic operation possible. The 

integrated POSICON control enables 

high precision in synchronous 

and positioning applications. 

MODULAR SYSTEM FOR OPTI- 

MAL DRIVE SOLUTIONS 

Overall, NORD provides with a 

range of products in the field 

of warehousing, including both 

established basics and efficient 

products. Users benefit from drive 

solutions which ensure an optimum 

system availability. The NORD 

modular drive system thus enables 

a compromise between investment, 

operating and maintenance costs. ■ 

■ 


50 

FIRST LOOKS 

PLF International 

unveils new PLF 

Virtusinline 

vacuum filler 

JBT Corporation’s PLF International has 

announced the launch of its new PLF Virtus 

linear vacuum filler. PLF Virtus is the new 

range of linear vacuum filling machines, 

designed to handle a wide range of milkbased 

nutritional powders including infant 

formula and specialised medical nutrition. 

The Virtus incorporates a new patent 

pending nozzle design that delivers up 

to three times higher throughput per 

head than previous machines, which 

reduces changeover and cleaning times, 

maximises yield, and reduces operational 

costs. The new range will be offered 

in one, two, three, four, and six head 

models, and run at speeds of up to 180 

can per minute with configurable options 

to meet the needs of its’ customers. 

“This is a very exciting development for 

us, as the higher throughputs that are 

now possible mean that the Virtus is an 

attractive alternative to rotary machines 

currently operating up to 180 cans per 

minute. The operational cost savings 

on utility consumption, cleaning time, 

changeover time, and maintenance that we 

can achieve with Virtus are very significant. 

I believe we now have the most competitive 

and sustainable filler in this industry,” 

said Amedeo Scapin, global director. 

Compared to auger filling systems, PLF’s 

vacuum filling system has no moving 

parts in contact with the product, 

which eliminates any risk of product 

contamination, as well as the possibility 

of powder breakdown during filling. 

Carlos Fernandez, executive vice-president 

of JBT Corporation, and president of 

diversified food and health, said: “We are 

thrilled to offer the cutting edge PLF Virtus 

and expand on our commitment to provide 

the safest and most effective technology to 

our customers, ultimately providing the best 

possible products to the end-consumer.” ■ 

Walki introduces 

recyclable 

materials for 

frozen food 

Walki has introduced a portfolio of different 

materials for the frozen food market. 

Walki EVO Seal and Walki Opti Seal are 

recyclable paper-based packaging 

intended for pillow-pouches for frozen 

food. Walki EVO Seal has a dispersion 

coating as barrier against water vapour 

and grease while Walki Opti Seal has an 

optimised PE-extrusion coating. Both 

are suitable for all kind of frozen food. 

The dispersion coating makes Walki EVO 

Seal recyclable in the waste-paper stream 

without any separation process, while 

the minimised PE-coating on Walki Opti 

Seal makes it suitable to be recycled with 

paper with an acceptable fibre yield. 

Lamibel MDO-PE is a film-based material 

for pillow pouches made of reverse printed 

MDO-film and solvent-free laminated with 

low sealing LDPE. With the MDO technology, 

the film thickness is minimised while 

performance is maximised by replacing 

other sorts of materials such as PP- or 

PET-films. The combination of two PEfilms 

makes the packaging fully recyclable 

in the plastics stream. The stretched film 

has better optics with higher stiffness and 

mechanical properties than standard PE. 

The film can also be transparent, allowing 

the consumer to see the product. 

Lamibel MDO-PE is an ideal material 

for all type of packaging, and all kind 

of frozen food like vegetables, sharpedges 

seafood and bakery. Walki Pack Tray 

is a board-based tray suitable for frozen 

ready-made meals, designed to replace 

aluminium, plastic or plastic-coated trays. 

It is easy-to-fill, transport and store, and 

is also the convenient choice for the 

consumer as the fibre-based tray is safe 

to use in microwaves and in conventional 

ovens up to 220°C for up to 60 minutes. 

The tray material is 100% PET free and 

recyclable in the paper stream. ■ 


52 

FIRST LOOKS 

Gericke delivers 

compact industrial 

mixing solutions 

Gericke delivers compact industrial mixing 

solutions. With the new GMS Compact 

and the GBM Mini Batch Blender, Gericke’s 

technology can now be used for smaller 

mixing volumes. 

The GMS Compact Mixer brings the GMS 

family to the laboratory, R&D and pilot 

plant batch sizes, with useable volumes 

from one to 20 litres. It uses the same 

superimposed mixing tools as the bigger 

GMS mixers. This allows for accurate 

process and recipe development, and with 

its fully industrial design it can be used for 

pre-mixes or other direct process related 

process steps. The GMS compact empties 

completely after a batch and is therefore 

preferred for frequent recipe changes. 

