Page 358 — British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF)

WEBINAR AND EXPORT OPPORTUNITIES UAE

Posted on January 5, 2022January 5, 2022 by Neesha Ramsingh-Cleary

Santander is offering the opportunity for BFFF members to take part in a free webinar on 20th January to explore the opportunities for exports of frozen food to the UAE.

Andrew Williams Head of Food & Drink sector for Santander has said “This webinar represents the start of this year’s activity in the region, where it will be followed by buyer interactions at Gulfood and then some really focused meet the buyer programmes. From recent calls with retailers and distributors in Dubai, there does appear to be strong interest in frozen foods and therefore, I think some great opportunities for your members. We will also be focusing on this market and opportunities within the portal and perhaps we can look at how we approach as partners for the coming months when we catch up next”.

Event details:
• Date: 20 January 2022
• Time: 10:00 GMT

Speakers:
• Dr. Hassan Bayrakdar – Founder & Director, Raqam Consultancy
• Vineetha Sony – Trade Operations Manager, British Centres for Business
• John Power & Sarah Motwali – Commercial Director & CEO and Co Founder, Ymakan
• Nicola Thomas – Director, Food and Drink Export Association (FDEA)

Suitable for:
UK Food & Drink exporters already trading with the GCC or new to exporting in the GCC.

Join us
Don’t miss the chance to hear from experts and leaders from the food and beverage sector. To register, please click the button below.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE BRITISH FROZEN FOOD FEDERATION

Posted on December 22, 2021December 22, 2021 by Neesha Ramsingh-Cleary

I want to leave 2021 on a positive note for members as I believe there have been a lot of positives that came out of the Frozen Food industry. Exciting innovation in reducing the environmental impact of the industry through sustainable packaging options, building net-zero plans, and some amazing product development to name a few. We also have exciting trends emerging from consumers, with more and more new shoppers coming into the category and rediscovering the Frozen aisle. You will be able to learn more about these trends in our next Frozen Food Report which is due to be published at the end of January.

So, I would like to thank all our members for your continued support of the British Frozen Food Federation. We would not be able to do the work we are proud of today without members sharing information, getting involved with our events and continue being part of our membership.

Finally, from myself and the rest of the BFFF team we would like to wish you and your employees a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Members will still be able to contact the BFFF over the Christmas break through our phone lines and the generaladmin@bfff.co.uk.

DAWN FOODS LAUNCHES BAKERY’S FIRST NON-STICKY DONUT GLAZE

Posted on December 22, 2021 by

Dawn Foods has developed a unique new highly freeze/thaw-stable, non-sticky donut glaze which will allow bakery manufacturers to supply longer shelf-life donuts that do not end up in a sticky mess inside the shelf-ready packaging.

The first of its kind in the bakery industry, Dawn Exceptional Non-Sticky Donut Glaze uses a patent-pending propriety formulation that prevents the migration of moisture from the glaze to the donut. The glaze is applied at manufacturing stage to give a sheer and wrinkle free glaze to either ambient or frozen donuts. Highly tolerant even at low temperatures, Dawn’s Non-Sticky Donut Glaze has a low oil uptake on the donut and as it contains no fat, it does not give a fatty mouthfeel either.

Once applied, the new glaze remains stable and non-sticky for up to five days in packaging and, as a result, the donut itself stays fresher for longer. Not only does the finished donut look much more appealing to the consumer as the pack is no longer messy, but it maintains its soft and fresh eating quality for longer too.

Working well on large industrial scale donut production lines, Dawn Exceptional Non-Sticky Donut Glaze is Titanium Dioxide-free, vegan-suitable, free from fat and food colours.

Use of the new glaze opens more donut packaging design options for food manufacturers, particularly for individually wrapped products. For the retailer, the opportunity to sell packaged glazed donuts with the peace of mind of clean, mess-free donuts, along with increased shelf life and less waste, is a big plus, claims Dawn Foods.

For more information about the company, its products and culture, please visit www.dawnfoods.com.

