Page 388 — British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF)

LESS THAN A MONTH TO GO, ARE YOU READY?

Posted on September 7, 2021November 7, 2025 by Sarah Collison

The new prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) law, also known as Natasha’s Law, comes into effect in less than a months time on 1 October. By this point, all PPDS food will need to have a label with the name of the product and full ingredient information with allergens highlighted on it.

To help raise awareness of the upcoming deadline, the FSA will be running targeted advertising between 2nd – 15th September as a way to remind businesses and signpost guidance and tools that can support them.

The FSA have published their PPDS food labelling webinar, which features BFFF member, Greggs. Claire Florey, Greggs’ Food Safety and Regulatory Affairs Manager, who is also member of the BFFF Technical Expert Group, spoke on the webinar with her colleague Mark to provide an update on the changes Greggs have made to their business to comply with the new regulations. You are able to watch the full webinar here.

The FSA have also pulled together a PPDS toolkit for food business, have sector-specific guidance and allergen resources for food businesses available on their website, click here.

AVIAN INFLUENZEA- UK DECLARED FREE FROM BIRD FLU

Posted on September 7, 2021November 7, 2025 by Sarah Collison

The UK’s chief Veterinary Officer, Christine Middlemiss, declared on Friday 3^rd September, that international standards have been met to declare the country free from bird flu. However, Christine reiterated calls for all poultry keepers to remain vigilant for signs of the disease as we move into this coming winter.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza continues to circulate in both wild and captive birds in Europe and as winter approaches the risk of migratory wild birds flying to the UK over the colder months will mean that the risks for domestic poultry are likely to rise.

Between November 2020 and March 2021, 26 cases of Avian Influenza were confirmed in kept poultry and wild birds in the UK. In all cases, movement restrictions were put in place to limit the spread of disease and carried out thorough investigations into the source and possible spread of infection.

The Government also introduced UK-wide measures to protect poultry from infection from wild birds, including a requirement to temporarily house birds and a ban on bird gatherings.

The UK Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said:

The last year has been very challenging for all those who keep poultry and captive birds, and I would like to thank everyone for their efforts in helping us contain the disease. This is an important milestone that will help our efforts to re-open export markets.

While we are now free of bird flu in this country there is a constant risk of the disease returning through wild birds and this is likely to increase as winter approaches, temperatures fall, and more migratory birds start arriving in the UK.

Poultry and captive bird keepers should maintain good biosecurity practises, such as cleaning footwear, feeding birds indoors, and minimising contact with wild birds. Building these simple actions into routines now will go a long way to limiting the risk of future outbreaks.

Declaring the UK free from Avian Influenza means trade discussions on UK poultry and poultry products can restart with existing and potential new trading partners.

For more information and advice to bird keepers, click here.

ANAPHLYAXIS CAMPAIGN CONFERENCE – ARE ALLERGENS SHAPING THE FUTURE

Posted on September 7, 2021November 7, 2025 by Sarah Collison

The Anaphylaxis Campaign will be holding their annual corporate conference virtually this year, ‘Are Allergens Shaping the Future?’, taking place on Wednesday 15^th September,

The conference will be made up of speakers from all areas of the food industry, including Gousto, Campden BRI, Instinctif Partners and Creative Nature.

To book tickets for this conference, click here.

IT’S CHRIIIISTMAAAS! ICELAND STARTS THE FESTIVITIES EARLY WITH THE FIRST SUPERMARKET MINCE PIES

Posted on September 6, 2021 by Neesha Ramsingh-Cleary

Can you hear the sleigh bells already? Iceland certainly can! Iceland’s Mince Pies (£1.00, 6 pack) are dropping down the chimney and into baskets from 1^st September, giving Iceland shoppers the all clear to deck the halls and prepare the holly – before anybody else.

Iceland is getting into the festive spirit early this year with Mince Pies (£1.00, 6 pack) available in store and online from 1^st September. The £1 festive treat – that’s just 16p a pie – are the perfect way to ease into the festivities early.

This year Iceland saw a spike in searches for ‘Christmas’ and ‘Mince Pies’ as early as July and during August Iceland saw 250-300 searches per day for ‘Mince Pies’, proving that Iceland shoppers are prepping for the festive period already and the supermarket is ready to feed that demand.