GBM MINI BATCH BLENDER 

The Gericke Mini Batch Blender is a 

semi-continuous inline approach to 

make continuous manufacturing suitable 

GERICKE GMS Compact Mixer 

for low dosage, low volume, highly potent 

products. It combines advantages of the 

traditional batch and true continuous 

manufacturing processes to generate a 

simplified system. The user chooses between 

the integrated Gericke Formulation Skid GFS 

or standalone equipment for early phase 

development. With minimal batch sizes below 

1kg and the simple control strategy related 

to a batch mixing process it combines many 

advantages of batch and continuous processes. 

GCM CONTINUOUS MIXER 

Continuous mixing systems are known for 

their efficiency for large production 

capacities. Gericke GCM mixers are used 

for small throughputs as well. The Gericke 

Continuous Mixer GCM offers the optimum 

combination of radial and axial mixing 

(dispersion), ensuring highest homogeneity 

with low RSD. The shape, layout and 

adjustment of the Gericke mixing tools 

have been developed based on upon 50 

years of experience in continuous mixing 

and in collaboration with universities. 

The residence time and the energy input 

can be adjusted easily, and capacities 

as low as 1kg/h are possible. ■ 

Mencom offers 

toolless rectangular 

connectors for 

10,000 mating cycles 

There are industrial applications that 

require frequent mating cycles throughout 

life such as measuring/controlling 

drawer-mounted equipment, molding 

control equipment, and replaceable 

tools. Since the connectors of these 

applications need to be connected 

and disconnected several times a day, 

failing to install high-performance 

connectors with a sufficient mating 

cycle rating could result in unstable 

connections with lower reliability, 

which will cost more in the long run. 

Mencom offers the new Squich HNM 

(high number of mating) inserts 

designed to maximise ease of use 

while minimising maintenance 

downtime. These rectangular inserts 

feature special contacts with galvanic 

high-performance gold plating and 

lubrication, which allow up to 10,000 

mechanical mating cycles when 

installed in compatible HNM enclosures. 

In addition, the Squich spring clamp 

technology with actuator buttons 

provides not only fast and reliable 

wiring, but also high resistance to 

vibration from industrial applications. 

The standard HNM inserts (RSH) are available 

in six, 10, 16, and 24 poles, and the highdensity 

versions (RDSH) are available in 

nine, 18, 27, and 42 poles. The high-density 

versions (RDSH) feature probing points for 

multimeter measurements on each contact 

and an additional coding system. ■ 



Thermo Scientific Dionex IonPac CS21 

ion exchange column provides 

food safety analysis 

Thermo Fisher Scientific is providing 

laboratories performing food safety 

analysis with a new ion chromatography 

tandem mass spectrometry (IC-MS/MS) 

workflow solution for regulatory compliant, 

cost-effective and reliable analysis of 

quaternary ammonium pesticides (Quats). 

The new Thermo Scientific Dionex IonPac 

CS21-Fast-4µm ion exchange column 

enables scientists to determine and 

quantify the four cationic pesticides: diquat, 

paraquat, mepiquat and chlormequat. 

These highly polar, permanently charged 

chemicals are often challenging to analyse, 

and have, until now, required complex 

workflows that are prone to quantitation 

errors. To meet regulatory requirements 

across Europe, Asia and the Americas, and 

promote consumer safety, it is paramount 

for food safety laboratories to reliably 

determine the residue levels of these 

pesticides in or on food products. 

“The Dionex IonPac CS21 is the goldstandard 

column for use in your Quat 

determination and quantitation workflow,” 

said Alexander Semyonov, global product 

manager, ion chromatography mass 

spectrometry, Thermo Fisher Scientific. 

“Ion chromatography has an advantage 

over other technologies in that it causes 

fewer matrix effects, and delivers superior 

retention and separation of ionic species.” 

When coupled with the TSQ Altis Plus 

triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, 

food safety testing laboratories will 

benefit from a Quat analysis that meets 

regulatory requirements, while improving 

laboratory productivity. IonPac CS21 

and Thermo Scientific TSQ Altis Plus 

triple quadrupole mass spectrometer 

complement the existing Anionic Pesticide 

Explorer (APX) solution from Thermo Fisher 

Scientific, providing total coverage for 

all polar, highly polar, ionic and ionisable 

food contaminants in one IC-MS/MS 

system. Together, the system and new 

column can determine and quantify not 

only Quats, but also glyphosate and its 

metabolites, and related compounds. ■ 

Bruker launches minispec Droplet Size 

Analyser 2.0 for food and cosmetic 

applications 

Bruker Corporation has launched the 

minispec Droplet Size Analyser 2.0 in its 

minispec nuclear magnetic resonance 

(NMR) portfolio. Based on time domain 

(TD)-NMR technology, this latest launch 

offers a fast, accurate and non-invasive 

method to support texture and stability 

analysis in food and cosmetics applications. 

The new solution features a new user 

interface, GoScan for minispec, which 

provides multimodal droplet size distribution 

characterisation, and further improves 

the results for unimodal distributions 

where a lognormal shape is assumed. 

