BMG hosted its second specialist Food & Beverage Expo, to highlight the importance of pristine hygiene standards throughout the food logistics chain - from farmers, processors, manufacturers and packagers, to distributors, retailers and consumers.

This well-attended event - held recently at the Hazendal Wine Estate in Stellenbosch - focussed on BMG’s solution services, which help the local food and beverage sector deliver on food safety and environmental and energy-efficient initiatives.

Keynote speaker, Linda Jackson of Food Focus, addressed relevant topics, including food safety and waste, contamination, legislation, water and energy efficiency and the value of quality products in the food and beverage sector.

“The timing of the event was significant, given the national recall recently of canned pilchards. The unfortunate withdrawal of canned fish from supermarket shelves, highlights the importance of impeccable hygienic design and effective maintenance, in the protection of product integrity,” explains Linda Jackson. “Even small faults in design, operation and maintenance can have huge impacts on the quality and safety of food products.”

On display was a wide range of BMG systems and components that assist both manufacturers and end-users to achieve compliance with recent changes in legislation. New regulations include R638 for ‘Regulations governing general hygiene requirements for food premises, the transport of food and related matters.’

BMG plans to host the next food and beverage expo in Durban in April.