Count On It food labels feature in Food & Drink Technology magazine

Count On It food labels (and myself) have just been featured in Food and Drink Technology International magazine - the article is as follows:-

LABELLED WITH LOVE
31 July 2009

Fed up with her family’s food wastage, Lyndsey Young was passionate about finding a solution…

As she tossed yet another jar of half-used pesto in the bin, Lyndsey Young decided enough was enough. Too many half-eaten jars of food had gone the same way. Yet she hated wasting food and only did so because she could never remember how long it had been languishing in the fridge.

“We all know that, once opened, most products have to be consumed within a certain amount of time,” says the mum-of-two from Bottesford in Leicestershire. “But there was always so much going on at home, I found it difficult to remember when something was first opened or stored.

“I was always throwing away half-used jars and leftovers because I was never sure how long they had been in my fridge. Rather than risk giving it to my young sons, I discarded it.”

But Lyndsey resented such wastefulness, and was sure others felt the same way. So she arranged for some market research to see if a cross-section of women also binned food for the same reason. The results of the research confirmed her suspicions. And so Lyndsey, 41, set about devising a solution and decided to fund her mission with the £15,000 she had won three years previously on TV quiz show Deal Or No Deal.

“Within days I had come up with the concept of stickers featuring scratch-off panels which allow consumers to mark on a jar or packet the date the product was first opened, stored or frozen,” she explains. “I had a name too – the Count On It (COI) label. Quite simply, it acts as a memory jogger, helping busy households safely track the life of their food.”

Feedback on trial samples led to the development of a prototype, and – with the support of government-funded business advisory group Business Link – just five months after she first came up with the idea in April last year, Lyndsey’s labels were in full-scale production.


“As the labels help to address the problem of food waste, which continues to be in the public eye due to the current economic climate and WRAP’s LoveFoodHateWaste campaign, and more and more people are rediscovering the joys and freshness that home cooking can bring, my initial marketing strategy was to target both the cookware and ‘foodie’ markets,” reveals Lyndsey.

“I exhibited the labels at a range of carefully selected regional food and drink festivals and it was demonstrated on stage alongside culinary experts such as James Martin and Anjum Anand.”

Lyndsey struck gold just three months after her idea went into production when kitchenware retailer Lakeland agreed to stock the labels.

“I sent them a speculative sample and they really liked it,” she explains. “Since then sales have continued to grow, and Lakeland has confirmed its placement for the foreseeable future.”

Another recent success for Lyndsey is a decision by homeware catalogue company Betterware to start selling her product later this year.

“As food safety is paramount to me as a mum, another strategy is to market COI to parents and mums-to-be as a time-saving, food safety product.”

The COI system recently received its first celebrity endorsement, too, in the shape of Amanda Holden, who said of the labels: “I’m beginning to wonder how I ever managed without them.”

As both food safety and wastage is clearly so close to Lyndsey’s heart, what does she think of recent government proposals to phase out ‘sell by’ and ‘best before’ dates?

“It is a step in the right direction but I believe it is equally important that consumers have a better understanding of what the labels on their food actually mean,” she says. “Too many households throw away perfectly good food because they are confused by food labelling. Simple advice on how best to store and use food in the home would help consumers manage their food in both a cost-effective and safety conscious manner.”

In the meantime, she is happy for her labelling system to lend a helping hand.

“The future for COI looks bright, with plans to expand the product lines to include the catering, food service and pharmaceutical industries, as well as private label producers,” she says. “I also truly believe that it will help both producers and consumers to reduce the millions of tons of waste that currently go into landfill in this country.”

'Sniff & Hoper' or 'Chucker-outter' have you considered this?

Are you a ‘sniff & hoper’ or ‘chucker-outter’? That’s the question Count On It ‘angels’ will be posing to shoppers in Peterborough city centre this weekend.

