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• Case studies from the food manufacturing industry
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Case studies from the Food Manufacturing Industry

Below are some case studies specific to the food industry.  See what other companies have done to save money and improve their environmental performance.  The case studies can be found in the fact sheet resources for the food industry.  Click on the link to the fact sheet next to each case study to find out more information on what you can do to reduce your costs and improve your environmental performance. Click here to view all the food processing eco-efficiency fact sheets. 

Fact sheet	Case study
G2 - Good housekeeping	Staff incentives bring savings Australian Food Corporation, a Queensland food processing company, encourages innovation and ownership of environmental responsibility from all staff, by providing staff training and awareness with information, such as water use, displayed in the lunchroom. Rewards for the best environmental innovations from staff encourage innovation. This has encouraged more than 50 suggestions in the past year. One of the best suggestions was to use rechargeable batteries for equipment such as inspection torches and probes, saving approximately $4000 in twelve months. (Australian Food Corporation is an ecoBiz participant)
G2 - Good housekeeping	Improved practices reduce waste Priestley’s Gourmet Delights is reducing waste through staff training. For example, residue in mixing bowls that would become solid waste is being minimised. Cleaning staff monitor bowls sent in for cleaning. If insufficient mixture has been removed the bowl is returned. The issue is also raised at the daily team meetings where bowls are brought into the meeting room as evidence to be discussed by the group in order to change staff practices. (Priestley’s Gourmet Delights is an ecoBiz participant)
G2 - Good housekeeping	Accurate weighing saves money and time Priestley’s Gourmet Delights established a measuring room with staff designated to accurately weigh all the ingredients required for the batches in the next shift. They discovered this led to significant savings in ingredients, for example, saving 60kg of product in each batch on the strawberry slice line. (Priestley’s Gourmet Delights is an ecoBiz participant)
G2 - Good housekeeping	Better management through colour coding Prepared Foods in Queensland has colour-coded its cleaning equipment and set up individual stations close to where the equipment is needed. The new system allows staff easy access and greater ownership of equipment. Having squeegees and scrapers readily available also helps to promote dry cleaning. (Prepared Foods is an ecoBiz participant.)
G3 - Odour control	Cold storage reduces odour Sirromet Wines has installed a cool room where all their organic wastes can be stored before they are taken away to be composted and fed to the worm farm.
G3 - Odour control	Containment and removal of meat processing odours Australian Country Choice (ACC), an integrated meat processor, has processing operations located within 500m of new residential and commercial property. Under previous ownership the site had a less than satisfactory record for odour control and was regularly dealing with complaints from neighbouring properties.  Under the sites new ownership by ACC, the processing operations built were fully enclosed and the building placed under a slight negative pressure allowing high source point odours to be extracted from the factory to the biofiltration system.  The blower pulls 144,000m3/hr of air through air scrubbers, to remove the soluble and particulates, then directs the stream into four totally enclosed biofilter beds.  The four beds are separated to allow individual maintenance without shutting down the system.  Whilst the system was costly to construct, upkeep is minimal and there have been no odour complaints regarding factory odours since installation.
G4 – Current issues and future trends	Reduced product loss through supply chain relationships Harvest Freshcuts in Wacol produce freshcut salads.  Product loss and customer complaints have been reduced by working with individual suppliers to ensure produce is stored correctly between leaving the factory and consumption.  This personal relationship with individual sellers ensures the quality of the food is maintained for the customer.
E5 – Energy recovery	Wastewater by-product saves energy and money A brewery, Foster’s Australia, installed upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) units as part of the wastewater treatment process. Biogas is extracted from this process into a flexible container which expands and contracts to maintain a constant pressure depending on the generation and use of the biogas. Biogas is burnt in the boilers and contributes approximately 20 per cent of the energy use on site saving approximately $750,000 per year. The biogas unit cost approximately $220,000 to install in 1995 and had a payback period of less than one year.
W2 – Water efficient processing	Reducing water use by 52 per cent through changes in practices Food processing company, Australian Food Corporation, reduced their water consumption from 3.10 kL per tonne of product to 1.49 kL per tonne of product over three years through a series of changes to water practices in the factory, including: • replacing all inefficient taps saving 296 kL/year • reducing the defrosting cycle of freezers saving 5500 kL/ year • turning off sprays when the conveyor was not running saving 13 kL/year • replacing interlocking belts with flat belts saving cleaning time and 788 kL/year • retraining staff to operate hoses more effectively and to preferably dry clean or use buckets to wash spills on floors during manufacturing.
