Greenlea scoops award for business excellence

Business Excellence Awards for Greenlea Premier Meats.Congratulations to Waikato-based beef processor Greenlea Premier Meats, which scooped up the Supreme Award in the 2012 Westpac Waikato Business Excellence Awards, after winning the Tompkins Wake award for businesses employing more than 50 people.

Greenlea is a family-owned business that has grown over the last 20 years from humble beginnings to become a significant player in the New Zealand meat industry. It employs 370 staff at two beef processing plants in Hamilton and Morrinsville, with a turnover of more than $260 million and growing.

The company, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this season, procures over 185,000 prime steers, heifers, manufacturing bulls and cows each year and also, in a new move last season, now also collects bobby calves. The product range includes 425 different specifications, with around 200 in production at any one time, and supplies over 40 countries with New Zealand beef.

Introducing Marel Streamline boning-room technology from Europe to its Hamilton prime-boning room in 2009 and its Morrinsville plant in 2010 was a first for a New Zealand meat company and using this technology for hot-boned beef a first, globally.

Tony Egan' Greenlea Premier Meats new managing director

Tony Egan’ Greenlea Premier Meats’ managing director

The modern and ergonomically designed system has helped to reduce the hard manual work found in traditional beef boning rooms, which means less strain injuries for staff, explains managing director Tony Egan.

The computer-based tracking system provides for more efficient monitoring of yields, quality, throughput and orders at the boning room floor. Supervisors now have the ability to provide data-based feedback to staff on their performance. The company also uses a locally developed tailor-made freezing technology.

According to Egan, Greenlea’s international reputation for reliable service and consistent high quality product has been a key factor in making it the processor of choice in many markets not only in manufacturing beef, but also for high quality prime beef table cuts.

He has a simple answer to how this has all been achieved. “Quite simply, it’s the people that make our company so special and our success comes from creating a great team and encouraging them to do great things.”

This article has appeared in Food NZ magazine (February/March 2013) and is reproduced here with permission.

A new Te Aroha emerges from the ashes

Silver Fern Farms' Te Aroha exterior.Two years after Silver Fern Farms’ Te Aroha beef processing operation was destroyed by fire in December 2010, a state of the art facility opened in December and is up and running in its place.

Silver Fern Farms’ new $67m Te Aroha plant is a hot-boned beef processing operation designed for best practice processing of manufacturing cows, bulls, steers and heifers from farmer suppliers across the Waikato region.

It joins a network of 23 Silver Fern Farms processing facilities employing over 7,000 staff throughout the country. Te Aroha will employ up to 380 staff when operating at full capacity with two shifts in peak season with an annual capacity of 125,000 cattle.

At the plant’s official opening in December last year, Silver Fern Farms chief executive, Keith Cooper, said the new design reflected the company’s focus on plant economics and best practice processing and the investment was testament to the co-operative’s strong confidence in the sector.

The plant has been designed in consultation with internationally recognised experts in process layout and ergonomics. It is compliant with New Zealand, EU, US Department of Agriculture (USDA), and Chinese hygiene requirements and also to halal standards for the Middle East, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Te Aroha incorporates the latest meat processing technologies; including sophisticated traceability and yield measurement systems.

Te Aroha, December 2013: Computerised Marel Streamline technology monitors meat as it passes through slaughter, grading and boning processes. The plant is configured with a custom-designed two-level Milmeq slaughterboard. Extensive use is made of RFID tags, with scanning stations at slaughter, grading and boning stages, monitored through the new Marel Streamline computerised deboning and trimming system. The process has been designed for complete traceability and to enable Silver Fern Farms to closely monitor key production indicators.

Rapid feedback

This system has the capability to deliver rapid feedback to plant staff on how closely they are meeting customer requirements for particular cuts. This fits with Silver Fern Farms’ plate-to-pasture strategy where consumer requirements are driving process improvements in order for the company to extract higher value returns from products.

This data collection is underpinned by the Primary Growth Partnership FarmIQ joint venture programme – an investment of $151 million by Silver Fern Farms, Landcorp Farming, Tru-Test Group and the Ministry of Primary Industries.

Over the seven years of the programme the aim is to integrate the red meat value chain to maximise returns to farmer partners.

