Kneuss Güggeli is First in Central Europe to Introduce OnVu
Zurich, 24 September 2008 –
Food producers know the problem: they produce high-quality goods and send them on their way to retailers with a “sell by” or “best before” date. This shows consumers the length of time a product can be eaten before it loses any of its quality. The problem is that an ideal and constant storage temperature is just taken for granted. But what if the refrigeration chain is interrupted at some point? The product loses some of its freshness.
The Swiss company, Ernst Kneuss Geflügel A.G., is now the first producer in Central Europe to use a freshness detector – the intelligent OnVu label – which will accompany products in its new Kneuss-Bachofe-Güggeli range on their journey. It was developed by the companies Bizerba and Ciba and is a so-called time-temperature indicator, or TTI for short.
Martin Angehrn, head of OnVu at Ciba, explains precisely how the label works: “The special coloring in the middle of the apple symbol is charged with UV light at the time of packaging and shows up blue. It then begins to fade depending on time and temperature.” The longer the Güggeli is stored at room temperature, the faster the color changes. “The customer can then compare the degree of color saturation with a reference symbol and thereby determine whether the product has really been transported and stored according to the producer’s requirements,” adds Marc Büttgenbach, label specialist and sales director at Bizerba Labels and Consumables.
Daniel Kneuss, CEO of KNEUSS Güggeli, is convinced by the intelligent labels: “During the various transitions from loading to shipping to a new cold store, to an interim storage facility and finally to the end consumer, a lot can happen – it’s a long journey. With the TTI, we can show evidence of whether anything has gone wrong in the various stages. With these labels, we give our customers the means to check the freshness and quality of our products and thus underline the KNEUSS Güggeli philosophy of quality.”
Further information about OnVu is available at http://www.onvu.com or http://www.kneuss.com
About Kneuss
With a few dozen hens and the sale of fresh eggs, the poultry farmer Ernst Kneuss started his business in Mägenwil in 1960. The spring chickens (200–600 g) followed a little later. He developed a special feed so that the meat of his naturally raised Güggeli (chickens) was particularly flavorsome. Meanwhile, some 70 contractors belong to the association of Kneuss-Güggeli producers. They all attach the utmost importance to stable hygiene, regular health checks and animal-friendly rearing. The poultry and chicken products are prepared at a processing site in the Swiss municipality of Mägenwil and from there distributed across Switzerland.
Daniel Kneuss represents the third generation at the helm of the 48-year-old family business. The skilled butcher completed graduate studies in business at various trade schools in Switzerland.
“Swiss production, attention to quality and product innovation are our business card which we strive to uphold.”
About Bizerba
Bizerba is a worldwide operating, in many sectors market leading technology enterprise for professional system solutions of weighing, information and food service technology in the segments Retail, Industry and Logistics. Sector-specific hardware and software, efficient network-capable management systems as well as a broad range of labels, consumables and business services ensure transparent control of integrated business processes and the high availability of Bizerba-specific service features.
With over 2,900 employees, participations in a total of 34 companies in 22 countries and 54 national agencies worldwide, the Bizerba GmbH & Co. KG had a group turnover of 430 million EUR in 2007. The company headquarters is in Balingen. Other production facilities are located in Meßkirch, Bochum, Shanghai and San Louis Potosi (Mexico).
About Ciba
Ciba (SWX: CIBN) is a leading global company dedicated to producing high-value effects for its customers’ products. We strive to be the partner of choice for our customers, offering them innovative products and one-stop expert service. We create effects that improve the quality of life – adding performance, protection, color and strength to plastics, paper, automobiles, buildings, home and personal care products and much more. Ciba is active in more than 120 countries around the world and is committed to being a leader in its chosen markets. In 2007, the Company generated sales of CHF 6.5 billion from continued operations and invested over CHF 260 million in R&D.
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