EXTRÊME UNVEILS GROUND-BREAKING ICE CREAM INNOVATION FOR 2022

Posted on December 22, 2021 by charlotte.hambling@uk.rr-icecream.eu

International ice cream company Froneri announces the latest addition to its portfolio: the world’s first ever ice cream with a cone made from a cookie. Leading the revolutionary new product to the market is Extrême, combining two much loved treats; cookies and ice cream;
into one ultimate cone of indulgence.

Launching January 2022, the exciting innovation is the first of its kind within the hand-held ice cream category, serving up deliciously smooth ice cream flavours (vanilla, caramel and hazelnut) with mouth-watering, oven baked cookies; formed together into a tempting ice cream cone.

The unique product is set to strengthen Extrême’s range of premium cones, which already offer a combination of exciting flavours including, Salted Caramel & White Chocolate, Exotic Mango, Raspberry Sorbet & Cream and more.

Lauren Charnock, Brand Manager for Extrême comments: “In a world where there is so much choice and new flavours always on the horizon, the Extrême Cookie Cone is a product like no other, cleverly bringing two loved sweet treats that are enjoyed separately,
together.”

“We’ve been working on this for a long time; it’s the first of its kind in the market and the biggest innovation in cones for years. Many companies have tried to achieve this so Froneri are pleased to be the first to bring even more excitement and indulgence to the ice cream category. Our research into the innovation of the product has shown that there is 91% purchase intent (The7Stars LightBox Pulse research July 2021) so we know it’s something our customers will enjoy. The launch of Extreme Cookie Cones will be supported with a comprehensive media campaign, running across the summer, including TV, sampling, in store and experiential activity.”

Extrême Cookie Cones will be available in Tesco from January 2022 (RRP: £4) and then in selected stores thereafter.
Available in the following flavours: Caramel Cookie Cone – Made of real cookie dough, that is oven baked, formed into a crunchy
cookie cone and filled with smooth Caramel ice cream, a delicious thick caramel sauce and topped with cookie chunks, chocolate swirls and more caramel sauce.

Vanilla Cookie Cone – Made of real cookie dough, that is oven baked, formed into a crunchy cookie cone and filled with smooth Vanilla ice cream, a delicious thick caramel sauce and topped with cookie chunks, chocolate swirls and more caramel sauce.

Hazelnut Cookie Cone – Made of real cookie dough, that is oven baked, formed into a crunchy cookie cone and filled with smooth Hazelnut ice cream, a delicious thick chocolate sauce and topped with cookie chunks, hazelnut pieces and more chocolate sauce.

For more information, samples & imagery, please contact the Extrême press office via: extreme@b-theagency.com

USEFUL NCSC RESOURCES TO HELP YOU BECOME CYBER SECURE

Posted on December 21, 2021 by Neesha Ramsingh-Cleary

We have recently become aware of several businesses being victim to cyber-attacks.

We would therefore like to remind you of the resources available from the National Cyber Security Centre. (NCSC).

The NCSC has recently published guidance on Protecting Internet-facing Services. Although it is aimed at Critical National Infrastructure, the content is still relevant to you and will hopefully be of interest and use.

The NCSC’s Publications Subscription Centre has also been updated. You are now able to subscribe to receive a broad spectrum of NCSC publications in one place, including threat reports and advisories and the NCSC Small Organisations Newsletter.

Follow the Cyber Security Pathway
A route the NCSC would suggest an organisation or individual takes through their products/guidance is outlined below, starting at the most basic messaging.

