The Global Miller: 2017

December 22, 2017

Season's Greetings

Our offices will be closed from December the 22nd until January the 3rd.

All of the team at the Global Miller would like to thank all of our readers and contributors for all of your support.

Season's Greetings and best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year!

December 21, 2017

22/12/2017: Ardent Mills and the National FFA Organisation announce national partnership

Premier grain-based foods company aligns with the blue jackets to fight hunger, improve safety, recruit future leaders, elevate local community connections and contribute to the success of agriculture and milling

Denver-based Ardent Mills, the premier flour-milling and ingredient company, today announced its three-star partnership with the National FFA Organisation, formerly known as Future Farmers of America.

As a three-star partner, Ardent Mills will provide monetary support to FFA at the national level, supporting the Living to Serve platform. The Living to Serve platform empowers every student in every classroom to make a positive impact in their community.

FFA provides quality programs, resources, recognition and opportunities for members to put leadership into action through service engagement. The partnership will also make connections to local FFA chapters in both rural and urban settings across Ardent Mills' US and Puerto Rico footprint.

Ardent Mills CEO Dan Dye states, "We are excited to partner with FFA for several reasons. We see alignment in the FFA's mission and vision to our own vision and values, along with our brand promise of Nourishing what's next™. The FFA has many platforms that will complement areas of focus for Ardent Mills, including safety, hunger, health and nutrition. Each of our US and Puerto Rico community mill sites will have the opportunity to partner with a local FFA chapter within just a few miles of the facility. We are committed to growing this relationship on both the local and national levels over time. Our intent is to make a positive difference in the communities where our team members live and work, identify future frontline leaders and strengthen the agriculture and milling industries."

"Our vision is to grow our members into leaders who strengthen agriculture while building communities," says Mark Poeschl, National FFA Organisation CEO. "We're excited about this partnership with Ardent Mills as it allows us to provide resources to local FFA chapters to help them continue the work they are doing through service learning."

About National FFA Organisation
The National FFA Organisation is a national youth organisation of 653,404 student members as part of 8,568 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The organisation is supported by 345,812 alumni members in 2,051 local FFA Alumni chapters throughout the US The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. The National FFA Organisation operates under a federal charter granted by the 81st United States Congress and it is an integral part of public instruction in agriculture. The US Department of Education provides leadership and helps set direction for FFA as a service to state and local agricultural education programs.

For more, visit the National FFA Organisation online, HERE.

About Ardent Mills
Ardent Mills is the premier flour-milling and ingredient company whose vision is to be the trusted partner in nurturing its customers, consumers and communities through innovative and nutritious grain-based solutions. Ardent Mills' operations and services are supported by more than 40 flour mills and bakery-mix facilities along with a specialty bakery and Mobile Innovation Center, all located in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. Deeply rooted in communities throughout North America, Ardent Mills is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, and employs more than 100 certified millers, supporting thousands of local jobs and contributing billions of dollars to local economies.

Visit the Ardent Mills website, HERE.

The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine Milling and Grain
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.

For additional daily news from milling around the world: global-milling.com

22/12/2017: Accuracy versus affordability for flow measurement

by Eastern Instruments, USA

For quite a while now, the choices for solids flow measurement devices for the milling and grain industries have fallen into two main camps; the flow meters that are relatively inexpensive but whose accuracies leave much to be desired, and the flow meters that are extremely accurate, but whose prices can be hard to justify, especially when viewed in the context of the cost of the products being measured

Depending on the application, one or the other of these types of flow meters have their place, but sometimes it can be difficult to determine which direction to go. As with all choices, the decision to opt for an accurate, or alternatively, an affordable flow meter comes with consequences that can affect the way your process operates and that ultimately, can affect your bottom line.

Let us examine this choice between accurate flow measurement and affordable flow measurement and within the context of this choice, we can also examine a new flow measurement solution on the market that may change the way this choice between accuracy and affordability is made.

Accuracy as a determining factor
The accuracy of your flow measurement and equivalently, the efficiency of your process, is key to controlling costs and monitoring expenses within your operation. The most effective way of monitoring and controlling costs is to understand what is occurring within your process so that it can be optimised.

Ideally, that means measuring the input and output of each minor process to understand, for instance, the optimal settings for your mill or your dryers or the best ratio for mixing ingredients. Subsequent to dry bulk solids being such an integral part of the milling and grain industry, being able to accurately measure them is critical to the efficiency of their processing. Such is the case with many parts of modern industrial processes, however, the accuracy of your flow measurement devices is most important when actual money is on the line.

Receiving product during load-in is a great example of this. As product is received it is typically purchased and billed for by weight. With an inaccurate flow measurement, or even worse, no flow measurement at all, you may have no way of verifying the amount of product that you are receiving. Utilising the “take their word for it” approach may very well leave you with less corn or grain than you are being billed for and may leave you paying more for the product that you have, than you should be.

