Page 487 — British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF)

IN MY VIEW: WHAT RETAILERS CAN LEARN FROM THE PANDEMIC

Posted on October 20, 2020October 21, 2020 by Neesha Ramsingh-Cleary

Leigh Sparks, professor of retail studies, University of Stirling.

The empty shelves in supermarkets at the start of the pandemic starkly illustrated the importance of the supply chain to consumers as well as retailers. Food retail supply chains came under extreme pressure as sales volumes and volatility spiked. Consumer demand was redirected from cafes and restaurants, worries emerged about supplies in lockdown and consumers initially reacted by shopping more often and stockpiling.
Whilst there has been much discussion about the ‘failure’ of the retail supply chain, in reality, retailers have coped well under enormously difficult circumstances by simplifying the things they could control.

Product lines were de-listed and production and supply focused on a more limited range of brands and lines. They was rationing on certain lines. Online shopping was expanded by many food retailers, but this expansion was subject to controls on product volumes and alterations to the picking timing. Some 24-hour store operations were closed overnight to allow shelf restocking and online shopping picking to be carried out more effectively. Frozen food saw an expansion as consumers stockpiled products in their homes.

These mitigation steps hold lessons for making food retail supply chains more resilient as further challenges, including Brexit, affect them.
Post-coronavirus, the experience of it will inform decisions about reinforcing the resilience of supply systems. There should be a more strategic reconsideration of the sources of supply, a focus on shorter, tighter supply systems, probably a simplification of lines and ranges and both permanent and temporary introductions of some of the restrictions on consumers.

While it is impossible to remove all the risks to product supply, retailers and producers can seek to mitigate disruption, all the time minimising cost implications to the business and consumers.
www.stirlingretail.com

WE WON’T FIX CLIMATE CHANGE IF WE DON’T STOP WASTING FOOD

Posted on October 19, 2020October 19, 2020 by Neesha Ramsingh-Cleary

Less than a third of people know that wasting food contributes to climate change
Wasting Food: It’s Out of Date – household food waste is wrecking the environment
If every person in the UK wasted no food at home for one day, it could have the same impact on greenhouse gases as planting half a million trees

WRAP, the UK’s leading sustainability charity, has launched a bold new brand aimed at driving home the message that wasting food has a huge impact on climate change, and that we can all help reduce our CO2 emissions by being more conscious of not wasting food.

Called Wasting Food: It’s Out of Date, the new brand has been created to communicate the simple message that wasting food is now as socially unacceptable as littering or not wearing a seatbelt.

The brand will partner WRAP’s existing Love Food Hate Waste campaign, but use more direct and harder-hitting messaging to reach those people who may not yet be aware of the connection between wasting food and climate change. It will show that we all have the power to help to reduce the UK’s CO2 emissions, and halve our food waste by 2030. It will put initial focus on 18–34-year-olds through social media to show that, like plastic pollution, wasting food has a huge impact on the environment.

The launch is being supported by a variety of partner organisations including HiSense, Co-op, M&S, and Unilever. Partners will use their own channels to support Wasting Food: It’s Out of Date and highlight the waste of precious resources that go into producing our food – like water, agricultural land, and energy – when food ends up in the bin.

Marcus Gover, CEO WRAP, “The food we waste is damaging our planet, devastating our biodiversity and draining our water supplies. Yet our research shows that not enough people realise how seriously wasting food contributes to climate change. In reality, wasted food produces six times the amount of greenhouse gas emissions as global aviation. Many of us blame farmers, producers and supermarkets but the truth is, it is us, households, who waste more food than any other sector combined, and the onus is on us all to see this, and act.

“We want Wasting Food: It’s Out of Date to reach further than we’ve been able to reach before. We want more people to understand the problem, and act. Because when we do, we achieve great things. To date, we’ve prevented 1.7Mt of food being wasted*, which has the same GHG footprint as 2.4m cars – that’s more than all the new cars registered last year. But we need more people to act, and more people to say that Wasting Food: It’s Out of Date.”

Small actions, big impact

In the UK, 9.5 million tonnes of food are wasted every year; 70% of this comes from our homes. Of that, 4.5 million tonnes could have been eaten.

Bread waste in UK homes generates 318,000 tonnes of CO2 annually – the same as 140,000 cars. If we all stopped wasting bread at home for one year, it would have the same impact on CO2e as planting over five million trees.
Bananas are one of the most wasted fruits in UK homes. It takes 3,000 hectares to grow the bananas we waste every year. Every day in the UK, 920,000 bananas are wasted using up 330 billion litres of water to grow annually.