For farmers, information collected at the Te Aroha plant on meat yield and quality can be used to inform farm management decisions as they look for avenues to lift farm system performance. This information can also be married with information from the insights FarmIQ will bring from consumers so farmers can produce to target higher-value returns from specific consumers.

Trimming to specification

Boning room technology at SFF Te Aroha.Following break-down and deboning, the primal cuts are distributed to work stations on the trimming line, based on operator availability. They are then trimmed according to individual specifications and all cuts are fully traceable. The automated conveyor system will enable Silver Fern Farms to closely monitor and control critical key production indicators in real time throughout the complete processing cycle. These include yield, throughput, cutting performance, giveaway and loss of sales. These are automatically registered and monitored for the entire line as well as for the individual operator, using Innova intelligent production control software.

Provision has been made for future installation of technologies including robotic bagging.

Sustainability top-of-mind

Eco-efficiency and sustainability were top-of-mind considerations. As a result, the new plant uses significantly less electricity and water per head and discharges less effluent per animal processed, setting new benchmarks in line with global customer requirements.

Keith Cooper says the rebuild gives the company an opportunity to review the environmental footprint of the operation. “Our focus is improving environmental efficiency while reducing costs through better use of resources and reduction of waste.”

The plant has also been orientated to ensure noisy areas and truck movements are at the centre or the rear of the plant, away from neighbours. Every effort has been made to reduce noise coming from the plant, even to the point that refrigeration equipment, undamaged by the fire, was relocated.

Health and safety focus

Te Aroha, December 2013: Trim stations are individually tailored for each workeer's reach to meat, height and access to work stations.Health and safety was another major focus for the company when developing the specifications for the new facility. Process areas have been designed to minimise workstation hazards. A suite of solutions to minimise lifting, turning and carrying were factored into the design. The boning room has European-designed workstations intended to maximize productivity by minimising operator fatigue and discomfort. At trim stations adjustable work heights, reach to meat and easy access to work positions make for a safer and more comfortable work environment for staff.

Separate viewing areas let people observe the slaughter and boning processes without interfering with workers on the floor. The plant layout also factors in separation between pedestrian and heavy vehicle movement areas to provide a safer environment for people.

Throughout the rebuilding process, Silver Fern Farms endeavoured to provide alternative options for staff whose livelihoods were affected by the fire, to the extent of making positions available at other company plants in the North Island and providing accommodation supplements in the early stages. The company’s significant capital spend also has provided positive spin-offs to the local economy as a result of the number of contractors throughout the region engaged during the course of construction.

Cooper says the co-operative’s loyal farmer-suppliers in the area were particularly supportive of the company through the re-build.

“We are grateful to those suppliers who have stood by us and persevered while we got the new plant up and running – we know the disruption has been an inconvenience for many. But we are enthusiastic about the service levels and advantages we can now offer them as a result of our investment.”

Pictured at the Te Aroha opening are (left to right): local MP Scott Simpson; John Key; Eoin Garden chairman Silver Fern Farms; Keith Cooper, chief executive Silver Fern Farms; Kevin Winders, chief operating officer Silver Fern Farms.

Pictured at the Te Aroha opening are (left to right): local MP Scott Simpson; John Key; Eoin Garden chairman Silver Fern Farms; Keith Cooper, chief executive Silver Fern Farms; Kevin Winders, chief operating officer Silver Fern Farms.

 

This article has appeared in Food NZ magazine (February/March 2013) and is reproduced here with permission.

Eventful year for meat training

It’s been an eventful year for meat training, with the merger of the meat and dairy sectors’ industry training organisation (NZITO) and the Seafood ITO to create a major export food ITO, which is generating synergies that will benefit all.

The new single ITO entity, using the NZITO name and branding, has been in operation since the beginning of August and is now servicing a combined workforce of over 60,000 employees covering New Zealand’s three key export food industries – meat, dairy and seafood.

“There are many obvious synergies we are now taking up, such as knife skills and rendering and there will be more shared servicing over time as we maximise staff and training to keep costs in check,” reports general manager Carl Ammon, who has stepped up from leading the meat and dairy ITO to head the new body, adding that there are new skills in the team that are all adding value.

