The MENA food sector has shown immense growth in the past few years and the region has the potential to become an emerging market leader, according to analysts. The importance of the region is enhanced by its exceptional location. It acts as a bridge between vibrant Asian economies, European-Mediterranean partnership opportunities and Africa’s significant potential for development. Economic growth in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia could surge as high as 6%-a-year, according to a new report from Capital Economics, a London-based firm. Making the most of these growth prospects is Mazola, the biggest food products manufacturer in the MENA region. The brand’s total sales and trade amount to AED 500 million, with 30,000 MT total sales per year. The manufacturer is Number 2 brand of corn oil in Kuwait, Lebanon, and Saudi as well as having similar brand leadership for Mazola’s mayonnaise range in Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi. The brand has been offering affordable products for consumers shopping through the military and co-op trade sectors, supplying quality oil, ghee and mayonnaise items. This has resulted in a 50% increase in sales in July, with a high possibility of this percentage increasing further before the year ends. Mazola have also experienced a significant growth in exports. With this endeavour, the brand has allowed numerous other consumers to benefit from Mazola products and their superior quality. One of the other new North African markets where Mazola has expanded its export operations to is Sudan. Another region that has reported immense returns for Mazola is Jordan. The country’s economy is on the rise and so is the consumption. “Mazola is gaining more popularity in the North Africa region and the region is going to be one of our main focus points for the coming year”, said Simon Gottfried, Vice President, Middle East & North Africa. According to reports, the expected regional growth rebound to 3.7 percent in 2016-17 is predicated on improving external demand for the North Africa region. North African exports are also expected to strengthen in 2015 and 2016 as the world economy improves. African economies will continue to grow in 2015 due to private investment and consumption, which have been key drivers of gross domestic product (GDP) over the past years, states the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects 2015 released in January. Africa’s GDP is expected to accelerate from 3.5 per cent in 2014 to 4.6 per cent in 2015 and 4.9 per cent in 2016. Increasing consumer confidence, an expanding middle class, improvements in the business environment and a reduction in the costs of doing business have also contributed to the continent’s economic growth. North Africa is expected to experience further acceleration in growth, from 1.6 per cent in 2014 to 3.9 per cent in 2015, respectively. The enhanced growth prospects for North Africa are underpinned by improving political stability in Egypt and Tunisia. Mazola continues to look for distributors for North Africa so that many more around the region can enjoy high quality products from the brand.

Food Philippines offers new trade opportunities for the country’s food industry as it offers premium, healthy and halal-certified food products. Demand for halal food has been increasing all across the world. A total of 24 food companies have been invited by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the export promotions arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), to represent the country in overseas exhibitions and trade fairs with the prospect marketing of healthy food products that are natural as well as organic. “There is an overwhelming feedback from the last year’s Gulfood participation, which only proves that there is a potent market in the Middle East which we can strongly influence,” said Rosvi Gaetos, executive director of CITEM. In response to the increasing demand for healthy and halal-certified food in the international market, part of the country’s objective this year is to expand food choices to offer to the buyers and to introduce new product lines. In 2015, the Food Philippines Pavilion garnered an impressive sales of $104.34 million, surpassing its record over the years. Breaking down top products from last year’s participation, 26 per cent of the total sales came from coconut water and juice; 23 per cent from dried mangoes, dried fruits and banana chips; and 18 per cent  from fresh fruits like cavendish bananas, pineapples, and mangoes. The Philippine delegation that participated at Gulfood 2016 hopes strengthen the market for the Philippine food products in Dubai. Dubai is a strategic trading point in the Middle East, located between Asia, Europe and Africa, which makes Dubai a melting pot of flavors and a strategic domain for Philippine trade. The GCC population is expected to grow beyond 50 million mark by 2020, which will incite the growth of various development sectors, including the food sector in the region. Demand for Halal Food “The United Arab Emirates is one of the leading trade partners of the Philippines. Establishing the Philippine Food Market in UAE will further develop our booming export industry in the Middle East,” said Gaetos. Food Philippines is a branding initiative that ensures food products made of quality, healthy, natural ingredients are derived from the Philippines’ tropical islands. It unifies the overseas promotional efforts of CITEM. Under this national brand, the Philippines is positioned as Asia’s most exciting sourcing destination for food exports, being one of the world’s top exporters of fresh fruits and marine products.