GoScan for minispec offers user-friendly 

data acquisition and processing, and a 

straightforward evaluation of lognormal 

and multimodal distribution results. It 

provides easy experiment setup, intuitive 

real-time data acquisition, and improved 

data analysis. In the quality control (QC) 

mode, pre-defined acquisition parameters 

are provided for routine experiments and 

in the R&D mode the user can further 

optimise the acquisition parameters. 

The minispec Droplet Size Analyser 

2.0 offers improved droplet size 

distribution analysis in food matrices, 

giving manufacturers information about 

the shelf life and textural properties 

of their products. New parameters 

have been added for emulsions with 

unimodal distribution where a lognormal 

distribution is assumed. In the 

new multimodal fitting, a regularisation 

technique is employed without assuming 

any shape for the distribution. 

Omeet Shah, senior scientist at Kraft Heinz 

company, commented: “The Bruker-TD NMR 

droplet size analyser with GoScan software 

is an excellent tool for evaluating food 

emulsions and optimising the processing 

and formula parameters to achieve 

consistent emulsion characteristics.” 

This latest launch expands the Bruker 

minispec solutions portfolio, which includes 

methods for solid fat content, oil and 

moisture content, and spin finish analysis. ■ 


54 

FIRST LOOKS 

New Emerson compact 

controllers increase ROI 

for machine builders 

Emerson has announced the release 

of its PACSystems RSTi-EP CPE 200 

programmable automation controllers 

(PAC). This new family of compact PACs 

helps original equipment manufacturers 

(OEM) meet customer requirements 

by minimising the need for specialised 

software engineering talent. CPE 200 

controllers will deliver large programmable 

logic controller (PLC) capability in a small, 

cost-effective, IIoT-ready form factor. 

To stay competitive, today’s OEM machine 

builders must provide equipment that is 

ready to support analytics and give end 

users competitive advantage through 

increased efficiency, speed and quality. 

However, as builders develop innovative 

solutions for material handling, life 

sciences and more, they can struggle to 

program and deliver machine control 

systems on time and within budget with 

the performance, security and flexible 

connectivity customers require. The CPE 

200 series solves these problems with 

security-by-design, open programming 

and open communications built in to 

simplify connectivity to external analytics 

software platforms while reducing cost 

and complexity for OEMs and end users. 

“Gaining competitive edge in today’s 

marketplace means having the flexibility 

to connect to the wide array of equipment 

end users employ as part of their 

proprietary processes, and supporting 

secure, open connectivity to allow easy 

access to on-premises and cloud-hosted 

equipment, with automated alerts sent 

to the kitchen staff and maintenance 

personnel in the event of any deviations". 

Adarsh Kumar, CEO, TagBox, said in a 

statement: "All organisations dealing with 

perishable foods need to be additionally 

vigilant about the temperature conditions 

of raw material and finished goods. For 

kitchens, retail stores or warehouses, 

companies are still reliant on local staff to 

monitor temperature of chillers, freezers 

or cold rooms manually and record it in a 

register for audit purposes. This method 

is prone to manual errors, data recording 

gaps, data loss, or worse, data tampering. 

Any quality-driven organisation should be 

aiming to get automated, central controlanalytics 

platforms,” said Jeff Householder, 

president of Emerson’s machine automation 

solutions business. “The CPE 200 series 

controllers take advantage of Emerson’s 

cybersecure-by-design architecture, 

common programming capabilities, and 

IIoT readiness to provide options currently 

missing in legacy compact PLCs.” 

The controllers offer open communications 

through native, pre-licensed support 

for OPC UA Secure and other common 

industrial protocols for flexible connectivity 

over high-speed Gigabit Ethernet. IEC 

61131 programming languages and C, 

help engineers write and run algorithms 

that enable production strategies and 

advanced automation technologies. ■ 

Rebel Foods deploys real-time cold chain 

monitoring system from TAGBOX 

TagBox has announced that it is providing 

its AssetLens solution to Rebel Foods 

for real-time temperature, door-open 

and power consumption monitoring. 

Uday Mahajan, senior vice-president, 

engineering at Rebel Foods, said: "At Rebel 

Foods we are committed to providing 

our customers with a safe, consistent 

and high-quality experience. A critical 

element of this is maintaining all our SKUs 

at the correct temperature. This is also 

mandated by FSSAI, which requires us to 

monitor and log the temperature of our 

cold storage equipment once per day. 

With Tagbox, we are able to eliminate this 

manual process and achieve real-time 

accurate temperature monitoring of our 

tower visibility of every cold chain 

asset in their portfolio. Rebel Foods has 

been one such organisation and we 

are excited to deploy our cold storage 

monitoring system in their kitchens." 

TagBox's AssetLens platform has 

in-built features like live temperature 

compliance score, real-time alarms 

for temperature excursions, asset 

on/off status and abnormal dooropen 

count or duration. Additionally, 

AssetLens provides analytics and 

reporting modules that identify 

systemic failures like high energy 

consumption of assets, which could be 

predictive signals for asset malfunction 

or store SOP non-compliance. ■ 



Tetra Pak tests fibre-based barrier to 

replace the aluminium layer 

Incorporating these learnings, the company 

is testing a new fibre-based barrier, in close 

collaboration with some of its customers. A 

first pilot batch of single serve packs featuring 

this industry-first material are currently on shelf 

for a commercial consumer test, with further 

technology validation scheduled later in 2022. 