Ammon is delighted to share that the new NZITO is delivering at the top of the Tertiary Education Commission’s Educational Performance Indicator tables. “Which is creditable as our industries are seasonal and not based around trade apprenticeships, unlike building or engineering,” he says.

The move to a single enlarged ITO has been strongly supported by the Meat Industry Association (MIA) with chief executive Tim Ritchie pointing out that ITOs provide training that many people would not otherwise get, as it is delivered in the workplace and allows for the seasonal pressures of the agricultural industry.

“The ITO system is an invaluable asset for out industry, and this merger can only make it stronger. The merged ITO will allow our people to learn and up-skill themselves while they work and offers clear opportunities for career development in our industry.”

When he announced  the merger, NZITO chair Graeme Sutton said that training offered through the NZIITO will carry more status in the primary sector and the community as a whole.

Because of its increased ‘buying power’, Sutton said that the ITO will be able to demand high standards of delivery from its training providers. There will also be greater emphasis on training skills that are transferable across the food export sector, creating more opportunities for personal advancement, he said.

The new NZITO board includes two representatives each from the meat, dairy and seafood industries. Representing the MIA, and the meat industry, on the board are Carolyn Thompson, HR Manager for Taylor Preston Ltd and Kerry Stevens, Group HR and Communications Manager for Alliance Group Ltd.

There is also a meat advisory group (MAG), comprising representatives from a number of meat companies, which provides industry input to the NZITO. Similar groups have been set up for the dairy and seafood sectors.

Qualifications now under review

Recent work for the groups includes input to the nation-wide Targeted Review of Qualifications (TRoQ), aimed at simplifying the qualification framework, rationalising the number of qualifications and seeing where updates are needed. Proposals are expected to go forward to NZQA in early 2013.

The work is going well, says Ammon, adding that it is using best practice examples between sectors and will allow for qualifications that are simpler to follow and use and that still provide a learning pathway for staff.

“We are focusing on the generics and people skills like communications, problem solving and team work as well as food safety, market access, quality, biosecurity and supply chain.”

Apprenticeship pathways, proving very popular for meat companies and others, are to be rebuilt. “This uses the qualifications and packages them to the level of a well-rounded and capable operator able to take on technical and leadership responsibility.”

The TRoQ review is also building in the future needs that are arising from drivers like automation and robotics that are now expanding in use across the sector. “This mirrors past experience in the dairy industry, so we can benefit from that experience here,” says Ammon.

Health and safety skills and knowledge are being integrated into core training, alongside the running of specialist Occupational Health and Safety qualifications.

Management development and productivity improvement qualifications are being retained, “as these have been used to good advantage by many companies in building both people and organisational performance,” says Ammon.

The NZITO is also planning to implement with other ITOs, such as hospitality, a base food sector qualification aimed at schools and pre-employment. “This will reinforce the career pathways plan of the Ministry of Education and support trade academies and schools delivering trade-focused skills to students who have a career planned in industry.”

What’s next?

The NZITO is now working closely with other primary sector ITOs in the planning of a primary sector platform to coordinate qualifications and training. That will harmonise with Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) requirements in areas like traceability, transport and animal welfare.

“This will help us to harmonise much that is in common in the food export areas and is intended to reinforce the value chain or paddock to plate concept this is a key driver in New Zealand exports,” Ammon explains.

Practical examples would be common HACCP training standards, animal welfare, animal products inspection and initiatives like halal standards for key markets. “This is also intended to complement our adaptation to expectations from key markets for a standards based approach to the supply chain,” he says.

The NZITO/Seafood ITO merger is part of the reconfiguration of the ITO sector into larger, more capable organisations to better meet the needs of employers. In October, the agriculture and horticulture ITOs also merged into one organisation, under the Primary Industry Training Organisation banner.

“Work is progressing on the prospect of a consolidated primary sector ITO that will deliver greater efficiencies in scale, coverage (market share) and resourcing flexibility,” says Ammon. “Early work shows real potential for savings and improved services so this will be a work in progress for 2012/2013.”

This item appeared first in Food NZ magazine (December 2012/January 2013).

