News

Dissolvable stickers help wash your fruit

Fruitwash Labels initially look like ordinary produce stickers, but once you rub  them in water, they slowly dissolve into soap that help clean your fruits and  vegetables. The Fruit Soap is safe and helps remove harmful residue like wax,  pesticides, dirt and bacteria.

This smart idea was created by Scott Amron, who is currently looking for  investors for a 10 percent stake in the Fruitwash Label Intellectual Property  patents.

Ismena Clout elected BIFM Chair

The 11th Chair of the BIFM will be Ismena Clout, following her election by the Board at a meeting held last week. Liz Kentish has been named Deputy Chair.

Clout will take up her new role in July at the BIFM Annual General Meeting, succeeding current Chair Ian Broadbent.

Speaking after her appointment, Clout said: “I am very excited and honoured to have been voted as the next Chair – it is a real privilege and opportunity. The next two years are going to be fascinating as the economy continues to play such a dominant part in all our lives, and BIFM will continue to support, develop and inform members as together we strive to advance the profession.”

Clout will spend the next few months working closely with Broadbent to ensure a smooth transition into the role.

Liz Kentish will also take up her role in July 2012. That will mark a shift from two deputies to one, a change approved by BIFM members last year.

Ismena Clout is Key Account Manager for powerPerfector, a role she has had since June 2009. She focuses on partnering with facilities management companies around the UK. Prior to that, she worked as a client-side operational FM for over 10 years.

Liz Kentish is Managing Director of Liz Kentish Coaching Limited and works with FM teams to develop people and leadership skills.  She is also Chair of Women in FM, a special interest group at the Institute.

Cigarette vending machines now illegal

New legislation is set to reduce under age smoking as the sale of tobacco products from vending machines in England is banned from 1 October 2011.

The sale of tobacco products from vending machines will become illegal in England from 1 October 2011 making it harder for young people to obtain cigarettes.

It is estimated that around one in six (17%) of 11 to 15 year olds in the UK use vending machines as their usual source of cigarettes.

The ban is also set to be enforced in Northern Ireland on 1 February 2012.

Plans are underway to introduce similar legislation in Wales and Scotland.

The legislation in England is being implemented despite extensive lobbying and legal challenges by the tobacco industry over the summer.

A recent survey, commissioned by the British Dental Health Foundation, in the run up to Mouth Cancer Action Month in November, identified that around one in seven (13%) 12-16 year olds currently smoke.

Smoking is the major cause of mouth cancer in the UK. Drinking alcohol to excess, poor diet and some sexually transmitted infections (Human Papilloma Virus or HPV) are also known risk factors for mouth cancer which is likely to affect 60,000 people in the UK over the next decade.

Chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter, said: ‘The ban on the sale of tobacco from vending machines is great news.  Its importance is reflected by the vigorous attempts made by the tobacco lobby to challenge the legislation in the courts.

‘We hope the ban will make it harder for children to experiment with smoking and also cut off a readily available supply of cigarettes for nearly 50,000 under age smokers.

Teenager Thirst…….

An Auckland teenager has been extricated from a vending machine after getting his arm stuck while allegedly trying to steal a can of Coca-Cola.

Firefighters arrived to find a 15-year-old boy with his entire arm stuck up the vending machine at the Genesis Training Centre on Glendale Rd, Glen Eden.

Specialist tools were used to free him.

Earlier, fire service communication shift inspector Jaron Phillips said the boy’s “whole arm is up the Coke vending machine”.

Glen Eden resident Marty Williams, who lives across the road from the training centre, says there was plenty of activity on the street.

“First, a fire truck arrived and parked in the driveway and rushed inside. Then another fire truck arrived. Then an ambulance arrived.

“In between it all we’ve got two rubbish trucks trying to load bins in the street. It was classic, because who arrived next? The Coca-Cola truck,” he said.

“I feel sorry for the boy, but you’ve got to laugh.”

Is The ‘Buzz’ From Coffee Just A Placebo?

 

A new study suggests that the buzz people get from caffeinated coffee could just be a placebo effect. The University of East London conducted a small focus group with 88 participants. Some were knowingly given caffeinated coffee, while others were given caffeinated but were told that it was decaf, or given decaf coffee but were told that it was caffeinated.

