Food Logistics

NOV-DEC 2012

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C O V E R are guaranteed shelf life for perishables, and certified, expert grocers for produce, proteins and seafood. Given that perishables comprise roughly 41 percent of retail grocers��� revenue and are the majority of margin contribution, there is a lot of emphasis on perishables as a competitive differentiator, explains Mehring. Therefore, ���Guaranteed shelf life will tell you that they are delivering high quality products.��� However, to support guaranteed shelf life, the food logistics sector ���must move away from relying on visual inspection as the sole means to evaluate remaining freshness,��� he says. Instead, ���There has to be a migration to ���measured freshness,��� which is based on a combination of condition monitoring data on a per pallet basis, and past statistics for similar product.��� This requires measuring freshness from farm-to-shelf, and then matching distribution times with actual remaining freshness, a concept called ���intelligent routing,��� says Mehring. While it���s possible to achieve this level of monitoring today, it���s still relatively new S T O R Y to most supply chain managers, he says, even though the upsides are tremendous. ���The efficiency gains will benefit both the growers and food processors as well as the retailers because the data will significantly reduce the ���surprise��� spoilage seen in current supply chains. The customer wins with more reliably fresh produce; the retailer wins with both more differentiated, high margin product and reduced internal waste; and the growers and food processors win because there is a higher yield being sold, which means greater revenue.��� On a related note, Mehring talks about the role grocers play in food safety. Although consumers can use their smartphones to scan QR codes for information on when something was picked or what ingredients it contains, the reality is that most are too busy to do it. ���I believe we just want to trust our grocer,��� offers Mehring, ���just like we trust a doctor or auto mechanic or any other professional that provides a service and hides the complexity from us.��� As an industry, we need a way to provide all of the key information to expert grocers without overwhelming him or her, he says, and just report the notable exceptions. In other words, ���Our expert grocers need to be notified when there is something that requires their attention���and not have to manually check every delivery.��� In this respect, the consumerization of technology along with social media can help lead, Mehring says. ���Think how Facebook has personalized notifications about friends and things that affect you, and how each participant can control how much data they want to share. A similar application for food data and supply chain participants can drive the next wave for small and large companies���enabling your local grocer to be the informed, trusted expert we expect him to be. Enabling technology like cloud-based applications, data sharing and push notifications drives the dissemination of useful data without overwhelming the recipient, which is critical to managing food freshness, safety and authenticity.��� ��� The Netherlands: A Small Country That���s Big on Agri-Food or a glimpse into what direction ���phages���) are widely distributed in loca- F the global food industry is heading, the Netherlands is a good starting point. The country is the second-largest exporter of agri-food prod- tions populated by bacterial hosts, such as soil or the intestines of animals. Although phages were used as antibacterial agents in the U.S. and Europe during the 1920s �� iStockphoto/Thinkstock ucts in the world after the U.S., which not only confirms the Netherlands��� superiority in this sector, but it���s excellent logistics infrastructure as well. Agri-food is one of the primary engines of the Dutch economy. Four of the world���s top 40 food and beverage companies are Dutch and 12 out of the 40 largest food and beverage companies have a major production site or R&D; facilities in the Netherlands, including Danone, Fonterra, and Heinz, among others. Innovations in ingredients, enzymes, animal breeding and biological crop protection are just some of the reasons they are attracted to the Netherlands. In addition, the country is a global leader in machinery and equipment used for poultry processing and the production of red meat, bakery goods and dairy products, including cheese. A number of truly innovative products and research are being generated by the combined public-private partnership approach that the Dutch are promoting as a way to support the agri-food sector. Some of them include: Koppert Cress (www.koppertcress. 18 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 and 1930s, they were abandoned after antibiotics were discovered. Enza Zaden (www.enzazaden.com) is a plant breeding company, which produces vegetable seeds, including tomato, bell pepper, cucumber and lettuce, for the global professional market. The company���s goal is to develop seeds that result in produce with optimum taste, looks, yield, labor-friendliness and resistance to plant com) is a leading global horticultural company that specializes in micro-greens and the planet. TI Food and Nutrition (www.tifn.nl) micro-vegetables. The company supplies chefs with fresh, HACCP-certified, rare is a public-private partnership of science, industry and government conducting stra- products (like custom-grown cresses) to use in the creation of signature dishes. tegic research in food and nutrition. Some of their clients include Unilever, Nestle, TerraSphere (www.terrasphere.nl) produces vegetation index maps of indi- Cargill, and Kellogg���s. KeyGene���s (www.keygene.com) vidual parcels based on satellite imagery work is in the agricultural biotech space. throughout the growing season. The maps allow farmers to monitor the growth of They are a partner in the Tomato Genome Consortium, which is responsible for their crops and can be used as a basis for variable rate application of nutrients, or as sequencing the genomes of the domesticated tomato and its wild ancestor, Sola- a guidance for soil sampling. num pimpinellifolium, to improve worldwide fruit juices. The company uses pulsed NIZO food research (www.nizo. com) is one of the most advanced, independent contract research companies in tomato production. Micreos (www.micreos.com) specializes in the development of phage- electric field (PEF) technology developed by Wageningen UR Food & Biobased the world. Their work in foods that promote ���gut health��� is just one focus. NIZO���s food- based products that are used to target dangerous bacteria and harmful pathogens grade Pilot Plant is one of the largest on in the food chain. Bacteriophages (or ��� FOOD LOGISTICS disease. Solynta (www.solynta.com) has developed breakthroughs in potato breeding technology that enable faster breeding and targeted varieties with specific traits. The company���s breeding system is 3 to 10 times faster than traditional breeding. Hoogesteger (www.hoogesteger.com) is the Netherlands��� leading manufacturer of premium freshly squeezed Research to deactivate microbes in its fresh juices, which extends the shelf life from the typical 7 days, to 21 days. ��� www.foodlogistics.com

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