The BFFF is looking for a logistics and storage partner for the Frozen Food Awards for 2025 and beyond.

For the last two years we have been ably assisted by Cook, but they are not able to cover the awards this coming year. We are very grateful to Cook for looking after us so well for the last two years.

 

The requirements of the award process are roughly summarised below, but the BFFF is also open to any alternative solutions / suggestions. As a partner for the awards, you will be a sponsor and get agreed benefits around the event, publicity and online.

 

• Intake and storage of Retail Product Entries – sent in during Mid-January 2025 on set days. Last year there was a case of each of the 150 entries.
• Collection of some goods ( though this can be arranged by the BFFF with a haulier if this is not possible)
• Intake,  collection and storage of Foodservice products in February 2025. Last year there was a case of each of the 90 entries.
• Sorting of products for 18 retail judging panels ( BFFF staff can do this if required)
• Dispatch of products to 18 locations across the UK for the panels ( a few journeys required depending on the timings and locations of the panels) through February and March
• Dispatch of Foodservice products to Barnsley College mid- April – one load.

 

If you are interested and want a conversation, please contact Rupert Ashby and Charley Price at the BFFF for more details ( rupertashby@bfff.co.uk ; charleyprice@bfff.co.uk )

 

Europastry, a leading Spanish company in the frozen bakery sector, has achieved a major sustainability milestone by earning the second star in the Lean & Green Certification. This recognition, granted by AECOC as part of the European Lean & Green initiative, highlights the company’s 30% reduction in CO₂ emissions.

“This certification acknowledges our efforts to lower our carbon footprint and inspires us to continue striving for a more sustainable supply chain,” said Andreu Venteo Casas, Global Supply Chain Director of Europastry.

 

Lean & Green is Europe’s largest initiative focused on reducing CO₂ emissions in logistics. Promoted in Spain by AECOC, this program fosters sustainability in business by driving more efficient, environmentally friendly logistics operations.

Sustainability Commitments

Europastry aims to power 100% of its production plants with renewable electricity by 2027. A new carbon-neutral production line in Oldenzaal, The Netherlands, uses renewable energy and holds the BREEAM sustainable construction certification. Additionally, the company is installing solar panels in its Tarragona plants in Spain to produce 6,436 MWh annually, reducing CO₂ emissions by 2,030,800 kilograms each year and cutting its electricity consumption by 25%.

This plant incorporates technologies for recovering motor and water residuals and is certified with the BREEAM sustainable construction label, making it one of Europe’s most efficient, low-impact facilities.

Additionally, the company announced a significant project: installing solar panels at its Sarral and Vallmoll plants in Tarragona. These photovoltaic panels will generate 6,436 MWh annually for self-consumption, reducing CO₂ emissions by 2,030,800 kilograms per year and cutting the company’s electricity consumption by 25%.

 

 

Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection, a global leader in product inspection technologies, is excited to announce an informative webinar titled “Superior Inspection of Canned Good with X-ray Inspection.” This highly anticipated event will take place on Wednesday, 22^nd January 2025, at 8:00 AM and 2:00 PM UK time.

 

This must-attend webinar will equip food manufacturers with essential knowledge to overcome the challenges they face in modern canning environments, where high speeds, evolving regulatory standards and the complexities of foreign body detection can make achieving both product quality and efficiency difficult.

 

The one-hour webinar will look in depth at the following topics:

 

• Foreign Body Detection & Product Integrity: Manufacturers often face challenges detecting contaminants in cans due to packaging materials or variations in can orientation. The webinar will show how x-ray inspection systems provide precise, automated detection of a wide range of foreign body contaminants regardless of can type (2-piece or 3-piece ring pull). These systems also perform multiple integrity checks in a single pass – verifying fill levels, identifying canning deformities and confirming seal integrity.
• High-Speed Quality Control: High-speed canning lines can make it difficult to maintain inspection accuracy and manage product rejects. The webinar will explore how x-ray technology handles these demands with robust line integration, delivering fast, reliable inspections to avoid production stoppages and reduce waste, even at high speeds.
• Real-Time Demonstration: Attendees will see x-ray inspection in action during a live demo on a high-speed test track, showcasing how the systems can be seamlessly integrated into real production environments. The demo will highlight continuous, automated quality checks with minimal disruption to operations.
• Data Management for Enhanced Efficiency: With today’s fast-paced production lines, efficient data management is crucial. The webinar will also explore how x-ray systems can integrate with ProdX™ data management software, allowing real-time monitoring and reporting to streamline audits, reduce human error and provide a comprehensive inspection record for compliance and due diligence purposes.

