Brakes and Nutritics partner on new offering for foodservice operators

Brakes, the UK’s leading foodservice provider, announces a new partnership with Nutritics, market leading provider of foodservice technology, to further enhance standards in recipe analysis, menu management and food labelling across the UK.

Brakes and Nutritics have joined forces to launch a one-stop solution called “Virtual Chef Online”, an advanced, groundbreaking suite of online recipe and menu management tools for foodservice operators including:

• Recipe analysis to automatically calculate cost, nutrition and highlight allergens
• Menu management for GP and sales analysis alongside options such as displaying the customer menu on a TV screen or tablet
• Customised label maker and label printing solution to assist with Natasha’s Law compliance
• Cost, sustainability, and waste analysis
• Unique real-time access to Brakes portfolio of 12,000 products and prices

Virtual Chef Online will be an invaluable tool for businesses when it comes to complying with allergen legislation in general, and Natasha’s Law in particular. Natasha’s Law applies to products designated as ‘pre-packed for direct sale’ (PPDS). That is food packaged at the same place it is offered for sale to consumers, which includes pre-wrapped products kept behind a counter. From October 1^st 2021 all PPDS food will need to have a label showing the name of the food and the full ingredient list. Where any of the 14 declarable allergens are present, they must be identified on the label.

As well as helping food businesses to comply with food law, Virtual Chef Online also makes it simple to reformulate recipes, improve their nutritional profiles, or meet specific targets related to nutrition and health claims.

As part of the agreement, Nutritics is Brakes’ preferred software provider, establishing a more standardised foodservice software system in the UK that is geared towards the food industry’s needs to help caterers provide consumers with more robust information and a higher level of transparency to make informed food choices.

“As well as simplifying the entire menu development process, increasing efficiency and reducing food waste, Virtual Chef Online will make it easier for our customers to comply with current food regulations, as well as upcoming legislation such as Natasha’s Law,” said Adam Collett, Brakes UK Marketing and Digital Director.

Stephen Nolan, Managing Director at Nutritics, said: “We are delighted to partner with Brakes to power the technology behind the Virtual Chef Online solution. This new market offer gives Brakes’ customers access to best-in-class recipe and menu management technology and will enable them to optimise their offer, enhance compliance and improve the customer experience all from one software solution.”

Interested in learning more about Virtual Chef Online and signing up for a free demo? Please contact brakes@nutritics.com

Could you and your colleagues help FareShare support children and families this summer by volunteering at the Tesco Summer Food Collection?

The collection is taking place from Thursday 15 to Saturday 17 July 2021 in all stores across the UK where customers will be asked to donate long-life food to FareShare and the Trussell Trust.

For the second consecutive year, Tesco has held an additional Food Collection in summer, as well as the annual Christmas Food Collection. This is in response to the rise in demand for food from charities caused by Covid-19.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis in March 2020:

• 1.5 million people have gone a day without eating
• 8 million adults have experienced food insecurity
• More than 1.5 million people in households with children are unable to access food for economic reasons
• The number of adults who are food insecure in Britain is estimated to have quadrupled

The pandemic has hit us all very hard. Lockdown restrictions and no volunteers in 2020 caused a huge drop in the food we were given from the Tesco Food Collection – we received 50% less than in 2019, when volunteers were able to help in store. Volunteers really make a big difference!

Food donated by Tesco customers during the collection will go to support local charities supplied by FareShare, including holiday clubs providing healthy meals and activities to youngsters outside of term-time, and the Trussell Trust’s foodbanks. Tesco will once again top up customer donations made in store by 20% in cash to aid both charities in their work.

If you can, please encourage your staff, volunteers, and your supporters to sign up for a shift in a Tesco store. One volunteer working a three-hour shift can help us collect enough food for 600 meals!

To find your local store and sign up for a shift, visit the FareShare website.

You can also support the Tesco Food Collection on social media and we’ve put together some posts that you can use here. Anything you can do to help us spread the word far and wide will go a long way in helping us get more food to more children this summer.

If you have any questions, let me know or email our dedicated Food Collection team on: tescofoodcollection@fareshare.org.uk.

One clever way to expand the use of Euro pallets is to combine them using pallet collars. The result is a stable and reusable packaging unit that ensures loads are reliably protected while avoiding packaging waste and therefore saving on disposal costs. And integrated handles, movable locking elements and a sophisticated folding mechanism all make the new CC1 Euro pallet collar from Craemer particularly easy to handle. Other advantages include variable application options, enormous volume reducibility and slip resistance.

Easy, foldable handling for modern logistics

The CC1 is made entirely of PE and is compatible with wooden and plastic pallets. When unfolded, the 7.8 kilogram collars are easy and simple to place on pallet and can be stacked 3 high, allowing for greater flexibility in transporting goods of different sizes. The ideal combination for a loading unit with a height of around 2.10 meters: a stack of two pallets with three collars each. The optionally available external 10-millimetre edge of the CC1 ensures that the pallet is securely locked in place. Without rim, the collar can be tightly locked in place using a pallet lid.

Movable locking elements allow the sophisticated folding mechanism of the Euro pallet collar from Craemer to be actuated with a simple movement of the hand. When folded, the volume of the CC1 is reduced by 75 percent. This means little space is required when transporting the stacked collars, while ingenious locking elements on the bottom ensure slip-resistance – even when unfolded. Adhesive fields for labels and integrated transponder mounting brackets round out the innovation from Craemer.

Craemer plastic pallets

The practical CC1 Euro pallet collar marks Craemer’s latest addition to the company’s wide range of high-quality plastic pallets, the result of over 50 years of experience in the design and manufacture of load carriers. Then as now, Craemer is the market’s leading innovator. Craemer plastic pallets can be found in numerous industries and applications and have already proven themselves millions of times over. All Craemer pallets are from made from high-quality, recyclable PE and injection-moulded in one shot. Pallet lids in conventional dimensions complete the range for modern logistics. The portfolio also boasts a wide range of different containers, from tubs and buckets to pallet boxes.

The CC1 collar from Craemer is compatible with wooden and plastic Euro pallets.

The sophisticated folding mechanism of the CC1 ensures easy handling.

75% volume reduction: When folded, the collar saves space and is slip resistant.

The ideal loading unit: a stack of two pallets with three stacking frames each.