Lowest fresh-water consumption in the world, perfect wash results and intelligent technologies to further reduce operating costs and workload: HOBART'S innovative hood-type dishwashers PREMAX and PROFI provide first-class technology, thus enabling the Offenburg based company to set new standards in terms of economy and efficiency in this market segment, as well. With a fresh-water consumption of only 1.4 liters per rack, the PREMAX AUP is the most economical hood-type dishwasher in the world. Beyond that, its exhaust energy storage concept, which is a standard feature, is the most efficient exhaust energy saving system on the market. The fully enclosed 4-sided hood keeps the steam inside the system and prevents it from escaping into the room. In this way, up to 3,120 kWh of energy can be saved per year, while improving the kitchen climate significantly at the same time. Hobart Diswashers The PREMAX AUP creates further savings of up to 680 Euros per year and provides constantly perfect wash results thanks to its revolutionary PERMANENT-CLEAN automatic soil removal. This novel system makes pre-wash superfluous and reduces the operator's workload considerably. By automatically pumping the soil from the machine directly into an external collector, the high wash water quality level is kept, even if the wash ware is extremely soiled. This eliminates the need for time-consuming fresh-water refilling during operation. With its PROFI AMX, HOBART also noticeably reduced water, energy and chemical consumption. The innovative SENSO-ACTIVE resource management system alone accounts for a 20 percent operating costs reduction compared to common machines. Innovative technology reduces the fresh-water consumption of the PROFI AMX to a mere 2.0 liters per rack. A constant high level of wash quality is provided by the new intelligent wash water control. It autodetects the soiling level of the wash water and adjusts the amount of rinsing accordingly. HOBART'S hood-type dishwashers PREMAX and PROFI are the perfect warewashing solution for commercial use with high wash capacity. Therefore, the company from Offenburg focuses on utmost flexibility to meet customer requirements: The machines are available as standard, large and double rack versions.

Chocolate refrigerated cabinets These refrigerators are specifically conceived for proper storage of chocolate. An advanced electronic control system allows for setting temperature and H.R. between 40% and 80%, optimal conditions for a correct storage of your creations, avoiding the appearance of sugar and fats on the surface and the subsequent loss of quality and taste. The SUGAR BLOOM is a nightmare to the Chocolatier. A speckled chocolate appearance and a white surface layer is exactly what you want to avoid. This problem can be easily solved by storing your chocolate goods in a cool, dry place. The chocolate has to be well-tempered, silky and smooth in the texture. EVERLASTING Refrigerated Chocolate Cabinet creates the perfect environment for your chocolate, CONSTANTLY MANAGING HUMIDITY AND TEMPERATURE. In fact, if these two values are not set correctly, condensation on the chocolate can cause the sugar rise to the surface. When the humidity evaporates the sugar with the chocolate crystallises and the surface can easily become rough.

Rational surprised professional chefs across the globe a few months ago with a cooking appliance that senses, recognises, thinks with the user and ahead, learns and communicates with its user. The SelfCookingCenter® 5 Senses is the first appliance on the market that does not work according to pre-set programmes. It intelligently adjusts all processes to the relevant product, its size and quantity. The SelfCookingCenter® 5 Senses controls the temperature, humidity, cooking time and air velocity 60 times a minute, so that at the end a dish tastes and looks exactly as the chef specifies at the touch of a button. The appliance even recognises the condition of a product. It independently and optimally adjusts the conditions in the cooking cabinet to it. "The art of cooking lies in achieving consistently good results, although the conditions are different every time," says Alexander Wimmer, Area Vice President BD EMEA at Rational. Sometimes the products are larger or smaller, sometimes it is the quantities that vary. "The SelfCookingCenter® 5 Senses is intelligent enough to determine these differences," says Alexander Wimmer and adds: "Unlike most models on the market, our appliance is not programmed to fixed processes. It considers the current conditions and determine what has to be done every time so as to ensure consistent quality." This is a significant advantage, especially with frequent staff changes. Regardless of who is on shift, every dish turns out exactly as the chef wants it to. The appliance informs the chef of which settings it applies when and why. "Rational is giving a lot of information away. From the user's point of view, this is sensational," says Marc Stämpfli, Managing Director of Schweizer Heer AG. His company has been selling catering equipment for more than 40 years. Like most of his colleagues, he is convinced that Rational has once again significantly raised the standard in professional kitchens. ABOUT RATIONAL GROUP The RATIONAL Group is the worldwide market and technology leader for hot food preparation in professional kitchens. The company, founded in 1973, employs around 1,400 people, nearly 800 of whom are in Germany. Rational was floated in the Prime Standard of the German stock market in 2000 and is currently represented in the SDAX. The primary objective of the company is to offer its customers maximum benefits at all times. Internally RATIONAL is committed to the principle of sustainability, expressed in its policies on environmental protection, leadership and social responsibility. Numerous international awards bear witness to the high quality of RATIONAL’s work year on year.  