Andrew Staniland, Trading Director at Iceland Foods, said: “Christmas is always a huge time of year for Iceland and our shoppers. We’ve worked hard to create the perfect Christmas range for our customers this year and we’re proud of all the products included – there are a few surprises in there too! Our Mince Pies are incredibly popular and we expect 2021 to be no different.”

If the thought of driving to store, parking your car, walking the aisles, waiting in line and getting through the checkouts sounds like too long to wait for your Mince Pie fix, Iceland can now promise a Mince Pie quicker than ever with Same Day deliveries across 400 stores – you’ll spend longer cleaning up the crumbs!

Speaking of waiting, customers don’t need to hold out too much longer to get their hands on Iceland’s full Christmas range this year, which will launch in November.

The delicious festive range will include:

Mini Lasagna Bites

Iceland has taken this much loved Italian dish and made it into bite size treats that will be a hit at any Christmas party. Perfectly cooked fettuccine pasta mixed with a succulent tomato and beef sauce and grated vintage cheddar and mozzarella, finished with a coating of golden breadcrumbs. Just one of these moreish morsels is never enough.

Easy Carve Perfect Turkey

A turkey crown fit for a king or queen. This easy carve turkey crown is called perfect for a reason. Marinated in oil, herbs and spices, and skin on for that extra indulgence, this is sure to take pride of place at any dinner table.

Luxury Best Ever Roast Potatoes

Roast potatoes are undoubtedly one of the best moments of a Christmas dinner. This year Iceland has coated their potatoes with beef fat to bring an extra tasty flavour. These roasties are the perfect accompaniment to any meal.

Luxury Millionaires Melting Pudding with Crumb

It’s time to bring some glitz and glam to the table with this date sponge with a gooey melting caramel filling and covered in decadent dark chocolate ganache. Bring some extra sparkle by sprinkling the edible gold glitter and crumb on top for a glamourous treat.

To view the Iceland Mince Pies please visit: https://www.iceland.co.uk/p/iceland-6-mince-pies-6-unit/45347.html

MFS RENEWABLES HARNESSES THE POWER OF ENERGY WITH NEW TITAN HYBRID SYSTEM

Posted on September 6, 2021 by

Following the recent launch of its new Renewables Division, leading commercial vehicle company Marshall Fleet Solutions (MFS) has added the TITAN hybrid power system to its renewables product portfolio, with the TITAN system capable of providing 100% free power to any make of on-board refrigeration unit, tail lift and other vehicle mounted electrically powered applications on HGV’s, LCV’s and small trucks.

Uniquely, TITAN is a hybrid system that combines power produced from lightweight, high power solar panels combined with a unique kinetic energy recovery system. The state-of-the-art kinetic recovery unit converts braking energy into electrical energy, which is stored along with the solar energy in long life lightweight lithium batteries.

Available exclusively from Marshall Fleet Solutions, the TITAN system will be unveiled for the first time on the MFS stand at the forthcoming TCS&D exhibition in Peterborough in September, where the system will be displayed on a Mercedes Sprinter home delivery vehicle that will be fitted with a Thermo King V200 refrigeration system.

Announcing details of the TITAN range, Mark Howell, managing director at Marshall Fleet Solutions said, “Delivering unrivalled fuel and CO2 savings, TITAN is revolutionary for the future of the automotive industry and for temperature controlled applications. By using a combination of solar power, KER’s, and on-board energy storage, TITAN provides 100% consistent power to the refrigeration system, reducing fuel costs, noise and most importantly, emissions.”

Suitable for both new vehicles as well as for retrofitting to existing vehicles, TITAN from MFS is available in two variants. The Solar-Kinetic version comprises solar panels and the state-of-the-art kinetic recovery unit to power a lightweight lithium battery, making them ideal for all diesel-powered vehicles. The Solar version utilises solar panels only to power a lightweight lithium battery and this version is perfectly suited to electric vehicles or for vehicles with limited daily mileage.

With TITAN, the solar panels utilize all the vehicle’s available roof space rather than penetrating critical bodywork. Energy is stored in a high-powered on-board battery to electrically power the fridge unit. The batteries are charged overnight and topped up during use by harnessing both the solar and kinetic energy recovery from the TITAN system.

Another significant advantage of the TITAN system is that it functions with a one hour key out holdover, ensuring that there is no requirement to run the vehicle to power the system during lunch breaks or deliveries as well as ensuring a timed pulldown function for preparing the vehicle for loading in advance.