W2 – Water efficient processing	Controls on knife steriliser Prepared Foods, a supplier of pre-prepared foods and value added products, adjusted the flow rate to a small knife steriliser in the meat preparation room to the minimum flow rate required for food safety. The handle to the flow control was also removed to prevent staff adjusting the rate. The steriliser was previously left on continuously but is now switched off during non-production hours.  The initiative saves 55 kL a year. (Prepared Foods is an ecoBiz participant.)
W2 – Water efficient processing	Replacing a leaking pump seal Prepared Foods, a supplier of pre-prepared foods and value-added products, replaced a leaking seal, running at four drops a second, on a pump in the plant room, saving 17.5 kL of water per year. If ten similar leaks are repaired every year, this is a saving of $420 in water cost alone. (Prepared Foods is an ecoBiz participant.)
W2 – Water efficient processing	Nozzle efficiency improved through the use of RO water Foster’s Australia, a brewery, have increased the efficiency of nozzles by treating incoming reticulated water using reverse osmosis. The high quality of the water produced by reverse osmosis (RO) has reduced scaling of nozzles allowing smaller nozzles to be used, saving water and reduced maintenance requirements.
W2 – Water efficient processing	Simple project provides savings Pre-prepared foods and value-added products supplier, Prepared Foods’ kettle bank directs waste to a catch tray beneath the kettle which is very difficult to access for cleaning and typically results in waste spreading out over the floor. Simple pipework will be installed to redirect the waste to a more accessible location saving 28 kL annually in reduced water and cleaning time. The hose used for cleaning beneath the kettles will no longer require such high pressure enabling a reduction in the hose diameter, saving an additional 47 kL annually. The total savings in water and tradewaste charges is approximately $250 a year. (Prepared Foods is an ecoBiz participant.)
W3 – Alternative water sources	Water reuse saves money Australian Country Choice, an integrated meat processor, uses recycled bleed water for truck wash and to wash exposed undercover (non-food processing) areas, saving approximately 100 kL per production day.
W3 – Alternative water sources	Internal water reuse SnapFresh, a prepared meal processor, undertook a water audit and found that the cooling water on the laboratory distilling unit was flowing straight to sewer. As the laboratory was located next to the boiler room this water was diverted and used as boiler feedwater, saving approximately 135 kL of water per year.
W3 – Alternative water sources	Stormwater use saves money Australian Food Corporation was using 6300 kL/year in the cooling water of the Formax heat exchange system. A pump was installed to close the loop and 23.5 kL of rainwater tanks were installed to collect stormwater top-up to the system. This system cost less than $2000 to install, achieving approximately $8757 in water savings per year and a payback period of three months. (Australian Food Corporation is an ecoBiz participant)
W3 – Alternative water sources	RO reduces water consumption by two thirds Reverse Osmosis (RO) is reducing water consumption by 65 per cent at the Foster’s Australia brewery. This equates to two thirds of the water used at the brewery being recycled, a saving of 1.5 ML of water per day. The uses of this recycled water include all non-product contact uses including cooling towers, boilers, washing trucks, non-product contact floors, line lubricant and toilets. The cost of using mains water (including tradewaste costs) is over $4.00 per kL, while the cost of treating reject water is about $0.85 per kL. The recycling plant did cost $6.5m to install but paid for itself in 3 years. This investment was made even more worthwhile due to the fact that Foster’s would have been required to contribute $6 million to the expansion of the local municipal wastewater treatment plant if it had continued to discharge that water to sewer.
W4 – Cleaning efficiency	Scheduling of products to reduce cleaning Australian Food Corporation, a food processing company, produces Halal meat patties. To certify that the patties contain only Halal meat this line is processed as the first batch for the day after the equipment has been cleaned from the previous day. If a Halal batch were to be run after a non-Halal then a full clean would be required. By running the Halal batch first, the company saves water, chemicals and time. (Australian Food Corporation is an ecoBiz participant.)
W4 – Cleaning efficiency	Multiple savings from improved conveyor belts Food processing company, Australian Food Corporation, replaced interlocking conveyor belts with smooth TD 50 belts to reduce water usage. The interlocking conveyor belts required significant amounts of cleaning as product sometimes lodged in the crevices in the interlock. The new smooth belts limit the possibility of product capture and require significantly less cleaning time, providing better results on cleanliness testing. On average, at least one interlocking belt broke per month resulting in a shut down of the line, lost product and lost time for maintenance. One of the new belts was installed over two years ago and has not yet malfunctioned. In addition to the daily water, time and food safety benefits, long term maintenance is also reduced. The belts cost approximately $4,000 each to install and the water savings for the ten belts is approximately 788 kL per year with additional savings in labour time. (Australian Food Corporation is an ecoBiz participant.)