Dynamic videos and infographics from Wasting Food: It’s Out of Date will drive home these messages across Instagram and Twitter. There is also a dedicated website to bring to life the devastating environmental cost of wasting food – and a quiz to help people realise exactly how much food they waste at home.

Making the link

WRAP research shows that while 81% of people in the UK are concerned about climate change, fewer than 30% can see a clear link with wasting food.

This year, WRAP has conducted a series of public surveys to evaluate how lockdown measures have affected our food behaviours at home. The September survey** highlighted that although there are gaps in terms of understanding how wasting food affects climate change, people do have a desire to do the right thing.

WRAP found that earlier in the year the main factors behind people actively trying to waste less food related to the circumstances of lockdown; such as reluctance to go shopping and fear of running out of food. In September, new research shows that people are becoming more concerned about the waste of good food and money, than restrictions. But a quarter of the UK population still falls into the category of ‘high levels of food waste’, and WRAP believes it has never been more crucial to have a compelling, hard-hitting brand to raise awareness, like Wasting Food: It’s Out of Date.

Arun Bhatoye, Senior Marketing Manager at Hisense, says:

“Wasting Food: It’s Out of Date is an exciting campaign that comes at a poignant moment for all of us. Climate change is an issue that requires urgent attention, and it is crucial for both brands and consumers to recognise the impact of everyday food waste on our environment. Helping our customers by driving education around this topic as well as equipping them with innovative tech and features in our appliances to reduce food waste is a priority for Hisense – the responsibility is on all of us.”

Iain Ferguson, Environment Manager at Co-op, says:

“Co-op is committed to preventing food waste, and in addition to distributing surplus food to help tackle food insecurity in our communities, we are passionate about helping our members and customers take those small extra steps that can make a big difference to cutting food waste in the home. We know that to bring about real and lasting change, people need to see the impact of their actions and understand how they can make a difference. That is why, as a long-standing partner of WRAP’s work, we’re working together to support the Wasting Food: It’s Out of Date campaign.”

Hazel Culley, Head of Food Sustainability at M&S, says:

“Our simple commitment is to source all our products with care and ensure nothing goes to waste. We’re making great progress in reducing waste in our stores by ensuring more accurate stock levels and increasing our charity food donations. We’re also continuing to look at how we can help make it easier for our customers to take action in their own homes, from sharing simple storage tips to recipe inspiration. With the launch of WRAP’s new campaign, we can continue to put the issue of food waste at the forefront of our customers’ minds.”

Follow Wasting Food: It’s Out of Date on Instagram and Twitter, and visit the website to find out more and to get started taking action.

COMPANY SHOP SHINES NEW LIGHT ON SURPLUS MANAGEMENT, WITH LAUNCH OF PIONEERING LUMINARY PROGRAMME

Posted on October 19, 2020 by lee.wood@companyshop.co.uk

Company Shop Group, the UK’s leading redistributor of surplus stock, has today announced the launch of its trailblazing Luminary Programme, a first of its kind mentoring programme for industry leaders which seeks to deliver a step change in intelligent surplus management, and reduce unnecessary waste.

Partnering with Amazon, Bakkavor, Coca-Cola European Partners, Greencore, M&S, Mars, Morrisons, Nestlé, Nomad Foods, Premier Foods, Samworth Brothers, Unilever and Upfield, the Luminary Programme will mentor teams of future leaders and rising stars across the industry, all committed to delivering the best in sustainable and social business practices.

Founded over 50 years ago, Company Shop Group is the home of Company Shop stores and the award-winning social enterprise Community Shop, the UK’s first social supermarket chain. Serving customers in the UK supply chain, key workers and some of the UK’s most deprived communities, Company Shop Group exists to redefine surplus and release its full commercial, environmental and social value.

In 2019, the business was one of only four organisations to be selected by DEFRA to receive ‘game-changing’ funding to significantly reduce the amount of food unnecessarily going to waste in England. Taking advantage of its infrastructure, scale and expert capabilities, Company Shop Group embarked upon the ambitious challenge of focusing on the surplus which is hardest to reach – stock which requires expert intervention and is often considered too challenging to redistribute.