An accurate flow measurement of the incoming product helps verify what you are receiving and allows for control of the cost of your incoming grains, thus lowering the cost of your overall process. As a result of the accurate measurement of your incoming product directly correlating to savings within your process, the accuracy of the flow measurement at this location is rather important and may warrant the expense of a more accurate flow measurement. Conversely, the cost of an inaccurate flow measurement device will be seen directly on your bottom line.

Read the full article, HERE.

Tapco company profile

Tapco was conceived in the early 1970s by Paul D Taylor, President and Ted W Beaty, Retired, to fill a void in the elevator bucket industry. At that time, there was only one manufacturer of non-metallic buckets in the USA all the other buckets were made from fabricated steel. With the inherent problems of steel buckets and the limited range of the existing polyethylene brand, the time was right for Tapco.

The company has been in its own 92,500 square foot facility for over 25 years. This has allowed them to utilise injection moulding ‘in house’ for better control and cost effectiveness. Tapco has nine injection moulding machines ranging from a small 150 tonne to a very large 1000 tonne press. Allowing them to make an entire range of buckets in the most expedient and quality controlled manner.

According to their website, “Tapco stocks the largest inventory of elevator buckets and bolts in the world, some 900,000 buckets and 14 million bolts. We also have the largest inventory of abrasion resistant sheeting, drag flights and hanger bearings in North America”.

“We have the products that you need, when you need them, and at a competitive price! Our shipping department is geared to handle the most urgent of emergencies. We welcome your rush orders. We at Tapco feel the future is unlimited. We have plans for new and different products relating to bulk material handling”.

Tapco’s exporting is growing every day. Having now exported to more than fifty different countries around the world. Stocking distributors are located strategically in North America, Central America, South America, Australia, Western Europe and the Pacific Rim. This segment of the market is keyed for further growth.

“Tapco is continuously researching new technologies to better serve our customers”.
Product research has been a priority for many years. Innovations in the company’s state-of-the-art processing enables Tapco to meet the customized needs of its diverse customers. Tapco uses the highest quality material for their buckets; 100 percent prime virgin high-density linear polyethylene, impact modified nylon and thermoplastic urethane.

“Our mission at Tapco is to provide the highest value products and service at the best price”.

The company's focus is on building and maintaining "Solid and Reputable" relationships with its customers. With high quality staff, they are able to serve your needs promptly.

“We appreciate and are proud of you, our customer. We look forward to serving you for many more years, and welcome any suggestions on how we can work more closely in the future”.

Visit the website HERE.

The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine GFMT
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.

For additional daily news from milling around the world: global-milling.com

December 20, 2017

21/12/2117: New hands-on-training program develops experience for industry professionals

A new course within the GEAPS–Kansas State University program provides applied training for professionals in the grain industry

New technologies are continuing to be developed within the global grain industry and often the challenge for technical professionals is how to keep their skills sharp.

The new Grain Elevator and Processing Society (GEAPS)–KSU Hands-On-Training (HOT) Program was held December 12–14, 2017, to enhance their skills.

Instructors and participants in the GEAPS–KSU Hands-On-Training (HOT) Program stand on the platform of the bucket elevator on KSU’s Grain Science Complex and discuss the function and maintenance of the equipment.
Image credit: IGP KSU

The hands-on portion was held at the IGP Institute Conference Centre, which followed three weeks of online training that the 30 participants completed before coming to campus.

“We are very excited that after more than two years of preparing, we launched the first offering of the GEAPS–KSU Hands-On-Training Program,” says Carlos Campabadal, course coordinator and IGP Institute feed manufacturing and grain quality management specialist. “This course helps industry professionals learn the importance of operating and performing maintenance on grain conveying equipment.”

The program provided participants with hands-on knowledge to safely operate and maintain common grain conveying equipment through demonstrations, practice and immediate feedback.

The training also focused on topics including lubrication, preventative maintenance, open and enclosed belt conveyors, bucket elevators, screw conveyor and bin sweep, chain and incline conveyors, and workplace safety.

“Everybody has been very eager to learn in the program and I’ve definitely enjoyed the interaction with all of the participants,” says Bob Marlow, owner of Operations Professional Services in Walton, Indiana.

Mr Marlow was the instructor of the open and enclosed conveyors portion, and is a lifetime member of GEAPS.

“From my perspective I really tried to bring my experience that I had in the industry and share it with others to help with the education and training,” he adds.

The HOT Program was designed for grain industry professionals who are responsible for grain facility equipment maintenance and repair, maintenance training, maintenance program protocol or systems development.

This course also benefited grain facility managers and supervisors with equipment repair and maintenance roles, and frontline maintenance workers.

“I have enjoyed the instructors in the program who do a really great job of conveying what they know and not talking over anyone’s head,” says Duane Geiger, operations manager at Michigan Agricultural Commodities in Marlette, Michigan.

“I’ve also enjoyed listening and learning from all of the other people here that may have different approaches to installing or repairing the different machines and equipment.”