 

New knife sharpening DVD from NZITO

Image

A new knife-sharpening DVD, featuring Silver Fern Farms’ knife tutor Alex Tuhi (above),  has been developed by NZITO and distributed to all meat companies. Carl Ammon describes it as a best practice package to help staff and companies improve yield and reduce risk and accidents. He says companies that have monitored the system and used it consistently, “report significant savings in equipment, and reduced injury, and staff have been positive about the improved performance of knives.” A copy of the DVD is available on request from NZITO. Phone: 07 858 4823, or email [email protected]. An online version of the DVD is anticipated soon.

 

 

Prime Minister opens new SFF Te Aroha plant

Pictured at the Te Aroha opening are (left to right): local MP Scott Simpson; John Key; Eoin Garden chairman Silver Fern Farms; Keith Cooper, chief executive Silver Fern Farms; Kevin Winders, chief operating officer Silver Fern Farms.

Prime Minister the Rt Hon John Key opened Silver Fern Farms’ brand new flagship processing plant at Te Aroha this afternoon.

The new plant, the first to be built by the farmer co-operative under its current name Silver Fern Farms, replaces the beef processing plant seriously damaged by fire on the site in December 2010.

The ceremony was attended by representatives of central and local government, local iwi, and members of the Te Aroha community in addition to Silver Fern Farms’ board of directors, leadership team, plant management and contractors involved in the project.

Silver Fern Farms’ chairman, Eoin Garden, and chief executive, Keith Cooper, welcomed a large gathering of all those associated with the rebuild including contractors, local government representatives, local iwi and members of the Te Aroha community.

At the opening, Garden said the investment of $67m to commission the state-of-the-art facility was testament to the co-operative’s strong confidence in the sector and he indicated the clear alignment of this investment with the Government’s business growth agenda.

Keith Cooper spoke of the importance this plant has, not only to farmer-suppliers in the surrounding rural areas, but also to the local Te Aroha community. The fact the plant will be fully operational ahead of the new season is welcome news for the township, with the prospect it will employ up to 380 staff when operating at full capacity.

“The whole community has been behind the project every step of the way” said Te Aroha plant manager, Lance Warmington. “The company’s commitment to rebuilding Te Aroha is a big deal here – it means future security for hundreds of families in the area.”

Positive spin-offs for local community

Throughout the rebuilding process, Silver Fern Farms endeavoured to provide alternative options for staff whose livelihoods were affected by the fire, to the extent of making positions available at neighbouring plants and providing accommodation supplements in the early stages. In tough times, the company’s significant capital spend also has provided positive spin-offs to the local economy as a result of the number of contractors throughout the region engaged during the course of construction.

“Our whole team are extremely proud of the facility we’ve designed and created,” Warmington added.

“The company culture and the Silver Fern Farms brand and all it stands for are really embedded in the overall look and feel of the new plant, and our people are responding really positively to the new working environment.”

Eco-efficiency and sustainability “top of mind”

Developed in consultation with internationally recognised experts in process layout and ergonomics, the plant incorporates the latest meat processing technologies, including sophisticated traceability and yield collection systems. Cooper said the new design reflects the company’s focus on plant economics and best practice processing, and that eco-efficiency and sustainability were top of mind considerations.

“The rebuild gave us the opportunity to review the environmental footprint of our operation. Our focus is improving environmental efficiency while reducing costs through better use of resources and reduction of waste.” he said . “As a result, the plant sets a new industry benchmark in line with global customer requirements – it uses significantly less electricity and water per head and discharges less effluent per head processed.”

In his address, Cooper also thanked the co-operative’s loyal farmer-suppliers in the area for supporting the company through the re-build.

“We are grateful to those suppliers who have stood by us and persevered while we got the new plant up and running – we know the disruption has been an inconvenience for many. But we are enthusiastic about the service levels and advantages we can now offer them as a result of our investment.”

Silver Fern Farms intends to open the plant to farmer-suppliers and the local community in a series of open days in February 2013.

 

Robotic technology off to Australia

Dunedin-based production equipment specialist and MIA affiliate member Scott – in association with Robotic Technologies (a joint venture between it and meat processor Silver Fern Farms) – has won an $11 million contract to provide lamb boning room automation technology to two Australian meat processors.

The Australian Lamb Company (ALC) and JBS Australia, a division of the world’s biggest meat processor, will take receipt of the new equipment, which will be installed and in operation before the end of next year.