Count On It labels, the scratch-off, food label memory jogger which helps families manage their food more safely, whilst reducing unnecessary food waste – will be given away this weekend on a ‘fridge-friendly’ postcard that aims to raise awareness of the potential problems of eating food past it’s safe date and also throwing it away ‘just in case’.
As we are all too aware the price of food continues to rise, but many people do not realize that the amount of edible food that goes to waste and the number of cases of food poisoning also continue to rise at an alarming rate.

Sniff & Hoper?

Many people pride themselves on being a ‘sniff & hoper’, but most don’t realize that although foods may look, smell and even taste fine, they still harbor bacteria such as E.coli and salmonella that can cause food poisoning.
According to the Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource, incorrect storage and the use of food past it’s use by date causes about 325,000 people in the USA to be hospitalized every year because of food poisoning and 5,000 people die. It is a similar story in the UK, with the number of cases of listeria in people over 60 years of age doubling in the past nine years. 95% of cases end up needing hospital treatment and one in three of the people getting food poisoning caused by listeria die as a result. (FSA)

Consider these food safety reminders:-

 Make sure your fridge is cold enough - If you fridge isn’t cold enough food poisoning bacteria will still be able to grow. Your fridge should be between 0ºC and 5ºC.
 Refrigerate perishable food straight away – All foods that are perishable (i.e. goes off quickly) or has a label which says ‘keep refrigerated’ should be stored in the fridge and eaten within two days.
 Follow storage instructions – some jars and bottles must be kept in the fridge once opened and eaten within a certain time. Always check the label and keep a track on how long they have been opened – Count On It labels are just to job for this – just scratch off the date and you will have a permanent reminder as to how long they’ve been stored.
 Food should not be kept out of the fridge for more than four hours, so if you’ve prepared anything beforehand, keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to eat it.
 Leftovers – cool these as quickly as possible then store them in the fridge. Once stored, leftovers must be eaten within two days, except cooked rice which must be eaten within one day. Don’t forget to store them in a food container and label the date when first stored – again Count On It labels are perfect as they stick on any surface and can easily and cleanly be removed after use.

Chucker-outter?

According to WRAP’s Lovefoodhatewaste research, the main reasons people throw away food is because of either ‘cooking or preparing too much’, e.g. cooking too much pasta and it gets either left in the saucepan or on the plate’. Another reason is because food ‘is not used up in time’, good examples being fruit and vegetables go off in storage, or not eating food before it goes past its use-by date in the fridge. This can be because of a number of reasons, sometimes because of our increasingly busy lifestyles we change our plans, or we just forget what we’ve got in our cupboards, or we forget to fridge or freeze leftovers, which could be used later. Another common reason is that we just forget how long we’ve had food stored in our fridge and freezer, so rather than risk it we throw it away.
The problem with this is two-fold, not only are we needlessly wasting perfectly edible food, we are wasting our money too.

Consider these money saving tips to help you love your food more:-

 Regularly check what’s in your fridge and freezer – How often have you looked in your fridge to see an opened packet of ham or mayonnaise and you’ve no idea how long it’s been in there. Keep an eye on the use-by dates and also the storage instructions on jarred or bottled products. By tracking how long things have been opened or stored, you can be sure it is still safe to eat. To save you from having to remember all of the dates, Count On It labels will show you exactly the date of opening each product.

 Buy one, get one to freeze – rather than leave both items in your fridge and hope you’ll get round to using them. Split the pack, store one in the fridge and the other in a labelled food container – this way you will know exactly when you first froze it.

 Leftovers – Get storing all of your leftovers, be it leftover vegetables from Sunday lunch or the last portion of a midweek chilli con carne. Just pop them in a food container, label them and either fridge them for the next day or freeze them for a ‘ready meal’ at a later date. Not only do leftovers save you food waste and money, they save you time, what could be simpler and nicer than heating up a homecooked meal in minutes.

 Plan your meals – Rather than guessing your way around the supermarket, simply check your fridge, freezer and cupboards before you go and then write a list of what you actually need. Another good idea is to forward plan your week’s meals – it may sound like a long job, but at least during the week it will save you time as you will know for sure you have the food in and won’t need to make any extra trips out for ingredients or take-outs!
Not only do the labels help to reduce food waste - it is estimated that the average family throws away up to £610 worth of edible food each year - but customers are also finding them useful for labelling things such as medicines, contact lenses, cooker hood filters or anything where a reminder of an expiry date is needed.