W4 – Cleaning efficiency	New crate washers save money Priestley’s Gourmet Delights, a bakery product manufacturer, are replacing their crate washer with a more efficient one. The new washer will save approximately 3400 kL of water per year and at a cost of $300,000 to install the payback period is three years. The new washer also has a smaller footprint, freeing up usable space in the factory. (Priestley’s Gourmet Delights is an ecoBiz participant.)
W6 – Cleaning and sanitising options	Better chemical management Priestley’s Gourmet Delights, a bakery product manufacturer, worked with their chemical supplier to consolidate cleaning chemicals and improve the dispensing system, reducing costs from $4000 to $2000, a saving of 50 per cent in the first year. (Priestley’s Gourmet Delights is an ecoBiz participant.)
W6 – Cleaning and sanitising options	Controlled dispensing saves chemicals and money Prepared Foods Australia, a supplier of pre-prepared foods and value-added products, have worked closely with chemical supplier Applied Chemicals to implement systems that promote both water and chemical efficiency. One is a chemical dispensing system with pre-set programs depending on the cleaning and sanitising requirements of different lines. Operators type in their line code and the chemicals are automatically dispensed. This prevents the use of the wrong types of chemicals and provides the correct amount of chemicals to meet the needs of the quality and food safety system. The system was installed as part of the service agreement with Applied Chemicals and reduced chemical costs by 65 per cent per year. (Prepared Foods is an ecoBiz participant.)
W8 – Resource recovery from wastewater	RO compared with Ion Exchange A brewery, Fosters Australia, was treating incoming mains water with an ion exchange system to reduce salt levels prior to use in the product. This process required regeneration every 8-12 hours of operation and required discharge of regenerant solution into sewer which was at the limits of council acceptance. In 2005 the plant changed to RO treatment of the incoming water achieving a 95 per cent recovery rate while requiring no regeneration. The amount of energy used in RO is similar to that in ion exchange.
W8 – Resource recovery from wastewater	Benefits of UASB A brewery, Foster’s Australia, uses an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) process to reduce chemical oxygen demand in its wastewater stream from approximately 5500 mg/L to 200 mg/L. Once in operation, the UASB is quite robust, responding quickly to start-up and shut down periods. In addition, biogas produced by the process is collected and used in the boiler providing 20 per cent of the site’s energy use or approximately $750,000 in energy savings per year.
W9 – Other treatment options	Hydrocavitation saves money and water Golden Circle saves thousands of litres of water and dollars per year through the installation of a hydrocavitation system on cooling tower water.  Cycles of concentration in the cooling towers has been increased from 3 to more than 7, saving approximately 8 ML/year and chemical use has significantly dropped.  The reduction in chemical usage had an additional bonus of reducing wastewater treatment requirements. The hydrocavitation system is leased by Golden Circle at a rate considerably less than the savings, providing a cost effect option. (Golden Circle is an ecoBiz participant.)
R1 – Solid waste overview	Reduced loss of raw ingredients Priestley’s Gourmet Delights, a bakery product manufacturer, had difficulty removing the residue from raw liquid material bladder containers such as syrups and condensed milk, wasting approximately 10kg per tonne of raw liquid materials. A heat pad was installed in each container, activated once the container was close to empty, warming the residue and reducing losses. A roller was installed to squeeze out the last of the product saving approximately $20,000 per year. At a cost of $2000 to install the equipment the system paid for itself in 2 months. (Priestley’s Gourmet Delights is an ecoBiz participant.)
R2 – Reducing solid waste	Reduced material handling saves time Prepared Foods in Queensland reviewed its plant layout and material handling procedures with the aim of reducing waste and improving the flow of raw materials into the processing area. Previously, staff collected raw ingredients for each batch as required from the various freezers and storage areas which resulted in time delays on batch changeovers and inefficient material handling. Now on the day prior to the shift, all the raw ingredients are weighed out and placed in one tub in a cool room from where production staff can simply collect the tub and commence processing immediately. (Prepared Foods is an ecoBiz participant)
R2 – Reducing solid waste	Reducing waste product by product Priestley’s Gourmet Delights, a bakery product manufacturer, reviews one product per week, brainstorming every step in the process to determine how, where and why waste occurs - for example, incorrect stacking of product, dropping raw ingredients, incorrect decorating procedure. Then the line-team develops solutions and staff are informed through a series of posters with pictures of both the wrong and right methods to reduce waste. So far this initiative has saved approximately $99,500 in raw materials. (Priestley’s Gourmet Delights is an ecoBiz participant)
R2 – Reducing solid waste	Metal detectors reduce waste Australian Food Corporation, a food processing company pass all patties through a metal detector before they are packed. Any metal foreign object can be detected and the batch isolated before it is distributed to the public. Whilst this reduces recall, it also reduces waste as it may be possible to retain part of the batch if it is an isolated incident. (Australian Food Corporation is an ecoBiz participant)
R4 – Recycling solid waste	Waste reduction by working with suppliers Harvest Freshcuts are fresh salad producers in Brisbane.  They work closely with their fresh produce suppliers to reduce the amount of organic waste arriving on site to the benefit of both farmer and processor.  The outer leaf is removed on farm, keeping organic material on farm for reuse and reducing waste production at the processing plant.  Further; organic waste generated at the processing plant is sent to a dairy farm for to be used for feed.  An added benefit for the processor is the reduction in cleaning requirement as the removal of the outer leaf also removes the majority of the dirt.  Harvest Freshcuts are currently investigating options to remove more waste on farm for continued benefits. (Harvest Freshcuts are an ecoBiz participant.)