The training was led by KSU faculty and staff, as well as GEAPS members and several other industry professionals.

GEAPS is an organisation that supports the domestic and international grain storage industry, providing forums for exchanging ideas and information about continual improvement in grain and oilseed supply chain infrastructure operations.

The partnership between the society and the Kansas State University IGP Institute provides a wealth of industry knowledge through numerous distance education courses in the GEAPS learning program that are offered at IGP.

Mr Campabadal says, “We are looking forward to continue offering this type of course with the goal of always helping the industry.”

This is a new, specialised training the IGP Institute offered within its GEAPS course schedule for the year. Additionally, the institute offers several courses focusing in grain marketing and risk management, flour milling and grain processing, and feed manufacturing and grain quality management.

To learn more about these other training opportunities, visit the IGP Institute website, HERE.

To learn more about GEAPS courses click, HERE.

21/12/2017: Hotraco Agri launches an extensive upgrade to the Orion

For years, the Orion has been the beating heart of barn automation in many poultry farms worldwide

With its enormous versatility, computing power, ease of use and management data capabilities, it has proven to be one of the most powerful automation computers on the market.

Image credit: Stuart Richards on Flickr
(CC BY-ND 2.0)

To respond to trends and developments in the market and to meet the specific needs of poultry farmers, Hotraco Agri has been working hard on an extensive software upgrade for the system.

Various new controls and applications have been implemented, especially in the area of climate and feeding. With this upgrade, the Orion has become even more versatile and complete.

New feed solutions for better performance of laying hens
In the Orion it is now possible to feed in groups. To send the animals to the right floor and to get them back into the systems on time, especially in free-range and aviary barns, the feed chains can be controlled in three groups. With the adapted control for the feed weigher, the Orion can combine silos.

Below a set minimum, the last feed (often grit) from the first silo is combined with feed from a second silo of the same feed type. This keeps the quality of the feed up to standard, which contributes to a more consistent performance of laying hens.

Another new feature is a control for sending an empty signal from a silo with a sensor, instead of by silo weight, to prevent an excessively fast switchover to another silo. A final extension is the capability to stop the feed control at a set day and time to allow the animals to fast for the emptying of the barns.

With this system upgrade to the Orion barn computer, Hotraco Agri is ensuring that poultry farmers are ready for the future. Poultry farmers can request the upgrade from their dealer/installer.

New climate solutions for better broiler performance
Hotraco Agri have expanded and adapted various controls in the Orion, resulting in new climate and ventilation options. A new feature is the determination of wind chill for broilers, which is based on the measured room temperature, air speed and humidity. This is important for barns that are ventilated with tunnel ventilation.

The heat exchanger control has been considerably expanded and now, by means of a minimum curve, can continue to run continuously when the desired barn temperature has been reached. In order to properly regulate the minimum exhaust of the ever increasing capacity of heat exchangers, a damper is used.

From now on, it is possible to control this damper via the Orion. Furthermore, the cascade control for the inlet valves has been extended, the tunnel inlet valves can be controlled in several groups, the mixed ventilation control has been doubled and an option has been added for linking the universal ventilation control to the calculated ventilation position with a synchronous curve.

Visit the Hotraco Agri website, HERE.

21/12/2017: Introducing the Continuous Dryer MkIII

by Geelen Counterflow

Energy-saving drying concept that delivers improved drying performance

In extruded product manufacture, the dryer is both the main consumer of energy and a crucial quality factor. Geelen Counterflow has completely redesigned its Continuous Dryer to satisfy the requirements of companies that want to produce high-quality extruded products efficiently and at the lowest operational cost.

Continious Dryer MkIII
Image credit: Geelen Counterflow

Counterflow technology delivers energy savings of at least 20 percent
The Continuous Dryer MkIII from Geelen Counterflow dries extruded products in the feed and food industry by passing hot air through one or two layers of product. In Geelen’s system, wet product from the extruder is continuously added to the top of the product beds. At the same time, dried product at the bottom of the product bed is discharged in small quantities to the next drying stage or to the hopper.

Geelen has developed a sophisticated automatic control system for drying the individual recipes according to product-specific process parameters such as air volume, air temperature and residence time. The Continuous Dryer MkIII from Geelen dries extruded products with great uniformity. The drying is very homogeneous, resulting in a guaranteed moisture uniformity of +/- 0.5 percent.

Non-saturated air is recycled. Only a small volume - the fully saturated air - is exhausted. The refined counterflow heat exchange design makes the Continuous Dryer MkIII from Geelen at least 20 percent more energy-efficient than the best alternative in the industry.

More homogeneous product quality during start-up and shutdown
Optimum distribution of the product in the dryer is one of the most important factors for achieving a homogeneous drying result. Consequently, the product distribution system has been completely redesigned in Geelen’s new Continuous Dryer MkIII. The upgraded control system now automatically keeps the product bed at the right height for each product.