Count On It labels currently are on sale online at www.count-on-it.co.uk, in Lakeland Ltd and a selection of cookshops, farmshops and deli’s across the region. The scratch-off labels are made of a sustainable material and come in boxes of 25 labels and retail at £1.99.

Mums- keep your family safe and save money too

Here's a sneak preview of our latest marketing activity. Count On It angels will soon be handing out the postcards above to mums in high streets up and down the country. The postcards, which will also include a free sample of a Count On It label, aim to remind mums that risking out of date food, or thowing it away 'just in case' is neither good for their family's health or for their pocket. Count On It labels take away the guesswork, ensuring you get to eat food at it's prime, keeping your family safe, saving you money and helping reduce unnecessary edible food waste.

If you know an event, venue or location where there are high concentrations of mums present, please let me know, I'd love to be able give out some freebies. You can drop me a line at lyndsey@count-on-it.co.uk

Until next time, Lyndsey

Fresh Produce Journal article - Labelling debate sparks TV cash

Here's another great article we've just had in 'Fresh Produce Journal's Fresh Info online magazine.

An innovative designer has found a simple solution to the date labelling debate, using cash from her victory on Deal or No Deal.

East Midlands designer Lyndsey Young is using the £15,500 prize fund from her TV show winnings to create a new Count On It labelling system.

Following the announcement of a new range of measures to improve the date labelling of food in a bid to cut Britain's mountain of food waste by DEFRA secretary of state Hilary Benn last week, Young hopes to solve the issue with the new system.

The scratch-off food freshness labels show at a glance if food is still fresh and safe to eat, or if it should be thrown away.

Only 'use-by' dates currently signify a potential food safety concern, but research has shown that 'best before' (intended to be a mark of quality) is often mistaken for a safety warning. Sell-by dates are used by retailers for stock control - but often end up confusing consumers.

Young said: “I would use things like pesto, where you take out a spoonful and put the rest in the fridge. Preparing food for [my children], you want to make sure the ingredients are fresh. But time and again I would forget when I had opened a jar and end up throwing it away. I didn't know how long it had been in the fridge and I didn't want to risk it.

"The labels help to reduce food waste - an important issue, with estimates that the average family throws away up to £610 worth of edible food each year."

Business Link, the government support service, has been providing Young with advice to help her turn her venture into a success.

Food Standards Agency's campaign launched to tackle rise in over 60s food poisoning

Campaign launched to tackle rise in over 60s food poisoning

As Food Safety Week kicks off today, the Agency is warning older people about the life-threatening danger of listeria food poisoning and the simple steps that can be taken to avoid it.

The number of cases of listeria in people over 60 years of age has doubled in the past nine years. And one in three of the people who get food poisoning caused by listeria die as a result.

‘Listeria can make people very ill and 95% of cases end up needing treatment in hospital’
Listeria is a type of food poisoning bacteria that can live and grow in a wide range of food – chilled ready-to-eat food in particular – for example pâté, cooked sliced meats, certain soft cheeses and smoked fish.

The Agency is working with GP surgeries, pharmacies and a range of community groups across the UK, specifically in areas with large populations of older people, to advise the over 60s to take care with chilled food. They are being advised not to use food past its 'use by' date, to make sure their fridges are between 0°C and 5°C, and to follow storage instructions on food labels.

These food safety messages are being targeted directly at older people through a poster and leaflet campaign, and advice will also be handed out on millions of pharmacy paper bags used for dispensing prescriptions.


Dr Andrew Wadge, Chief Scientist at the Food Standards Agency, said: 'The rise in listeria food poisoning among older people is worrying. Listeria can make people very ill and 95% of cases end up needing treatment in hospital.

'There are some really simple steps people can take to prevent getting ill in the first place: be aware that 'use by' dates indicate how long food will remain safe, and then make sure you stick to them; always follow the storage instructions on the label; and make sure your fridge is cold enough – between 0°C and 5°C is ideal.

