100 Years of Frozen

This year as an industry we are celebrating a huge historic milestone – 100 years of the frozen food industry.

Back in 1924 a man named Clarence Birdseye revolutionised food production, packaging and food distribution for the world for the next century and beyond. Whilst out fishing in Newfoundland, Clarence observed that when fish were caught and brought out of the freezing waters and placed on the ice, the combination of the temperature and exposure to the elements froze the fish almost instantly. Then, when it came to eating the fish once thawed, to his amazement they were as firm and fresh as if they had just been caught.

What made this method of freezing unique, whilst maintaining the freshness and flavour , was the speed of the freeze – ‘flash freezing’,

That is when Clarence Birdseye set about inventing and patenting his ‘Quick Freeze Machine’, Step-by-step, he invented the processes that would one day become standard practice across the world.

Celebrating our industry

In 2024 we take the opportunity to celebrate the past 100 years and the invention which created the huge frozen industry that it is today. We want to use this milestone to celebrate, educate and engage the industry on everything we have achieved, whilst looking to the future and what the next 100 years holds.

As part of our celebrations across the year, we will be reaching out and speaking to our members about the evolution of the industry over the decades. How technology has evolved and what predictions do we have for the future.

We aim to look at a cross section of the industry from a range of producers, wholesalers, retailers and foodservice and push this out across all media platforms. We want to utilise this huge milestone to raise the profile of our industry and celebrate all that is frozen.

Get Involved

Get involved by downloading the 100 years of frozen logo and adding it to all your marketing communications across the year including:

• Email signatures
• Digital adverts and banners
• Social graphics

If you would like to get involved in our campaign and support with article and PR please contact sarahcollison@bfff.co.uk

Download the logo here

Tuesday 23rd January saw the first meeting of the year for the BFFF Technical Expert Group. It was a fantastic turnout, with the majority attending in person, driving some very constructive discussions on the hottest topics, issues and concerns impacting industry.

We were also pleased to be joined by guest speakers Bradley Eels and Georgios Tetradis-Mairis from Nomad, who presented an overview of the work on what we are referring to as ‘Warming up the cold chain’ i.e. investigations on whether storage temperatures above – 18oC can be used to reduce freezer energy consumption. Intrigued…then take a look here

Amongst other topics discussed was of course the developments around Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) and also the Windsor Framework. This included concerns of having to label ‘Not for EU’ on goods on the NI and GB market and also the shock announcement by Defra to carry out SPS checks on goods coming via the shorts-straights 22 miles inland from the port of Dover at a Border Control Post in Sevington. This represents a massive biosecurity risk and BFFF along with other trade associations are pushing for clarification and an urgent review on this decision.

We also took the opportunity to review the latest updates given from the FSA incidents team on such things as Salmonella in Polish Chicken, peanut contamination of African spices, E. Coli STEC O145 in unpasteurised cheese and food poisoning outbreaks involving melons. Please do contact Deniserion@bfff.co.uk if you would like more information on any of these topics and we will happily provide you with an update.

As many of you will be aware this meeting was also the last to be chaired by Vince Craig. Vince has supported and chaired the BFFF Technical meetings since 1992 so I am sure he will be greatly missed by all. But we wish him the very best with his future plans and extend a huge thank you for all his help and support over the years. A new chair for the group has been appointed and will be announced in due course so please watch this space!

We are delighted to share this crucial information derived from our membership accident statistics for 2022. This data gained represents 37,584 employees within our industry.

This report provides an excellent management tool and enables our members to benchmark their companies occupational safety & health (OSH) performance against other BFFF members within the same sector.

We hope you find this report useful, to view the report please see the link below:

Download Report

Members may be interested in attending a free webinar hosted by Roythornes Solicitors on a the very topical subject of ‘Green washing’.

There has been a rapid increase in the application and use of eco-labels and claims by food and drink businesses that their products are ‘environmentally friendly’. Consumer pressure and retailer strategies have forced many food manufacturers to rethink their recent promotional strategies. But the danger of ‘greenwashing’ is never far away, and new guidelines mean that manufacturers need to take much more care about claims they make. The Competition and Marketing Authority’s ‘Green Claims Code’ is already out there and regulation could well follow. With potentially much stronger enforcement measures on the way, food manufacturers need to be working now on their claims and ensuring their supply chains are as compliant as they are. In an insightful webinar with practical examples and guidance, the Regulatory team from Roythornes will summarise the current position and take a look into what could be a more regulated future in relation to ‘green’ claims and food products.

• What the Green Claims Code says about food and drink products
• What the powers the CMA already has over food businesses
• Anticipated shifts in the regulatory landscape

To register for this free and insightful webinar please follow this link

As more and more employees turn up to work on e-bikes and e-scooters BFFF member companies need to ensure this technology is not increasing the risk of fire and safe evacuation.

It has been reported this week that the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is taking enforcement action and warning consumers about a dangerous brand of e-bike battery – UPP – that has been linked to a number of fires across England.

Four online marketplaces have been issued with Withdrawal Notices which require them, in their roles as distributors of the product, to stop supplying the UPP battery. OPSS has also issued a Withdrawal Notice to 20 sellers directly and has also issued a Withdrawal Notice to the China-based manufacturer.

Consumers are being advised not to use the battery and contact the seller for further redress. Batteries can also be disposed of in local household recycling centres, however consumers should check first with their local centre if they accept this type of battery.

Graham Russell, Chief Executive of OPSS said:

We consider these UPP batteries to be dangerous, and that is why we are taking this action to stop them being supplied. Consumers need to be aware of the risk of these batteries failing, and the potential fatal consequences that can occur. If anyone owns one, they should not use it and contact the seller for redress.

To see the full product safety report, follow the link below:

Product Safety Report: UPP Battery E-Bike Battery Packs sold via Amazon, AliBaba, eBay and Made in China (2401-0083) – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)