food Marketing - Technology 4/2023

4/23 

Vol. 37 • 31377 

ISSN 0932-2744 

Cover: Efficient Drives for 

Bakeries 

Future Proof 

Ingredients 

High Precision Metal 

Detection 

Turning Traceability 

into Gold

Join the 

biggest EU 

ingredient event 

this November 

IN-PERSON 28-30 November, Frankfurt, Germany 

fi-europe.eu/harnisch23 

Key No. 105725

Editorial 

Hidden in Full Sight 

There has always been a lot of talk 

about Africa, especially when it comes 

to food. For so many people, Africa is 

a large unknown. The only true way to 

discover what Africa has to offer is to 

visit and take a look. 

My recent trip to Ethiopia helped me 

to see much of what makes Africa so 

special. It starts with a hospitality and 

warmth of the people. It feels like a 

genuine welcome, which is not always 

the case in some other countries. I 

have experienced the same thing in 

other parts of Africa too. 

Of course, Africa is not a country, 

but a whole continent and it is unfair 

to generalise. However, the people 

I have personally met have shown 

an optimism, energy and strength to 

make something happen. In Africa 

there are many natural resources for 

agriculture and other industries, due 

to the unique climate and geographical 

conditions. Some parts of the 

continent provide such well-known 

foods as cacao, maize, sorghum, nuts, 

many fruits and acacia gum. 

Ethiopia is considered the birthplace 

of coffee, as the Arabica bean was first 

cultivated there. The climatic conditions 

and soil make the coffee plants and 

cherries thrive. The coffee tradition and 

the know-how of the coffee farmers, 

passed down from generation to 

generation, have laid the foundation for 

high-quality processing. Whilst much 

of this processing still uses traditional 

methods by hand, there is also support 

from suppliers of equipment and 

machinery. More details on this visit to 

Addis Ababa can be found on page 40. 

Later in this issue is a more in-depth 

report on Ethiopia and its resources, 

from the German Import Promotion 

Desk (IPD). It is sometimes astonishing 

to discover so many riches, which 

were simply not recognised before. Of 

course, I tried and enjoyed injera with a 

spicy sauce. 

Africa is proving very interesting for 

exporters of equipment in the food 

and beverage sector. This will help to 

harvest raw materials and increase 

value in underdeveloped regions. The 

Ian Healey 

Editor-in-Chief 

German exhibition organiser fairtrade 

has built up experience over 30 years 

through their pioneering events in West 

and East Africa in both agrofood and 

plastics, printing and packaging. Paul 

März, Managing Director of fairtrade: 

“Ethiopia has long been the largest 

food market in East and Central Africa 

and the F&B sector is by far the largest 

segment of Ethiopia’s manufacturing 

industry. This year’s exhibition is 

the largest in its history, with trade 

visitors from all over Ethiopia and the 

neighbouring countries.” 

As the political stability has settled 

most African nations, overseas investment 

is becoming more attractive; 

the hidden potential in Africa is being 

uncovered. As one expert recently 

said: “African agriculture is at the 

crossroads … Africa is starting to 

focus on agricultural innovation as 

its new engine for regional trade and 

prosperity.“ 

Africa can be a positive answer for the 

rest of the world. 

Cheers 

If you like it – subscribe! 

food Marketing & Technology • August 2023 

3 

food Marketing & Technology • August 2023

Contents 

food Marketing & Technology August 2023 

1 Editorial 

50 Impressum 

Ingredients 

10 Back to Baking Basics with Future-Proof 

Ingredients 

12 “Gluten Free”, “Vegan” & “High in Fiber” Claims for 

Baked Goods 

14 Butter and Beyond - The Rise of Alternative Fats in 

the Bakery 

15 IFT FIRST Focuses on the Future of Food 

20 Nutritional Support for Sports Injury Prevention 

23 FMCG Gurus: The Sports Nutrition Market 

Processing 

6 Efficient Drives for Bakery and Bread Factories 

24 Accurate Humidity Measurements Improve Baking 

Efficiency and Consistency 

26 Sustainable Processing: Unlocking Big Savings by 

Going Green 

30 25 Years of NETZSCH: Interview with Felix Kleinert 

32 High-Precision Metal Detection for Salad Dressings: 

MiWave Technology Reduces Erroneous Readings 

Packaging 

34 Artisan Master Baker Selects Label Verification 

Data Master 

36 Turning Traceability into Marketing Gold 

Departments 

Key No. 102163 

38 Company Founder Gerhard Schubert has Passed Away 

38 Rico Maga, Plant Pathologist 1948-2023 

40 Agrofood Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, June 2023 

42 Still Largely Unknown: Ethiopia as an Export Country 

for Natural Ingredients 

46 Pioneering Project: Producing Milk in Mauritania 

48 AI, Digitalization, Food Safety: The Future of Technology 

for the Food Industry is on Display at Cibus Tec

7/14/23 12:00 PM 

Vol. 37 • 31377 

ISSN 0932-2744 

NEW 

4/23 

Cover: 

Whether kneading system, conveyor 

belt or continuous furnace: numerous 

automation units are at work in modern 

bakeries – and all of them are equipped 

with individual electric drive systems. 

These numerous systems are an important 

factor in the automated baking and 

deserve special attention. They have to 

meet demanding requirements and these 

efficient drives can also offer significant 

potential for increasing energy efficiency 

and reducing the Total Cost of Ownership. 

g Technology 

product. 

chel.com 


Bakeries 

Future Proof 

Ingredients 


Turned Traceability into 

Detection 

Gold 

Our Cover Story starts on page 6. 

Photo: NORD DRIVESYSTEMS 

Your Recipe. 

Automated to Perfection. 

Ingredients: Bakery Ingredients 

A leading food producer has replaced an existing metal detector 

with the new metal detector Mitus® in order to best meet 

the strict requirements for ensuring product quality. Before 

the finished salad dressing is approved for order picking, the 

product is checked for metallic foreign objects. Thanks to its 

flexible MiWave Modulation, the new detector is able to detect 

and show the presence of even the smallest foreign objects 

despite an extremely high product effect. See page 10 

Food-focused. Global resources 

that deliver. 

Whether 

weighing or transferring, Shick Esteve is 

your complete ingredient automation 

systems provider. 

Processing: Metal Detection 

A leading food producer has replaced an existing metal detector 

with the new metal detector Mitus® in order to best meet the 

strict requirements for ensuring product quality. Before the finished 

salad dressing is approved for order picking, the product 

is checked for metallic foreign objects. Thanks to its flexible 

MiWave Modulation, the new detector is able to detect and 

show the presence of even the smallest foreign objects despite 

an extremely high product effect. The full story is on page 32 

Packaging: Traceability Benefits 

Statutory regulations have really driven the mass adoption 

and implementation of traceability systems for all stages of 

food production. Whilst the requirement for traceability is 

a good thing for consumer safety and market transparency, 

it does cause difficulties for manufacturers. There is a 

direct administrative cost to recording and managing all that 

information - and it is often difficult to achieve because recipe 

processing is complex. Find out more on page 36 

food Marketing & Technology • February 2016 

shickesteve.com/fr | +33 (0)2 48 66 60 60 

Key No. 105129

Cover Story 

Efficient Drives for Bakery and Bread 

Factories 

Ovens and other baking equipment are the biggest energy consumers in the baking industry. However, 

this does not mean that other areas do not also offer approaches for saving energy. Specialist 

NORD DRIVESYSTEMS supports companies with energy-efficient drive solutions that are specifically tailored 

to bakeries. 

Whether kneading system, conveyor 

belt or continuous furnace: numerous 

automation units are at work in 

modern bakeries – and all of them are 

equipped with individual electric drive 

systems. In a kneading machine, at 

least the dough hook is driven, often 

the vat is also rotated, lifted or tilted 

and the lid is lifted automatically. 

These numerous drive systems are 

an important factor in the automated 

bakery industry and deserve attention 

for several reasons. On the one 

hand, they have to meet demanding 

requirements, for example, in terms of 

hygiene – keyword: food safety – and 

reliability. On the other hand these 

drives can offer significant potential 

for increasing energy efficiency and 

reducing the Total Cost of Ownership 

(TCO). 

Own industry management 

NORD DRIVESYSTEMS specializes 

in efficient tailor-made drives for a 

wide variety of industrial applications. 

With its drive components – motor, 

gear unit, industrial gear unit and 

frequency inverter – the drive expert 

based in Bargteheide near Hamburg 

supplies more than 100 industries. 

The company has established special 

industry management for several key 

industries, including the bakery industry. 

“Our industry managers have in-depth 

Numerous drive units are used in modern bakeries and industrial bread factories. 

Image: AdobeStock - industrieblick 

knowledge of the baking industry and 

are highly familiar with the requirements 

of bakeries as well as industrial bread 

factories”, Jörg Niermann, Head of 

Marketing at NORD, points out. 

In addition to the drive technology 

expertise and familiarity with the 

baking industry, NORD offers its 

customers another advantage: The 

company is represented worldwide, 

and its international service network 

guarantees quick customer support 

around the globe. NORD is available 

to its customers in 36 countries with 

assembly facilities, service and sales; 

competent service partners are ready 

to help in 52 other countries. 

6 food Marketing & Technology • August 2023

Cover Story 

Tailor-made drive solutions 

In consultation with the customer, the 

industry experts configure tailor-made 

drive solutions for the bakery industry 

from NORD’s comprehensive modular 

system. The powerful MAXXDRIVE® 

industrial gear units are used for large 

agitating and kneading systems. These 

high-performance gears with torques 

of up to 250,000 Nm pay off – for 

example, especially when preparing 

dough where large quantities are 

involved and where the viscosity is 

also changed by adding flour, eggs or 

water. 

For the MAXXDRIVE® industrial gear 

units, NORD offers the SAFOMI-IEC 

adapter as an option for agitators. The 

SAFOMI adapter does not require an 

oil tank and hoses as well as radial 

shaft seals between the gear unit 

and IEC cylinder. The elimination of 

several sealing and connection points 

increases the reliability with reduced 

maintenance effort. Furthermore, the 

compact design reduces the installation 

space. 

If NORD’s standard modular system is 

ever insufficient for the configuration 

of a tailor-made drive system, the 

company’s engineering specialists also 

develop customized solutions from 

scratch. “Customer satisfaction is our 

top priority, not so much the series 

size”, Jörg Niermann emphasises. 

NORD offers customized development 

even for small quantities. 

For applications with high temperature 

ranges, such as fermentation ovens and 

continuous ovens, or low temperature 

ranges, such as freezers and coolers, 

NORD can also provide applicationspecific 

solutions. 

Hygienic requirements 

For almost all applications, NORD offers 

a wide portfolio of hygiene-friendly 

drives. This includes asynchronous and 

synchronous smooth-surface motors, 

straight and angled gear units as well 

as decentralised frequency inverters. 

Two smooth-surfaced motor series 

have been designed to be hygienefriendly 

and are supplied without fans. 

The new IE5+ synchronous motor 

series integrates the encoder in a 

well-protected and compact manner 

in the A bearing cover whilst the IE3 

asynchronous series protects the 

encoder in an add-on housing at the 

B bearing cover. Both motors can 

also be equipped with brakes that are 

integrated in the IP69K add-on housing. 

Power and signal cables can also 

be designed with high-performance, 

hygiene-friendly plugs. 

By basing the hygienic series on 

the standard series, a large modular 

system with various option variants 

and great design flexibility is available. 

Consequently, it is also possible to find 

For large agitators, NORD DRIVESYSTEMS offers a comprehensive portfolio of MAXXDRIVE® industrial gear units with torques of up to 250,000 Nm. 

Image: NORD DRIVESYSTEMS 


7

Cover Story 

solutions for special circumstances 

such as confined installation spaces. 

For harsh environmental conditions 

and also corrosion protection, 

NORD DRIVESYSTEMS offers its selfdeveloped 

nsd tupH surface treatment. 

The technology provides unique corrosion 

protection, comparable to 

stainless steel, with an excellent priceperformance 

ratio. Since it is not a 

paint layer, there is no surface peeling 

or flaking. 

With explosion protection as 

standard 

“We also offer many drive components 

with explosion protection according 

to the ATEX directive as standard”, 

Niermann highlights. Explosion 

protection is of special importance 

in the bakery industry. Flour dust and 

other grounded organic substances 

are highly flammable in their unprocessed 

form. The same applies to 

NORD also supplies the high-efficiency IE5+ synchronous motors as an easy-to-clean, smoothsurface 

and fanless version. 


alcohol used in the preparation of 

cake or confectionery, for example. 

To make the use of such ingredients 

safe, NORD DRIVESYSTEMS offers 

a wide range of ATEX-certified 

components. 

The SAFOMI-IEC adapter for agitators acts as an IEC adapter and oil expansion chamber, increases 

operational reliability and reduces maintenance effort. 


Total Cost of Ownership 

Whether from the modular system or 

individually developed: NORD drive 

solutions are characterised by high 

energy efficiency. Energy-saving individual 

components and integrated 

solutions with high system efficiency 

ensure efficient machine operation. 

For conveyor belts or cutting 

equipment, for example, NORD offers 

high-efficiency IE5+ synchronous 

drives. They are controlled by NORD 

frequency inverters which not only 

guarantee highest energy efficiency. 

Via their standard PLC (programmable 

logic controller), individual additional 

functions such as metering units 

and enrobing systems can also be 

integrated into the higher-level control 

system as interlinked production 

components. 

The constant torques of NORD 

components over a wide speed range 

also make it possible to significantly 

reduce the number of different 

drive units within larger systems. 

This variant reduction minimises 

administrative costs and streamlines 

logistics, storage and service 

processes. All of this helps the user to 

significantly reduce their Total Costs 

of Ownership (TCO). 

fmt 


Ingredients 

endlessly 

UNIQUE 

Your world. Your trade fair. 

GET YOUR 

TICKET NOW! 

More information: 

www.iba.de 

2023 

22.–26.10. 

Key No. 105506 

THE WORLD’S LEADING TRADE FAIR FOR 

THE BAKING AND CONFECTIONERY INDUSTRY 


9

Ingredients 

Back to Baking Basics with Future-Proof 

Ingredients 

With its newly relaunched Slow Milling portfolio, GoodMills Innovation enables entirely natural baking with 

maximum process reliability 

Addressing the needs of bakers who 

want to meet increasing consumer 

demand for natural, artisan-style 

offerings, but also provide an 

extensive range of products, was 

the driver for GoodMills Innovation’s 

comprehensive revision of its Slow 

Milling raw materials and recipe range. 