'These are the three messages that our new campaign is focusing on and Food Safety Week is a good time to be raising awareness of them. Cases of food poisoning double in frequency during the summer months but it is very easy to avoid becoming one of those who fall ill by sticking to these simple steps.’

Anyone who is ill or who has a long-term medical condition is at a higher risk from listeria, particularly people over the age of 60. The same is true for pregnant women. These people are advised to avoid certain foods because they can contain listeria.

The FSA has carried out surveys to determine the prevalence of listeria in foods that have been linked to the bug, such as smoked fish and sliced meats. It is also commissioning research to understand what makes the over 60s more likely to become ill from listeria.

Research published today by the Agency finds that the over 60s are more likely to take risks with ‘use by’ dates, are reluctant to throw away food and are often confused by fridge temperatures (see Older people taking more risks with food safety).

About Food Safety Week
Food Safety Week is an annual event that promotes the importance of good food hygiene in the home through a range of local events taking place across the UK in schools, community groups and local councils.

The new campaign builds on the ongoing work by the FSA to tackle all types of food poisoning. Last year it launched the GermWatch campaign, based on the 4Cs of good food hygiene (Cleaning, Cooking, Chilling and Cross-contamination).

Great article from The Telegraph 'Best before' date could go in drive to stop edible food being wasted

Here's another very interesting article from today's Telegraph on the Government's 'War on Waste' campaign launched yesterday. As you may know, DEFRA believe scrapping 'Best Before' dates could reduce edible food wastage as consumers are confused to the difference between 'sell by', 'use by' and 'best before', however the FSA state with caution that 'There has to be a balance, as we have to protect consumer safety.' Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for the Environment commented that 'It's time for a new war on waste. It's not just about recycling more ... it's about rethinking the way we use resources in the first place'. He added 'Too many of us are putting things in the bin simply because we're not sure, we're confused .... this means we're throwing away thousands of tons of food every year, completely unnecessary'.

This is where Count On It labels come into there own, not only do they allow consumers to get the most out of their food and manage it more efficiently, they also enable consumers to know if the product is still safe to eat, whilst minimising unnecessary edible food wastage. Also, as food packaging sizing is also cited to be a contributory factor to food waste, Count On It labels can help here as larger portions could still be purchased, just divided into smaller ones, labelled and frozen at home for later use. Here the consumer reaps the benefits of the cost saving and is secure in the knowledge that their food is still safe to eat.

As well as re-educating the consumers attitude towards food waste, the plans aim to deal with packaging, more 'on-the-go' recycling points and also plans to use the waste we do produce as fuel.

'Sell by' dates could be a thing of the past as part of a wide-ranging Government "war on waste".

By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent
Published: 7:00AM BST 10 Jun 2009

Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) claimed 6.7 million tonnes of food is thrown away every year.In an attempt to cut the amount of rubbish being sent to landfill by reducing packaging, boosting recycling and cutting food waste, supermarkets will face prosecution for "excessive packaging" and be forced to use more recycled cardboard and plastic.
In the home more households will be issued with separate bins and expected to sort waste for recycling or face possible fines. Recycling rates will also be given a boost by providing more "on-the-go" recycling points in rail stations and on street corners.
But a key part of the environmental crackdown is a consultation on how to reduce the confusion around food labelling so that people do not throw away edible food. One option is to phase out "best before", "sell by" and "display until" labels in favour of "use by" which is an actual safety requirement.
Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, said the UK was needlessly throwing away millions of tonnes of packaging and food every year.
Mr Benn said people throw away food after the "best before" date even though it can be eaten.
"Too many of us are putting things in the bin simply because we're not sure, we're confused by the label, or we're just playing safe," he said.
Sell-by dates are used by retailers for stock control - but can end up confusing customers into throwing away perfectly good food.
Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) claim 6.7 million tonnes of food is thrown away every year - most of which could be eaten.
Every day in the UK five million potatoes, 4.4 million whole apples, one million loaves of bread and one million slices of ham are discarded which could be eaten, it added. Worth £10 billion every year, it said every family was effectively throwing away £400.
The Food Standards Agency said best-before and use-by dates were still required under European law but it wanted to clarify the food labelling system for consumers.
The spokeswoman added: "We are talking to Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Wrap, and the food industry to identify how we can better educate people about date markings on food and also address the confusion caused by the sell-by and display-until dates also used by food businesses.
"We want to see food waste minimised but we also need to ensure people do not take unnecessary risks with food safety."
However retailers and councils said it should be up to the consumer and the councils to decide the best way forward rather than being told by central Government.
Stephen Robertson, Director General of the British Retail Consortium, said it was about customer education.
"Scrapping best- before dates won't reduce food waste," he said. "Customer education will."
Among the other plans announced by the Government yesterday, they will:
:: Reduce packaging waste by encouraging people to report supermarkets that use "excessive packaging" to Trading Standards. New guidelines setting out exactly what "excessive packaging" is will make it easier to prosecute manufacturers.
:: Retailers will be asked to use more recycled material and provide more smaller portions to stop single people having to buy too much.
:: Recycling rates will be given a boost by collecting more bottles and tins from pubs, clubs and restaurants and providing "on-the-go" recycling points at airports or street corners for people to put in newspapers and plastic bottles.
:: Councils will be encouraged to start collecting more materials for recycling, for example different plastics other than plastic bottles.
However, the method of collection could also be changed after a different study found separating waste for recycling first at home, rather than dumping it all in one sack to be sorted by later, is more efficient.
This puts pressure on councils to force households to sort their own recycling, meaning in some homes it will necessary to have up to five bins for different materials including a slop bucket for food waste.
The Local Government Association warned councils should be left to decide the best way to deal with waste in different areas.

Count On It website updated - New Baby & Press page

We are pleased to announce that Count On It's website has just been updated with a new Baby page and new Press page, to include all the information about how Count On It labels can help busy mums manage baby's food more effectively and safely and to include all the recent coverage Count On It labels has received in the national press. Information on our Baby page includes, how Count On It labels are perfect for ...

All of baby's food - Ideal for use on pre-prepared baby food jars, freshly prepared food, expressed milk, mixed baby formula and stored leftovers

Fridge and freezer-friendly - Count On It® labels can be used in the fridge and freezer and are perfect when freezing pureed weaning foods. Even the box dispenser is designed to sit in your fridge door!

Easy on, easy off - Count On It® labels are designed to stick securely to all types of packaging, yet have an easy-peel adhesive, so they don't leave any sticky residue behind on reusable tubs and bottles.

For more information on how Count On it labels can help new and busy mums, pop by at www.count-on-it.co.uk.

Nurseries, Preschools and Nursing Homes

I have had some interest from Nurseries, Preschools and Nursing homes for Count On It food freshness labels for use in their commercial kitchens. I am in the process of putting together some promotional material for these sectors and would welcome any contacts that may benefit from our product.

Count On It® is an easy-to-use, versatile, scratch-off label which displays freshness at a glance, to help you manage your food inventory more easily and prevent unnecessary food waste. Count On It® can also help reduce food-related illnesses caused by eating food stored beyond it’s best.

Simply peel off a label, stick it onto the food’s packaging, scratch off the day’s date and relax. Count On It® to save you time, money and waste.

Count On It® labels can be used on all types of packaging including glass, cardboard, plastic and metal and come in a handy dispenser designed to sit in the fridge, ready to use. No need for a variety of labels and a pen - just peel, stick, scratch and track.

Count On It®

- removes confusion over opened products’ freshness
- helps manage your food safely
- assists with the rotation of products in the fridge and freezer - first in, first out
- reduces unnecessary waste
- helps maintain a clear system of organization - time reduced selecting products to use
- can be used on food storage tubs and bags
- is fridge and freeze-friendly

For all enquiries, contact me on lyndsey@count-on-it.co.uk

Thanks Lyndsey