Starfrost is pleased to welcome Liz Harris to further strengthen the Service department within the business.

At the beginning of May, Liz joined the company as Aftercare Manager, a role focused on business development and customer support for Starfrost’s clients across the worldwide food processing industry.

Robert Long, Managing Director at Starfrost comments on the new appointment: “We are thrilled to welcome Liz at Starfrost, it forms part of our focused efforts to provide the highest levels of customer service within the industry. Her expertise and extensive experience in cooling solutions is an asset to the company, enabling us to increase support and develop the service we provide to our customers.”

Liz will be managing and developing long term relationships with customers, from the point of project completion throughout the lifecycle of the system. Working closely with the project and service teams, Liz will implement preventative maintenance, system optimisation and upgrades programmes to meet customer product or processing developments.

With over 20 years of experience working in the cooling industry, Liz is qualified in project management, customer support and health & safety. Liz brings extensive knowledge of food processing equipment to her new role to deliver dedicated support to a global customer base.

Liz Harris, Aftercare Manager at Starfrost, discusses her new position at the company: “Starfrost’s core values and focus on innovation is something I want to be part of.”

Liz adds: “My professional passion is within the cooling industry so I’m very excited about bringing my skillset to the team to provide dedicated customer support as Aftercare Manager. I am looking forward to developing the role to support the company’s continued growth and expand the aftercare service.”

Held online from 6th to 8th July, the World Biogas Summit 2021, organised by the World Biogas Association (WBA), will feature Keisuke Sadamori, Acting Deputy Executive Director of the International Energy Agency and Drew Shindell, Special Representative for Action on Methane, Climate & Clean Air Coalition as keynote speakers – leading an impressive line-up of eminent figures from not only the global biogas sector, but also from the worlds of finance, retail and urbanism.

This year’s event, held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will focus on how, in the build up to COP26, AD and biogas can help reduce global methane and other greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. In particular, it will explore the need to capture and recycle the 105bn tonnes of organic wastes generated by human activity every year – and turn these wastes into a valuable resource (1).

Entitled “It’s all about the methane”, the 2021 Summit programme will review how to efficiently capture organic wastes, recover the gases and nutrients they contain and recycle them in the form of clean energy and natural fertilisers – achieving GHG emissions savings, displacing fossil-based equivalents, restoring soil health and helping reduce the carbon footprint of hard-to-decarbonise sectors such as heat, transport, agriculture and waste management – thus contributing to countries meeting their Net Zero targets.

Ahead of his address, CCAC’s Drew Shindell said: “Methane mitigation is one of the most significant climate actions the world can take this decade. There are cost-effective solutions that can be implemented immediately, and the benefits far outweigh the costs. The world needs to make 2021 a ‘methane moment,’ by committing to implement policies and measures to rapidly reduce methane emissions and working to drive a decade of methane action.”

Alongside Mr Sadamori and Mr Shindell, confirmed speakers include:

• Justin Goldstein, Vice-President, Goldman Sachs
• Carlyle Khan, Deputy General Manager, City of Toronto
• Chris Maloney, President, Integrated Biogas Alliance & Global Head of Renewables, Zenviro Tech (USA).
• Andrew Griffiths, Head of Value Chain Sustainability, Nestlé UK&I
• Pawel Kisielewski, CEO, CCm Technologies
• Dr Keith Simons, Principal Scientist, SHV Energy
• Tej Gidda, Vice-President and Global Leader, GHD
• James Rockall, CEO, World LPG Association

Also, in conversation with WBA CEO Charlotte Morton:

• John Hanselman, founder and CEO, Vanguard Renewables, who has blazed a trail in forging strategic alliances with farm associations, utilities and the food industry, including Starbucks and Unilever. The company has rewritten the farm-based biogas production rulebook.

View programme and full list of speakers.

“The biogas industry is growing rapidly worldwide, which presents both exciting new opportunities to grasp and challenges to explore and overcome together.” says Charlotte Morton, WBA’s Chief Executive. “We are delighted and proud to welcome such an impressive line-up of speakers to our third World Biogas Summit – this reflects the growing recognition our industry is receiving well beyond our own community. As the UK prepares to host COP26, this conference will be an important event to demonstrate to international policy makers that There’s No Net Zero without Biogas.”