Philipp Münstermann, Group Manager 

Craft Bakery at GoodMills Innovation, 

explains the rationale: “With our new 

Slow Milling range, we are updating the 

concept – natural baking – and making 

it relevant to emerging trends. It 

addresses the needs of today’s bakers 

and their approach to bread production 

in terms of philosophy and technology. 

As Slow Milling is synonymous with 

the art of baking, we consciously 

wanted to distance ourselves from 

packet mixes, i.e. the usual ‘open the 

bag, add water and yeast, and the 

bread is ready’ products. Slow Milling 

is fundamentally different, as it is a 

modular system which allows bakers 

to create their own bread concepts 

from individual ingredients - or have 

us create them on their behalf. We 

are now taking this further in order to 

keep abreast of developing trends: i.e. 

pre-doughs, long-lasting and artisanal 

appearance.” 

In contrast to baking mixes, Slow 

Milling calls for baker expertise and 

craftsmanship. It therefore leaves 

plenty of room for baker creativity 

when producing goods with their own 

particular character. 

All-natural ingredients for reliable 

results 

Naturalness, enjoyment, time, 

aroma and dough maturation are 

all part of the current Slow Milling 

narrative. This results in safe baking 

with reproducible results, and also 

allows for fermentation tolerances. 

After all, baking the way it was in 

our forefathers’ days poses great 

challenges for modern-day bakers, 

with ever-changing environmental 

conditions making consistent results 

almost impossible. Therefore, anyone 

who wants to bake entirely without 

aids must accept limitations: Natural 

variations in the quality of raw 

materials, different temperatures, 

humidity levels and possible changes 

in personnel all mean that the dough 

will be subject to fluctuations. 

When focusing on just a few products, 

this is not necessarily problematic, 

according to Philipp Münstermann. 

However, he goes on to say: “I can 

pursue this approach if I have a small 

specialty bakery, but not if I have to 

supply branches or want to offer a 

full range of bakery products, as is 

generally expected today. If that’s 

the case, I need a certain degree of 

baking reliability. I can create that 

with Slow Milling, using all-natural raw 

materials so that the artisanal and 

natural character of the baked goods 

is preserved.” That said, Slow Milling 

is not ‘plug-and-play’. The baker’s 

craftsmanship is a prerequisite - or as 

Münstermann observes: It does not 

offer solutions for dummies but 

recipes from baker to baker. 

Authentic taste and aroma 

So how is the Slow Milling kit 

constructed? Broadly speaking, it 

consists of value-added ingredients 

for baking technology and safety, and 

components for taste and aroma. 

Naturfrisch Goldgranulat: a partially digested durum wheat semolina that is added in swollen form 

to the main dough to impart excellent freshness 

Value-added ingredients are either 

flavorful or visually outstanding, 

and give bread or pastry an extra 

something special. When selecting 

raw materials, GoodMills Innovation 

therefore attaches particular 

importance to the fact that these are 

not everyday ingredients that can 

be obtained anywhere. Instead, they 

offer bakers a real opportunity to 

differentiate their range and provide 

innovative new offerings such as topquality 

malted flakes made from rye 

and spelt. For the rye malt flakes, the 

grain is first germinated and then dried 

before being flaked. This requires 

a long manufacturing process and 

results in standout products that are 

far superior to those where rye malt is 

simply applied afterwards. 


Ingredients 

In terms of baking technology and 

safety, the main focus is on the 

consistent quality of the baked goods, 

their recognizability and the certainty 

of their success. This is achieved with 

natural ingredients, some of which 

are physically treated such as the 

high-protein flour Vitalweizen which 

enhances normal flour by making it 

significantly more stable to baking and 

fermentation, and ensures that the 

dough develops good volume. 

Taste and aroma are achieved mainly 

by appropriate management of the 

dough - a science in itself and one 

known to every baker. Depending on 

how long and under what conditions 

the dough rests, and the yeast is 

allowed to work, different dough and, 

thus, product properties are obtained. 

GoodMills Innovation mainly provides 

dried sourdoughs in powder form, 

which make production processes such 

as long-term leavening, fermentation 

and the use of pre-doughs for bakeries 

entirely feasible. For example, the 

range includes a spelt-apple-whey 

sourdough, or a rye-wholemeal 

sourdough. By using them, the baker 

not only achieves a first-class bread, 

but also saves time in its production. 

Moreover, implementation in the 

bakery is possible with less trained 

personnel. 

Another example from the Slow 

Milling range is Ferment’tic. For this, 

GoodMills Innovation produces a wheat 

germ sourdough. This is deactivated by 

drying and then converted into powder 

form. In the bakery, Ferment’tic is 

particularly suitable for baguettes and 

other Mediterranean pastries such 

as ciabatta or grilled pastries which 

promise a characterful aroma, as well 

as an open pore and hearty crust in a 

relatively short processing time. The 

time-consuming process steps are 

incorporated into the production of 

the wheat germ sourdough in advance, 

thus improving the quality of baked 

goods in a time-efficient manner. 

Philipp Münstermann explains: 

“When developing our recipes and 

raw materials, we always keep the 

workflow of a bakery in mind and adapt 

them accordingly. In 

general, real conditions 

play a decisive role. If a 

bakery is interested in 

one of our formulas, our 

sales representatives are 

always available for an onsite 

visit, where they can 

put it to the test in suits. 

The baker can then assess 

whether the recipe can be 

implemented using his or 

her own equipment, and 

with existing personnel.” 

Expertise at heart 

In addition to the modular 

system of ingredients, 

Slow Milling also includes 

the expertise to apply 

them correctly. The 

programme is based on 

a large number of basic 

recipes that guarantee 

successful application 

of the raw materials. 

However, recipes can 

be modified or extended according to 

individual needs. 

Philipp Münstermann says: “All recipes 

are based on current trends and market 

conditions. We have designed them so 

that they can be easily implemented 

in the bakery – but, of course, a baker 

can also add seeds, malts or similar 

ingredients to make them distinctive. A 

good example of a bread recipe would 

be our San Francisco Sourdough 

Bread, which is so-called “Herzstück”. 

Originally, this type of recipe, as the 

name suggests, comes from America. 

There, wheat sourdough is managed 

in such a way that it develops strong 

acidity, resulting in a very distinctive 

bread flavor. We have adapted 

this approach to our raw materials 

and developed a corresponding 

management scheme. For this, we use 

the so-called Naturfrisch Goldgranulat 

and a wheat malt flake, which buffers 

the acid peak and introduces a certain 

sweetness, thus ensuring a sweet-sour 

combination. In addition, the dough is 

kept for an extremely long time, with 

the pre-dough fermenting for several 

hours and the main dough then 

fermenting again overnight. The result 

is a highly aromatic bread with excellent 

Golden Morning: a baking agent that is free of technical enzymes 

yet still allows for the creation of authentic baked goods 

freshness retention properties and an 

appealing pore structure.” 

Another recipe example is the so-called 

Dinkel-Wölkchen - fluffy, light rolls 

made from spelt flour. They contain a 

natural spelt baking ferment - a clean 

label baking agent specially adapted 

to spelt. The result is rolls with a very 

fluffy crumb and a good freshness. 

Innovation, raw material use and 

process optimization 

The Slow Milling recipe catalogue 

includes countless other suggestions 

and concepts that bakeries can draw on. 

But they can also turn to the experts at 

GoodMills Innovation if they have specific 

questions. Philipp Münstermann notes: 

“We find that with new generations 

of owners, bakeries often look for 

innovative new strength. Here, we can 

offer advice and help with our recipes. 

Often, however, the question also relates 

to the cost of ready-to-use mixes: If it is 

too expensive, we look for alternatives 

e.g. mono-components-recipes - here, 

too, we can provide effective support. 

Fluctuations in raw materials are also a 

concern but we can work together with 

bakers to adapt ingredients and recipes 

accordingly.” 

fmt 


11

Ingredients 

“Gluten Free”, “Vegan” & “High in Fiber” 

Claims for Baked Goods 

Visit us at iba Munich 2023 

Increasing numbers of consumers 

are following an individualized dietary 

plan including gluten-free and vegan. 

Because of this, there’s a rise in 

demand for gluten-free and vegan 

bakery and pastry products. 

The demand is driven by people with 

celiac disease or gluten sensitivity 

and by the trend of consumers looking 

for plant based foods that are free of 

potential triggers for gastrointestinal 

discomfort such as gluten and 

FODMAPSs (fermentable Oligo,- D,- 

Mono-saccharides and Polyols). 

Consumers of gluten-free or vegan 

foods are mostly people who pay 

close attention to their diet. However, 

most people who follow a gluten-free 

lifestyle do not consume enough 

dietary fiber due to the replacement of 

high fiber wheat, barley and rye based 

flours with low fiber, high starch flours 

like white rice, potato and tapioca. 

Adding label-friendly and plant-based 

VITACEL® Dietary Fibers to gluten-free 

foods is an excellent way to increase 

dietary fiber levels without causing 

gastrointestinal discomfort. The right 

selection of VITACEL® Dietary Fibers, 

such as organic VITACEL® Apple 

Fiber, natural VITACEL® Citrus Fiber 

and VITACEL® Bamboo Fiber makes 

it easy to raise the fiber content up to 

3 g per 100 g or even 6 g per 100 g and 

to balance the ratio between soluble 

and insoluble fibers. Fiber contents 

in this range allow using the nutrition 

claims “source of fiber” or “high in 

fiber” and let the products stick out 

on the shelves. 

JRS offers a qualified fiber ingredient 

toolbox, where the innovative 

VITACEL® Dietary Fiber range 

provides clean and clear label 

solutions for high fiber enrichment 

and calorie reduction without 

compromising taste or consumer 

acceptance. 

Solving Formulation Challenges 

with VIVAPUR® Functional 

Ingredients 

VIVAPUR® HPMC, a modified cellulose 

and soluble dietary fiber, helps to 

replace the functionality of gluten, 

improve textural properties and 

structure. This hydrocolloid provides 

demonstrably positive effects on the 

viscoelasticity of the dough. 

VIVAPUR® HPMC contributes to 

evenly distributed pores, improves 

moisture retention and reduces dry 

crumbliness. 


Ingredients 

Moreover VIVAPUR® HPMC slows 

down staling of the baked goods, 

improves structural integrity and 

cohesiveness leading to improvement 

in mouthfeel and eating quality. 

Due to its exceptional properties, 

VIVAPUR® HPMC offers a fantastic 

alternative for vegan and egg-free 

baking. Eggs play a crucial role in 

baked goods, contributing to foaming, 

aerating, stabilizing, and emulsifying 

properties. However, VIVAPUR® 

HPMC’s capacity to gel under hot 

conditions, along with its impressive 

foam-forming and stabilizing abilities, 

makes it the optimal choice for 

replacing eggs in baked goods. 

As an innovative system and 

technology partner engaged in 

research and processing of plant 

materials worldwide, JRS combines 

the unique functional performance of 

VIVAPUR® and VITACEL® range with 

nutritional benefits for high-quality 

food products. 

fmt 

When it comes to bake-stable fillings 

like chocolate or fruit fillings and jams, 

VIVAPUR® Alginate and Pectin are the 

perfect solutions. 

By combining these two hydrocolloids, 

a synergistic effect is achieved, 

ensuring high flexibility, excellent 

syneresis control, a soft texture for 

easy handling, and an exceptional 

flavor release. For both bake stability 

and post-oven fillings, VIVAPUR® 

Alginate is the ideal choice. It provides 

exceptional bake and freeze-thaw 

stability. Furthermore, it is easy 

to prepare as it dissolves in cold 

liquids. With tailor-made solutions 

available, VIVAPUR® Alginate offers 

a wide range of textures, from 

smooth to firm, and allows for texture 

development from rapid to slow. 

Additionally, it effectively prevents 

syneresis, ensuring the desired 

consistency and quality. 

Bioactive Collagen Peptides: 

A new understanding of the role 

of proteins in sports nutrition 

Body Toning 

• Increases lean mass 

and decreases fat mass 

Connective Tissue 

Improvement 

• Strengthens ligaments 

and tendons 

Shorten the time to market with 

VIVAPUR® Functional Ingredients 

and VITACEL® Dietary Fibers 

Visit JRS Food Ingredients at iba 

Munich on Booth A3/ 158, from 

October 22nd to October 26th, 2023, 

to learn more about the JRS bakery 

experts providing comprehensive 

application and development services 

from concept to market launch. 

With our portfolio of customized 

and practical VIVAPUR® Functional 

Systems, JRS Food Ingredients offers 

solutions for demanding gluten-free 

product development. 

Key No. 104787 

Bone Health 

• Increases bone mineral 

density and flexibility 

Joint Health 

• Recovers joint cartilage 

and reduces joint pain 

food Marketing & Technology 

GELITA AG · Uferstr. 7 · 69412 Eberbach · Germany · www.gelita.com

Ingredients 

Butter and Beyond - The Rise of 

Alternative Fats in the Bakery 

Fat plays a crucial role in shaping our 

food experience, exerting a profound 

influence on both taste and texture. 

It adds depth and richness of flavor 

to dishes, elevating the overall 

sensory encounter of dining. From the 

flakiness of pastries to the tenderness 

of meat, fat impacts the texture and 

structure of a diverse range of culinary 

creations. However, in the collective 

strive to reduce reliance on animalbased 

ingredients and embrace more 

plant-based foods, finding the right fat 

is essential. 

Alternative proteins have garnered 

much interest over the last few years, 

but people tend to forget that fats and 

oils are an equally important part of a 

healthy diet. 

Identifying plant-based fats that 

mimic the characteristics of animal 

fats can help recreate familiar flavors 

and textures while aligning with plant 

orientated dietary choices. These 

fats contribute to the mouthfeel, 

creaminess, and indulgence we 

associate with certain dishes. 

Moreover, there is a demand for plantbased 

fats that can strike the balance 

between offering culinary pleasure 

and nutritional well-being. 

Itai Cohen, Gavan co-founder and CEO, with his R&D team 

Fat is a key ingredient 

in bakery 

products as it plays 

a definitive role in 

enhancing volume 

and rich flavor. 

Most common fats 

today contain high 

levels of saturated 

fatty acids; dairy 

butter contains 63% 

saturated fat. 

Animal-derived ingredients have been 

prevalent in pastries. Despite the 

growing use of vegetable fats instead 

of butter, nothing quiet matches the 

taste, texture, and smoothness that 

real butter confers. This presents a 

clear challenge for both the industry 

and its customers. 

Recently more and more consumers 

are looking for plant-based options 

for various reasons including nutrition, 

animal welfare, clean label, and 

sustainability. In response pastry chefs 

are faced with the task of adjusting 

ingredients to meet this demand. 