The participants then underwent a series of tests to measure their mental performance, reaction times and mood. The study concluded that the people who thought they were drinking caffeinated coffee  (when it was actually decaf) did just as well as people who did have caffeine. The research indicates that the buzz we get from coffee is actually from thinking that we’re drinking caffeinated coffee, rather than from the actual effects of caffeine. Researchers wrote in the study that ‘both caffeine and expectation of having consumed caffeine improved attention and psychomotor speed’.

Another odd vending update!

Police in Florida said they arrested a man who “maliciously molested, opened, broke, injured, damaged and inserted his body parts” into a vending machine.

The Palmetto Police Department said Michael Aguiar, 20, denied assaulting the vending machine at Budick Coin Laundry at 11:30 p.m. Aug. 17 until police showed him surveillance footage of the incident after his Monday arrest, The Bradenton (Fla.) Herald reported Friday.

Officers said Aguiar then admitted to breaking into the vending machine and taking $10 worth of coins from it.

The police report said Aguiar “maliciously molested, opened, broke, injured, damaged and inserted his body parts” into the machine.

Aguiar was taken to the Manatee County Jail on a burglary charge and two violations of probation. He was ordered held without bail.

MARS LAUNCHES NEW TRIPLE CHOCOLATE BAR

Mars has announced the launch of the new Limited Edition Mars Triple Choc, a twist on the distinctive Mars Bar, chocolate nougat and chocolate caramel, covered in thick milk chocolate.

The Mars Bar remains the UK’s number one selling chocolate bar, and the launch of the Mars Triple Choc Limited Edition aims to build on the strength of the Bars category, which has seen growth of 13% over the last three years.

Innovation in the chocolate category is key to exciting and engaging consumers, as evidenced by the launch of the Snickers Maximus Limited Edition earlier this year.

New Product Development has been identified as a key contributor to market growth, accounting for 11% of value sales in 2010 and the launch of new Mars Triple Choc looks set to build on this.

Bep Dhaliwal, trade communications manager, said:

“Innovation is key in the market, but it can only take place on top of a successful and established brand portfolio.

Walkers unveils new campaign and packaging roll out

 Gary Lineker is to take a back seat in the latest advert for the Walkers crisp range following a brand revamp.The former England striker has been associated with Walkers for almost 20 years but, despite retaining his brand ambassador roll, Gary will be featuring less in its new ad.

The move comes as brand owner PepsiCo makes a decision to shift the marketing message to provenance in its latest push.

Walkers are a prominent brand in Snack Vending Machines across the country.

 

Hollington pub’s vending machine replaces village shop

The landlord of a pub in the Staffordshire Moorlands thinks he may have found a replacement for the disappearing village shop.Peter Wilkinson has installed a vending machine outside the Raddle Inn at Hollington which serves bread, milk, eggs, bacon and butter.He came up with the idea after failing to get planning permission from the local council for a shop in his pub.

The last shop in Hollington closed almost 20 years ago in 1992.

“Pubs need to diversify,” said 56-year-old Mr Wilkinson.

The nearest place to buy supplies is in Tean, three miles away.

Pub is the Hub

With only one bus a week, it is not so easy for some villagers to make the journey.

Mr Wilkinson said that the vending machine was stocked with only local produce and it was protected by CCTV.

The machines are made in Belgium and are already popular in Europe.

Mr Wilkinson said that, with hundreds of pubs closing down last year in the UK, he was always trying to find new reasons for people to visit his establishment.

“I’m trying to follow with Prince Charles and really make the pub the hub of the village, he said.

“Different income streams is the only way pubs are going to survive in the future.”

He has already converted a cottage on the land and built log cabins to provide holiday accommodation.

Prince Charles started the Pub is the Hub initiative in 2001. It encourages rural pub owners to diversify to provide services and support that would otherwise be lost from rural communities.

Chicken Vending Machine

During Easter an animal rights group in Germany called NOAH created a vending machine to raise awareness of battery farm chickens.

The machine placed 16 chickens inside small compartments in a mock vending machine that sold fresh eggs to raise awareness of conditions that battery farms store their chickens and make them work like a ‘machine’.

The vending machine was placed in the middle of a busy public square for passers by to see the conditions the chickens were being kept in. The demonstration chickens were only kept in the machine for 2 hours and were then returned back to their free range farm.