With its slimline design and installation, TITAN requires minimal basic maintenance once installed. However, the flexible Marshall ASSIST contract maintenance packages for refrigeration systems can have TITAN added or upgraded to, by including annual servicing, compliance checks, as well as replacement and management of components to ensure optimum performance and reliability.

Further information about the TITAN hybrid system from the new Marshall Renewables Division can be obtained by contacting the MFS Renewables team on renewables@marshallfleet.co.uk or by viewing the company’s dedicated Marshall Renewables page on

https://marshallfleetsolutions.co.uk/marshall-renewables/

“The addition of the TITAN system is part of our planned strategy to substantially expand the product portfolio of our new Marshall Renewables Division, whilst providing our customers with a visible commitment to reducing emissions and combating the effects of climate change,” added Mark Howell.

STARFROST SPIRAL COOLING SYSTEM BOOSTS PRODUCTION CAPACITY BY 70% FOR UK’S LARGEST BAKER OF SCONES

Posted on September 6, 2021September 6, 2021 by

Starfrost have installed spiral cooling equipment for Haywood and Padgett, enabling the bakery to treble production of its award-winning scones.

Haywood and Padgett produces fine quality scones and bakery products for large supermarket retailers such as Asda, Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Iceland, Aldi and Lidl, as well as producing its own label range.

The bakery recently required new cooling equipment to increase its scone production following a factory expansion at its Yorkshire based bakery. Haywood and Padgett turned to Starfrost to design and manufacture a bespoke spiral cooler system for the 31,000 sq. ft. purpose built factory.

Starfrost custom built a cooling system that enabled Haywood and Padgett to significantly increase production capacity. The Starfrost cooling system features two Helix spiral coolers, each constructed with a double drum that uses one single continuous belt, for maximum product throughput.

The Helix spiral coolers deliver a space saving solution which contain over 1400 meters of belt, designed to utilise the height of the factory and maximise floor area of the bakery. The spiral cooler design allows production to load and unload product from low level without any high level transfers between drums, simplifying the bakery’s production line and reducing crumb loss of the scone products.

Both Helix spiral systems are designed as ambient coolers for controlled, natural temperature reduction of the bakery’s scone production. Natural cooling instead of forced cooling maintains the form and characteristics of the bakery products which results in optimum product quality whilst keeping operational costs to a minimum.

The Helix spiral coolers feature plastic modular belting using Intralox DirectDrive™ technology which eliminates product movement, an essential requirement within the bakery industry whereby product positioning is critical. The DirectDrive™ system integrated into the Starfrost Helix works by positively engaging the inner edge of the belt with the drum to drive the belt, the innovative design allows for the bakery to continuously operate the spiral cooler and removes the need to stop production for cleaning, a common downtime issue with manufacturers processing floury products.

Andy Harrison, Project Manager at Haywood and Padgett discusses the cooling equipment installation at the bakery: “The Helix spiral cooler system has boosted processing capacity by a substantial 70%, we no longer have a bottleneck in our bakery, which allows production to run quicker and smoother. The Helix system also cools our products individually which has positively impacted product quality and consistency. The impressive design of the Intralox DirectDrive removes product movement and preserves product shape of our bakery products as well as eliminating friction issues between the drum and the belt.”

A few reasons to become a member of BFFF

To find out more about becoming a member call 01400 283 095 or email the team

Join BFFF

Member profile on BFFF website

Free BFFF Member List

Free listing in the annual Member Directory

Access to latest industry news and information

Weekly newsletter, press and media opportunities

Press and media opportunities

Marketing, sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities

Networking via opportunities at BFFF events

Free market data provided by Circana and World Panel

Access to industry specialists

Expert guidance from Technical and Health & Safety teams

Access to Primary Authority schemes and assured advice

H&S Audit Service/Advice

Free access to HR and legal guidance and advice line

Training and Education

Member Benefits

Exclusive Partnership deals on key products and services:

BFFF energy deals and rates
Vypr member deals and introduction
Defib Plus deals
Company Shop – membership
Mentor – MHE training health check

Exclusive access to networking opportunities and events:

Meet the Buyer events (retail & foodservice)
Annual Business Conference with networking dinner
Specialist H&S and Technical Conferences
Special interest groups (packaging, frozen food temperatures)
Annual Lunch
Awards Night

Become a member

Sponsorship Packages

We offer a range of sponsorship opportunities to BFFF members across our events throughout the year, with flexible packages that can be tailored to suit your business objectives.

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