Berry Gardens
Founded in 1972 as a small growers cooperative, Berry Gardens has grown into a growers’ group representing all the principal soft fruit production areas in the UK. Berry Gardens consists of a growers’ co-operative and a wholly owned marketing company providing selling, technical and support services to UK growers and overseas partners and suppliers.
Berry Gardens supplies products to leading UK food retailers and supermarkets including Aldi, ASDA, Morrisons, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose. The firm works with breeders on selecting and trialling the latest varieties of fruit, helps retail customers refine their offer and consumer tests its products to ensure it is delivering the best tasting fruit.
The Challenge
Complying with weight legislation is only part of the story. Avoiding contamination and ensuring the product is delivered using the highest hygiene standards is also vital.
Berry Gardens was seeking to ensure quality of product and compliance in terms of both weight and contamination of its finished product.
A checkweigher was required at the end of a production line, after a heat sealer, to check the weight of bagged fruit. Berry Gardens required speed and accuracy.
The Solution
Berry Gardens approached Yamato looking for a checkweighing solution that could address its compliance requirements because it too shares values of delivering innovation, value and service.
Yamato supplied Berry Gardens with a full-size combi checkweigher with metal detection from its I Series range. The I Series checkweigher features 3D interactive touch screen display, 300kg/3000N loadcell protection, a new digital loadcell, and three-step set up auto tuning.
All I-Series checkweighers are IP67 compliant as standard, built on an open frame structure with tool-free conveyor removal.
In addition to supplying the machine, Yamato advised Berry Gardens on how best to use the checkweigher to its full potential. Staff were trained on how to set up the machine and operate it to ensure consistency and compliance.
The Result
Combining advanced hygiene with high accuracy and speed, I Series checkweighers offer world–class operational performance. The checkweighers are designed to satisfy HACCP requirements and have additional features including wind-proof covers and transfer plates which limit disruption to the production line by cleanly rejecting out of specification packs to a reject bin or table.
The checkweighers allow Berry Gardens to comply with both the codes of practice for supermarkets (Grocery Supplier Code of Practice) and the British Retail Consortium global standards for food safety and packaging, while driving quality.