Cyber Aware – Cyber Aware is the government’s advice on how to stay secure online. It outlines six actions to take to improve your cyber security and offers a tailored plan for you or your business.
NCSC Newsletter – sign up link and description as mentioned above.
Small Business Guide – Explains how to improve your cyber security; affordable, actionable advice for organisations.
Top Tips for Staff & Cyber Security for Small Organisations E-learning – Cyber Security for Small Organisations and Top Tips for Staff are both designed to be integrated into your organisation’s training platform.
Exercise in a Box – A free online tool which helps organisations find out how resilient they are to cyber-attacks and practise their response in a safe environment. Exercises include from 15-minute micro exercises, 1-3 hour discussion based exercises and a 3-4 hour simulation exercise.
Response & Recovery Guide -Guidance that helps organisations prepare their response to and plan their recovery from a cyber incident.
Ten Steps to Cyber Security – Take things a little further: breaks down the task of defending networks into ten essential components. – 10 Steps to Cyber Security – NCSC.GOV.UK
COVID -19 Guidance – This guidance includes home working, video conferencing and moving your organisation from physical to digital
Early Warning – Is available to any UK organisation with a static IP address or domain name. Early Warning helps organisations investigate cyber-attacks on their network by notifying them of malicious activity that has been detected in information feeds.
Logging Made Easy – Is available to any UK Organisation. LME helps organisations to install a basic logging capability on their IT estate enabling routine end-to-end monitoring of Windows systems.
Supply Chain Security – The guidance will provide organisations with an improved awareness of supply chain security, as well as helping to raise the baseline level of competence in this regard, through the continued adoption of good practice.
Cyber Essentials – Cyber Essentials government backed certification scheme helps you to guard against the most common cyber threats and demonstrate your commitment to cyber security. As mentioned, a lot of government and some private contracts are now requesting Cyber Certification as part of their tender process. https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberessentials/overview

NCSC have recently launched the Cyber Essentials Readiness Tool – The Cyber Essentials Readiness Tool is a free, online resource that guides organisations through a series of questions related to the Cyber Essentials criteria to help prepare them for certification.
The tool asks questions about an organisation’s use of hardware, software, and boundary devices such as firewalls, as well as use of passwords and protections against malware and provides clear, non-technical advice for the user. Upon completion of the tool the user receives a tailored action plan that outlines the steps they need to take to achieve Cyber Essentials certification. This tool, developed by IASME on behalf of the NCSC – a part of GCHQ – was launched at the NCSC’s flagship conference CYBERUK 2021.

NCSC have recently released a few Threat videos. They can be accessed via the links below:

Ransomware: https://youtu.be/DWmMm5IhLDw
Phishing: https://youtu.be/NhaPVefCjDo
Security culture: https://youtu.be/Mz0VQx87xvc

Feel free to pass this information on within your business and wider networks.

NEW YEAR IMPORT RULES THREATEN FOOD SUPPLY DISRUPTION

Posted on December 21, 2021 by Neesha Ramsingh-Cleary

The frozen food industry is warning of more disruption to food supplies when new UK import rules take effect on 1 January.

Richard Harrow, the chief executive of the British Frozen Food Federation says new border controls on animal and plant products from the EU could see major delays at ports in the New Year.

From 1 January 2022, importers must make a full customs declaration on goods entering the UK from the EU or other countries. Traders will no longer be able to delay completing full import customs declarations for up to 175 days, a measure that was introduced to cope with the disruption of Brexit.

Mr Harrow said: “Whilst the new UK rules will be introduced in stages, we are concerned that not enough planning has been done to ensure the new requirements are understood by everyone in the food supply chain.

“A good example of this is a new HMRC process called Goods Vehicle Management System (GVMS). The system is designed to enable HMRC to keep a track of loads containing meat and plant products in fast-moving roll-on-roll off ports such as Dover.

“The system requires haulage companies to pre-lodge the arrival of a load to the UK before it departs from the EU port of embarkation. Whilst many UK hauliers are well prepared for this change, we suspect many EU hauliers are not.”

He added: “Whilst the UK authorities have said they will not stop vehicles that do not complete all the documents correctly, this assumes the EU port will allow a vehicle without the correct paperwork to leave port.”

The UK imports five times the amount of food than it exports to the EU, so, the potential for massive delays and food supply issues in January is high.

Mr Harrow added: “We are still finding new elements of the process that our members are unaware of, or lack of clarity on what they need to do to comply with the regulations. With only days to go before the new rules, we remain concerned that January could be a fraught month for our members.”

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