The Programme has been created by Company Shop’s expert team, and has invited visionary thinkers from likeminded businesses to learn together and share ideas, and to develop new ways to inspire and influence others. Its collaborative nature is designed to help participants forge networks and partnerships that will last for years to come.

The Programme combines a mixture of toolkits, activities and mentoring, giving participants the skills and confidence they need to be the driving force for change within their own organisation. It will be delivered predominantly online, using downloadable resources and activities. Meetings with mentors also form part of the learning experience, with a personal visit to the participant’s workplace to help tailor their individual programme.

Every business taking part in the Programme will be asked to nominate a Senior Sponsor who supports the participant throughout the Programme, ensuring they are able to drive forward sustainable change which is good for their business, for the planet and for communities.

John Marren, Founder and Chairman of Company Shop Group said:

“From the first day of our Defra-backed Harnessing Harder to Reach Surplus project, we knew we wanted to deliver long term solutions not short-term fixes. For us, using the funding to acquire more stock and redistribute it to thousands of families through Community Shop was great – but we also wanted to do much more. We wanted this funding to create a long-term sustainable change in the UK food industry, so the impact could continue for years to come. Our Luminary Programme is a great example of what we have achieved”.

Marcus Gover, CEO WRAP, said “The Luminary Programme has the potential to deliver long lasting behaviour change through encouraging more businesses and more sites to focus on the root causes of food surplus and waste. Company Shop is a Courtauld 2025 signatory and supporter of the UK Food Waste Reduction Roadmap, and this is exactly the kind of innovative thinking and action that will help us collectively achieve our goal to halve food waste in the UK.”

Government Food Waste Champion, Ben Elliot said:

“We all need to play our part in tackling unnecessary food waste in the UK. The Luminary Programme is exactly the sort of creative thinking and industry collaboration needed to generate a step-change in sustainable practices and to move beyond the status quo.

“I applaud the work of Company Shop Group and look forward to seeing how they will educate and inspire organisations and businesses across our industry.”

Peter Andrews, Head of Sustainability, BRC said “For many years, retailers have been taking action to tackle climate change and eliminate food and textile waste by adopting circular economy principles and utilising redistribution networks across the UK. As we emerge from the coronavirus crisis, more retailers are keen to explore better ways to safeguard our environment and meet their customer needs and we’re pleased to be working with Company Shop as one of our Sustainability Partners to address these challenges.”

Andy Griffiths, Head of Value Chain Sustainability, Nestlé UK Ltd said “As the impacts of Covid 19 are felt across the country, more and more families are struggling with access to affordable, nutritious food. To help deliver sustainable solutions to this challenge, it is crucial that organisations find ever more effective ways to collaborate. The Luminary Programme is a trailblazing example of bringing together future leaders across the food sector, to increase the understanding of these challenges and help identify and leverage new opportunities in this space.”

Lee Haughton, Group Environmental Manager, Premier Foods said “We have colleagues who aspire to develop themselves and help our business to continually improve, and for these colleagues the Luminary Programme fits perfectly. This comes at exactly the right time for us, as the focus on the food industry in 2020 to increase redistribution of surplus is keener than ever. We have been members of Champions 12.3 and WRAP’s Food Waste Reduction Roadmap for three years now, and having Luminaries within our business is a perfect example of how we are fulfilling the ‘Act’ part of ‘Target, Measure, Act’.”

Carmel Mcquaid, Head of Sustainable Business, M&S said “M&S are delighted to be supporting the first cohort of the Luminary programme. As a long-standing supporter of Company Shop, we are keen to continue this collaboration, working together to explore more ways of reducing waste through increased redistribution. Rob’s participation in this programme demonstrates our commitment to ensuring nothing goes to waste across all areas of our operations and we look forward to the benefits that an industry-wide approach can achieve”.

XPO LOGISTICS WINS AKW CONTRACT FOR UK OMNICHANNEL DISTRIBUTION

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Neesha Ramsingh-Cleary

XPO Logistics, a leading global provider of transport and logistics solutions, has been selected by AKW Medi-Care Limited to distribute products to dealers and consumers in the UK. AKW is the UK’s leading manufacturer of adaptive fixtures for bathrooms, kitchens and daily living products, serving people with reduced mobility.

XPO has tailored a flexible last mile solution for AKW using a dedicated truck fleet running an average of 30 routes per day. XPO drivers distribute products to trade and e-commerce customers from AKW’s warehouse in Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, and four XPO satellite sites. Orders are delivered within one day of receipt in accordance with AKW’s next-day service offering. XPO also shuttles stock between AKW warehouses in Droitwich and provides palletised transport and global forwarding services as needed.