It starts with gaining an understanding 

of how fats and oils interact with 

the other ingredients. Once these 

underlying mechanisms become 

clear, the challenge lies in finding 

a plant-based fat solution with the 

same workability as dairy-based butter 

while minimizing the need for added 

ingredients including allergens in the 

reformulation process. 

It’s time to rethink pastry as we know it. 

We no longer rely solely on dairy butter 

to create amazing-tasting pastry 

applications. There is now a highly 

credible alternative. Our main vision 

is to reduce pastries’ dependency on 

animal-based products. 

Gavan is currently exploring the 

potential of its technology to replace 

the fat component in various food 

applications beginning with butter for 

the bakery industry. 

Alternatives such as FaTRIX enable 

bakers to replace dairy butter without 

forfeiting functionality. These solutions 

help reduce saturated fat by 80% for 

each unit of fat replaced and still retain 

the sensory properties of saturated 

fats. Another advantage is the flavor. 

Butter tends to dominate other 

flavors. FaTRIX has been developed 

with a neutral taste, enabling chefs to 

highlight and bring out the flavors they 

desire in their creations. 

By exploring and experimenting with 

alternative fats, we can continue to 

enjoy delicious and satisfying cuisine 

while promoting a healthier sustainable 

and compassionate food system. fmt 


Ingredients 

IFT FIRST Focuses on the Future of Food 

by Donna Berry 

Pandemic, natural disasters, inflation 

and war, these are just some of the 

global crises that have impeded 

progress across the food science 

community at a time when new 

solutions are most needed to feed 

the growing global population. These 

challenges were addressed at IFT 

FIRST, the annual meeting of the 

Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), 

a nonprofit scientific organization 

committed to advancing the science 

of food and its application across the 

global food system, which was held 

on July 16 to 19, 2023, in Chicago, 

Illinois. 

IFT FIRST means Food Improved by 

Research, Science and Technology. 

It is IFT’s response to the 

transformative nature of the global 

food system. This year’s theme 

“Innovation in a Time of Crisis: Can 

We Future-Proof the Food System?” 

was the focus of this year’s scientific 

program and exposition. 

“Our global food supply is facing 

new challenges that require new 

solutions,” said Christie Tarantino- 

Dean, chief executive officer of IFT. 

“Our top global food-science leaders 

recognize this and are guiding the 

technology and innovation movement 

that is driving our food systems 

forward today.” 

The opening keynote address 

on “Embedding Innovation into 

Everyone’s DNA” was delivered 

by Duncan Wardle, former head of 

innovation and creativity at Disney. 

His words set the stage for the event. 

“Don’t let ‘no, because’ be the first 

words out of your mouth,” said 

Wardle. “When a team member 

presents a new idea, respond ‘yes, 

and’ in order to encourage innovation. 

“You can program AI to paint the Mona 

Lisa, and it might be able to recreate 

it perfectly stroke by stroke, but it’d 

be incredibly difficult to program a 

machine to possess the curiosity 

and creativity that prompted Da 

Vinci to paint her in the first place,” 

according to Wardle. “While AI may 

one day replicate the core human 

traits, I don’t believe it’s coming 

anytime soon. The next decade 

belongs to those of us who can tap 

into our creativity, our intuition, our 

curiosity and our imagination, and 

leverage these uniquely human skills 

to disrupt and innovate the next wave 

of incredible discoveries.” 

One such discovery is on the fasttrack 

within ingredient technology. 

It’s the upcycling of side streams of 

food manufacturing into valuable, 

edible products. 

“Agricultural and food processing 

by-products, such as fruit and 

vegetable skins, pulp, seeds and 

stems can be defined as low-value 

or scrap materials, written off in 

the manufacturing plant ledgers, 

Senior couple jogging_©BAZA Production_shutterstock_1629522379 source BENEO 


15

Ingredients 

never to be thought of again,” said 

Bryan Hitchcock, chief science 

and technology officer at IFT. 

“However, these by-products have 

other potential uses in industries 

or applications, such as packaging, 

cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.” 

In addition to upcycled ingredients, 

advancements in precision fermentation 

and biomanufacturing, were 

presented by many ingredient 

suppliers. These innovative products 

are adding value across the food 

supply and serving as the next 

generation of protein solutions and 

sustainable ingredients. 

“Functional foods are exploding, and 

the pace of change is accelerating 

due to tumultuous times and shifting 

consumer habits and a global climate 

crisis,” said Hitchcock. “Despite 

these challenges, there are many 

opportunities to tap into these 

evolving trends via novel tech 

and create inspiring food product 

development solutions and innovate 

in a time of crisis.” 

Anna Rosales, senior director of 

government affairs and nutrition at 

IFT, added, “Increasingly, consumers 

are prioritizing the health of the 

planet in their purchasing decisions. 

With consumers wanting more 

sustainable, planet-friendly solutions 

or all-natural ingredient innovations, 

plant-based alternatives and 

proactive health-and-wellness trends 

will continue to impact new product 

development.” 

Start-ups Pitch Products 

More than a dozens of startups 

participated in a pitch competition 

at IFT FIRST, with Helaina, a New 

York-based biotechnology company 

producing breast milk proteins, 

winning the $10,000 grand prize. 

The company has developed human 

lactoferrin, a bioactive compound 

that “regulates iron levels, improves 

nutrient absorption and improves 

cognitive health,” said Paola Delgado, 

chief operating officer. The pitch 

event was presented in partnership 

with Seeding the Future Foundation, 

an organization committed to 

Muffin_©BENEO source BENEO 

advancing access to safe, nutritious 

and affordable food. 

“The only comparable ingredient in 

the market is bovine lactoferrin, that 

trades for up to $1,500 per kilogram,” 

she said. “It is supply constrained 

and incredibly wasteful, taking 2,000 

liters of milk to make 1 kilogram of 

lactoferrin. But the opportunity is 

huge. Its market has doubled in size 

in the past five years. We are here to 

take over and to expand this market 

with a more efficacious and costeffective 

ingredient.” 

Helaina is targeting sports nutrition 

and prenatal nutrition markets 

initially, with plans to expand into 

elderly nutrition and infant formula 

applications. The company, which 

has raised more than $25 million 

in funding to date, is performing 

pre-clinical and clinical studies to 

achieve regulatory approval for the 

ingredient. 

“Our proprietary precision 

fermentation platform is able to 

make human bioactive ingredients at 

a fraction of the cost,” said Delgado. 

“This is the future of food as medicine. 

This is functional ingredients 2.0.” 

SnapDNA, Broomfield, Colorado, 

and unClassic Foods, San Francisco, 

California, were each awarded $2,500 

as the runners-up in the competition. 

SnapDNA aims to revolutionize the 

food testing process by reducing the 

time needed to test for food pathogens, 

spoilage agents and allergens. Through 

its on-site analysis technology, 

SnapDNA can reduce the traditional 

pathogen test timeline of three to seven 

days to less than one hour, reducing 

storage costs for food companies and 

ensuring food safety for consumers. 

The second runner-up, unClassic Foods, 

uses oyster mushrooms to create a 

plant-based meat substitute. 

From the Expo Floor 

The exhibit floor featured more 

than 800 companies offering the 

latest in food science intelligence, 

accompanied by non-stop food 

tastings. There were also numerous 

presentations on the expo floor 

discussing trends, ingredients and 

applied science. 

Kemin Industries, Des Moines, 

Iowa, launched its new fat-block 

topical solution for the commercial 

production of battered and fried 

foods. The clean-label functional 

protein acts as a micro-barrier, 

enabling less waste in processing 

and improving batter adhesion for a 

crispier, more enticing bite. 

“It’s a game changer for the industry,” 

said Courtney Schwartz, marketing 


Ingredients 

director. “Depending on the 

application, the protein can reduce 

oil uptake by 25% to 30%, while 

providing moisture retention and 

increased yield, all with a potential to 

reduce cost-in-use.” 

Pea-based ingredient manufacturer 

Cosucra highlighted that it is investing 

$210 million into a seven-year project 

designed to reduce the overall 

carbon footprint by 50% by 2030 

across its pea protein, fiber, starch 

and chicory root fiber operations. 

Cosucra will work with yellow pea 

farmers in Belgium and France to 

improve carbon retention in the soil. 

No fertilizer is needed in pea crops, 

which add nitrogen into the soil. 

Chicory root may be grown through 

no-till farming practices. Cosucra 

plans to recycle residuals from the 

byproducts from its pea and chicory 

root plants crops and then upcycle 

the material into biogas, which then 

will be transformed into renewable 

electricity to minimize its usage of 

steam. This energy transformation 

will increase its energy independence 

in Europe and contribute to achieving 

its corporate environmental, social 

and governance (ESG) objective of 

50% reduction in carbon footprint by 

2030. 

To showcase the functionality of 

its chicory root fiber, the company 

sampled a 30% sugar-reduced 

sandwich biscuit cookie and a ketofriendly 

wheat bread that had 11 

grams of carbohydrates, including 

8 grams of dietary fiber. There was 

also a plant-based butter spread 

containing pea protein, which 

provided emulsifying properties. 

Mannheim, Germany-based Beneo 

launched a whole grain barley flour 

with 20% beta-glucans, which are 

viscous and soluble dietary fibers 

that make food thicker and delay 

its passage through the large and 

small intestines. Beta-glucans from 

barley contribute to blood sugar 

management and cardiovascular 

health. Applications include baked 

foods, pasta, cereal and meal 

replacements. 

“This whole grain and clean label 

barley flour strengthens Beneo’s 

expertise as a leading provider of 

functional fibers,” said Jon Peters, 

sales director, Americas. “It is an 

economically attractive solution 

that supports food manufacturers 

in developing tasty and appealing 

products with added value in times of 

tighter consumer budgets.” 

BioVeritas LLC, Bryan, Texas, 

introduced a clean-label mold 

inhibitor that is a cultured vegetable 

oil extract. It is made through a 

proprietary upcycling process and 

replaces calcium propionate in 

baked foods applications with no 

substantial differences in texture 

Solutions for 

Gluten-free Bakery Products 

VITACEL ® 

Dietary Fibers 

Gluten-free and 

fiber enriched 

VISIT US 

22.-26.10.2023 

Key No. 105336 

JRS food FOOD Marketing INGREDIENTS 

& Technology • August 2023 

17 

J. RETTENMAIER & SÖHNE GMBH + CO KG 

Holzmühle 1 I 73494 Rosenberg (Germany) I T. +49 7967 152-332 I food@jrs.de 

www.jrsfood.net

Ingredients 

or flavor. Other applications include 

sauces and dressings. 

Angel Yeast, a China-based company 

showcased its sustainable yeast 

protein and compound seasoning 

solutions. The new vegan-friendly 

yeast-sourced protein is produced 

using an upcycle-based reuse 

methodology to comply with 

emerging sustainability standards. 

The ingredient boasts 80% protein 

content with 21% branchedchain 

amino acid content. Its protein 

digestibility corrected amino acid 

score is 1.0, which is the same as 

animal-based proteins and soy. 

“Compared to plant-based and animal 

proteins, natural yeast protein is a 

more sustainable, environmentalfriendly, 

gluten-free, non-GMO and 

nutritious food substance,” said 

Hang Tao, general manager of Angel 

Yeast’s North America business 

unit. “The versatile yeast as a 

natural ingredient will be crucial to 

developing novel products that best 

suit the needs of global customers.” 

AAK Adobe Stock Image bakery_spreads source AAK 

Dough in heart shape_©Fedorovacz_shutterstock_519400318 source BENEO 


Ingredients 

Barley-ears_©Elena Koromyslova_shutterstock_723678619 source BENEO 

R+K_AD_2023_Cups_135x210_+B_Food&Marketing_Technology.qxp_Layout 1 16.04.23 19:13 Seite 1 

AAK, Edison, New Jersey, a valueadded 

specialty vegetable fats and 

oils supplier, showed attendees how 

its ingredients can make products 

better tasting, healthier and more 

sustainable. Prototypes sampled 

included plant-based chipotle 

mayonnaise, vegan cocoa hazelnut 

spread and chocolate cake with 

caramel-flavored icing. The latter 

featured an emulsified shortening 

system in the icing for improved 

whippability and shelf life. 

The next IFT FIRST will take place July 

14 to 17, 2024, in Chicago, Illinois. fmt 

The Author 

Donna Berry is a food and beverage industry 

consultant and editor with over 25 years 

experience in tracking trends and advancements 

in product development. 

food Marketing & Technology 

Key No. 105179 

THE NATURAL COLOUR CHALLENGE 

19

Ingredients 

Nutritional Support for Sports Injury 

Prevention 

Bioactive Collagen Peptides (BCP®) can support the musculoskeletal system from within 

Being physically active has a number 

of health benefits: Aerobic exercise 

such as running, cycling or swimming 

is good for the cardiovascular system, 

while resistance training helps build 

muscle mass and tone the body. 

However, despite such advantages, 

the risk of injury is inevitable. In 

addition to proper technique and 

adequate recovery time, targeted 

supplementation can provide extra 

support for the musculoskeletal 

system, which is largely composed 

of the structural protein collagen. To 

support the stability of the different 

parts of this system, GELITA, one of 

the world’s leading manufacturers 

of collagen peptides, has developed 

an extensive portfolio of specific 

Bioactive Collagen Peptides (BCP®). 

Extraordinary structure 

The musculoskeletal system is 

divided into two parts: active and 

passive. While the active part of the 

system (skeletal muscles, fasciae 

and tendons) is responsible for 

movement, the passive part (bones, 

cartilage, joints and ligaments) 

supports the skeletal muscles and 

helps to form the structure of the 

body. A strong musculoskeletal 

system is therefore a good basis for 

preventing sports injuries. 

Collagen makes up 30 per cent of the 

total protein mass in the human body, 

making it the most abundant protein 

in the musculoskeletal system. It 

helps to keep ligaments and tendons 

flexible and strong, and is essential 

for the proper functioning of joints. 

It is also a key component of bones, 

making up 95 per cent of the human 

body’s bone matrix; as such, it is 

essential for bone health, helping to 

prevent brittleness and fractures. 

Supplementing the diet with BCP® 

therefore helps to promote health of 

the whole musculoskeletal system 

and can reduce the risk of injuries, 

as proven by a number of clinical 

studies. 

Strong bones for a strong 

foundation 

GELITA has developed the specific 

FORTIBONE® collagen peptides 

Exercise is essential for health and wellbeing, but it is also important to be aware of sports injuries and 

how best to prevent them. 

which are optimised to improve 

overall bone health, with their 

beneficial effects confirmed by 

numerous studies. An observational 

study investigated the effect of 

FORTIBONE® on bone fracture 

healing. The study involved 28 

participants with bone fractures, 

including men and women between 

the ages of 17 and 87. They were 

randomised into two groups: The 

verum group supplemented with 10g 

of FORTIBONE®, while the placebo 

group was given 10g of maltodextrin. 

