Partner Article

North East food labelling project receives innovation grant

A Live Temperature Monitoring System, which uses a wireless sensor travelling through an oven to monitor product core temperatures during the cooking process, is the first to be awarded a grant from the Northern Food Industry Innovation Network (NFIIN) Innovation Fund.

The system is the brainchild of Sunderland-based Challenger Foods, which has been working with experts from local universities on ways to change production methods and processes.

The £5,000 funding will be used to trial new software used in the Live Temperature Monitoring System, which ensures that once the core safety temperatures are reached the cooking operation is stopped, resulting in optimum retention of moisture and product quality.

The system is part of the company’s work towards a Holy Grail of the food and drink industry - to achieve ‘clean’ additive-free labels on foods.

Darren Gedge, Head Of Technical for Challenger Foods’ parent company, 2 Sisters Foods Group’s Prepared Division, said: “The funding has come at exactly the right time for our business, helping to implement the system and carry out full scale trials and results verification. “Success will mean we can better compete against competition not only in the UK but increasingly from areas of the world such as Thailand and Brazil.”

The NFIIN Innovation Fund finances research, consultancy and other activities that lead to the application of new processes, products or other technology in the food and drink industry. The fund is unique to the Northern Way region and is available to companies located in the North East, Yorkshire & Humber and the North West.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .