Foodex

New exhibitors beef up Foodex

Foodex 2010 NEC, Birmingham - March 21-24 2010

More than 70 new exhibitors are set to make their debut at Foodex 2010. They join a strong list of over 200 companies, such as Reiser, Interfood Technology, Marel and Ishida Europe which, says organisers William Reed Business Media, demonstrates the continuing strength of the Foodex brand.

Foodex, previously called Foodex Meatex, with a heritage which stretches back to the 1980s, has been re-branded to better communicate the broad appeal of the show from meat and poultry, on to fish, dairy, fruit, vegetables, drinks, confectionery, cereals, organics and ready meals, said show manager Daren Rose-Neale.

Five themes have been designated for the 2010 show: Meat@Foodex Dairy@Foodex Fresh@Foodex, Seafood@Foodex Beverage@Foodex.

However Rose-Neale emphasised: "The meat and poultry sector continues to be a core element of the show and there is a strong representation from technology and service companies for the meat industry in both returning and new exhibitors. While a number of events, presentations and competitions have a very distinct meat industry focus."

Exhibitors old and new First timer Emydex Technology (W027) is an Irish software development company specialising in the development and implementation of software solutions for the food processing industry. The iWAMS factory floor system is an end-to-end software platform designed to fully support the processing of beef, lamb, pork and poultry and is used in over 30 processing plants across Ireland and the UK, customers include, Dawn Meats, Dunbia and O'Kane Poultry.

Another debutante is H B C L Coldstores (S030) which designs, manufactures and installs chiller and freezer cold stores, food processing facilities, temperature controlled environments, firewall systems and partitioning.

Regular exhibitor Interfood Technology (Q060) will be exhibiting a number of new developments including the latest TVI systems for fresh meat, bone-in/boneless portioning and the Weber 905 slicer which has a cutting throat capable of accommodating six 4 x 4 logs simultaneously.

High speed infeeding technology, and new in-house robotic loading solutions will be displayed. Plus the SP280 entry level press from Hoegger.

EasyPIE is being introduced by John Hunt Bolton (X009). Designed to help butchers increase their share of the growing pie market operators simply press out the base, fill manually, and top with the pressed out base.

Other first time meat related exhibitors include Meat Ipswich, Martin Blythe Casings, Tasty Trotter and Dolav UK.

Competitions spotlight A highlight of the show will be a new competition, organised by independent butchers' organisation Q Guild. The Best Meat Display (X080) competition on 23 March will involve up to eight teams of two people, one each from the Guild's regions. Each team will be given the same cuts of meat and will be notified in advance of the cuts to be used.

They will be asked to showcase the craft skills and products of Q Guild butchers by mounting a display of the meats in identical refrigerated counters. All preparation must be done on the day and judges will look for appearance, skills used, methods used, presentation, imagination and commercial appeal, as well as wastage.

The National Supreme Product Championship (X080) takes place on 21 March and judges will search for the best Sausages, Burgers, Black Puddings, Meat in Pastry and Pies & Pasties in various specialist categories. Gold, silver and bronze awards are made in each category and from the winners of each a Supreme Product Champion will be crowned.

Entrants are drawn from independent butchers in the UK who must comply with strict rules regarding weight and meat content. Entries are judged on taste, texture, appearance, flavour and palatability.

Events & Presentations The Campden BRI Innovation Day (X080) on 22 March will bring nine topical presentations from its annual Campden Day to visitors so that they can discover just some of the research that has been undertaken and meet the experts involved. The topics to be covered will include allergens, antioxidants, high pressure and other novel processing systems, and microbiological shelf-life prediction.

On 21 March in the Briefing Theatre (R001) a special series of presentations for the meat sector will involve talks by the National Skills Academy for Food & Drink Manufacturing plus lectures on the latest advances in food safety organised by International Food Hygiene. Also in the Theatre advances in Processing and Packaging technology will be discussed. Chris Williams, managing director, Omori Europe who will look at ‘Packaging Minimisation and Extending Shelf Life for the Consumer' and Martin Keay, Ensure Consulting will ask: ‘Are You Legal? - Compliance with the new Machinery Directive and PUWER regulations for meat processors and packagers. Other topics of interest include ‘Reducing Packaging: Is this a Rational Approach?' and ‘High speed MAP.

· Other supporting organisations for Foodex include Dairy UK, British Soft Drinks Association, Provision Trade Federation, International Agricultural Technology Centre and the Academy of Food and Wine and The Society of Food Hygiene and Technology (SOFHT).

· Foodex is co-located with seven other related events including Food & Drink Expo whose 600 exhibitors will showcase new and original food and drink products from overseas as well as the UK regions, including baked goods, cheeses, drinks and ingredients. The other events are: Baking Industry Exhibition (BIE), The Convenience Retailing Show (CRS), Café +, The Off Licence Show, The Food & Drink Logistics Show, The International Forecourt and Fuel Equipment Show (IFFE)

· Foodex is located in Hall 5 at the NEC, Birmingham from 21-24 March 2010. Opening times: 21-23 March 10am until 5pm, 24 March 10am until 4pm