At the end of the observation period, 

79 per cent of the participants taking 

the BCP®, but only 50 per cent of 

the placebo group, had very good or 

good bone fracture healing. [1] 

Researchers investigated the 

effect of FORTIBONE® on bone 

mineral density in a double-blind, 

randomised, placebo-controlled trial 

conducted in 2018 in women with 

low bone mineral density at the spine 

and femoral neck for 12 months. The 

study included 131 women aged 46- 

80 who supplemented with either 5g 

of FORTIBONE® (intervention group) 

or maltodextrin (placebo group) daily. 

The results showed that bone density 

increased significantly after taking 

FORTIBONE®, while it decreased in 

the placebo group. The bone mineral 

density increased by 4.2 per cent in 

the spine and by 7.7 per cent in the 

femoral neck. [2] 

copyright_Kzenon_Fotolia 

Martin Walter, Category Manager 

Healthy Ageing and Sports Nutrition 

at GELITA, explains the mode of 

action behind these results: “Our 

research indicates a clear stimulating 

effect on bone-building cells known 

as osteoblasts. This anabolic effect 

can increase collagen synthesis and 

support the development of a stable 

bone structure, which is essential 

in endurance sports such as longdistance 

running and cycling, where 

micro-fractures can occur.” 


Ingredients 

Keeping joints flexible 

Pushing the body to its physical limits 

during exercise will, over time, probably 

have a negative impact on joint health. 

As collagen is an essential component 

of healthy joint cartilage, GELITA 

developed FORTIGEL® twenty years 

ago. These specific collagen peptides 

are optimised and scientifically 

proven to stimulate joint cartilage 

regeneration and the production of 

collagen and proteoglycans, the two 

main components of cartilage dry 

mass. It also combats the progressive 

degeneration of cartilage tissue. 

FORTIGEL® has been the subject 

of 20 studies involving around 

2,800 participants [3, 4] , all of which 

confirm its stimulating effect on 

the biosynthesis of the extracellular 

cartilage matrix. This means that 

these BCP® address not only the 

symptoms, but also the cause of joint 

problems thus reducing pain and 

improving mobility. “Due to its strong 

scientific background, FORTIGEL® is 

commercially successful in almost 

50 countries and allows for the use 

With TENDOFORTE®, AIS study participants with Achilles tendinopathy were able to return to 

training after just 3 months. 

of certain health claims too. Health 

Canada has approved a productspecific 

claim for FORTIGEL® and 

the Brazilian National Health Agency 

(ANVISA) also recently granted health 

claim approval. These milestones are 

truly a tribute to our work,” continues 

Martin Walter. 

copyright_GELITA 

fmt 


21 

Key No. 105693

Ingredients 

Improving the stability of 

tendons and ligaments 

Every sport requires some degree 

of strength, power and speed, 

and relies heavily on tendons and 

the intact composition of their 

extracellular matrix collagens, 

proteoglycans and elastic fibres. 

However, overuse can make tendons 

and ligaments more susceptible to 

injury. That’s why GELITA’s special 

TENDOFORTE® collagen peptides 

are optimised to strengthen them. 

Two studies conducted with these 

BCP® show efficacy with a daily 

dose of just 5g over 3 to 6 months. 

A study conducted by the Australian 

Institute of Sport (AIS) showed that 

subjects with long-term symptoms 

of chronic Achilles tendinopathy 

who had failed to respond to 

traditional rehabilitation methods 

were able to return to running within 

3 months when supplementing with 

TENDOFORTE®, and were able to 

continue running for the remainder 

of the 6-month trial period. [5] 

“Not only does TENDOFORTE® act as 

a preventive nutritional intervention 

to strengthen tendons and ligaments, 

it also helps injured athletes return to 

their previous levels of performance 

more quickly and safely. Take, for 

example, the young French boxer 

Caroline Cruveillier, who has achieved 

amazing results with TENDOFORTE®,” 

reveals Martin. The 25-year-old 

suffered an injury to the triangular 

fibrocartilage complex in her right 

wrist – a common injury for boxers. 

After surgery, she started taking 5g 

of TENDOFORTE® daily for several 

months. She returned to training after 

only eight months, instead of the 12 

months originally predicted. 

Multiple application possibilities 

Beverages are a smart way for those 

participating in physical activity to 

get the extra nutrients they need 

that are not provided by their regular 

diet, and can be consumed anywhere 

and at any time while exercising. 

GELITA’s BCP® have a neutral taste 

and can be used in combination 

with vitamins, minerals and other 

nutrients, making them perfect for 

tailor-made sports drink concepts – 

without compromising the sensory 

appeal of the end product. But the 

Bioactive Collagen Peptides can be 

incorporated into other products too. 

“Our range of specific collagen 

peptides offers almost unlimited 

possibilities for the development of 

dietary supplements and functional 

foods and beverages targeted at both 

professional and amateur athletes. 

They can be easily formulated into a 

wide range of other products such as 

protein bars and supplements that 

help strengthen the musculoskeletal 

system,” concludes Martin. 

fmt 

Gelita_bike_riding_copyright_ Mike Watson 

Images Limited_Fotolia 

[1] Knefeli HC, Mueller-Autz M (2018): Improved 

bone healing after oral application of specific 

bioactive collagen peptides. Nutrafoods 17:185-188 

[2] König et al. (2018): Specific collagen peptides 

improve bone mineral density and bone markers 

in postmenopausal women - a randomised 

controlled trial. Nutrition. 16;10(1):97. doi: 10.3390/ 

nu10010097. 

[3] Moskowitz RW, 2000: Role of collagen 

hydrolysate in bone and joint disease. Semin 

Arthritis Rheum, 30, 87 – 99. 

[4] McAlindon TE, et al. (2021): Change in knee 

osteoarthritis cartilage detected by delayed 

gadolinium enhanced magnetic resonance 

imaging following treatment with collagen 

hydrolysate: a pilot randomized controlled trial. 

Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. Apr;19(4):399-405. 

[5] Praet et al. (2017) Oral supplementation 

of specific collagen peptides accelerates 

improvement in Achilles tendon symptoms and 

function in combination with eccentric exercise. 

S Afr J Sports Med 29, suppl 1. 


Ingredients 

FMCG Gurus: The Sports Nutrition Market 

The Sports Nutrition market initially focused on the development of nutritional products specifically designed 

for fitness enthusiasts and athletes. These products have been designed to enhance and optimize performance, 

recovery, and overall health and wellness. However, the sports nutrition market has seen significant growth 

in recent years, which is a result of an increased consumer awareness and attentiveness towards their health. 

This has led to a rise in more health and fitness conscious consumers, and has seen sports nutrition products, 

such as protein powders, sports drinks, energy bars, and dietary supplements move beyond being a niche, 

towards a market of mass appeal. 

Proactive Consumers 

Consumers turn to food and drink for 

a variety of reasons beyond a boost 

of strength and endurance when 

partaking in physical activity. Now, 

many everyday consumers are looking 

for food and drink products that 

will offer convenient nutrition to aid 

their long-term health. FMCG Gurus’ 

consumer insights reveal that 60% of 

global consumers have become more 

conscious about their health in the 

last two years. As a result, products 

with multiple health claims will appeal 

to consumers as this will enhance 

the value of the product and offer 

maximum efficacy. 

Over the last few years, consumers 

have re-evaluated their health and 

wellness. This has led to a large 

proportion of consumers having 

adopted more proactive approaches 

to addressing their health for the 

long-term. For instance, FMCG Gurus 

market research shows that of the 

consumers who are more conscious 

about their health, 23% of consumers 

state that this is because they were 

not suffering from any symptoms, but 

just wanted to take a more proactive 

approach. With this rise of proactive 

approaches and the aiding of overall, 

holistic health, these consumers 

value better-for-you products that are 

health-boosting and multifunctional by 

addressing various areas of health. 

The Importance of Protein 

Protein is a vital nutrient which plays a 

key role in muscle growth, repair and 

overall health. In the sports nutrition 

market, protein is incorporated into 

various food and drink categories 

to cater to the increasing consumer 

demand for protein-rich products. Of 

the consumers who have changed their 

diet in the last two years, 58% of global 

consumers increased their intake of 

protein. 

A large proportion of consumers in 

the mainstream market have shown 

interest in protein consumption in 

order to aid an active lifestyle, weight 

management, and overall wellness. 

Importantly, with consumers’ diverse 

needs and preferences, protein 

products are available in various food 

and drink formats and categories. 

FMCG Gurus’ consumer insights 

reveal that 48% of global consumers 

have purchased high protein cookies, 

as well as 52% of consumers who 

have purchased milk protein 

drinks in the last six months. This 

demonstrates that while the sports 

nutrition industry has reached more 

of a mainstream audience of healthconscious, 

proactive consumers, 

brands should continue to focus 

on product innovation and the 

formulation of protein-enriched foods, 

including yoghurts, cereals, snacks, 

and protein-infused beverages. 

Highlight Sustainability 

Credentials of Protein Sources 

The environment continues to be a 

key concern for consumers, in which 

they are aware of the environmental 

impact of the food production industry 

and their own dietary, shopping, and 

overall lifestyle habits. Moreover, 

consumers are concerned about the 

impact of environmental damage 

on their health and understand 

that health and sustainability are 

interlinked. 

The sports nutrition market must not 

underestimate the appeal of plantbased 

protein sources. FMCG Gurus’ 

research highlight that of those who 

have changed their diet in the last 

two years, 46% of global consumers 

increased their intake of plant protein. 

This is the case for both those who 

follow strict plant-based diets and 

those who do not follow this type of 

diet. While these proteins are rich 

in essential amino acids and can 

provide similar benefits to animalbased 

proteins in terms of muscle 

recovery, repair, and growth, the 

sports nutrition market should focus 

on innovating plant-based protein 

products through taste, texture, and 

functionality. 

Back-to-Basics Approach 

Many consumers have embraced 

the concept of positive nutrition and 

are looking to increase their intake 

of functional and natural ingredients 

to gain a health-boost beyond basic 

nutrition. To achieve this, brands 

should adopt a back-to-basics 

approach to nutrition, through natural 

ingredients and streamlined ingredient 

lists. For instance, 62% of global 

consumers deem a snack healthier if 

it contains natural ingredients. Sports 

nutrition products should not only 

be deemed better-for-you but also 

free-from dietary evils that will have 

an adverse effect on the health and 

wellness of the consumer. 

The sports nutrition market focuses on 

overall wellness, as opposed to solely 

focusing on athletic performance. 

Products may contain additional 

vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants 

to support immune function and 

recovery. This holistic approach caters 

to the broader lifestyle concerns 

of consumers who prioritize both 

exercise and general well-being. 

Scientific Evidence to Validate 

Transparency and sustainability are 

vital aspects of the natural approach 

in the sports nutrition market. This 

is because many consumers are 

concerned and skeptical about 

exaggerated and misleading health 

claims due to health-washing scandals. 

As a result, consumers are looking for 

evidence to offer reassurance that the 

product will do as it says on the label. 

FMCG Gurus’ findings highlight that 

69% of global consumers find scientific 

claims important when choosing 

sports nutrition products. Therefore, 

to combat skepticism, brands must 

use clinically-proven, scientific 

evidence to support health claims in 

sports nutrition products. 

fmt 


23

Processing 

Accurate Humidity Measurements 

Improve Baking Efficiency and Consistency 

Bühler, a leading producer of 

commercial food equipment including 

baking ovens, employs Vaisala 

technology in its Meincke Turbu 

ovens, including Vaisala’s dew point/ 

temperature probes and industrial 

transmitters. 

Environmental concerns and rising 

energy prices are driving demands 

for improved efficiency across all 

industries. This is particularly the case 

in food production, and especially in 

processes involving baking ovens, 

which can run at temperatures of up to 

325°C. Bühler’s cutting-edge Meincke 

Turbu indirect-fired convection ovens, 

aim to increase efficiency in line with 

the company’s strategic commitment 

to help its customers make substantial 

savings in energy, water, and product 

wastage. 

One customer was using natural gas at 

an average annual cost of €10 million 

before ordering the ovens, but with 

accurate humidity measurements a 

reduction in gas consumption of as 

much as 20% was achieved. 

Ensuring consistent reliable 

baking product quality 

The advantages of accurate monitoring 

are explained by Morten Bøgild and 

Christoffer Bay, Senior R&D Engineers 

at Bühler’s biscuit business unit in 

Denmark. “By measuring the humidity 

levels inside the oven, you can control 

the process to maintain a consistent 

baking profile, even with fluctuations 

in other factors like ambient conditions 

or ingredient quality,” explains Morten. 

“This enables a more consistent 

product in terms of spread, thickness, 

coloring, and other important quality 

parameters, thereby minimizing 

wastage.” 

In addition, Christoffer says: “An oven 

with built-in measurement technology 

gives our customers the opportunity 

to control the humidity of their ovens 

themselves, as well as the temperature, 

which can be particularly valuable for 

those producing multiple products 

with different baking profiles.” 

The Vaisala DRYCAP® Dew Point and 

Temperature Probe DMP6 is designed 

for in-line humidity measurement at 

very high temperatures and a wide 

dew point range. It has a passive 

cooling function that draws heat 

away from the probe to reduce the 

temperature to within the sensor’s 

optimal range, making it ideal for the 

extreme environment of an industrial 

baking oven. This robust technology 

enables Bühler to offer its customers 

more accuracy and flexibility when 

setting up their ovens. In addition, 

the DMP6 measurement probe can 

be connected to a Vaisala Indigo500 

series transmitter, which enables 

real-time data visualization and probe 

configuration. 

Consistent moisture levels 

improve production efficiency 

The monitoring of moisture levels 

also helps to shorten the time needed 

to bake the perfect product. “When 

baking cookies, an oven typically 

operates with a dewpoint of 60–70 °C, 

but our Meincke Turbu ovens allow the 

humidity level to be higher,” explains 

Morten. “Consequently, there is less 

cold air to heat up, because when we 

regulate the moisture content, less 


Processing 

air exchange is necessary. In addition, a dryer oven requires 

higher temperatures to achieve the same heat transfer, while 

excessive humidity can damage the oven – so with a higher 

moisture level that is kept consistent and within safe limits, 

thanks to accurate monitoring, we can achieve substantial 

reductions in the energy bills of our customers.” 