Matt Till, AKW logistics director, said, “The resilience of our supply chain has never been more vital than it is right now, when so many people are coping with life at home. XPO has been extremely responsive in understanding our need to act quickly and maintain continuity during the pandemic. With the XPO partnership, we’re in a much stronger position to serve our customers as we continue to grow.”

“We thank AKW for entrusting XPO with the full distribution solution for their B2B and B2C channels, including last mile deliveries,” said Dan Myers, managing director, transport – UK and Ireland, XPO Logistics. “Within two weeks of finalising the contract, our team completed the transition to a dedicated fleet with real-time tracking and a more agile distribution model. AKW customers throughout the UK can be confident of receiving the products they need.”

About XPO Logistics and XPO Logistics Europe

XPO Logistics, Inc. (NYSE: XPO) is a top ten global logistics provider of cutting-edge supply chain solutions to the most successful companies in the world. The company operates as a highly integrated network of people, technology and physical assets in 30 countries, with 1,506 locations and approximately 96,000 employees. XPO uses its network to help more than 50,000 customers manage their goods most efficiently throughout their supply chains. The company’s corporate headquarters are in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA, and its European headquarters are in Lyon, France. XPO conducts the majority of its European operations through its subsidiary, XPO Logistics Europe, which trades under the stock symbol XPO on Euronext Paris – Isin FR0000052870.

europe.xpo.com

MORE ACCOLADES FOR JCS FISH’S BIGFISH SMOKED RANGE

Posted on October 19, 2020 by

Salmon specialist JCS Fish is celebrating no fewer than six Great Taste stars across its smoked fish products. BigFish™ Traditional Smoked Salmon and BigFish Traditional Smoked Sea Trout were recognised for the third year running in these awards, this time with two Great Taste Stars each, whilst BigFish Signature Smoked Trout and Signature Smoked Salmon received their first Great Taste recognition, each achieving One Star status.

Organised by the Guild of Fine Food, the Great Taste awards are judged by discerning palates belonging to food critics, chefs, restaurateurs, retailers, food writers and journalists. As well as a badge of honour, the unmistakeable black and gold Great Taste label is a signpost to an outstanding product, discovered through hours of blind tasting.

Founder and director of JCS Fish, Andrew Coulbeck, says, “It was a big decision for us to go back into salmon smoking a couple of years ago but the investment in our Grimsby smokehouse has really paid off. This is the third time in 12 months that we have been recognised for the quality of our smoked products^[i]^[i], a tribute to the care and attention to detail which our smokehouse team puts in every day.”

BigFish smoked products are sold in independent retailers across the UK and also available direct from the BigFish website and Ocado.

^[i]^[i] BigFish Signature Oak Smoked Sea Trout won UK’s Best Smoked Fish in the Quality Food Awards, November 2019 and BigFish Signature Oak Smoked Salmon received Silver in the international Monde Selection Awards in April 2020.

IT IS FREE, SO WHY WOULDN’T YOU!

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Neesha Ramsingh-Cleary

Did you know in 2009 the British Frozen Food Federation was the first trade association to offer primary authority assurance, the scheme offered additional benefits to its membership. With so much misinterpretation of legal regulation recently, there has never been a better time to join!

Simon Brentnall (Head of Health & Safety) at BFFF explains;

‘Primary Authority is a government run scheme that helps protect businesses from unnecessary legal challenges. The scheme helps to ensure businesses operating in the food sector are doing so safely and legally. It all started in 2009 when the government recognised that the interpretation of regulation by local authority could be variable, this noticed especially in national companies that spanned across various regions. With an aim of consistency, the primary authority scheme was launched. BFFF has a high proportion of its guidance assured by primary authority giving it credibility and legal standing.

BFFF offers its members primary authority partnerships in the following areas:

Health & Safety
Fire Safety
Food Safety and Hygiene
Food Standards and Labelling
Weights and Measures
Fair Trading

Our local authority partners providing these specialisms are:

Wakefield MDC
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service
Cambridgeshire County Council
South Cambridge District Council

To register your company for primary authority members should contact carlbrown@bfff.co.uk stating the areas of interest (H&S, Fire, Food Hygiene etc)

For those wanting more information on primary authority please contact simonbrentnall@bfff.co.uk

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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