Following the completion of a 15-month 

commercial technology validation of a 

polymer-based barrier replacing the 

aluminium layer, Tetra Pak is testing a 

fibre-based barrier — a first within food 

carton packages distributed under 

ambient conditions. 

This step marks another step in the 

company’s goal towards developing 

an aseptic package that is fully renewable, 

fully recyclable and carbon-neutral. 

With a view to reducing this climate 

impact, a commercial technology 

validation was conducted in Japan 

starting late 2020, using a polymer-based 

barrier to replace the aluminium layer. 

This helped to understand the value chain 

implications of the change, and to quantify 

the carbon footprint reduction. It also 

confirmed adequate oxygen protection for 

vegetable juice, while enabling increased 

recycling rates in a country where 

recyclers favour aluminium-free cartons. 

Gilles Tisserand, vice-president of climate 

and biodiversity at Tetra Pak, commented: 

“Early results suggest that the package with 

a fibre-based barrier will offer substantial 

CO2 reduction when compared to traditional 

aseptic cartons, together with comparable 

shelf life and food protection properties.” 

Eva Gustavsson, vice-president of materials 

and package, Tetra Pak added: “To keep the 

innovation engine running, we are investing 

€100 million per year and will continue to do so 

over the next five to 10 years to further enhance 

the environmental profile of food cartons, 

including the research and development of 

packages that are made with a simplified material 

structure and increased renewable content.” ■ 

GLOBAL LEADER IN 

HIGH PRESSURE PROCESSING 

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CM 

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HPP EXPERTS WILL SHARE 

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NUTRITION FOOD SAFETY 

SUSTAINABILITY 


56 

FIRST LOOKS 

Flexicon provides 

Nestlé Singapore 

with flexible screw 

conveyor 

The Nestlé Singapore plant produces 

and packages Milo drink powder in 

formats including tins and easy-open, 

easy-pour sachets that are formed and 

filled on a high-speed rotary filler. 

Upstream of the sachet filler is a metal 

detector that scans the powder to identify 

contaminants. Detection of a contaminant, 

called a “strike”, triggers the metal detector 

to divert a portion of the powder stream 

into a collection bag. Workers then 

inspect the rejected powder to verify 

that the contaminant was removed, and 

log the incident into a quality-assurance 

report. This had been a cumbersome 

process until a flexible screw conveyor 

smoothed the flow to the metal detector. 

The metal detector originally sat directly 

below the surge hopper that discharged 

the Milo powder via gravity through 

a butterfly valve. 

“When the valve opened, often one large 

chunk of powder would flow through 

the metal detector which wasn’t fast 

enough to reject the whole chunk,” said 

Sean Phua, technical engineer, Nestle 

Singapore. Therefore, some portion of the 

powder, and possibly the contaminant, 

passed through the metal detector 

and into a flexible screw conveyor 

that transferred it to the sachet filler, 

forcing operators to halt production. 

With production halted, the operators 

would run the flexible screw conveyor 

in reverse to empty all the powder 

in flight. Everything was then handsieved 

and dissolved with water to 

find the contaminant and determine 

if there was a false strike. It was 

messy and the interruptions reduced 

packaging productivity, Phua said. 

The conveyor screw is driven beyond the point of material discharge, preventing Milo drink 

mix powder from contacting seals or bearings 

He learned that the operation would 

improve if the powder could free fall into 

the metal detector in a steady stream, 

but a lack of headspace made adding 

a rotary valve under the surge hopper 

impossible. Flexicon recommended 

offsetting and raising the metal detector, 

allowing room to add a new flexible 

screw conveyor to feed powder to the 

metal detector in a steady, controlled 

flow. Flexicon Singapore provided the 

new conveyor to accommodate spatial 

constraints and throughput requirements. 

The conveyor is 1.5m long and includes a 

spiral enclosed in a 90mm diameter outer 

tube made of ultra-high-molecular-weight 

polyethylene. The screw ensures that the 

powder does not pack, cake or separate. 

The conveyor includes a 150mm diameter 

inlet flange and charging adapter that 

connects under the surge hopper’s 

butterfly valve. From there, the powder is 

transported at a 41° angle and discharges 

into the metal detector through a 150mm 

diameter downspout. The conveyer’s 

2.2kW drive turns at a constant speed 

to transport about 720kg of powder per 

hour for 20 hours a day. Level sensors 

at the conveyor’s inlet and discharge 

are linked to the sachet filler’s controls, 

enabling both units to operate in sync. 

According to Phua, the new flexible 

screw conveyor has streamlined the 

operation: “All strikes are rejected before 

the powder enters the original flexible 

screw conveyor to the sachet filler, 

eliminating false rejections and manual 

clearing of powder from the conveyor.” 