In addition to reduced gas consumption, the conveyer carrying 

the baked goods can also move through the ovens at a faster 

rate because the products are ready sooner, resulting in a 

more efficient throughput. 

From automation to digitalization 

Bühler is at the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution 

in its industry, incorporating smart technology into existing 

automated production facilities to improve performance 

through enhanced monitoring, reporting, and artificial 

intelligence techniques. “The market has slowly embraced 

this transition, and by recognizing the efficiency benefits of 

having more accurate data and knowing how to use it, we 

are driving real change in the industry,” Christoffer explains. 

“Humidity measurements provide one of the most important 

insights when it comes to making the baking process more 

efficient and building an understanding of how heat flow within 

the oven contributes to final product quality.” 

Morten sees Vaisala as the ideal partner for Bühler, helping 

customers to achieve ambitious efficiency targets. “Vaisala 

technology is crucial to our efforts, because the sensors are 

easy to calibrate and use, and robust enough to withstand 

extreme conditions,” he explains. 

“Flemming Bøge of Brdr. Jørgensen Instruments, Vaisala’s 

partner in Denmark, worked closely with us to help identify 

the ideal solution; and we also received useful guidance from 

Vaisala’s own application experts on how to calculate humidity 

values. This greatly benefited our technicians, which use the 

equipment daily. 

“Even before we chose Vaisala as a preferred supplier, we 

had customers specifying the company’s equipment in their 

orders. With an increasing demand for digitalisation and AIenabled 

functionalities, this need is only going to increase, so 

we’re excited to see where this collaboration can take us.” fmt 


Key No. 104586 

25

Processing 

Sustainable Processing: Unlocking Big 

Savings by Going Green 

The cost-of-living crisis means consumers are experiencing the implications of rising prices; many are looking 

to make cut backs in their food shopping as they struggle with other essential living costs. Because of this, 

many consumers will be re-evaluating the need for convenience products such as tinned food, frozen food 

and ready meals as they attempt to seek more affordable products. 

by Carlos Fernandez 

How can food processors achieve 

more sustainable processing in this 

era of tightening costs? 

For many companies, there is 

an acute need to maximize the 

efficiency of existing equipment while 

increasing productivity. At the same 

time, there is growing pressure from 

consumers and retailers for greater 

sustainability in the food industry. 

Food processors across a range of 

industries and categories – from dairy 

drinks and juices to canned soups 

and sauces to fish, poultry, and meat 

– share common challenges, such as a 

growing need to maximize efficiency 

and meet ever louder sustainability 

demands. 

It is perhaps unsurprising that many 

are looking to extend the working life of 

existing equipment. However, companies 

are equally aware that equipment must 

be kept up-to-date and in optimum 

conditions to achieve this aim. It is against 

this backdrop that I believe there is a 

need for what I call process knowledge 

and application knowledge. 

The Case for Process Knowledge 

Process knowledge is vital because 

it helps ensure products reach 

consumers in optimum conditions. By 

avoiding pitfalls such as overheating 

during sterilization, companies not 

only save energy but also prevent 

damage to their products. Consulting 

a technician with in-depth process 

knowledge will help your facility to 

meet food safety requirements and 

increase product shelf-life. As a 

result, less products going to waste, 

and your business will become more 

sustainable. 

Another foundation of sustainability 

– and one that many of my customers 

have mentioned – lies in the reliability 

Photos: JBT 


Packaging 

food Marketing & Technology • August 2023 27 

Key No. 104467

Processing 

and performance of the equipment. 

Key to both these factors is being 

able to draw on a high standard of 

technology, maintenance and – most 

importantly – knowledge of how to 

best operate the equipment. A lack of 

this knowledge can result in wasted 

of human resources, equipment, and 

operational costs. 

How Application Knowledge Can 

Help 

Application knowledge focuses 

on more practical aspects. As an 

example, at JBT we provide application 

knowledge support to customers to 

assess the functioning of equipment 

in their own facilities to make sure they 

don’t have a food safety problem or are 

unnecessarily wasting high quantities 

of energy or water. 

Application knowledge can also be 

seen in the fresh side of our business. 

For citrus processing, our technicians 

will recommend specific settings 

for citrus extraction equipment 

dependent on the season and variety. 

This allows customers to extract the 

maximum level of juice, pulp, and 

residues from their citrus volumes. 

Applied Sustainability 

Let me provide a few specific 

examples of process and application 

knowledge in action. 

Through our worldwide Food 

Technology Centers (FTCs) and Green 

Retrofits, JBT is already helping 

customers to achieve improved 

productivity and efficiencies while 

becoming more sustainable. In 

the process, we help customers to 

become more profitable, less wasteful, 

and more economically viable in 

the long term, ensuring a future for 

everyone involved. 

JBT FTCs offer a Research & 

Development resource for customers 

that focuses on maximizing the 

effectiveness and productivity of new 

or existing equipment and extending 

its working life. FTCs contain – often 

full size – replicas of JBT equipment 

capable of reproducing the exact 

same processes that food processors 

use when filling, canning, or mixing. 

Customers can draw on JBT experts’ 

substantial food safety, food science, 

and application knowledge to get the 

best results from their equipment 

and the desired end results for their 

products. Many companies know how 

to weld steel or bend metal, and JBT 

is no exception. However, we also 

understand the products and the 

processes, ensuring that customers 

can confidently deliver products with 

the best-possible shelf-life and food 

safety, all while aiming for optimum 

end results. 

By replicating the performance of an 

industrial-level processing facility, we 

can assess the optimum conditions 

necessary for achieving sought-after 

results with food products. JBT further 

utilizes the expertise of its technicians 

to provide customer training, maximize 

the handling of existing products and 


Processing 

processes and covering the testing 

of new equipment. We carry out live 

demonstrations for customers, so they 

can view in-person the workings of 

processes they might have previously 

only seen in presentations. 

Many customers don’t want to change 

their entire install base. Instead, they 

want to take older equipment to 

a performance level that matches 

new systems. This approach makes 

sense and aligns with the principles 

of the circular economy. JBT’s Green 

Retrofits allow customers to achieve 

this goal. 

Through our Green Retrofit program, 

we help maximize the performance 

of installed equipment by improving 

its productivity and efficiency 

while minimizing its impact on the 

environment. 

So, is it possible to achieve both 

sustainability and cost savings? 

Absolutely. Helping customers become 

more sustainable by getting the most 

out of their products is the essence 

of a good food processing technology 

provider. By investing in process 

knowledge and application knowledge, 

food processors can unlock significant 

savings while embracing sustainable 

practices. As companies work together 

to create a greener, more efficient, and 

profitable future for the food industry, 

it’s clear that sustainability and cost 

savings can go hand in hand. Now is 

the time for businesses to prioritize 

sustainable processing methods and 

unlock the benefits for their operations 

and the environment. 

fmt 

Want edgy 

shapes? 

The Author 

USE OUR TECHNOLOGIES 

TO BOOST YOUR SUCCESS! 

Carlos Fernandez, JBT EVP of Sustainability 

and Market Development 

SCHAAF TECHNOLOGIE GMBH 

www.foodextrusion.de 

Key No. 103850 


29

Processing 

25 Years of NETZSCH: Interview with 

Felix Kleinert 

After a quarter of a century as CEO 

of Waldkraiburg-based NETZSCH 

Pumpen & Systeme GmbH, Felix 

Kleinert looks back on the highs and 

lows of his time at NETZSCH ahead 

of his well-deserved retirement at the 

end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2023. 

Before leaving the company, Mr. 

Kleinert reviewed his time at the global 

specialist for handling complex media 

and reported on both good and difficult 

moments. In the interview, he talks 

about the past years since he started 

in 1999, the future of NETZSCH, and 

his personal retirement plans. 

FMT: Thinking back to your first day, 

could you have imagined staying 

with NETZSCH for so long? 

Felix Kleinert: I still remember when 

Thomas Netzsch and I signed the 

contract in Selb, and he predicted a 

long cooperation time. I had already 

been with my previous employer for 

nine years and, therefore, couldn’t 

imagine staying with one company 

for much longer. At that time, I felt a 

managing director should change at 

least every ten years – but I was proven 

wrong. I have broadened my knowledge 

over the years, and it was great. 

How has the company developed 

since you started? 

The business unit Pumps & Systems 

faced difficult times when I joined 

in 1999. At that time, we employed 

around 1,000 people in ten sales 

companies. Today, there are about 

2,500 in almost 30 sales companies 

worldwide. In addition, we increased 

the turnover from 70 million Euros 

worldwide and a zero result to no 

less than 400 million Euros with an 

excellent result. In cooperation with 

our licensee Heishin in Japan, we 

also increased our world market 

share in the progressing cavity pump 

sector from 20 to over 40 percent. 

This was only possible thanks to the 

employee’s and management’s joint 

solid effort. We can all be proud of this. 

What do you remember most about 

the past 25 years? 

I always like to think back to Thomas 

Netzsch, who passed away much too 

soon. When I approached him and 

presented a larger project, he would 

ask about the costs, the value for 

the company and how long it would 

take first. After my answers, he would 

usually agree with me, adding that it 

could be done a little faster. 

Who has influenced you the most 

during your time at NETZSCH? 

During our time together, I was 

mainly influenced by Thomas Netzsch, 

with his winning personality and 

Prof. Michael Gaitanides, with his 

comprehensive knowledge as our 

mutual friend. 

What distinguishes NETZSCH from 

other comparable companies? 

It’s the long-term vision of the 

company. At NETZSCH, it’s not just 

about short-term incoming orders, 

sales and earnings but also long-term 

strategic orientation. In this regard, 

people at NETZSCH have more 

endurance. That’s important because 

only a few things always work out as 

quickly as you thought they would in 

the original planning. 


Processing 

NETZSCH has undoubtedly grown 

on you over the years. What do you 

wish the company for the future? 

We have increased our world market 

share in the progressing cavity 

pump sector to over 40 percent. We 

may reach 50 percent someday, but 

certainly only a little more. With about 

100 competitors worldwide, every 

percentage point of market share gain 

is becoming more complex. Therefore, 

a new business model has been 

developed. We aim to become the 

global expert in conveying complex 

fluids, offering various technological 

solutions and services to the world 

market. With this strategy, we will 

further expand and still have enough 

space to grow. Even though this path 

will be challenging, I am confident 

that my successor, Andreas Denker, 

can provide significant impulses with 

his diverse experience, especially 

in marketing and sales. Together 

with the global pump management 

team, he will lead the globally active 

business unit Pumps & Systems to 

further success. 

What are you looking forward to in 

the future? 

I look forward to more time with my 

wife, our children and grandchildren, 

more time for the house, the farm and 

the dog, and to private trips without 

time pressure because of a business 

trip. But I am also looking forward 

to further professional challenges 

as a member of the supervisory and 

advisory boards of currently three 

respectable industrial companies. In 

addition, a fourth mandate is just on 

the horizon. According to the plan, my 

future will be a mixture of professional 

activities and more time for private 

things, especially with my wife and 

people close to me - I am already 

looking forward to the future! 

CEO Felix Kleinert started at NETZSCH 

Pumps & Systems back in 1999. 

“We can all be proud of this” 

Pumps & Systems. The company has 

developed, produced and distributed 

customized and sophisticated pump 

solutions for over seven decades. 

With their NEMO® progressing 

cavity pumps, TORNADO® rotary 

lobe pumps, NOTOS® multiscrew 

pumps, PERIPRO® peristaltic pumps, 

grinders, dosing technology and 

accessories, innovative solutions 

are offered on a global scale, from 

the smallest dosing pump for the 

industry to large pumps for the oil and 

gas sector or mining. Even the most 

demanding media pose no problems 

for the product portfolio. With over 

2,500 employees, NETZSCH Pumps 

& Systems is the largest business 

unit of the NETZSCH Group, along 

with NETZSCH Analyzing & Testing 

and NETZSCH Grinding & Dispersing. 

Performance standards are high. 

NETZSCH promises their customers 

Proven Excellence – exceptional 

performance in everything we do, 

proven time and again since 1873. fmt 

Memories from almost 25 years of NETZSCH Pumps & Systems 

Felix Kleinert: "It's not just about short-term incoming orders, 

sales and earnings" 

We wish you all the best for these 

future plans, with all the strength 

and health you need for them. And 

thank you for what you have given this 

industry over such a long time. 

NETZSCH Group: The company 

As a global specialist in complex fluid 

management, customer satisfaction 

is the top priority at NETZSCH 


31

Processing 

High-Precision Metal Detection for Salad 

Dressings: MiWave Technology Reduces 

Erroneous Readings 

Highly conductive products represent a huge challenge for today’s metal detectors and significantly reduce 

the level of detection sensitivity that can be achieved. This was the problem faced by one German company 

that produces salad dressings and other products for wholesale. The company has now switched to the metal 

detector Mitus® with flexible MiWave Modulation in order to reduce erroneous readings and thereby increase 

productivity. 

Key facts 

A food producer has replaced an 

existing metal detector with the 

metal detector Mitus® in order to 

best meet the strict requirements 

for ensuring product quality. 

Products 

• Metal detector Mitus® 

• Metal detector belt BMK 

Application 

Before the finished salad dressing 

is approved for order picking, the 

product is checked for metallic 

foreign objects. Thanks to its flexible 

MiWave Modulation, the metal 

detector Mitus® is able to detect 

and show the presence of even the 

smallest foreign objects despite an 

extremely high product effect. 

Customer benefits 

• Significant increase in detection 

sensitivity in order to ensure 

the highest possible level of 

product safety for consumers 

• Increased productivity due 

to reduction of erroneous 

ejections 

• Easy to clean thanks to 

hygienic design 

Project goal and implementation 

The food producer in this Best 

Practice makes salad dressings for 

wholesale. Physically speaking, these 

dressings are highly conductive 

salt solutions. This conductivity 

represented a huge challenge for the 

customer’s metal detectors as they 

can influence the detector’s magnetic 

field and therefore mask the signal of 

foreign objects. 

The company was constantly experiencing 

erroneous rejections, which 

significantly curtailed productivity. In 

order to optimize this process, the 

customer decided to switch to the 

metal detector Mitus® from Minebea 

Intec. This is equipped with the 

flexible MiWave. MiWave generates 

a variety of modulated frequencies in 

the transmitter signal, which can then 

be separated and evaluated using 

an intelligent algorithm. Thanks to 

The increased detection sensitivity was demonstrated using our test cards. 


Processing 

The metal detector Mitus® housing 

leaves nothing to be desired in 

terms of hygiene 

its high level of detection sensitivity, 

the metal detector Mitus® is able to 

detect and show even the smallest 

metal contaminations despite a high 

product effect. 