After installing a fully automated X-Ray Primal system from Scott in 2010, ALC noticed more accurate cutting through use of the x-ray image on each individual carcase, a significant reduction in bandsaw meat dust and a consistent room product flow. In addition, with two less operational staff operating bandsaws, the company anticipates that that there will be a reduction in Occupational Health and Safety claims.

The biggest surprise, however, for ALC general manager of operations Darren Verrall was the consistent room product flow, which has resulted in an extra 250 carcases being processed each shift.

The X-Ray Primal accurately dissects the lamb carcase into forequarter, middle (rack and loin) and hindquarter segments with the use of the x-ray image to define every bone position. Along with the powered rotary cutting knives that can pitch and yaw at the required angles, the entire system can produce accurate cuts that are just not possible using a traditional manual bandsaw.

On viewing the system in operation at ALC, JBS chief executive Don Jackson contracted Scott to deliver a full automated and integrated X-Ray Primal Middle System for its Bordertown facility in South Australia.

Scott is now working with both companies to determine how to use the individual carcase data obtained from the x-ray system to benefit their producers, in addition to bone-in and boneless forequarter automation developments.

The successful contract assisted Scott’s rise in the 2012 TIN100 Report, which is produced by the Technology Investment Network in association with Industrial Research Ltd to showcase New Zealand’s top high-tech companies. Scott grew an impressive 15.1 percent and graduated from the $20m-$49m category into the $50m-$99m set, with revenues of $53.6 million. In its latest August year-end results, the company has reported a further 19 percent revenue growth to $63.8 million.

In addition, Scott has been recently announced as a finalist in the 2012 Westpac Otago Business Excellence Awards.

More information about the vision for Stage 1 of the technology’s development can be found about the system in the video below. For more information about Scott visit the website www.scott.co.nz.

This article appeared in Food NZ magazine (December 2012/January 2013).

 

Rendering R&D gets international boost

The first New Zealand meat industry appointments to the international Fats and Protein Research Association (FPRF) were made recently.

Graham Shortland, chief executive of Waitoa-based Wallace Corporation, is now a director of the Foundation, while meat scientist Mike North, formerly with AgResearch and now project manager for Taranaki Bio Extracts, has been appointed to the FPRF research committee.

Shortland believes that this is a “super opportunity” for the New Zealand and Australian rendering industry to be directly involved in and influence a very credible organisation. “I’m looking forward to taking up the role,” he says.

The US-based FPRF sponsors research on rendered products to enhance current usage and also to develop new uses.

Rendering is an important contributor to revenues for the New Zealand meat industry, producing value-added products, tallow and bone meal (see Food NZ February/March 2010) and also mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Exports of both products to the year end June 2012 were worth $308 million. Tallow exports grew in value by $16 million to $169 million, with volume rising 15,710 tonnes to 134,177 tonnes, with China taking over two-thirds of the exported product. While the value of meat and bone meal exports – primarily to Indonesia and the US – grew by $10 million to $139 million, the volume fell slightly, by just over 3,000 tonnes, on the previous year to 145,563 tonnes.

Both Wallace Corporation and Taranaki Bio Extracts are members of the Meat Industry Association (MIA)’s Renderers’ Group, which recently received New Zealand Trade & Enterprise funding for a market development project aiming to increase returns by selling rendered products into higher value applications and markets. Insights Shortland and North gain from their involvement with FPRF will be fed back into that project, which is now at stage one: targeted market research.

“We are now starting to see a clearer picture of where we might obtain higher returns for some of our basic commodities,” says Shortland. “The FPRF has carried out research and innovation projects that could well help us move our value-add objectives ahead more speedily.”

Offering his congratulations on their appointment, Renderers’ Group executive member Alan von Tunzelman, general manager of PVL Proteins Ltd and a past president of the World Renderers’ Organisation, said he never thought a nominee from this country would be appointed to a role in the international organisation.

“To get both appointed to the respective roles is a great tribute to how they feel about us as an organisation and as people who can contribute positively and make sensible inputs into the FPRF. This is a wonderful opportunity to advance international research and development into rendering and the great work performed by the Meat Industry Research Institute of New Zealand has a further chance of some new life.”