The new product distributor, which flexibly follows the movement of each product layer, plays an important role here. The ability to control the residence time during production process start-up and shutdown is a further innovation. This eliminates product clumping and inconsistent product quality at the beginning and end of the production process.

Finally, the improved airflow results in more homogeneous air distribution. This improves the drying result, making it possible to achieve a product uniformity +/- 0.5 percent. The new Continuous Dryer MkIII from Geelen is equipped with a number of features, which improve hygiene, convenience and speed when cleaning. For example, the discharge system is more accessible. The interior now features easily cleanable walls and smooth curves in areas where dirt and product residue can accumulate.

Read the full article, HERE.

Visit the Geelen Counterflow website, HERE.

Ocrim company profile

The important investments made by Ocrim are the demonstration of its will to grow. Many are its activities all around the world - in particular, milling plants, feed mills, bio-ethanol plants, silos, cereal conveying lines and electrical installations; but the underlying factor in all this is the industrialisation - in other words the standardisation - of production processes in order to cut primary costs, thus offering competitive prices without jeopardising product quality.

This is an efficient policy on which Ocrim will go on concentrating its efforts in the future, attaining trust, loyalty and consolidating its market share. The challenge is to further improve itself but in a manner consistent with its strategic and commercial plan.

Ocrim’s partnership with Paglierani and long-standing collaborations with sub-suppliers complete the added value that Ocrim is able to offer its Customers, demonstrating the Italian spirit in a determined search for product quality without compromise.

Visit the website HERE.

20/12/2017: The best dietary change according to experts? Switching to whole grains

New data on the links between diet and health show that replacing refined grains with whole grains globally could reduce the burden of chronic disease more than any other change – including better-known approaches such as reducing sodium, eliminating trans fats or even cutting sugar-sweetened beverages

This eye-opening data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation was revealed during the keynote address at the recent Whole Grain Summit in Vienna. In response to the urgent public health challenge documented by experts speaking at this event, more than 200 scientists from 36 countries participating in the Whole Grain Summit worked to craft a two-year global action plan to increase whole grain consumption.

Grain
Image credit: Andrew on Flickr
(CC BY 2.0)

“Worldwide, cereals provide nearly 50 percent of energy intake,” said Prof Dr Fred Brouns, Scientific Chair of the Whole Grain Summit. “Yet the vast majority of these foods are composed of refined grains and flours. Research shows that health benefits from whole grains are associated with replacing as little as two servings of refined grain/flour foods with whole grain foods.”

More than two decades of studies indicate that consuming whole grain foods, instead of refined grains and foods made from white flour, is directly related to a lower mortality risk and reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and obesity, and bowel cancer.

Academics, non-profit organisations, government policymakers, and industry, working together at the Whole Grain Summit, contributed a dynamic breadth and depth of knowledge to the task of creating a Whole Grain Declaration and long-term action plan.

Key goals and action points will aim to:
1. Reach a consensus on a global whole grain definition, to support clear product labelling that will help consumers distinguish whole grain products from those with misleading claims.

2. Establish a quantitative, science-based whole grain intake recommendation and document the health and economic benefits that would result from adopting this recommendation. Use this information to motivate governments and international food authorities to incorporate whole grains into dietary guidelines and actively promote their consumption.

3. Document the carbon footprint of whole grains, compared with other dietary choices, in the context of growing world populations and climate change.

4. Form strong public-private partnerships to develop campaigns to encourage whole grain consumption and to increase the variety, availability and desirability of whole grain foods for the public.

Six international working groups have already been established to carry out the goals agreed in Vienna. Over the next two years, participants in these groups will work intensively under the name of the “Whole Grain Initiative”, and will interact with the WHO (World Health Organisation), FAO (Food and AgricultureOrganisation of the United Nations), EFSA (European Food Safety Agency) and other consortia and food authorities as part of the action plan.

The Whole Grain Summit 2017 was organised by ICC (International Association for Cereal Science and Technology) in cooperation with the Healthgrain Forum and the University of Minnesota. Ongoing work of the Whole Grain Initiative will also be organised by the same three partners.

Visit the ICC website, HERE.

Visit the Whole Grain Summit 2017 website, HERE.

December 19, 2017

20/12/2017: Nutriad concludes maize mycotoxin survey Spain

Multinational feed additives producer Nutriad, a leader in solutions for Mycotoxin Management, continues to invest in mycotoxin surveys across the world

The annual surveys, which are shared with industry professionals, are considered an important source of information to prepare for the period ahead.

Image credit: Nutriad

Mycotoxins are a structurally diverse group of mostly small molecular weight compounds, produced mainly by the secondary metabolism of some filamentous fungi, or molds, which under suitable temperature and humidity conditions, may develop on various foods and feeds, causing serious risks for human and animal health that are well documented.

The last possible line of defence is the detoxification of mycotoxins in vivo. The addition of proven mycotoxin deactivators to animal feeds is a very common method to prevent mycotoxicosis and is an effective strategy to keep mycotoxin risk low under any and all conditions.