But it’s not just the high detection 

sensitivity that has impressed the 

customers, it’s also the ease of use 

of the metal detector. The operating 

panel guides users through the 

teaching process for the products and 

“I am very happy with the Mitus® as it has a high level of detection 

sensitivity despite high product effects, which has also been 

demonstrated using our test cards. This gives me great certainty that 

I can quickly and reliably detect any potential metal contamination in 

my products.” 

Renowned German manufacturer 

the user management tool manages 

the rights for the various users. The 

metal detector Mitus® is also easy to 

clean thanks to it smooth and sealed 

surfaces. It is designed so that all 

fluids can simply run off. 

fmt 


33 

Key No. 104749

Packaging 

Artisan Master Baker Selects Label 

Verification Data Master 

When Leicestershire craft bakery Geary’s sought a retail-compliant label verification system, they called upon 

industry specialist Jenton Dimaco. 

Producing one million loaves and more than five million rolls weekly, as part of their dual-site modernisation 

plan, the family-run firm has now made the switch from labor and time-intensive manual verification checks 

to an efficient and future-proof offline Dimaco label verification system 

Established in 1906, Geary’s has 

remained family-run throughout four 

generations. In 2018, the master baking 

firm received £15m of investment to 

support its development of a new, 

purpose-built factory in Leicester. 

Offering a wide range of SKUs, the 

high-quality BRCGS-approved and AA+ 

artisan bakery realized that in order to 

keep pace with its exponential growth 

and new retailer stockists, a robust label 

verification solution that could scale up 

alongside their expansion plans was 

required. 

Now stocked by most British supermarkets, 

including Tesco, Waitrose, 

M&S, Ocado, and its longstanding 

biggest customer, Aldi – in May 2022 

Geary’s Technical Manager Karen 

Walters started to scope out the 

company’s future label verification 

options. One quick web search later 

and Dimaco was in the door. By July, the 

CapEx budget was confirmed and two 

offline semi-automated OCR Veri-PACK 

label verification vision units together 

with a Veri-CENTRAL SQL server were 

installed at the Barrow-upon-Soar site. 

Indicative of their satisfaction, this 

March, a replica solution, comprising 

another two units and database, went 

live at Geary’s Glenfield site. 

Given the multiple variants of craft 

bakery products, comprising bloomers, 

rustics, malted loaves and the latest 

- Jason’s Sourdough, named after the 

company’s master baker and Executive 

Director Jason Geary - the semiautomated 

offline solution catered to 

the bakeries’ immediate needs. 

The risk of mislabelling is generally 

higher on shorter product runs involving 

multiple packaging types, notes Dimaco 

Sales Director Steve Wainwright. 

He expands: “Geary’s bake in small 

batches. Because of these short-run 

lines, there tends to be multiple product 

changeovers per day. Geary’s was also 

dealing with varied packaging shapes, 

Traditional, artisanal, and dedicated to quality over quantity, Geary’s bakery has made the switch from 

labor and time-intensive manual verification checks to an efficient and future-proof offline Dimaco 

label verification system. 

flexible packaging, labels on sticky bags, 

as well as closure tags systems. Coupled 

with supplying multiple products to 

multiple customers, manual label 

checks was fast becoming untenable. 

“Ensuring that the label used on each and 

every product matches the work order, 

printing them in real-time to ensure 

there’s no mix up, and linking this to the 

database and live MRP system, helps to 

significantly reduce human errors,” adds 

Steve. 

Batch checking 

Proofing labels, gathering physical 

copies at regular intervals – hourly, at the 

start of production and for every bread 

batch changeover – had reached an 

unsustainable tipping point for Geary’s. 

It was proving to be both labor intensive, 

challenging to resource and generated 

volumes of worksheets which had to 

be archived for years, reflects Geary’s 

Technical Manager Karen Walters. 

Simply by eliminating the paperwork 

element and moving to batch checks 

performed at the same intervals on 

two Veri-PACK units, Karen confirmed 

that both bakery sites have observed 

significant savings. 

“Paper records are always more 

vulnerable to being misplaced. They are 

also time consuming to retrieve. In the 

event of a label recall or audit, speed is 

of the essence,” adds Karen. 

At the first site, as well as the subsequent 

second location, Geary’s placed their 

two offline Veri-PACK units close to the 

product lines. Every half hour, at the start 

and end of each product changeover, 

and after a line stop exceeding 5 

minutes, a user inserts the pack into a 

Veri-PACK unit, logs in and electronically 

verifies all the label data against the 

34 


Packaging 

Stocked by most British supermarkets, including Tesco, Waitrose, M&S, Ocado, and its longstanding biggest customer, Aldi, Geary’s recently launched 

Jason’s Sourdough, named after master baker and Executive Director Jason Geary. 

very latest MRP production data files. 

An image is taken. The results are then 

stored in each sites’ Veri-CENTRAL 

database, enabling auditable records to 

be instantly called up when required. 

If the data is wrong, the line is immediate 

stopped and an investigation takes 

place. 

Future proofing 

Designed specifically to supersede 

manual paper-based label checks and 

detect label and artwork discrepancies 

faster and more accurately than the 

human eye, the Dimaco offline system 

could provide the stepping stone 

for Geary’s to automate labelling 

verification in the future. 

The rationale for selecting a Dimaco 

offline solution is it can accommodate 

all the different packaging types, 

reaffirms Steve. As a scalable solution 

comprising compatible Dimaco technology, 

if Geary’s packaging formats 

Every half hour, at the start and end of each product changeover, and after a line stop exceeding 5 

minutes, a Geary’s user inserts the pack into a Veri-PACK unit, logs in and electronically verifies all the 

label data against the very latest MRP production data files. 

change in the future, any modifications 

to the label verification process is 

feasible. 

Quality born and bread 

Geary’s bakery remains traditional, 

artisanal, and dedicated to quality over 

quantity. Their quest to craft, prove, 

bake, pack and sell the perfect bread 

is as evident today as it was 100 years 

ago. Scale has not compromised this 

ethos. 

From preparing the dough 24-hours 

before baking in smaller batches, to 

a longer prove time and fermenting 

its own sourdough culture, discarding 

quality product because its label 

data is non-compliant doesn’t sit 

comfortably with the bakeries’ 

sustainability policies. Especially in 

today’s current climate of soaring 

energy and ingredient costs. 

By checking labels against robust MRP 

data sources and catching mislabelled 

products early before they exit the 

factory doors, the Dimaco systems 

are helping to prevent good products 

from being discarded. Consequently 

minimising waste and ensuring that 

Geary’s high-quality and hard-earned 

brand integrity endures for decades 

more to come. 

fmt 

food Marketing & Technology • August 2023 35

Packaging 

Turning Traceability into Marketing Gold 

Digitalized traceability systems can turn a costly legal requirement into easy routines which give you 

and your customers peace of mind – and an opportunity to increase margins by marketing your product 

provenance, explains Mathew Simpson of CSB-System. 

“The traceability of food … shall be 

established at all stages of production, 

processing and distribution” ( 

according to regulation EC 178/2002). 

Statutory regulations such as this, 

along with food industry standards 

such as Codex Alimentarius, BRC 

Global Standard for Food Safety and 

individual retailer standards have 

really driven the mass adoption and 

implementation of traceability systems 

for all stages of food production. 

Whilst the requirement for traceability 

is a good thing for consumer safety 

and market transparency, it does 

cause difficulties for manufacturers. 

There is a direct administrative cost 

to recording and managing all that 

information - and it is often difficult to 

achieve because recipe processing is 

complex. 

For example, ingredients such as 

sugar and salt are present in most 

recipes. A single 20kg bag of sugar 

could therefore find its way into ten 

batches of different finished products. 

Furthermore, flexibility in production 

is also reduced. Whereas previously, 

substituting beet sugar for cane sugar 

would have been a simple expedient 

to cover a shortfall, now a written 

derogation is required, or alternatives 

have to be written into the specification 

in advance. 

Moreover, it is now not enough to 

purchase sugar from any reputable 

supplier; instead, suppliers must 

be approved in advance and also 

written into the specification, and it 

is necessary to record from which 

supplier the sugar came for every 

batch. 

Nevertheless, as the saying goes, 

‘every challenge is an opportunity’. 

Viewed in another way, ‘traceability’ 

is only a more technical word for 

provenance – or ‘knowing-where-itcame-from’. 

And for many consumers 

and many products, provenance is an 

important part of the buying decision. 

In some famous cases, the provenance 

of a product has been turned into 

commercial gold. Champagne is 

perhaps the most famous example, 

but even potatoes (Jersey Royal) and 

pasties (Cornish) have been granted 

official legal protection by the EU 

– which helps them to market their 

unique traceability. 

36 


Packaging 

Protected geographical indication 

(PGI) and protected designation 

of origin (PDO) are official EU legal 

terms which enshrine provenance in 

law. And while many products cannot 

meet the threshold to win PGI or PDO 

status, it has become commonplace 

to indicate geographical origin on 

food labels (Irish Beef; Welsh Lamb; 

Scottish Raspberries: Devon Custard; 

Madagascan Vanilla). 

Provenance really matters to 

consumers because it delivers 

prestige and satisfaction in perceived 

or real product quality. Knowing where 

it came from helps people to avoid 

bad, unsafe or poor-quality products. 

People want to know and believe their 

beef is coming from Ireland so that 

they can be sure they are not paying for 

horse meat or out of date meat. 

Most products may not be able to 

market traceability quite so effectively 

as Champagne, but it is clear that one 

of the key pillars of the commercial 

proposition is traceability to region. 

Furthermore, if you can extend this 

to identify the farm where a joint of 

beef came from or the dairy producing 

a particular cheese – and if this 

information can also be accessed by 

the consumer through a QR code on 

the packaging – you are helping to 

create an image of exclusivity for your 

product that sets it apart from its rivals. 

This type of traceability is clearly more 

about marketing than product safety 

– but the two things can be aligned 

because the same technology can 

deliver both. 

assures traceability within the process. 

The system instructs the operative by 

displaying the plan or the recipe along 

with work instructions. By scanning the 

item, the operative directly records the 

batch being used. In the act of weighing, 

the operative follows the instruction and 

records the weight taken. 

In following these steps, the operative 

did nothing more physically than they 

did in a system without traceability 

except scanning a barcode. Yet 

through this one additional procedure, 

it becomes easier to weigh out the 

right ingredients and harder to weigh 

out the wrong ingredients. 

Equally important, this means that the 

stock position for all the ingredients 

(and their approved substitutes) will 

be known in real time. Therefore, 

integrated planning functionality can 

calculate the exact requirements for 

each ingredient and flag up a shortfall 

- and an approved substitute - in 

advance. 

You won’t run out of the ‘right’ type of 

sugar if you have the right type of ERP 

system in place. What you will do is 

transform a costly legal requirement 

into a virtuous system of quality 

assurance with a potential marketing 

benefit – alchemy! 

fmt 

With the right ERP in place, the costs 

of ensuring products can be traced 

back to origin or forward to destination 

can be transformed into a virtuous 

system of quality assurance, product 

consistency and increased efficiency 

– which also automatically delivers 

traceability. 

Where the ERP is integrated to the 

weighing scales and scanners, the 

instructing, doing and recording steps in 

the production process can be combined 

into a single ergonomic routine which 

food Marketing & Technology • August 2023 37

Company Founder Gerhard Schubert has 

Passed Away 

Gerhard Schubert, the founder and shareholder of leading packaging machine manufacturer Schubert, passed 

away peacefully in Crailsheim on 4 July 2023 at the age of 84. With his passing, the packaging industry has 

lost a defining figure and an extraordinary personality. 

In 1966, he founded Gerhard Schubert 

GmbH, one of the most innovative and 

successful companies in international 

packaging machine manufacturing. To 

this day, his visionary ideas of a modular 

robot-assisted top-loading packaging 

machine continue to influence modern 

packaging technology around the 

world. Gerhard Schubert laid the 

foundation for the company in 1953 

with an apprenticeship as a mechanic. 

He then spent several years gathering 

experience as a design engineer at 

the Strunck and Kugler companies 

before setting up his own engineering 

& design office in 1964. 

Only two years later, Gerhard 

Schubert GmbH was founded in 

Crailsheim. With his pioneering spirit 

and entrepreneurial daring, Gerhard 

Schubert built the small company into 

an international group of companies 

over a period of decades and took 

the family business to the forefront of 

the world’s packaging manufacturers. 

He always remained down-to-earth 

and deeply connected to the region 

surrounding his hometown of 

Crailsheim. In addition to his two sons 

Ralf and Gerald Schubert, the next 

generation of grandchildren is now 

working in the company. 

Gerhard Schubert’s passing is a great 

loss. But on his life’s journey, he 

left traces that will reach far beyond 

his time with us. He once very aptly 

described himself: “Yes, I am a visionary. 

A designer must have vision.” And this 

vision – to build “the best packaging 

machines in the world” – is one that he 

brought to life with flying colors. 

We, the publishing team of Dr. 

Harnisch Publications admired 

Gerhard Schubert: We’ll miss him. fmt 

Rico Maga, Plant Pathologist 

1948-2023 

We were very sad to hear of the 

premature passing of our friend and 

colleague Rico R. Magda, at the age of 

74 at his home in the Philippines. He 

worked as a Plant Pathologist at the 

University of the Philippines at Los 

Baños and wrote about many plants, 

fruits and vegetables over many years. 

Rico loved learning and had a very 

sharp memory, planning and writing 

new articles right until the end. 

The first article on Lemongrass 

was over thirty years ago and the 

last one on Young Jackfruit in this 

year’s February issue. He was a very 

prolific writer with a wide knowledge 

on a large range of plant topics. His 


style of writing was refreshing and the readers were often 

enthusiastic to find out more details. Over the years some 

of the plants he wrote about have found their position 

in the global food markets. These include Dragonfruit, 

Mangosteen, Shea and Yacon. The articles always talked 

about the botanical background and history, sourcing, 

including plant breeding and went on to describe existing 

and potential uses and markets. There were often recipes 

for readers to try out. Rico’s humor came through and 

sometimes very dry topics came to life. 

Rico loved plants and planting, and his family will dedicate 

some fruit trees and an orchard for him in the Philippines 

later this year. He actually was able to buy 10 Calamansi 

trees a few weeks before he passed away. 

Among his other interests Rico was a blackbelt at karate 

and he loved spending time with his grandchildren, and 

teaching them. 

Rico Magda was a part of our publishing house. We will 

miss him. 