(1) The WBA’s Biogas: Pathways to 2030 report published in March 2021 establishes that treating the 105bn tonnes of organic waste generated by human activity through AD would enable the industry to deliver over a 10% reduction in global GHG emissions annually by 2030. AD and biogas are also recognised to contribute towards nine of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Dawn Foods, creator of the original yeast donut mix in 1920s America, has launched a new sourdough donut mix, a ‘mash-up’ that combines everything consumers love about sourdough bread and donuts in one easy to use product, enabling bakers to tap into the latest sourdough popularity trend.

The new Sourdough Donut Mix, which needs to addition of water, butter or margarine and fresh yeast, creates finished donuts with a buttery sourdough flavour that is much less sweet than a standard American-style donut. A darker crust, just like sourdough bread, gives added texture, while the inside of the sourdough donut has a soft, light, and airy eating quality.

Dawn’s Sourdough Donut Mix is part of the ‘Dawn Exceptional’ premium product line developed to deliver category-leading quality and performance. The new mix is versatile so it can be used across many applications including ‘hybrid’ sweet bakery products with the sweet/sourdough combination pairing well with real fruit or custard fillings, as well as nuts, chocolate or caramel. Recipes developed by Dawn Foods using the new mix include Pecan & Walnut Sourdough Donuts, and ‘mash up’ ideas such as Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls, and Sourdough Bagels.

“By using a mix, bakers can be guaranteed consistency, an authentic sourdough flavour and texture in every batch of finished product, without having to buy in special sourdough ingredients and creating their own starter ferments”, explains Jacqui Passmore Marketing Manager UK and Ireland at Dawn Foods.

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

Award-winning social supermarket network, Community Shop, marks its continued rapid expansion having opened the doors to its now seventh store in Wirral this week.

Community Shop is part of the UK’s largest redistribution organisation, Company Shop Group, and is undertaking its ambitious plans to expand its provision to reach even more individuals and families in need across the UK.

Its latest store opening is the first in a long pipeline of new stores, and the Wirral store, Community Shop Beechwood, has been made possible with the multitude of support provided by leading online retailer Ocado, as well as local partners including housing association Onward Homes, Wirral Council and charities Little Centre, Tranmere, Big Local and Be Wirral.

The expansion follows the release of Community Shop’s latest impact report this month, which records and celebrates the transformative benefits delivered through the unique Community Shop model over the last year, during which it supported over 10,000 members, who made an average saving of £212 per month on food that would otherwise have gone to waste. Other highlights included:

Creating and distributing over 125,000 food and care parcels for the vulnerable and those shielding, which were tailored to specific requirements including dietary and those with new-born babies.

Providing over 7,300 children with free access to food during the school holidays, with 31,542 families engaging with its renowned Healthy Holiday programmes.
Supporting 902 members into higher education opportunities since joining Community Shop, and 642 members employment.

The latest store, Community Shop Beechwood, will support an estimated 750 members, offering heavily discounted food and products, which are on average around 50% off the normal retail price, helping families to stretch their budgets further. These have mostly been donated by major retailers and manufacturers, such as its long-standing supporter Ocado, and may otherwise have gone to waste.

Membership to the store is open to people who live locally, receive welfare support, and are motivated to make a positive change to their lives, and anyone who is eligible can sign up for membership here.

Alongside the discounted items, Community Shop members have access to the Community Hub and Community Kitchen. Hubs provide personal development support with everything from home budgeting to interview skills and business courses, while Kitchens offers wholesome hot meals to members and their families, with children eating for free. Include two stats here about number of members supported into work/employment/education.

 

Natalie Brown, Head of Community Shop said:

“We’re really pleased to be able to open Community Shop Beechwood, which we are delighted to bring to Wirral. Community Shop will support local people in the area, whilst having a positive impact on the environment by tackling food waste. At the moment it’s more important than ever to be helping those going through challenging times, and we want Community Shop Beechwood to be a pillar of support for those who need it. We would really encourage eligible individuals and families to sign up as soon as they can, so that they can immediately benefit from the provision in store.”

 

Sandy Livingstone, Executive Director of Property at Onward, said:

“Onward stives to make a positive difference in the communities we serve. This is the third store we have opened with Community Shop in the North West. The health and wellbeing of our customers is important to us, we are partnering with Community Shop who offer good food at affordable prices, plus a wider range of services placed at the heart of the community.

“We have a long-term commitment to working for and supporting the community on the Wirral and in Beechwood and Ballantyne. It’s a pleasure to actively facilitate the opening of this new Wirral store.”