The survey included 121 maize samples from across Spain. All samples were collected almost immediately after the harvest from farms or animal feed production sites. More than 480 analyses were conducted to test for the occurrence of the 4 mycotoxins most frequently found in agricultural commodities intended for animal production: aflatoxin B1 (AfB1), zearalenone (ZEN), deoxynivalenol (DON) and fumonisins (FUM) (sum of fumonisin B1 and fumonisin B2).

The Nutriad 2017 mycotoxin survey concluded that the year’s harvest of maize in Spain was of medium quality (>LOQ but below EU recommendation levels) in terms of mycotoxin contamination (DON, ZEN, FUM). The exceptions were the very high average and the maximum concentrations of aflatoxin B1 which clearly exceeded the concentration of aflatoxin B1 permitted in the EU in feed materials. Due to the unexpected very high average and maximum concentrations of aflatoxin B1, the 2017 maize crop in Spain should not be considered safe for inclusion into finished feed rations for dairy milk producers and a degree of vigilance is prudent.
Visit the Nutriad website, HERE.

20/12/2017: Fishmeal, fish oil and “The Need for Feed”

by Neil Auchterlonie, IFFO

It is stating the obvious to say that the use of fishmeal and fish oil in aquafeeds has changed over time

With high inclusion rates of fishmeal and fish oil common in early modern aquafeeds, and especially those for salmonids, these materials could be regarded as the foundation of fed aquaculture as we know it (Auchterlonie, 2016).

Image credit: Neil Turner on Flickr
(CC BY-SA 2.0)

The provision of diets that met the farmed fish nutritional needs essentially freed up the industry to develop systems technology and health controls. Therefore making the advances in the volume of production that was required to achieve viability.

Inclusion rates seen with those early diets were 90 percent or more for total marine-sourced materials (Ytrestøyl, Aas, & Åsgård, 2015), and this was only feasible when the aquaculture industry was of relatively small volume. Over time the partial substitution of marine ingredients with those of other (terrestrial, mainly vegetable but some animal proteins) origin occurred to allow a continuing supply of feed to aquaculture within a global market. The challenge was in meeting the volume of supply required for the developing aquaculture industry.

There is an economic consideration too, that emanates from the volume of supply point. Although marine ingredients may appear as higher cost compared to the alternatives in the market, it is simplistic to look at feed ingredients from solely that perspective as bioeconomic models have a great deal more complexity, and feed formulations are not all about price – the performance of the material needs to be taken into account. This has already been shown with fishmeal in respect of feeds for weaning piglets (Ma et al., 2013) where the growth and health advantages of high quality fishmeal in those feeds provide benefits that extend across the whole production cycle.

The same may well be true for fish species. (Interestingly, it is the comparative cost of marine ingredients that provides the financial attraction from the investment sector that supports the development of alternatives, as discussed in Naylor et al. (2009) who describe the situation thus: “price signals will provide the best inducement for technological and management change”, even if – nutritionally - those alternatives are generally quite different to fishmeal and fish oil.)

Read the full article with references, HERE.

Maxi-Lift company profile

For more than 35 years, Maxi-Lift, Inc. has built superior elevator buckets by exceeding customer expectations.

The Maxi-Lift name means unmatched service, customised solutions, engineered quality, and fast delivery.

Their elevator buckets are in operation around the world, moving everything from aggregate to zinc, because they put the customer first.

According to Maxi-Lift, "We have a management team dedicated to serving our customers with quality products and fast delivery."

"From friendly customer service to technical support, our staff is here to serve you. Take a few minutes to meet some of our experienced and friendly staff".

Visit the website HERE

The Global Miller

This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine GFMT

which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.

For additional daily news from milling around the world: global-milling.com

19/12/2017: GRAPAS Conference 2018 - A gathering for millers

Milling and Grain is hosting the one-day 2018 GRAPAS Conference in Bangkok, Thailand on March 27, 2018.

This one-day conference focuses on technology, innovation and materials for food, flour and rice millers gathering from throughout the Asian region and across the world. The conference will present 10 keynote presentations in three distinct sessions to assist in creating greater synergy between millers everywhere as we meet the challenge of feeding 9.5 billion people by 2050.

The conference will be held in the same exhibition centre - the Bangkok BITEC, Thailand - as the 2018 the three-day Victam Asia Expo (March 27-29, 2018).

https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07eeyce5gc07645403&oseq=&c=&ch=

Delegates attending the conference will have an opportunity to vote on the Innovation Award finalists being put forward by a panel of judges (see below). Votes by registered conference delegates will determine the final winner. The winner will be announced to delegates at the Conference Dinner in the evening of March 27, 2018 (which s included in th registration fee).

If you wish to attend the GRAPAS Conference - and would like to vote on the GRAPAS Innovation Award finalists - please register below or call Tuti Tan on +44 1242 267700.

Register for the event, HERE.

Applications open for the GRAPAS Innovation Award 2018
Deadline: 10 January 2018

Nominations are being called for from all sectors of food milling and from non-exhibiting and exhibiting companies alike. Those shortlisted as finalists for the Award, will have the opportunity to display their product in a special Award’s Area at the entrance to the Victam Asia 2018 exhibition hall for all visitors to view. Delegates attending the GRAPAS will have an opportunity to vote for the most appealing nomination.

The Innovation Award will be made to the most innovative and economically beneficial equipment, process or service in the milling of grains and cereals for food production. All GRAPAS Innovation Award finalists will be published in an edition of Milling and Grain magazine along with a review of the event itself.

The GRAPAS Innovation Award

Entries can be made from one of three categories:
1. A milling technology development (for flour, rice or other cereal)
2. A production process or refinement that makes for more efficient and/or safe production of food 3. A service (online or otherwise) that helps millers achieve their goals more efficiently

Judging
A panel of independent industry experts will judge the entries. Their selection will account for 60 percent of the final vote. Delegates attending the one-day GRAPAS Conference on March 27, 2018 and visitors attending Victam Asia Exhibition from March 27-29, 2018 will be able to vote on the Award and their combined vote will account for 40 percent of the final vote. The Award will be announced during Victam Asia 2018.

How to enter
1. To participate a nomination must be an innovation, process or service and comply with the following:
2. Have been introduced to the market after January 2016
3. Be new
4. Make a contribution to efficiency and/or safety
5. Demonstrate significant practical value
6. Applications can be made by both exhibitors and non-exhibitors

To submit your entry please answer the questions below and email to tutit@perendale.co.uk.
1. Name product/service*
2. When was product/service introduced to the market?*
3. What is new about the product/service?* Please provide supporting information
4. Advantage of this product/service over existing ones * Please provide supporting information
5. Please also include any supporting information that you feel will be relevant to the judges

As the shortlist of nominations will be displayed at Victam Asia 2018 for final voting, please be prepared to supply a small display (details of size and dimensions to be forwarded following application submission) to be set up in the Awards Area at Victam.

The Award
The winner will receive a certificate plus a GRAPAS trophy. Runner’s Up will receive a Certificate of Achievement.

Please make your application by emailing Tuti Tan (tutit@perendale.co.uk or call +44 1242 267700) with the information requested above.

December 18, 2017

19/12/2017: IPACK-IMA Monitor reveals upturn in domestic demand in first half of year

The 2017 first-half figures for the Italian processing and packaging industry revealed higher than expected domestic revenues driven by government incentives on the purchase of capital goods

The trend is expected to continue in the second half of the year as exports also pick up.

The main risks and threats perceived by companies include increased competition, commodity prices, taxation and labour and service costs.

Slower growth in exports compared to domestic Italian sales is the most significant figure to have emerged from the latest findings of the Ipack-Ima Monitor, the survey linked to the most important European exhibition in 2018 for the processing and packaging industry to be held at the Fiera Milano exhibition centre from 29 May to 1 June next year.

The half-yearly business study was conducted over a sample of companies representing the entire supply chain. The industry, consisting of manufacturers of processing and packaging machinery, suppliers of components and producers of materials, serves a range of industrial sectors divided up into a number of business communities: Food, Fresh & Convenience; Meat & Fish; Pasta, Bakery, Milling; Beverage; Confectionery; Chemicals, Home & Industrial; Health & Personal Care. The results of the survey reveal how the breakdown of sales has changed in the first half of 2017: export sales grew on average less than domestic turnover, a phenomenon largely driven by the Italian government’s incentives on capital goods purchases.

The positive domestic market trend is continuing in the second half of the year, with exports also expected to pick up. The proportion of companies reporting turnover growth is set to rise by 10 percentage points to reach 85 percent, half of whom will see increases of more than five percent.

Looking in detail at the various business communities, in the first half year of 2017 most companies in the Food Fresh & Convenience segment posted growth of between 0 and +5 percent. Export turnover was two percentage points higher than forecast, and total turnover (Italian + exports) 11 points higher due to strong domestic sales. Estimates for the current half year point to a further improvement in all three variables investigated (total sales, export sales and employment).

Although the Meat & Fish segment has displayed limited growth, it has regained ground and closed the first half of 2017 ten percentage points higher than expected. The evident improvements have led to expectations for the second half of the year being revised up, bringing to 83 percent the percentage of companies forecasting turnover growth.

The Pasta, Bakery & Milling sector reported growth, again more in terms of total turnover (73% of companies) than export turnover (53%). The forecasts for the current year point to more widespread growth expectations in terms of both total sales (86% of companies) and export sales (almost 3/4 of companies).