U2 – Cooling tower efficiency	Reducing cycles of concentrations saves water Prepared Foods, a supplier of pre-prepared foods and value-added products, increased the cycles of concentrations on its cooling tower that serviced a large freezer storage area and the site’s blast freezer (used for the initial cooling of products) as part the Water Efficiency Management Plan. By increasing the cycles from 2.6 to 5 the company was able to save 163 kL annually. (Prepared Foods is an ecoBiz participant.)
U2 – Cooling tower efficiency	Cooling tower savings A brewery, Foster’s Australia, uses recycled water treated by reverse osmosis (RO) in its cooling towers saving $50,000 annually. This water use allows the cooling towers to be run at between 10 and 12 cycles of concentration (5 cycles of concentration is considered efficient). Chemical use has also been reduced by more than $300,000 annually due to the high quality of the RO water.
U2 – Cooling tower efficiency	Water savings in cooling tower SnapFresh a prepared meal processor installed three 22,000 L rain water tanks to supplement makeup water to its cooling towers. By utilising the site’s large roof area the company was able to collect 700 kL in the first quarter of 2008, saving almost $1000 in just three months. SnapFresh also found their air conditioning unit was producing 3-4000 L of condensate per day. This was captured and put into the cooling towers. As the water quality was close to distilled water with a lower TDS level than mains water it also allowed a reduction in chemical use. The system cost $20,000 to install but saves approximately $100,000 per year in water and chemical costs giving a payback period of less than three months.
U2 – Cooling tower efficiency	Replacement of cooling towers with air chillers Prepared Foods, a supplier of pre-prepared foods and value added products, has replaced two of its energy intensive cooling towers (that provide cooling for the condensers of two large freezers covering 696m2) with energy efficient air cooled condensers. The new condensers will save the site around 3.19kL a day in potable water. When water savings, water treatment and power costs were considered, less the running costs of the new condensers, the site estimates they will save around $7200 annually. (Prepared Foods is an ecoBiz participant.)
U2 – Cooling tower efficiency	Responding to load saves money Australian Country Choice (ACC), an integrated meat processor, replaced inefficient cooling towers with more efficient models. The towers were set up to allow each one to be turned on and off individually depending on load on the plant. A base load is maintained but towers can be turned off at night or in winter when the load is not as high. This system is currently manually operated but ACC have considered control wiring the cooling towers to allow electronic monitoring and control. This new method of operation saves approximately $1000 per year.
U5 – Refrigeration efficiency	Water reduction through changes in defrost methods Australia Food Corporation, a food processing company, saved 7900 kL of water a year by altering work practices to defrost their freezers. The freezers, which snap freeze meat patties prior to transportation, were defrosted daily by filling them with water. To reduce water use, freezer doors are opened at the end of production shift, allowing fans and warm air from hot water hoses used in cleaning to circulate and naturally defrost the freezers. The defrosting cycle is now only run every six months for maintenance purposes. The initiative involved no capital expenditure, except for training of cleaning staff in the new work program, and saves the company 7900 kL annually which is approximately $26,000 per year in water and tradewaste charges. (Australian Food Corporation is an ecoBiz participant.)
U5 – Refrigeration efficiency	Hot gas defrost SnapFresh, a prepared foods processor, uses hot compressor discharge gas that is routed through the outlet of the evaporator to thaw accumulated frost. This gas then condenses back into a liquid and flows back into a common liquid line. By using hot gas for defrosting instead of water or electric heaters, the site has saved 15 kL per week of defrost water in the blast freezer, as well as saving power and water that would otherwise be required to recondense the compressor gas.

For more Eco-efficiency assessment case studies see the Department of Environment and Resource Management website.