The Renderers Group runs training workshops, which enable experienced operators and  supervisors to receive the core knowledge necessary for the National Certificate in Meat Processing (Rendering Level 4) and to build networks with others in the industry. In addition, a joint meeting for members with Australian counterparts in March gave further opportunity for international sharing of knowledge.

In consultation with members, the group published the ‘New Zealand Rendering Industry Guidelines for Managing and Assessing Odour’  last year. Copies are available from the MIA.

Find out more about FPRF at its website www.fprf.org.

 

This article first appeared in Food NZ (December 2012/January 2013).

Sainsbury’s cadet hosted by Alliance Group

Leading meat processor and exporter Alliance Group is hosting a representative of one of the UK’s leading supermarkets.

Anna Ballantyne, 22, of Evesham, Worcestershire in England, is visiting Southland-based Alliance Group to gain an insight into the industry including the co-operative’s work in meat quality testing, packaging developments and extending product shelf life.

The 22-year old, who has a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Nutrition and Food Science, is taking part in the supermarket’s six-week ‘Taste the World’ programme, which sees students working with Sainsbury’s suppliers and partners around the globe.

Each cadet gets involved in specific project work as well as obtaining a general understanding of Alliance technical and quality programmes.

Ballantyne is also spending time on the road with the company’s livestock representatives and seeing first-hand the company’s Lorneville plant boning room operations.

The cadet, who will join Sainsbury’s as a full-time employee on her return to the UK, will have a stint in Alliance Group’s product development centre, where the company undertakes research into meat taste and tenderness.

The co-operative is regularly exploring how meat quality can be improved by factors such as genetics and farm management practices and uses trained panellists for taste and tenderness trials.

Alliance Group is the major supplier of New Zealand lamb to Sainsbury’s through its UK marketing company, New Zealand Farmers Ltd.

Murray Brown, general manager of marketing at Alliance Group, said the visit was further evidence of the ever-strengthening links between the cooperative and its UK retail partner.

“Sainsbury’s is the second largest retailer of lamb in the UK and has a loyal customer base of lamb consumers.

“Alliance Group enjoys a strong partnership with Sainsbury’s and so it’s important their employees gain an understanding of our lamb production systems, our quality assurance programmes, commitment to sustainability, relationship with our suppliers and our procurement programmes.

“This visit is also timely given one of our key selling periods for quality in-season chilled lamb to Sainsbury’s is around Christmas leading into Easter.”

Ballantyne is the fourth Sainsbury ‘Taste the World’ representative Alliance Group has hosted and another three cadets are due to visit the cooperative between now and the end of the 2013 processing season, he said.

 

New venison plant for Alliance Smithfield

Alliance Group’s $8.6 million new venison plant at its Smithfield site, near Timaru, is now operating at full capacity.

New Zealand’s leading meat processor and exporter is processing up to 420 carcases a day at the plant, which serves the company’s upper South Island suppliers.

Until now, Smithfield has only processed sheep and lamb, so the venison plant marks a major milestone for Alliance. More than 50 workers are based at the venison plant, which operates most of the year.

Murray Behrent, general manager of livestock says: “Alliance Group has invested in Smithfield as part of its dedication to delivering exceptional product quality and food safety standards. It is also a reflection of our confidence in the region and we have received great support from our suppliers, who are producing the quality livestock that we require.”

“Smithfield is yet another example of Alliance Group’s ongoing investment to ensure we meet the needs of our suppliers,” he adds.

The outlook for venison remains positive and the investment at Smithfield showed the company was focusing on processing a variety of products for global markets, says Behrent.

ViaScan to be installed at Smithfield in the next year

The new venison plant was built to accommodate Alliance’s innovative ViaScan meat scanning technology, which will be installed within the next 12 months at Smithfield, the company says.

ViaScan visually analyses carcases measuring the lean meat, fat and bone, to capture yield performance levels. It has been available since 2003 for analysing sheepmeat, and is already in use at eight Alliance Group plants. The company announced it was first to be extended to its venison suppliers at the Alliance Makarewa in Southland in July this year.

Along with providing suppliers with the opportunity of improving returns, ViaScan also aligns farmers with current market information and helps them with decision-making and the selection of good genetics.