The Beverage segment confirmed its export growth forecasts (although with smaller average percentages) while revealing a better-than-expected performance in terms of total turnover, with 79 percent of companies reporting growth compared to the estimated 71 percent. The growth rates were also higher. The second half of 2017 is expected to see growth rates more or less in line with those of the first half, especially as regards companies making growth forecasts higher than 5 percent.

Contrary to the widely overestimated expectations for 2017, only 60 percent of companies in the Confectionery segment reported export growth (they had all predicted increases). This percentage rises to 80 percent for total sales. As a result, companies have revised down their expectations for the current half-year, which are now roughly in line with the final figures for the first six months. The same picture emerges for the Chemicals Home & Industrial segment, where the percentage of companies reporting export growth was 20 percentage points lower than expected (10 points lower in the case of total turnover growth). Exports are expected to see a stronger recovery in the current half year.

Unlike the first half results which failed to meet expectations, the Health & Personal Care segment is expected to grow in the current half year, especially in terms of export turnover (+17%). Companies also expressed a very positive sentiment with regard to the sector’s total growth.

Breaking down the trends according to types of machines or materials produced by the companies, the process machines sector saw a discrepancy between forecasts and actual data (52% of companies posted export growth and 48.6% growth in total turnover), prompting them to revise down their growth expectations for the current year: 69.7 percent of companies expect to post overall turnover growth, while 71.4 percent are anticipating growth in export turnover. By contrast, a strong correspondence between forecast and actual results was observed in the other capital goods segment consisting of packaging machinery manufacturers. Growth expectations in the second half of the year are intensifying, with 78 percent of companies anticipating an increase in export sales (compared to 63% in the first half) and 83 percent expecting growth in total revenues (72% in the first half). The share of companies predicting strong turnover growth (>10%) has also increased. As in the case of packaging machinery, the second-half projections made by packaging materials producers are similar to the final results reported in the first half, consisting in both cases of essentially stable growth. The optimistic forecasts made by the component producers in 2016 were confirmed, with 70.5 percent of companies posting export turnover growth and significantly higher-than-expected domestic sales. A large majority of sector companies believe that the second half of the year will follow the same positive trend as the first half of 2017.

The survey also assessed the perceived risks to business profitability reported by companies in the sample. While the severity of perceived risk varies between the different production segments, the main threats include an escalation of the competitive climate due to greater aggressiveness of competitors (25.6% of respondents compared to 20% in the previous half year), macroeconomic factors that affect sales in various ways (8.9% compared to 12%), rising raw materials and energy prices (20% compared to 25%), the costs of services (12%) and labour (13%, perception stable) and adverse changes in taxation (12% in line with the sentiment in the previous half-year period). Threats that directly impact on the financial management of companies, such as access to credit and the relevant costs, appear less significant and were reported by just six percent of respondents.

The IPACK-IMA Monitor therefore reveals a general climate of confidence that is reflected in trade fair participation. Six months before the exhibition is due to begin, more than 800 companies have confirmed that they will be taking part and are preparing to present their latest innovations at the show.

Visit the IPACK-IMA website, HERE.

19/12/2017: Nutriad releases 2017 Great Britain & Ireland 2017 mycotoxin survey

For many years multinational feed additives producer Nutriad has been analysing crops across the world to determine mycotoxin contamination level, so it can better support local producers in their mycotoxin management strategies

The presence of mycotoxins in feed and foodstuffs continues to be an important concern for human and animal health. Mycotoxin-contaminated grains cost grain handlers and the livestock industry several hundred million dollars annually.

Image credit: Nutriad

The 2017 Nutriad Mycotoxin Survey covered 51 wheat samples from across Great Britain and Ireland. All samples were collected directly from farms or animal feed production sites almost immediately after the harvest when the probability that some storage mycotoxins such as ochratoxin A (OTA) will have developed was low.

More than 350 analyses were conducted to test for the presence of the 7mycotoxins most frequently found in agricultural commodities intended for animal production. The survey provided insight into the incidences of aflatoxin B1 (AfB1), zearalenone (ZEN), deoxynivalenol (DON), T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, fumonisins (FB1 + FB2) and OTA. Typically, the levels of DON and ZEN in wheat tend to be lower in Northern England and Scotland; moderate in Western England, Wales and Ireland and highest in Southern and South-eastern England. The results show that 74.5 percent of wheat samples were contaminated with DON and none of the samples contained AfB1, T-2 toxin, HT2-toxin nor FUM (Table 1). The average concentrations of all identified mycotoxins were medium while the highest concentration of DON found in one of the samples reached 1180 μg/kg. Although 35 percent of the samples were contaminated with ZEN, a mycotoxin affecting reproductive functions of all animal species, its average concentration was negligible at only 38 μg/kg. However, the maximum concentration of ZEN found in one of the samples was 164 μg/kg and this level may be significant for sows, boars and piglets. As expected, none of the samples were contaminated with OTA.

