4 FHA2018 SHOWDAILY 26 April 2018
Mission Foods going for the gluten-free brigade
Stella Tan ( right ), director of Foodservice sales , with her colleague , Julia Zhu , regional sales manager - Northern China , of Mission Foods ( Shanghai ) Co .
EVEN though a large part of the western world is fighting the menace of obesity , it has become equally apparent that the ranks of the health-conscious are on the rise .
“ It has been estimated that 28 % of the population follows a gluten-free diet ; and the numbers are rising all the time . Research has also determined that 50 % of the gluten-free consumers are not willing to sacrifice taste , and all these people are often willing to pay more for a gluten-free substitute ,” says Stella Tan , director of Foodservice Sales at Mission Foods ( Shanghai ) Co . ( booth 8D3-04 ).
Australian food company Mission makes full use of this gluten avoidance by offering a vast range of gluten-free products for restaurants and cafes , that do not compromise on taste .
“ We have a great range of Mexican food , using the authentic flavours and spices of Mexico ,” says Tan . “ Our range includes tortillas , salsas , seasoning , whole black beans , sauces and the family favourite , taco and burrito kits .
“ We have corn chips and ingredients , corn tortillas , pre-cut unfried corn chips , taco shells , pita wraps , pizza bases , flat breads , Indian and Lebanese breads and tortilla wraps .”
Beijing-based Julia Zhu , regional sales manager for Northern China , says that there is a USP ( unique selling proposition ) for each of these items in the range , to attract customers .
“ For example , we have nutritional variants of tortilla wraps available , that are 97 % fat-free and made from a multi-grain base ,” she says .
“ Tortillas have international appeal through multiple cuisine applications , and are suitable for various cuisines and occasions , such as Mexican , Greek , Lebanese , Indian and Turkish ; and also for breakfast and desserts .
“ Most of our products are shipped frozen , and have 12 months of frozen shelf life , so food safety is assured .”
Companies involved in the food and hospitality industries cannot passively react to the changing consumer behaviour . The companies most likely to succeed are those actively implementing smart innovations changing the very rules of the game .
— Ivan Uzunov Research Manager ,
Euromonitor International
James Bint gets licence to fry
BY SHIRISH NADKARNI
FROM the Land of Tintin and Belgian chocolates comes another surprise — the now not-so-secret information that there is nothing French about french fries , and that the sliced potato which first slipped into the oil was representative of Belgian fries .
To tell this story especially to the young ones , Belgapom , the potato association of Belgium , has launched a campaign , and created a cartoon character along the lines of the British secret agent made famous by author Ian Fleming .
But , instead of toting James Bond ’ s licence to kill , his tight-lipped ( Bint does not speak ), whitegarbed Belgian counterpart , incidentally named after a particular variety of potato , has been given a licence to fry .
If you would like to meet James Bint , head for booth 9G4-05 and approach with care ; do not get into an argument with him or he will stuff you with fries — Belgian fries .
“ Fries originated in Belgium , not France ,” insists Romain Cools , secretary-general of Belgapom , and president and CEO of EUPPA ( the European Potato Processors ’ Association ).
“ It was just the particular manner in which the potato was cut that gave those fries their French connection . Otherwise , fries have come from Belgium .”
Cools , who has been associated with potato for over 30 years , claims that his country is currently the world ’ s top exporter of the universally loved tuber .
“ In 1990 , 500,000 tonnes of potatoes were being
$ 500,000 freezer will raise product quality & manpower efficiency
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Romain Cools , secretary-general of Belgapom , and president and CEO of EUPPA ( the European Potato Processors ’ Association ) with James Bint .
processed in Belgium ,” he says . “ By 2017 , this figure had risen to 4.6 million tonnes . Now , this is really remarkable growth .
“ Belgium gave the world chocolates , which is something the women love . It also gave the world beer , which the men love . And it has given the world potato fries , which are loved mostly by children , but also by all members of the family .”
Cools , who will soon head to Peru for the triennial World Potato Congress , organised by a Canadian not-for-profit organisation , says that Belgian fries are free from artificial colouring and flavouring , and are different in taste from American fries , which employ yellow colouring .
“ The potato is taking over the world ,” he says . “ Cereals and rice have been found to require a lot of water and land area , which are not really needed by potatoes . That is why , even in China , which consumes so much rice , they are slowly moving into widespread potato cultivation .” because our cost-efficiency can help to lower costs for our customers ,” explains Dino Lim , CEO of Chun Hong Food Industries .
So after months of searching for a deep freezer system that is core to his food production processes , Lim took a very short time to make the decision on the FES Spiral Freezer . He had looked up various equipment suppliers on visits to China , talked to peers in the industry and checked out viable solutions from Cretel Food Equipment ( booths H4H3-03 / H4H4-01 ).
After all this research , he found the FES continuous spiral freezer with self-stacking belt the best match for his requirements and a worthwhile investment .
Visiting Cretel Equipment at FHA exhibition yesterday , he lost no time to confirm the deal .
“ A $ 500,000 investment is not a small sum for a company of our size . But it will increase the quality of our products and improve our manpower efficiency … and in turn give us cost-efficiency .
“ I believe that the long-term prospects for food manufacturing and production are good in Singapore , but we are being challenged by the manpower crunch and many people do not like to work in food factories because of the hard work when a lot of our processes have not been automated .
“ On my visits to food factories in China , I was saddened to find that our food factories do not match up to factories there . There are more willing workers there because factories are more automated , making work easier . They may not have very advanced systems but more processes have been automated . For our industry to improve , we need to adopt more technology and automation .”
Lim says the FES deep freezer system will greatly boost the production efficiency in his food factory . And because of the good design , there is also less concern about machine maintenance .
The FES Spiral Freezer , manufactured in Shanghai , is one of the most well-designed efficient freezers in the industry . With the FES Spiral Freezer , hot food can go into the freezer at more than + 70 ° C and come out at – 18 ° C .
According to Andrew Khoo , managing director of Cretel Equipment Pte Ltd , the freezer uses a unique chain ball driving system that minimises belt tension while increasing driving power for greater capacity and longer belt life , which means greater reliability , lower motor energy consumption , and less maintenance .
The self-stacking belt creates an enclosed product zone in which controlled vertical convection airflow circulates , which quickly and uniformly reaches and freezes all food product surfaces with high efficiency .
The system also minimises ice crystal formation and dehydration during freezing .
An Air Frost Removal inside the freezer removes snow from the fins of the freezer evaporator immediately . This extends the operating hours between defrosts .
“ The design of the spiral stacking belt is highly efficient as it enables maximum throughput with minimal footprint ,” says Khoo , adding that the unique self-stacking belt does not need to rest on any complex support structure , thus eliminating the problem of many hard-to-reach surfaces , corners and crevices that trap food debris and cause hygiene problems .
“ In this way , food safety is highly ensured ,” smiles Khoo .