“Exceptional product quality and food safety standards are vital for Alliance Group’s export market,” said Behrent when announcing the move. “We’re targeting high-end consumers with discerning palates who rate meat quality highly when making purchasing decisions and ViaScan helps our suppliers produce the quality livestock that is required.”

ViaScan will also mean suppliers can measure the performance of each individual carcase, particularly when the National Identification and Tracing Scheme (NAIT) is introduced in February 2013 for deer, says Behrent.

Smithfield is one of the three Alliance premises selected by Marks & Spencer to provide chilled New Zealand lamb for its UK retail stores. It is also one of the five first plants to introduce the new Ovine Post-Mortem Inspection system of sheepmeat carcase checks this year.

In 2011, Alliance Group completed a $15 million project to upgrade its Mataura beef plant in Southland.

‘Meating’ the plastic challenge

A series of challenges has been thrown out to the plastics industry to develop packaging that will help the meat industry maintain high food safety standards, increase shelf-life and develop new products.

The meat industry is one of this country’s biggest users of plastic, particularly in the form of packaging that keeps products safe, fresh and looking great right to through to the customer.

Speaking to the Plastics New Zealand conference in Queenstown in May, Meat Industry Association chief executive Tim Ritchie outlined where he thought future opportunities lay for the material.

He told delegates that the meat industry has been very responsive to market demands and there has been a very significant change in the business model over the last 25 to 30 years. Trade has moved from sending frozen carcases – which, early on, were simply stockingetted and later shrink-wrapped for shipping – to the UK, to now sending chilled and frozen cuts and ready-prepared products to more than 115 markets around the world, with a growing focus on the Asian region, he explained.

“Now, we are in the business of directly servicing supermarkets with quality, consumer-ready cuts of meat, produced and packaged at source in New Zealand.

The industry is now in the ‘disassembly’ process, exporting and marketing the ‘bits’ around the world so as to maximise value, he said, adding that “a steadily increasing proportion of trade is high value chilled product.”

Ritchie said that plastics are widely used in the production process, covering products such as clips, liners, covers, containers, crates and pallets, “ensuring that processes are as clean as possible while meeting the needs of industrial production for items that are lightweight and resilient.”

There is a need to ensure their biodegradability and detectability. “But the greatest opportunities for the future of plastics in the meat industry are probably in packaging,” he said.

Areas of opportunity lie in safety, shelf-life, environmental sustainability and, finally, product quality and presentation. Reducing costs and lifting efficiencies are also part of the equation.

A growing volume of New Zealand meat is chilled and it is vacuum-packaged and sometimes CO2-gas flushed.  “The use of barrier bags and gas flushing were important steps in the evolution of our business.”

New packaging that contains anti-bacterial agents, such as ‘biophages’, and ‘smart packaging’ which can identify changes in the product and alert consumers if there is a problem, are two new areas where manufacturers can assist the meat industry to maintain high food safety standards, according to Ritchie.

Shelf-life is another area which has become even more important especially for the perishable chilled meat trade, as the global shipping industry moves towards greater use of ‘slow-steaming’, which increases transit times and reduces the remaining shelf life of products once they get to market. He noted that packaging companies already working on solutions with shelf-life enhancing properties.

In addition, consumers are increasingly demanding environmental sustainability, which means reduced and/or recyclable packaging. Food waste, identified as a major problem especially by the European Union, is also an issue.

“But a significant amount also occurs after purchase and here packaging can be part of the problem,” Ritchie says. Packaging sizes for single or fewer portions, for example, or re-sealable and compartmentalised packages can help limit unnecessary waste.

“And then there are bio-plastics, such as those being made from meat by-products.”

It is not just being satisfied ourselves that all is sustainable and safe, said Ritchie. “We need to be able to demonstrate it to the consumer and retailer, who is often proxy for the consumer in this business.

“Plastics can play an increasing role in helping with food safety, extending product shelf-life, improving attractiveness and ease-of-use by consumers. At the same time, our industry increasingly needs products that are environmentally sustainable, with recyclable or biodegradable attributes,” he concluded.

“And of course, anything your industry can do to help us take cost out of the system and improve operational efficiency will be welcomed.”

This article has appeared in Food New Zealand magazine (October/November 2012).