More reliable rejection boosts 

productivity by increasing sachet 

filler uptime and reducing incident 

reporting, while conserving product. ■ 



Italian repro house Zincografia Empolese 

installs Asahi Photoproducts CleanPrint 

flexo plates 

Asahi Photoproducts has reported that 

Italian repro house Zincografia Empolese 

has installed an Asahi AWP 4835 P 

flexographic plate processor and Asahi 

AWP-DEW CleanPrint water-washable 

plates to its production platform. The 

company, which has been in business 

since 1985 and is a business unit of 

ZE Group, is located in San Miniato, Italy. 

Zincografia Empolese provides high 

-quality flexo plates to its customers, who 

produce labels, flexible and corrugated 

packaging. 

“Prior to acquiring our Asahi plate processor 

using AWP-DEW CleanPrint plates, we 

used a variety of different products,” 

said Noemi Bisoli, managing partner. “We 

made the switch for a number of reasons, 

including the support we get from Asahi, 

the faster processing time for plates in 

prepress, and the reduced downtime 

in the press room for plate changes or 

press stops for plate cleaning at our 

customer sites. We also appreciate how 

sustainable the entire platemaking 

process is with Asahi AWP-DEW waterwashable 

plates, a factor that is more 

and more important to our customers.” 

Bisoli noted that the company uses a 

significant amount of flexo plate material 

annually, and with the new efficiencies 

offered by the Asahi configuration, 

expects that number to grow. 

Asahi AWP CleanPrint water-washable 

flexographic plates are processed 

without VOC-based washout solvents, 

use less energy in the production process 

and deliver a faster time to press than VOC 

solvent-wash plates. The ability of Asahi´s 

CleanPrint water-washable flexographic 

photopolymer plate technology to deliver 

effective print performance results from 

its engineered photopolymer chemistry 

design. The water-wash technology also 

features a low-surface energy plate, 

resulting in fewer press stops for plate 

cleaning, improved OEE in the pressroom, 

and reduced press waste. In addition, 

AWP-DEW CleanPrint plates deliver 

precise registration and a printing balance 

between highlights and solids. ■ 

Small plug-in energy chain from igus saves 

80% assembly time 

The plug-in energy chain system readychain 

speed from igus connects harnessed 

e-chain systems quickly and without the 

use of tools. This reduces throughput times 

in assembly and machine downtimes, and 

also minimises planned maintenance work. 

The ready-to-connect e-chain system thus 

saves 80% installation time. With the new 

readychain micro-speed, this is now also 

possible for very small applications and 

in particularly tight installation spaces. 

With the readychain speed from igus, the 

e-chain system can be replaced easily 

and quickly, and the machine can start 

operation again immediately. For very 

narrow installation spaces, igus offers 

the readychain micro-speed model. 

At a width and inner height of 20mm each, 

the readychain micro-speed is suitable for 

small spaces, such as door interlocks in 

machine tools. There is no need to separate 

cores from the terminal strips using tools 

before changing a cable, due to the fact 

that the connectors are integrated in the 

energy chain, and the cable is already 

connected on both sides. Thus, the entire 

assembly is designed to be pluggable. 

The counterpart, an add-on housing with 

bushing, can be flanged to the machine 

housing. If a change is required, the 

e-chain can be replaced using the plugin 

principle without tools, knowledge, and 

technicians. Any employee can perform this 

task without worry of making mistakes. 

The readychain micro-speed is the smallest 

version of the pre-assembled, ready-to-connect 

e-chain systems from igus (Image: igus) 

With the readychain micro-speed, 

customers receive an interface solution 

meeting their needs. It is mostly 

configurable and, like the larger readychain 

speed, can be combined with cables 

from the wide range of chainflex cables 

from igus, including power cables, bus 

cables, Ethernet cables and fibre optic 

cables. The cables are protected from 

mechanical damage with the e-chain. ■ 


58 

FIRST LOOKS 

Elopak rolls out Pure-Pak eSense: the more 

environmentally friendly aseptic carton 

Elopak has announced the market roll 

out of the Pure-Pak eSense carton, an 

aseptic carton made without an aluminium 

layer. The carton is aluminium-free and 

instead made with a polyolefin blend 

barrier, resulting in 50% lower carbon 

footprint than a standard Pure-Pak 

aseptic carton, and full recyclability. 

With no aluminium layer, the Pure-Pak 

eSense simplifies the recycling process 

as the new polyolefin structure enables 

a one operation separation of the fibres 

and the polyolefin layers. The polyolefin 

material also does not contain value 

reducing elements. Furthermore, the 

carton is designed with folding crease 

lines, enabling convenient recycling 

while reducing food waste. The 

launches aligns with Elopak’s goals 

to promote a net zero circular economy 

for packaging, supporting the transition 

from plastic bottles to fully renewable, 

low carbon cartons. 

