Lack of HGV Drivers Increases The Need For More Accurate Gas Flushing
More Accurate Gas Flushing Means More Guaranteed Shelf Life
A shortfall of HGV lorry drivers, created as a consequence of Brexit and the Government’s Covid restrictions, is threatening to cause food shortages in the UK. And when these delays are combined with the current limited availability of CO2 gas, we seem to have the conditions for a perfect storm.
Logistic companies are suggesting that the delay to more than 30,000 HGV driver tests, caused by the pandemic restrictions, plus the departure of approximately 79,000 European logistics workers to their home countries after Brexit, have triggered the shortage.
It is already being reported that, food deliveries are being impacted by the driver shortage, with some scaremongers suggesting that we could soon face shortages as bad as those at the start of the first lockdown. The Independent has reported that Tesco has warned the government that almost 50 tonnes of food is going to waste each week due to the driver shortage, and the Cold Chain Federation claimed in a recent article in The Guardian that the situation was a “real crisis for food supplies”.
And while CO2 shortages aren’t yet as bad as they were in 2018, it would seem, according to The Grocer, that the combination of two significant CO2 suppliers having maintenance issues at the same time, we could be heading that way.
Such times of crisis often bring clarity and a new focus to previously postponed improvements to production lines, that can accurately deliver precise gas flushing tolerances and reduce the number of leakers.
Working separately, or in tandem, the Dansensor MAP Mix Provectus and the Dansensor MAP Check 3 effortlessly help production managers ensure that their gas mix is digitally accurate and consistently correct. And with a digital stream of data for Paperless QA purposes, there is a a date stamped confirmation from the point of gas delivery.
Better control of gas delivered tolerances also means that only the minimum volumes of gas are delivered, making the most of the currently scare CO2 resource.
In combination with the Dansensor array of leak detection instruments – Dansenor LeakPointer 3 & 3+ and LeakPointer H2O, Lippke 5000 and LeakMatic – to choose from, we can also help ensure that the leak rate on product leaving your plant, has been reduced to a bare minimum.
To find out more about how the Dansensor range of gas flushing instruments can dramatically improve shelf life, please contact our sales team on 01223 492083 or via sales@tendringpacific.com