Ian Healey 


39 

Key No. 105604

Marketing 

Agrofood Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, June 2023 

by Ian Healey 

I once heard a song about Africa 

being shaped like a question mark. It 

was about Africa having the answer 

for many of the world’s needs. The 

reasons for this included the innate 

cheerfulness and positive thinking of 

so many African people, together with 

their unending warmth and welcoming 

nature. In the food industry it is also 

particularly true that Africa has a lot to 

offer the world as a whole. 

Following several other visits to Africa 

and supported by a number of friends 

from different parts of the continent, 

I was glad to accept an invitation to 

join the organizer fairtrade at the 

5th International Trade Exhibition 

on Agrofood, Plastics, Printing and 

Packaging in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 

Ethiopia is a country in East Africa, 

which covers an area of more than 1.1 

million km 2 and which has a growing 

population currently at almost 120 

million people. It has great potential, 

especially in the food and beverage 

sector: not only does it have a large, 

unexploited land area, but it also has 

sufficient water and a predominantly 

temperate climate due to its high 

altitudes. Agriculture is the most 

important industry, providing over 

60% of employment and 76% of the 

country’s exports. Of these coffee is 

probably the most well-known and 

is sometimes called “black gold“, 

whereas water is known as “white 

gold“. Cereals, spices, legumes and 

other vegetables are also widely 

cultivated, as well as teff, or dwarf 

millet, which is a staple food for local 

tastebuds. Nevertheless Ethiopia is 

still a food importer, according to the 

latest figures from the German VDMA 

(Association of Mechanical and Plant 

Engineering). 

Rich in history and in resources 

The exhibition was opened by 

the Ethiopian State Minister of 

Industry, His Excellency Mr. Hassan 

Mohammed, at a high quality 

opening event, with speeches and 

greetings from Ambassadors and 

Representatives of 12 countries. 

His Excellency welcomed the 

participants to Ethiopia and 

underlined the richness of the country, 

being so well blessed with natural 

resources and a favorable climate and 

hard working farmers. He promised to 

improve the infrastructure, including 

irrigation and to launch a charter to 

resolve the financial struggles which 

companies have been experiencing 

as they look to import equipment and 

machinery. 

“Today we commemorate the 

beginning of a new chapter, a chapter 

that integrates agriculture, food 

processing, packaging and plastics, 

opening up limitless possibilities 

for our people and our economy. 

By bringing together stakeholders 

from across the globe, agrofood & 

plastprintpack Ethiopia serves as a 

paramount platform to showcase the 

immense potential of our nation and 

foster collaboration. We are eager to 

develop our agrofood & plastprintpack 

industry in close cooperation with our 

partners from around the globe.” 

In total more than 130 companies 

from 16 countries exhibited at the 

event, which attracted over 4000 

trade visitors from all over Ethiopia 

and other neighboring countries. 

There were National Pavilions from 

participants from China, Germany, 

India, Italy, Kuwait and Türkiye. The 

Trade Event included a well attended 

conference with topics such as 

forming “Partnerships in Innovation 

in Durum Wheat“, “Networking to 

Strengthen the Ethiopian Beverage 

Industry“ and “Corporate Due 

Diligence in the Supply Chain“. 

The aim of the event is to help develop 

industry in Ethiopia and this region 

of East Africa and create opportunity 

and investment in food and beverage 

technology. This will in turn create 

jobs and help along the road of 

self sufficiency. With 120 million 

inhabitants (2022), which according 

to the World Bank will rise to 200 

million by 2050, Ethiopia has long 

been the largest food market in East 

& Central Africa. Expenditure in the 

food and beverage sector is growing 

steadily, and F&B production is by far 

the largest segment of the Ethiopian 

processing industry. Accordingly, 

the demand for food and beverage 

ingredients is rising continuously. 

So it is only natural that more and 

more leading international ingredient 

companies took part in agrofood 

Ethiopia. 

A professional partner 

Founded in 1991, fairtrade has long 

been one of the leading organizers of 

professional international agrofood & 

plastprintpack trade fairs in Africa and 

the Middle East. Over the decades, 

more than 36,000 exhibitors and 1.5 



million trade visitors have expressed 

their confidence in the company. 

With a range of international trade 

shows, fairtrade goes innovative ways 

to connect emerging markets with 

solution providers from across the 

globe. Facilitating valuable business 

contacts between exhibitors and 

trade visitors – that is what fairtrade 

stands for. ISO 9001:2015 certified 

and a member of UFI The Global 

Association of the Exhibition Industry, 

the exhibition expert strives for high 

customer satisfaction with excellent 

service and innovative products. 

fairtrade is managed by its founder 

Martin März and his son Paul, who 

joined the company in 2016, and 

builds on a highly motivated team of 

experienced and young professionals, 

many of them qualified in-house. At 

the opening event Paul welcomed the 

guests and partners: “The success of 

this major international event would 

be impossible without the close 

cooperation and strong support of our 

partners. We would like to express 

our sincere gratitude to everybody 

contributing to this success, especially 

the Ministry of Agriculture of Ethiopia, 

but also including our Ethiopian coorganizer 

Prana Events, the official 

delegations, media partners and most 

of all the exhibitors and trade visitors. 

We wish many exciting talks resulting 

in valuable outcomes and excellent 

business.“ 

Conclusions 

My personal impressions of the 

exhibition were very positive. Many 

exhibitors were there for the first 

time, ready to test the waters of a 

growing continent. Ethiopia was seen 

as an excellent strategic location 

in East Africa which could act as a 

hub between Africa and the Middle 

East region. The food interests are 

similar in the geographically close 

areas. Ethiopia is seen as a very safe 

political center with a long history 

of agriculture, as well as food and 

beverage production. It is a large 

country with hard working people 

and a good infrastructure, especially 

through the international airport and 

with connections to many significant 

markets. 

Other companies were returning to 

the exhibition and are now making 

concrete plans to build a factory in 

the country, either full size or small 

scale, whilst others were seeking local 

partners to develop existing facilities. 

The atmosphere was very constructive 

and the exhibitor evening, in the 

middle of the show, was enjoyed by 

all exhibitors until late into the night. 

Local food and beer specialties and 

wine from the Rift Valley were served. 

The bottom line for me was that the 

country needs support in different 

sectors, especially in the soft beverage 

area such as juice processing; also 

sodas and water are popular, but 

also in bakeries and confectionery. 

As more women are now working 

to support their family’s economic 

needs, more to-go opportunities are 

arising, such as quick, processed 

foods – as healthy as possible – and 

even coffee shops. Ethiopia’s young 

people are embracing education and 

several students helped out hosting 

at the exhibition. They were optimistic 

about the future. Both male and 

female students shared a vision of 

their country being successful, with 

each of them having a part in this 

growth. The warmth they showed to 

visitors was underlined in the love 

they felt for their own country. 

If we take a look at the world’s needs, 

we recognize that there are many who 

are hungry, angry or alone. However, 

the people I personally met on this trip 

have shown an optimism, energy and 

strength to make something happen 

– and this attitude is encouraging and 

infectious. Africa may have many 

natural resources for agriculture and 

other industries, but the combination 

of its people with the long traditions 

and history really do give an answer 

for the world. 

fmt 


41


Still Largely Unknown: Ethiopia as an 

Export Country for Natural Ingredients 

As an export country for agricultural products, Ethiopia is only known to a few experts of Africa. However, 

the country, which covers an area of more than 1.1 million km 2 , has great potential: not only does it have a 

large, unexploited land area, but it also has sufficient water and a predominantly temperate climate due to 

its high altitudes. 

The infrastructure in the country and thus the prerequisite for smooth logistics is also steadily improving. 

The Import Promotion Desk (IPD) has been active in Ethiopia since 2015 and supports small and mediumsized 

enterprises in their export ambitions. The companies in the IPD programme offer products that are 

in demand on the European market. In addition, they also stand out for the high quality of their natural 

ingredients. Many already have certificates such as HACCP and ISO 220000 or are currently working on 

certification – this includes the organic label, among others. 

Water Tower of East Africa 

Ethiopia is often referred to as the 

“water tower of East Africa” because it 

has extensive surface and groundwater 

resources. At the same time, Ethiopia 

has a large number of agro-ecological 

zones suitable for the production of a 

wide variety of crops throughout the 

year. In particular, the highlands have 

very favorable climatic conditions for 

agricultural production. Nevertheless, 

only about 16 million hectares are 

used for agriculture and this mainly by 

smallholder families for self-sufficiency. 

IPD works with companies that want 

to exploit Ethiopia’s natural potential 

and produce natural ingredients for 

export. They often work closely with 

smallholder farmers, whose raw 

produce they process. “A big advantage 

is that we link European importers 

directly with Ethiopian producers,” says 

Nicole Schauer, IPD Expert Sourcing + 

Markets. “This saves buyers the step 

of going through intermediaries and, 

consequently, procurement costs. At 

the same time, they have a partner who 

can transparently show the supply chain 

and explain its quality management or 

demonstrate it on site. 

Home country of coffee 

Ethiopia’s best-known product is 

probably coffee. The Kafa region is 

considered the birthplace of coffee as 

the Arabica bean was first cultivated 

there. The climatic conditions and soil 

make the coffee plants and cherries 

thrive. The coffee tradition and the 

know-how of the coffee farmers, 

passed down from generation to 

generation, have laid the foundation 

for high-quality processing. 

Ethiopia is Africa’s largest coffee 

producer and home to many innovative 

coffee companies. The companies 

in the IPD programme offer a wide 

range of varieties named after the 

different regions of origin. Besides 

Kafa, the Djimma region is a well- 



known coffee growing area. The coffee 

varieties are named, for example, Kafa, 

Djimma, Limu, Gesha, Guji, Sidamo, 

Anderacha. The companies process 

so-called forest coffee, which grows 

wild and is harvested by hand in the 

rainforests. Drying follows naturally 

in the sun. The range of products 

offered by the IPD companies includes 

washed and unwashed coffee beans. 

Many of the companies are already 

Rainforest Alliance (RFA) certified 

with their offerings, and also provide 

organic certified coffee in addition to 

conventional coffee. 

Superfood Teff 

Teff, also called dwarf millet, has been 

cultivated in the highlands of Ethiopia 

for about 5,000 years. The small grains 

are Ethiopia’s most important cereal. 

Teff flour is used, for example, to bake 

the typical Ethiopian flatbread, Injera. 

But teff is also becoming increasingly 

popular outside Ethiopia. Its nutritional 

value, taste and baking properties are 

appreciated. In addition, teff is glutenfree, 

and thus a good alternative for 

people with celiac disease who cannot 

tolerate the gluten protein. 

The grains of teff are tiny. Around 150 

teff grains together add up to about 

the size of a grain of wheat. But the 

small grains possess the necessary 

qualities: they are rich in proteins, 

fats and amino acids and provide 

high amounts of vitamins as well as 

minerals, especially calcium, iron and 

magnesium. The mini-grain is not 

shelled. Because the kernel of the 

grain cannot be separated from the 

husk, the grains are processed and 

milled as a whole. 

In Ethiopia, dwarf millet is grown at 

altitudes between 1,000 and 3,000 

meters. The plants grow quickly and 

are frugal in their water requirements. 

Teff can already be harvested about 

three months after sowing. Ethiopian 

companies export teff grains and flour. 

There are also product innovations 

such as pasta made from 100 percent 

teff. 

Variety of pulses and spices 

In addition to teff, many pulses are 

grown in Ethiopia. They are also part of 

the country’s traditional cuisine. Since 

many dishes are meatless, chickpeas, 

Engagement of IPD in 

Africa 

In addition to Ethiopia, IPD 

is also active in Egypt, Côte 

d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, 

Madagascar, Morocco and 

Tunisia. It supports small and 

medium-sized enterprises 

that want to export to the 

European market. The focus is 

on natural ingredients for food, 

pharmaceuticals or cosmetics 

as well as fresh produce. 

The number of processing 

companies that meet European 

quality standards is growing 

steadily in the IPD partner 

countries, along with the share 

of organic farming. 

More information: 

https://www. 

importpromotiondesk.de/en/ 

services/ 


43


lentils, peas, etc. are important 

sources of protein. Many companies 

in the IPD programme have also 

specialized in growing and marketing 

pulses. For the European market, they 

produce kidney beans, mung beans, 

pigeon- and chickpeas, navy- and pinto 

beans and many more. 

Ethiopian cuisine also includes typical 

herbs, spices and spice blends. IPD 

companies bring this spice portfolio 

to the European market. The range 

covers dried fenugreek seeds, white 

and black cumin, black cardamom, 

Ethiopian basil and also chili pepper 

blends such as berbere and mitmita, 

as well as other Ethiopian blends. 

Rich Oilseeds 

Many IPD companies offer oilseeds 

such as sesame, black cumin seed, 

or flaxseeds for export. An Ethiopian 

specialty is Tahin, a sesame paste. The 

IPD companies process the sesame 

seeds without additional supplements 

to preserve its naturalness. In addition, 

the seeds are also processed into 

high-quality oil. Ethiopia is known for 

its black cumin seed oil, among other 

products. 

The fatty, dark gold-colored oil from 

black cumin seeds consists of up 

to 60 percent linoleic acid, and also 

contains other polyunsaturated fatty 

acids. In addition, black cumin seed oil 

has a high content of essential amino 

acids, vitamins of the B-complex and 

vitamins A, C, D and E. Even Cleopatra 

is said to have used the oil for her hair 

and Hippocrates described the oil’s 

effect on digestive problems. Today, 

health-conscious consumers from all 

over the world demand the oil with the 

spicy taste, and there is a lively interest 

in the European market. 

True black cumin is not related to 

cumin or caraway. For the production 

of the fatty oil, the seeds from the fruit 

capsules of the plant are used. The 

oil is cold pressed and filtered. This 

preserves all valuable ingredients. 

The oil content in the black cumin 

seeds is low compared to other seeds. 

Accordingly, the production is complex, 

good machines are needed to extract 

the high-quality oil. 

Moringa miracle tree 

“Shiferaw” is the name given to the 

Moringa tree in Ethiopia: the tree 



IPD at Anuga 2023: Many 

African companies present 

themselves 

IPD will be exhibiting with a large 

booth at the Anuga food trade 

fair in Cologne, from October 7 

to 11. From the African continent, 

companies from Egypt, Ghana, 

Kenya and Tunisia will come to 

Cologne. The suppliers will give 

an insight into their product 

world. Among them are dried 

spices, date products, olives 

and pickled vegetables, dried 

fruits and fruit pulps as well as 

specialties such as rose water 

or saffron. The entrepreneurs 

will be available to answer 

buyers' questions on quality 

management, supply chains and 

logistics. 