 

The webinar will be presented by Adam Green, Market Manager at Mettler-Toledo Safeline X-ray, who has extensive experience in helping global manufacturers overcome the unique challenges of high-speed canning processes. Adam will share his insights on optimising x-ray inspections, achieving compliance and enhancing production efficiency, all without sacrificing speed or quality.

 

“Canned products are essential across the food and pet food industries, but the demands of high-speed canning can make maintaining quality and safety extremely challenging,” said Adam Green, Market Manager, Mettler-Toledo Safeline X-ray. “We are excited to present this webinar in order to help canning companies address these challenges – providing manufacturers with the tools they need to improve efficiency and achieve compliance while maintaining high product quality standards.”

Attendees will also have the opportunity to engage in interactive polls throughout the session, gathering insights into industry trends and challenges faced by peers. Additionally, a Q&A session will allow participants to address specific concerns and ask about how the Mettler-Toledo solutions can be applied to their production lines.

 

Following the webinar, attendees will be able to send in their own cans for validation testing to see how their products perform in real-world production environments.

Register now by clicking here to reserve your spot and gain valuable insights into optimising your canning line for the future or visit: www.mt.com/xray-cans

 

For more information on high-speed canning and x-ray inspection download our white paper here.

Colleagues across Sysco GB have been celebrating the organisation’s annual global Purpose Month, with volunteering projects taking place around the country. Sysco’s Purpose Month is an initiative for colleagues from around the world to come together to live Sysco’s Purpose of Connecting the World to Share Food and Care for One Another.

 

In total across Sysco GB depots, which includes Brakes, Fresh Direct, kff and Medina Foodservice, more than 250 volunteering hours have been undertaken in November.

 

The volunteering, which has been led by programmes with food redistribution organisation FareShare, coincides with a major milestone for Fresh Direct, which celebrated providing the equivalent of 3m meals across food redistribution charities.

 

Paul Nieduszynski, Chief Executive of Sysco GB, said: “We are celebrating Purpose Month across Sysco globally with a range of activities aimed at supporting our business purpose which is connecting the world to share food and care for one another.

 

“Our activity with City Harvest and FareShare are great examples of how the business is living its purpose. I’m equally delighted to see Fresh Direct providing direct support to these organisations by making sure that any surplus fresh produce goes directly to these two fantastic organisations providing meals to families that need them across the country. Providing the equivalent of three million meals is a fantastic milestone.”

 

Businesses in need of additional blast freezing capacity are benefitting from a new two-week turnaround service introduced by cold storage specialists Blue Cube.

The Blue Cube ‘Fast Blast’ delivery service means customers can get additional capacity on their sites within 14 days.

The team’s current record installation time for a wholesale bakery based in the south of England was just four days after the customer first made an enquiry.

Blue Cube technology also means that once the units are on site, they work faster than standard equipment allowing customers to freeze more products in the same amount of time.

One raw meat supplier is now freezing twice as much product in one day than they were able to with their previous unit.

And by using less energy, the Blue Cube units are also significantly reducing electricity bills, meaning customers are saving time and money as well as cutting their carbon footprints.

Project Engineer Paul Hughes explained: “Speed is so important in the cold chain and we want to make sure companies have the facilities they need as soon as possible.

“We’ve had customers call us who’ve been having to wait two or three months to get more units on site. That can feel like a lifetime when there’s work to be done.

“I like to think we’ve always been fast and flexible at Blue Cube, but the new processes we have introduced have really streamlined our capabilities and mean we can deliver faster than ever before.

“The guy we delivered to in four days still can’t believe it! He called us on the Monday and he was putting product in his new unit on the Friday!

“We needed a crane for that install but that isn’t a problem. It was still up and running the same week the customer first contacted us. That’s just what we can do now.”

Blue Cube’s Fast Blast offer is a co-ordinated service provided by the team at office headquarters in Stafford and the operational team based in Tuxford.

Units can be delivered throughout the UK to customers in the food, maritime, pharmaceutical, manufacturing and distribution industries.

The Blue Cube team monitors all new units centrally via a live status dashboard and support is available 24/7. Remote intelligence ensures engineers can support customers in maximising uptime and reducing costs.

Don’t miss last week’s webinar presented by Annemarie Joyce, Pre-Sales Specialist at Safefood 360°, and John Figgins, Senior Technical Manager at BRCGS.

Learn about the most common nonconformities identified under BRCGS Issue 9 and gain insights into the typical root causes behind these nonconformities.

The session includes a practical demonstration of how Safefood 360° platform addresses these challenges.

Watch it on-demand via The FSQ Network: https://fsqnetwork.com/videos/brcgs-food-safety-issue-9-analysis-of-non-conformities