Marianne Groven, director of sustainability 

at Elopak, commented: “The arrival of 

the Pure-Pak eSense carton is very 

significant because it extends the 

environmental credentials of our cartons 

to customers in our aseptic segment.” 

The Pure-Pak eSense carton is suitable for 

both low and high acid food and beverage 

products, including milk, juice and plantbased 

drinks. The innovative new barrier 

replaces the aluminium layer while still 

retaining the classic rigidity of a carton. 

In addition to 500ml, 750ml, and 1 litre 

sizes, with 1.5, 1.75 and 2 litre and USrelevant 

sizes to be introduced at a later 

stage; compatible aseptic caps, as well as a 

cap-free easy-opening feature will also be 

offered, reducing plastic consumption and 

lowers the carbon footprint even further. 

Customers can also opt for polyethylene 

based on feedstocks from second 

generation renewable sources, or a carbon 

neutral version of the Pure-Pak eSense 

carton, where the remaining emissions 

are offset through Elopak’s verified 

CarbonNeutral packaging programme. ■ 

SABIC launches 

new upcycled LNP 

ELCRIN iQ resin 

made with oceanbound 

plastic waste 

SABIC has introduced LNP ELCRIN 

WF0061BiQ resin, a material that uses 

ocean-bound polyethylene terephthalate 

(PET) bottles as a feed stream for chemical 

upcycling into polybutylene terephthalate 

(PBT) resin. 

The new grade is the latest addition to SABIC’s 

portfolio of LNP ELCRIN iQ materials, which 

support circularity while serving as potential 

drop-in replacements for virgin PBT resins. 

LNP ELCRIN WF0061BiQ resin is a candidate for 

consumer electronics applications such as fan 

housings in computers and automotive seating, 

as well as electrical connectors and enclosures. 

The new LNP ELCRIN WF0061BiQ grade, a 

glass fibre-reinforced PBT material, features 

non-brominated, non-chlorinated flame 

retardancy meeting the UL94 V0 standard 

at 0.8mm and F1 rating. It also delivers heat 

resistance, toughness and stiffness, and 

is suited for moulding thin-wall applications 

for outdoor environments such as electrical 

equipment enclosures. 

All LNP ELCRIN iQ materials can serve 

as possible drop-in replacements for 

conventional PBT to help manufacturers 

increase the sustainability of end products. 

SABIC’s proprietary upcycling technology, 

which involves the repolymerisation, 

delivers virgin-like performance properties. 

“According to an internal life cycle analysis 

conducted in accordance with ISO 14040/14044 

protocols, LNP ELCRIN WF0061BiQ compound 

can offer potential reductions of up to 14% in 

carbon footprint and up to 25% in cumulative 

energy demand, when compared to the 

virgin PBT compound reinforced with glass 

fibre,” said Darpan Parikh, Americas customer 

fulfillment leader, specialties, SABIC. 

In addition, the company has introduced 

many different and innovative grades to the 

LNP ELCRIN iQ portfolio, including glass- and 

mineral-reinforced products and flameretardant 

formulations. The use of recycled 

glass fibre enhances the circularity of these 

upcycled PBT materials. The diversity of these 

formulations enables LNP ELCRIN iQ resins 

to be considered for applications beyond 

electrical and electronics components, such 

as automotive exterior parts, healthcare 

applications and personal care products. ■ 


60 

SHOW REVIEW 

Construction of the igus Campus Cologne (Image: igus) 

Increased delivery capacity 

and new products at 

igus press conference 2022 

Meeting production demands and demonstrating 

technical advancements were at the top of igus’s agenda at 

this year’s press conference. 

At the igus Digital Annual Press 

Conference 2022, the company unveiled 

the latest additions in its products 

and services portfolio and reviewed 

its performance in the past year. 

Over the course of last year, igus 

recorded a turnover of €961 million, 

which is 32% more than in 2020 and 

a 26% increase than in 2019, as Frank 

Blase, CEO of igus, elaborated: “€234 

million more sales in one year, with 

almost the same selling prices until 

the end of the year, and everything 

produced as well as sourced in-house 

— we've never had that before. Our 

colleagues achieved miracles, and we 

were lucky to realise our investment 

plans even in the weak year 2020." 

This year also saw the beginning 

of the implementation of the No. 1 

Catalogue plan, where more than 

80,000 items have since been in 

stock additionally or in higher 

quantities. In 15 global distribution 

centres, the rate of catalogue products 

shipped the same day or within 24 

hours increased to at least 25%. 

“That's probably why the sales 

growth is almost the same across 

all product lines,” Blase commented. 

The online shops also experienced 

improvements, where online sales 

increased by 55% in 2021. He 

added: “Customers need to be 

able to decide immediately on the 

web whether the plastic solution is 


SHOW REVIEW 61 

usable, and then have it delivered 

quickly. That's part of the ‘easiest 

company to deal with’ goal.” 