By Bilal Al Halabi, Al Halabi Ref. & Kitchen Equipment www.al-halabi.com   Dubai Municipality is to launch a new grading system in the first week of April, with approximately 14,000 restaurants, cafeterias, catering companies and other food establishments being introduced to a colour coding system that will evaluate the level of hygiene and food safety. “The big difference,” explains Bobby Krishna, Principal Food Inspection Officer at Dubai Municipality, “is that the results of the grading system will be on display so that the consumer can clearly see the standards of the catering outlet before they choose whether they want to eat there.” The colour coding will be divided into five distinct categories, based upon a business’s score out of 100. A green card will only be awarded to those that score 95 or over, whilst a pale green card, equivalent to a rating of between 90 and 94, will signify a satisfactory rating. A yellow card, scoring from 75 to 89, will denote a conditional pass, with a red card showing that the eatery has failed by recording either two or more major violations or in excess of seven minor violations, giving a score from 60 to 74. There is one more colour to take note of – white. This is presented to those establishments that were given a red card but have successfully carried out the modifications required in order to bring them back up to standard. If improvements continue, a green card will then be given during the next inspection. So what exactly is a red card issued for? “There are a variety of reasons, from the way food is handled through to it being stored at inappropriate temperatures. Anything that threatens the health of the consumer or the safety of employees,” Bobby says. This increased transparency will be a boon to those eateries that achieve green card status, for in the eyes of the consumer they will be trusted and safe places to eat. The colour coded system, of course, is used throughout the world, with Bobby concluding: “We have copied the best global practices and adapted them for the local marketplace.”

By Bilal Al Halabi, Al Halabi Ref. & Kitchen Equipment www.al-halabi.com   There’s a hot new trend in Dubai – mobile catering or food trucks – with an incredibly wide range of food being sold from stalls, kiosks, carts, trailers, vans … it’s only limited by the imagination! And the choice of food is just as broad, from ice-cream and fresh juices through to burgers and hot dogs. A rapidly growing scene of top quality artisan cuisine, this ‘street food’ movement has become a social phenomenon and is considered to be one of the most innovative and engaging developments in catering for many years. Of course, there are certain challenges when setting up such an operation; one of the more obvious being how to design and install a kitchen that is practical and professional in such a small space? The answer for many mobile caterers is, as ever, Al Halabi. Anyone who deals with Al Halabi will know that they love food … they are what you might call ‘foodies’. They discuss food all day, every day with people who work in the catering and food manufacturing industries and, because they are foodies and have a real passion for what they do, they think that the new street food revolution is simply amazing. Any fellow foodies will agree. And it is that enthusiasm that has driven Al Halabi to design, manufacture and install some of the finest mobile catering solutions ever conceived. It’s a rather special and distinct market sector, and is undoubtedly a little more complicated than a ‘bricks n’ mortar’ restaurant, not least because of the limited space. However, Al Halabi is able to provide everything from tabletop fryers through to chillers, and has the design expertise to be able create a food truck kitchen that not only functions perfectly, but looks smart too. From hot food units through to coffee bars and from crepes through to donuts, Al Halabi is able to supply and install the perfect equipment for your business. But naturally, you wouldn’t expect anything less from the MENA region’s No.1 commercial kitchen designer, manufacturer and installer, would you?

Export abattoir built by nine Ethiopian Diasporas in Somali State has gone operational. The abattoir, whose capital investment is 172 million Birr, has the capacity to slaughter 2000 cattle per day. The abattoir was inaugurated by Livestock and Fisheries State Minister, Gebregziabher Gebreyohannes (PhD) and President of Somali State, Abdi Mohammed. According to Gebregziabher, power lines and roads leading to the facility were constructed by the Somali State at a cost of 6 million Birr. He further noted that USAID extended 40 million Birr support for the project. Patricia M. Haslach, US Ambassador to Ethiopia, on her part noted that the US Embassy is working to improve the development partnership between Ethiopia and the US. The abattoir’s plan for the export of high quality meat was reviewed by Dr. Faisel Abdikadir, manager of the abattoir. According to Fortune the institution creates 200 permanent jobs and 1000 others will benefit from supplying cattle for slaughtering.