More information: https://www. 

importpromotiondesk.de/en/ 

partner-countries/ethiopia/ 

that can be used for more than 

1000 diseases. It is also called the 

miracle tree. It has earned this title 

of honor not only because of its 

richness in nutrients. Moreover, it is 

its special feature that almost all of 

its plant parts are used by the local 

population as a food or medicinal 

purposes. For example, the root with 

its horseradish-like flavor is used as 

a seasoning, tea is made from the 

blossoms of the moringa tree and 

the moringa leaves are traded on the 

markets in southern Ethiopia as a 

nutrient-rich vegetable. 

The leaves are also used to make moringa 

powder, which is in high demand on the 

European market as a food supplement. 

The leaves contain vitamins A, B and 

C, as well as minerals such as calcium, 

magnesium and iron. In addition, the 

protein content is high and most of the 

known essential amino acids are found 

in the leaves. Even after the drying 

process, a high proportion of nutrients is 

retained. The companies take care to dry 

the leaves gently and evenly to preserve 

their nutrients. The multivitamin with 

high protein content is offered in powder, 

tea and tablet form. 

fmt 


45


Pioneering Project: Producing Milk in 

Mauritania 

Krones has designed and built a turnkey dairy for the Mauritanian company Enazaha. Krones set up a turnkey 

dairy, a Mauritanian importer/exporter, in the capital Nouakchott. The entire process technology required to 

make milk by recombining powdered milk and milk fat is an essential element of this greenfield project. 

People in Mauritania like milk. It’s a drink 

with a long tradition in the country’s 

nomadic culture, and consumption of 

milk and dairy products is currently 

gaining even more in importance. 

However, the climatic conditions in the 

desert state hardly permit dairy farming. 

At present, four dairies in Mauritania 

produce fresh milk with a shelf-life of just 

one week, which means it can only be 

used to meet demand in the capital itself, 

with its roughly one million inhabitants. 

That is why the country in the northwest 

of Africa has so far imported most of 

its UHT milk and dairy products from 

Europe, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. In order 

to reduce its dependencies, Enazaha 

has now started to process and fill UHT 

milk, evaporated milk and drinking 

yoghurt. Powdered milk and milk fat are 

both imported. 

Milk importer turns into milk 

producer 

Enazaha is headquartered in Nouakchott 

and has been active in the fields of 

import, export and sales of foods and 

drinks for more than 30 years now. The 

company has specialized in importing 

rice, tea, edible oil, milk and beverages. It 

operates several branches in Mauritania 

that supply the whole of the country with 

a good number of its own food and drink 

brands. For its export business, Enazaha 

runs offices abroad, for example in the 

neighboring countries Senegal and Mali. 

Under the privately owned company’s 

new business plan, powdered milk and 

milk fat are to be bought on the world 

market, imported and processed in its 

own dairy to make UHT milk, evaporated 

milk and drinking yoghurt. The aim is to 

sell these products on the domestic 

market and to also export them. 

The two-stage homogenizer achieves pressures of up to 250 bar and is able to process the products 

either in the standard way or aseptically. 

“Building our own dairy, that was a big 

step for Enazaha, taking the plunge from 

an importer to a producer,” explains 

Cheikh Ahmed Mohamed El Moustapha, 

who has been the manager in charge 

of the construction project since 2021. 

Enazaha had already completed a few 

relatively small food-production projects 

before, like a biscuit factory or their own 

rice plantation, but this was an entirely 

different order of magnitude. “The 

market will now be watching our project 

with eagle eyes. If we’re successful – and 

we’re firmly convinced we will be – similar 

projects will doubtless follow in our 

country,” says Cheikh Ahmed Mohamed 

El Moustapha. Previous attempts made 

by competitors to produce UHT milk in 

Mauritania on a smaller scale had failed. 

Mauritania has a population of just 

under five million people and except 

for a strip of savannah along the coast 

essentially consists of desert, so the 

country is not in a position to produce 

a sufficient amount of milk from dairy 

herds itself. Thus, this project also 

serves to provide more independence 

and boost the economy of Mauritania, 

which is still ranked among the world’s 

poorest countries. That is why the 

German federal government supported 

this project. 

A greenfield project handled by 

Krones Middle East 

Krones Middle East drew up the plan 

for the greenfield project in meticulous 

detail andww then translated it into 

hands-on reality. “Our decision to opt 



for Krones came quickly and easily,” 

explains the project manager. “It was 

especially important to us to get all the 

kit from a single source, quite simply 

because we lacked the experience to 

handle such a project.” The first items 

of equipment had arrived on site in June 

2022, and the dairy was put in operation 

just under a year later, in May 2023, 

following successful acceptance-testing. 

The official inauguration ceremony took 

place in the presence of the Mauritanian 

Prime Minister and the German 

ambassador. 

The new dairy in detail 

• The recombination system is the 

core of the new dairy. It consists of 

a powder dissolver for the imported 

milk powder with an output of five 

tons per hour and a butter-melting 

unit for fat standardization. 

• The milk is then processed at ultrahigh 

temperature in the VarioAsept 

M. That is an indirect product-UHT 

system featuring a shell-and-tube 

heat exchanger, in which the product 

flows through the inner tube and is 

heated up by hot water in the outer 

tube. The UHT system guarantees the 

requisite flexibility for working with 

different temperature/time programs. 

It also handles protein stabilization. 

To this end, whey protein is denatured 

at 92-95°C for 300 seconds. That 

results in a longer continuous running 

time of the UHT system, which was 

engineered to suit this specific aspect. 

Two aseptic buffer tanks holding 25,000 and 20,000 liters respectively were also installed. 

• The dairy products are processed 

in a homogenizer with an electrical 

power of 90 kilowatt. This two-stage 

homogenizer achieves pressures of 

up to 250 bar and is able to process 

the products either in the standard 

way or aseptically. 

• Krones’ subsidiary Evoguard supplied 

all of the valves and pumps: aseptic, 

double-seat and disk valves (butterfly 

valves), and centrifugal pumps. 

Utilities supplied and installed 

Needless to say, Krones’ scope of supply 

for the turnkey dairy also included 

the utilities, such as steam boilers, 

refrigeration system, compressor and 

A shell-and-tube heat exchanger serves to turn a VarioAsept M into an indirect product-UHT system 

a Hydronomic water treatment system 

rated at 35 m 3 per hour. The latter 

processes municipal water that has 

already been treated. 

A Scada system handles system control 

and also collects and records operational 

data, thus enabling batch tracking. That 

means the entire process-technology 

kit can be run fully automatically by only 

two or three operators. 

The new dairy already runs in multi-shift 

operation. Krones designed it so as to 

ensure it can be expanded to achieve 

double the output at need. According 

to estimates, annual demand for milk in 

Mauritania comes to roughly 200,000 

tons. Operating at capacity, the new 

dairy can produce about 40,000 to 

50,000 tons per year, that is around 

one quarter of the country’s demand. 

“As soon as we’ve reached this, we 

will expand the system,” emphasises 

Cheikh Ahmed Mohamed El Moustapha. 

“Enazaha has hit the bull’s eye” 

The project manager is very satisfied 

overall with how the new greenfield dairy 

was planned and implemented: “The 

project proceeded very smoothly. Our 

employees feel right at home with their 

new line, which has been up and running 

for several months now. There haven’t 

been any problems so far. What’s more, 

we can always directly contact Krones in 

an emergency. Mauritania and Enazaha 

have hit the bull’s eye here.” 

fmt 


47

Events 

AI, Digitalization, Food Safety: The 

Future of Technology for the Food 

Industry is on Display at Cibus Tec 

Held in Parma from 24th to 27th October, the trade show marks the comeback of China to European foodtech 

events and confirms its long-established mission to showcase innovative solutions for the whole 

industry 

Nutrition and technology, these two 

intertwined concepts represent the 

beating heart of innovation for the food 

industry. On the consumers’ side, the 

market is more varied and demanding 

with each passing day; food companies 

are asked to be up to a complex task, 

which is to identify and anticipate all sort 

of needs. Moreover, food companies 

are nowadays coping with the emerging 

necessity of developing new virtuous 

and efficient production models, 

featuring smart digital hi-tech options, 

innovative packaging solutions and – 

last but not least – new tracking systems 

for the industrial production. These are 

the very burning issues around which a 

crucial match is to be played for several 

sectors related to the food industry. All 

these themes represent the core focus 

of Cibus Tec, the well-established Italian 

exhibition (and authentic milestone in 

the European expos’ calendar of food 

tech and innovation events), taking 

place in Parma from 24th to 27th 

October 2023. 

The numbers 

40,000 visitors are coming from all 

over the world. Over 1,000 exhibitors 

(representing 30 different countries) 

are ready to showcase hundreds of 

innovative food technology solutions to 

the thousands of operators attending 

the show. Italy will be represented by all 

its top brands, but many other leading 

countries in the field of innovation, 

such as Germany, Spain, Netherlands, 

Turkey, India, USA and China, will bring 

their most renowned companies. With 

special regard to China, this edition 

marks its comeback to the European 

trade show scene, representing an 

enormous asset for Cibus Tec, since 

it strengthens its cosmopolitan vision. 

This is even more evident considering 

the importance of this year’s buyers 

program, involving more than 3,000 

VIP operators coming from the 

most important global hubs of food 

processing. The program is made 

possible by huge targeted investments 

and, of course, by the long-term 

cooperation with both ITA – Italian 

Trade Agency and the Emilia-Romagna 

Region. 


Events 

Start-ups: Authentic added value 

Cibus Tec is undoubtedly the ideal 

stage to unveil the most interesting 

innovations and applications of AI. 

100 accurately selected start-ups 

from every part of the globe will offer 

a complete overview on topics of 

interest related to food processing, 

such as cultivation, packaging and 

nutritional analysis processes. 

Food safety: A crucial point 

Regarding the former topic, Cibus Tec 

develops a specific focus, confirming 

and reinforcing its positioning as the 

main platform for food safety in the 

Italian landscape. There are no doubts 

about the relevance of this theme, 

which is gaining prominence thanks 

to the interest of a growing number of 

conscious consumers, who are more 

and more interested in the origins 

and the quality of the food they daily 

bring on their table. This trend, that 

has not gone unnoticed by Cibus 

Tec organizers, is forcing a structural 

rethinking of many processes and 

paradigms, involving all the members 

of the food production chain, from 

producers to food processers, not to 

mention distributors and food tech 

suppliers. 

The main goal of all these players, 

meeting in Parma next October, is 

to offer safer and better tracked 

products, if possible, supported by a 

simple, clear communication, allowing 

consumers to seriously rely on the 

brands and build up a long-term 

trustful relationship with them. That is 

why the next edition of Cibus Tec, taking 

place in Parma from 24th to 27th October 

2023, is going to be remembered as a 

special occasion for food tech. Visitors 

will join a leading platform, where they 

may open a dialogue on the future of 

the industry and share knowledge on a 

bunch of complex and serious issues for 

the whole food sector. 

fmt 

SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER 

26-28 September 

Nuremberg, Germany 

Powtech 

NürnbergMesse GmbH 

Messezentrum, 

90471 Nuremberg 

Tel.: +49 911 86 06 49 09 

Fax: +49 911 86 06 49 08 

www.powtech.de 

7-9 November 

Dubai, UAE 

Gulfood Manufacturing 

Dubai World Trade Centre, 

P.O. Box 9292, Dubai, UAE 

Tel: (+971) 4 308 6124 

info@dwtc.com 

www.gulfood.com 

Let`s meet at 

Let`s meet at 

NOVEMBER 

28-30 November 

Frankfurt, Germany 

Let`s meet at 

Food ingredients Europe 

Informa Markets 

PO Box 12740, de Entree 73, 

Toren A, 1100 AS Amsterdam Zuid Oost, 

The Netherlands 

Tel.: +31-20-409 9544 • Fax: +31-20-363 2616 

www.figlobal.com 

28-30 November 

Let`s meet at 

Nuremberg, Germany 

Brau Beviale 

NürnbergMesse GmbH 

Messezentrum, 

90471 Nuremberg 

Tel.: +49 911 86 06 49 09 • Fax: +49 911 86 06 49 08 

www.braubeviale.de 

This list of events is accurate, to the best of our knowledge. However potential visitors are recommended to check with the 

organizer since some details are subject to change. We make no claims to be complete and are grateful for any corrections 

or completions. Please contact: food@harnisch.com 


49

Last Page 

Advertiser’s Index • August 2023 

Key No. Page Company Location 

104749 33 AZO GmbH & Co. Osterburken, Germany 

105129 5 ESTEVE S.A.S Rians, France 

105693 21 EURASANTÉ Loos - Lille, France 

102163 4 fairtrade GmbH & Co. KG Heidelberg Germany 

104787 13 GELITA AG Eberbach Germany 

104682 Digital Gerhard Schubert GmbH Crailsheim Germany 

103685 Cover 1 Getriebebau NORD GmbH & Co. Bargteheide Germany 

105506 9 GHM München Germany 

104586 25 ICF & WELKO S.P.A. Maranello (MO) Italy 

105725 Cover 2 Informa Markets B.V. Amsterdam, The Netherlands 

105336 17 J. Rettenmaier & Söhne GmbH Rosenberg Germany 

105604 39 KOELN PARMA EXHIBITIONS Barganzola Parma, Italy 

105179 19 Ringe + Kuhlmann GmbH & Co. Hamburg Germany 

103850 29 Schaaf Technologie GmbH Bad Camberg Germany 

104423 Cover 4 URSCHEL Chesterton IN USA 

104467 27 WENGER Manufacturing, Inc. Sabetha KS USA 

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of this information, we appreciate your comments and corrections 

if something should be not quite right. 

IMPRESSUM FMT 

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E-mail: food@harnisch.com 

Internet: www.harnisch.com 

Editor-in-Chief: Ian D. Healey 

Tel: +49-911-2018-215 

E-mail: ihealey@harnisch.com 

Publisher: Benno Keller 

International Communications Director: 

Gabriele Fahlbusch 

Editorial Team: Sebastian Martinek, 

Steve Max, Silke Watkins, Carola Weise, 

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Digital: Britta Steinberg 

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Advertising: Sabrina Maasberg 

Subscriptions: Marta Bletek-Gonzalez 

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Copyright © 2023 by Dr. Harnisch 

Verlag, Nuremberg, Germany 

PREVIEW • OCTOBER 2023 

Fi Europe 

Functional Foods 

Color Sorting 

Skin Packaging 

… and lots more 


7/14/23 12:00 PM 

Vol. 37 • 31377 

ISSN 0932-2744 

4/23 

NEW 

+49 (0)911 2018-100 

or mail us to: food@harnisch.com 

e Global Leader in Food Cutting Technology 

a free test-cut of your product. 

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