500 NEW INJECTION- 

MOULDING MACHINES 

The war in Ukraine and the 

shortages in many markets have 

prompted igus to invest more in 

material availability in the short 

term. At the same time, the 

company will invest in higher 

production capacities. Since 

2020, production in Cologne 

has been optimised with 300 

injection-moulding machines, 

and a further 200 have been 

ordered. Meanwhile, the new 

production building in Cologne 

with an additional 20,000m² of 

production space is expected to 

be completed in May next year. 

Plans for a further expansion of the 

igus Campus Cologne, for which 

igus acquired adjacent areas of 

20,000m², are currently in progress. 

At the 35 foreign subsidiaries, 

the expansions amounted to 

a total area of 60,000m². 

Ethernet cables and the solar-powered 

EC.I condition sensor minimises 

unexpected machine shutdowns. 

LOW-COST AUTOMATION 

Another highlight of the conference 

was low-cost automation. In a 

400m 2 customer testing area, the 

igus team will consider all customer 

requirements before offering them 

the RBTXpert, a digital-human hybrid 

service igus launched in 2021. The 

service is available in seven countries, 

with another 14 in the pipeline. Three 

new online tools brought the total 

of these online services to 58. 

CLIMATE-NEUTRAL INITIATIVE 

With a goal for climate-neutral 

production by 2025 — now at 95% 

in Scope 1 and 2 (greenhouse 

gas protocol) — igus tackled 

various projects last year. 

A total of 100 older injectionmoulding 

machines were replaced 

with 40% more energy-efficient 

models; energy management was 

further optimised and an ISO 

certificate for this will follow at 

the end of March. Furthermore, 

igus planted 15,687 trees in 

23 countries. Plastic waste in 

production that cannot be directly 

recycled was also reduced by 

21%. The global energy chain 

recycling programme chainge 

also grew in recent years and 

was rolled out internationally. 

This spring, igus presented its 

first energy chain product made 

from 100% recycled materials 

from the chainge programme. 

igus further presented over 100 

other motion plastics innovations of 

spring 2022 since April at the third 

annual igus motion plastics show. 

Blase concluded: "At the moment, 

of course, we are all moved by 

the plight of people at war and 

the immense political struggle in 

the world. But in addition to many 

relief efforts, we're trying to focus 

on technical progress." FBA 

NEW INNOVATIONS — 

HIGHER OUTPUT IN CHIP 

PRODUCTION 

“Novel flexible cable solutions 

such as the e-skin flat are in 

high demand, especially in 

the booming semiconductor 

industry,” said Peter Mattonet, 

industry manager cleanroom at 

igus. "Being able to replace a 

cable in a matter of minutes is a 

revolution for manufacturing, and 

increases much-needed output." 

At the press conference, 168 

innovations were showcased, 

such as the motion plastics gears 

manufactured via injection moulding, 

with 740 different items available 

in the online shop. The igus smart 

plastics business unit launched 

12 new products for condition 

monitoring, preventive maintenance 

and IoT in 2021 alone. Combining 

them with cable monitoring for 

A total of 500 new injection-moulding machines are being installed at igus in Cologne, while 

100 older ones have been replaced with 40% more energy-efficient models. The company 

aims to achieve climate neutrality across its production lines by 2025 (Image: igus) 


62 

SHOW REVIEW 

THAIFEX – Anuga Asia 2022 

concludes with trends in the food 

and beverage industry revealed 

This year’s THAIFEX – Anuga Asia welcomed 

over 51,535 trade visitors, both local and 

international, from 111 countries between 

24-28 May, at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani. 

Mathias Kuepper, managing director of 

Koelnmesse, said: "As a globally acclaimed 

food and beverage tradeshow, THAIFEX 

– Anuga Asia purposefully solves some 

of these challenges by providing a 

platform for creating new enterprises 

to bring their goods to market, boosting 

their brand and market exposure." 

The hybrid event format received buildup, 

remote connections, and engagement 

from show-goers. Exhibitors, visitors, and 

buyers also met face-to-face as the industry 

moves forward towards innovation. 

The 2022 "restart" brought 1,603 exhibitors 

across nine halls of exhibition space 

at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani, which 

is more than double the number of 

exhibitors present for the last event in 

2020. Despite travel regulations affecting 

participants from some countries, the 

event attracted 6,898 international trade 

visitors, especially from Malaysia, Vietnam, 

Singapore, South Korea and India. 

Visitor, Qurrata Ayuni, from Indonesia, 

said: "THAIFEX - Anuga Asia took me on 

an exciting journey into food innovation. 

I particularly enjoyed exploring some of the 

upcoming trends in food that we're likely to 

see more of in the future, and it's been so 

nice to visit in person, talk to the exhibitors 

and see their products with my own eyes." 

THAIFEX - Anuga Asia 2022 has also 

revealed leading and emerging trends 

following the show: 

• Halal food: All regions have recorded a 

growing trend of halal product launches 

in the past five years. Halal also had the 

biggest showcase at THAIFEX - Anuga 

Asia showcase with 386 exhibitors. 