When comparing DON and ZEN contamination levels of wheat in the years 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, the contamination levels in 2017 are significantly higher than in the 3 previous years. The Nutriad 2017 mycotoxin survey concluded that the year’s harvest of wheat in Great Britain and Ireland is of medium quality (>LOQ but below EU recommendation levels) in terms of mycotoxin contamination.

The quality of wheat is slightly worse than the previous year and significantly worse than in the years 2014 and 2015. Based on the results of this survey conducted immediately after the 2017 harvest, the 2017 wheat crop in Great Britain and Ireland should not automatically be considered safe for inclusion into finished feed rations for all animal species and a degree of vigilance is prudent.

Vigilance is always advisable in any case as cereals in animal feeds originate from many sources and some continental European cereals and South American soya harvested in 2017 have been shown to be contaminated with medium to high concentrations of mycotoxins. The last possible line of defense is the detoxification of mycotoxins in vivo. The addition of proven mycotoxin deactivators to animal feeds is a very common method to prevent mycotoxicosis and is an effective strategy to keep mycotoxin risk low under all conditions.

Visit the Nutriad website, HERE.

19/12/2017: Brewer’s grains: A sustainable feed for beef and dairy production

by Michael Warren, Duynie, UK

The Brundtland Commission described sustainability as, “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

Sustainability comprises of three pillars: economic, environmental, and social sustainability, also known as the three Ps: people, profit, and planet.

Image credit: Jacqueline Koster on Flickr
(CC BY 2.0)

Sustainability is growing in importance due to the pressures of the globe, the main pressure being the growing global population. The global population is currently in the region of 7.5 billion and it is projected to reach 10 billion people by 2050.

So that’s 10 billion people in the same space that 7.5 billion currently inhabit. It is therefore vitally important that the globe’s resources are used more wisely.

Using resources more wisely is what Duynie specialises in. Specific to livestock production, we look at replacing intensively produced feed with co-products and specifically with regard to ruminant livestock, we work tirelessly with our team of nutritionists to optimise production from homegrown forage. We always look to supplement production with co-products as opposed to simply replacing production with intensively produced products.

It is vitally important that we, as a nation and an international community focus on sustainable ways of feeding the human population and one key way of improving the global sustainability is through improving the sustainability of livestock production.

One overly simplistic argument that is being heard more and more is to remove animal source food (ASF) completely from the diet. However, it can be argued that this could only ever be a personal choice and not a global movement. People that enjoy eating meat and drinking milk can and should be able to. Both meat and milk provide nutrients that would otherwise be unavailable to humans and it is because of this, that actually eating a diet with zero ASF is likely to be unsustainable for the human population.

It is a far better argument to insist that people source their food with sustainability at the forefront of all they do.

The answer is co-product feeds
What are co-product feeds? They are products that are produced during the manufacturing of a core product.

Co-products such as Brewers Grains have limited value in their current state as a food source for humans, and will always be produced during the manufacturing of beer. This pattern is relevant for most food manufacturing stories.

The co-products then must be removed from the manufacturing site, in any instance there are two clear choices, either to send the product to waste, or seek relevant assurances and introduce it to the animal feed chain. It is as a result of this, that we can safely say that there is only really one sustainable choice!

Brewers Grains as a feed source is typically tested as: 24 percent Dry matter (DM); 24 percent Crude Protein (CP); and 11.7MJ Metabolisable Energy (ME) (on a dry matter basis).

Read the full article, HERE.

VIGAN company profile

VIGAN manufactures bulk materials handling systems, mainly:

Mobile pneumatic conveyors or vacuvators or grain pumps.
Pneumatic continuous barge unloaders and mechanical barge loaders.
Mechanical and pneumatic continuous ship unloaders for vessels up to post-Panamax.
Mechanical loaders for any size of ships.

VIGAN Engineering S.A is a Belgian company with its headquarters in Nivelles industrial area about 30 kilometres south of Brussels at the heart of the European Community.

VIGAN manufactures a complete range of pneumatic and mechanical conveying systems for products in bulk not only thanks to the supply machines but also by managing complete turnkey projects.

Nivelles city is easily accessible due to its proximity to European highways and about one hour drive to the port of Antwerp which allows excellent transport conditions for all its equipment to foreign countries.

All the company activities take place on the same 10,000 m² site which enables easy and very quick exchange of information among all departments including sales, engineering, manufacturing, quality control and after-sales technical assistance. VIGAN engineering department with 450 m² space boasts latest software technologies (such as CAO – CAM types)

According to the Vigan website, “For any free flowing materials like cereals, grains, seeds, animal feed, alumina, petro coke, chemicals, industry raw materials, VIGAN is your engineering partner and your solution provider”.

“VIGAN excellence is also recognized by hundreds of international references.
As an affiliate company from VAN DE WIELE group (which has an annual turnover of about 400 million USD and about 2,000 workers and employees in more than 10 different countries) and with more than 30 years of experience, VIGAN is a most reliable partner from your project ideas to their full completion and for your total satisfaction thanks to its service excellence and equipment performances.”

Visit the website HERE.

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