Healthy start for Reading’s award-winning food student
Stacey Griffin, Food Science student at the University of Reading, was the winner of the inaugural Hutchinson Jonas award. The award, launched in 2007 by Jane Jonas and Scott Hutchinson as an incentive to students training to join the food industry, is given to the person who performs best during their placement year.
The award received coverage in Food Manufacture and the student press.
The company
Stacey spent her placement year working at Katsouris Fresh Foods, part of leading food manufacturing group, Bakkavor. The Bakkavor Group owns sites in the UK, Europe, South Africa and China and is recognised as one of the world’s leading fresh prepared food and produce providers. It is currently the market leader in the key areas of ready meals, pizzas, convenience salads and dips and produces over 4,700 products in 17 product categories, and it supplies all the leading supermarkets, including: Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Waitrose and J Sainsbury.
Katsouris was founded by Cypriot brothers, Yiannis, Theodosis and Lozios, who began trading in the UK in 1951, where there was an ever increasing Greek and Cypriot population. Today, Katsouris Fresh Foods is based in North West London and consists of three main production sites and one centralised distribution site. Stacey worked at Cumberland Avenue, the company’s newest purpose-built food factory which specialises in houmous and mash products.
The placement
Stacey’s technical placement started with three months Quality Assurance training, where she spent time with the QA\QCs in the factory learning the different circuits, and the production and quality implications of each.
Stacey’s training began in the Goods In department and continued through the production stages of the product, on to the Packing and Despatch area. Initial training finished with a placement with the production and hygiene managers.
The next stage of the placement was to work alongside Marks & Spencer’s in preparation for its Christmas production. Due to increased production demands around the Christmas period, products are produced a few months in advance, frozen and then defrosted before going into stores. Stacey was responsible for ‘code approval’ which entailed signing off the frozen products and ensuring that they met the required quality specifications.
In the final six months Stacey worked with the process technologist, carrying out projects involving the validation of processes, the verification of HACCP plans, internal auditing and numerous other projects involving food safety and new product development.
The feedback
Stacey said: “The placement allowed me to apply what I had learnt on my course in actual situations while developing my education of the food industry.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the placement and would recommend it to anyone. I believe that an industrial placement is one of the most valuable aspects of the degree, and it really inspired me to follow a career in the food industry. Not only did it focus my enthusiasm but the experience will be really valuable during my future in the industry.
“I thank the Hutchinson-Jonas team for awarding me the prize, and everyone that I worked with in my placement, especially Clare Piper, Sarah Hewitt and Jadranka Prodanovic, and Glyniss Jodrell from the University of Reading, who works incredibly hard to set up contacts for the Reading Food Science students prior to going on their placements.“
The award received coverage in Food Manufacture and the student press.
The company
Stacey spent her placement year working at Katsouris Fresh Foods, part of leading food manufacturing group, Bakkavor. The Bakkavor Group owns sites in the UK, Europe, South Africa and China and is recognised as one of the world’s leading fresh prepared food and produce providers. It is currently the market leader in the key areas of ready meals, pizzas, convenience salads and dips and produces over 4,700 products in 17 product categories, and it supplies all the leading supermarkets, including: Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Waitrose and J Sainsbury.
Katsouris was founded by Cypriot brothers, Yiannis, Theodosis and Lozios, who began trading in the UK in 1951, where there was an ever increasing Greek and Cypriot population. Today, Katsouris Fresh Foods is based in North West London and consists of three main production sites and one centralised distribution site. Stacey worked at Cumberland Avenue, the company’s newest purpose-built food factory which specialises in houmous and mash products.
The placement
Stacey’s technical placement started with three months Quality Assurance training, where she spent time with the QA\QCs in the factory learning the different circuits, and the production and quality implications of each.
Stacey’s training began in the Goods In department and continued through the production stages of the product, on to the Packing and Despatch area. Initial training finished with a placement with the production and hygiene managers. The next stage of the placement was to work alongside Marks & Spencer’s in preparation for its Christmas production. Due to increased production demands around the Christmas period, products are produced a few months in advance, frozen and then defrosted before going into stores. Stacey was responsible for ‘code approval’ which entailed signing off the frozen products and ensuring that they met the required quality specifications.
In the final six months Stacey worked with the process technologist, carrying out projects involving the validation of processes, the verification of HACCP plans, internal auditing and numerous other projects involving food safety and new product development.
The feedback
Stacey said: “The placement allowed me to apply what I had learnt on my course in actual situations while developing my education of the food industry.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the placement and would recommend it to anyone. I believe that an industrial placement is one of the most valuable aspects of the degree, and it really inspired me to follow a career in the food industry. Not only did it focus my enthusiasm but the experience will be really valuable during my future in the industry.
“I thank the Hutchinson-Jonas team for awarding me the prize, and everyone that I worked with in my placement, especially Clare Piper, Sarah Hewitt and Jadranka Prodanovic, and Glyniss Jodrell from the University of Reading, who works incredibly hard to set up contacts for the Reading Food Science students prior to going on their placements.“
Jonas Consulting Ltd
1st Floor
Duncan House
Burnhill Road
Beckenham
Kent
BR3 3LA
020 8663 6463
020 8663 1516
food@jonas.co.uk
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