• Sustainably produced and packaged food: 

In the five years ending 2021, launches 

of food and beverage using upcycled 

ingredients rose at a CAGR of 63%, 

compared with 20% for products using 

recycled materials, 46% for products with 

water-saving claims, 30% for products 

carrying carbon emissions claims and 

35% for palm oil-free products. 

• Clean labels: Around half of consumers 

globally consider the absence of additives 

and use of only natural ingredients 

to be at the heart of "clean" eating, 

ahead of organics and sustainability. 

• Plant-based food: There is an annual 

growth of 46% (CAGR, 2018-2021) with 

food and beverage launches with a plantbased 

and premium and indulgent claim. 

• Alternative protein, including edible 

bugs: Two-thirds of consumers globally 

state that they eat meat substitutes, 

while almost a quarter (23%) consume 

them at least once a day. 

THAIFEX – Anuga Asia 2022 was organised 

by the Department of International Trade 

Promotion, Ministry of Commerce, 

Thailand. Thai Chamber of Commerce 

and Koelnmesse. ■ 


EVENTS CALENDAR 

JUNE 

7 – 10 FOOMA Japan 

Tokyo Big Sight 

Tokyo, Japan 

https://foomajapan.jp/2022/english/ 

7 – 10 Seoul Food & Hotel 2022 

KINTEX 

Seoul, Korea 

https://www.seoulfoodnhotel.com/main/ 

main.php#url 

14 – 17 Korea Pack 2022 

KINTEX 

Seoul, Korea 

https://www.koreapack.org/kor/main.asp 

15 – 18 ProPak Asia 

Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition 

Centre (BITEC) 

Bangkok, Thailand 

www.propakasia.com/ppka/2021/en/index.asp 

13 – 15 ANUFOOD China 

Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center 

Shenzhen, China 

http://www.anufoodchina.com/ 

AUGUST 

11 – 13 swop 2022 

Shanghai New International Expo Centre 

Shanghai, China 

www.swop-online.com/en 

24 – 26 Shanghai International Condiments & Food 

Ingredients Exhibition 

Shanghai New International Centre 

Shanghai, China 

www.cfi-expo.com/en 

31/8 INDOPLAS, INDOPACK, INDOPRINT 

Jakarta International Expo 

– 3/9 

Jakarta, Indonesia 

https://www.indoprintpackplas.com/ 

JULY 

7 – 8 FoodTech Qld 

Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre 

Queensland, Australia 

www.foodtechqld.com.au/exhibit/ 

7 – 9 PackPlus 

Pragati Maidan 

New Delhi, India 

https://www.packplus.in/ 

10 – 13 IFT Food Expo 

McCormick Place 

Chicago, USA 

www.iftevent.org 

SEPTEMBER 

5 – 8 FHA Food & Beverage 

Singapore Expo 

Singapore 

www.foodnhotelasia.com 

20 – 22 Foodtech Packtech 

Auckland Showgrounds 

Auckland, New Zealand 

www.foodtechpacktech.co.nz 

With the evolving COVID-19 situation, kindly check with 

organisers for updates on the related events. Please refer to the 

local airports’ websites for the latest travel advisories too. 

FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA JUNE / JULY 2022 

63

64 

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX 

COMPANY 

PAGE 

Fi Asia 59 

Heat and Control 01 

Hiperbaric SA 55 

Jungbunzlauer 

Inside Back Cover 

ABOUT US 

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy 

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typesetting industry.Lorem 

Ipsum has been the industry's. 

Kerry APMEA 07 

Kerry 23 

NOT JUST AN EDUCATIONAL JOURNAL 

Connects advertisers to the right audiences in 

the Food and Beverage industry 

OUR ADVANTAGE 

Propak Asia 2022 47 

Sweegen 11 

Circulated amongst industry stakeholders 

and professionals, FBA has a subscriber 

base of 8,000. 

With the eBook, print advertisements 

can be seen across digital platforms, 

enabling greater reach and exposure. 

TNA Solutions 51 

Food & Beverage Asia 

Download our electronic version 

For information, visit into us your www.foodbeverageasia.com devices. 

or 

contact us at sales@pabloasia.com 

Yamato Scale 

Outside Back Cover 

For advertising enquiries, 

please contact us at sales@pabloasia.com 

FOLLOW US 

@foodandbeverageasia 


Smarten up your sweets 

TayaGel ® Gellan Gum and Xanthan Gum 

Vegan hydrocolloids for optimal texture in 

gelatine-free desserts 

Uncompromising replacement for 

carrageenan in gel desserts 

ERYLITE ® Erythritol 

Zero calories, clean taste, great digestive 

tolerance: the right choice to formulate 

sugar reduced sweets and desserts 

Tooth-friendly ingredient for chewing gum 

Special Salts 

Mineral fortification for better-for-you desserts 

CITROCOAT ® N 

Enhanced stability in a variety of international 

sweets 

NON 

GMO 

Project 

VERI F I E D 

nongmoproject.org 

www.jungbunzlauer.com

Food & Beverage Asia June/July 2022

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