According to Luxus bread basket theft and loss has been a problem and has reportedly escalated of late. Luxus are looking to tackle the problem with unique new additives that can be used for traceable bread basket manufacturing.
James Ballantyne, sales manager at Luxus, said: "At Luxus we've been supplying the UK baking industry with our specialist 'closed loop' recycling service for 'end of life' bread baskets for a few years now. It had become increasingly apparent that despite our efforts to reduce carbon and save cost for bakeries by re-engineering their old bread baskets to re-enter their supply chains, that the major cost to bakers still remained unchanged – replacing the baskets once they have been lost or stolen.
"Our aim therefore, is to address the 'three C's' for bakers – carbon, cost and now crime by introducing aids to prevent theft. We are currently trialling the development of new technically advanced additives for Allied Bakeries as an anti-fraud measure for bread basket theft.
Ballantyne added: "The new additives will be used for the manufacture of traceable bread baskets to both deter and aid detection of theft. The addition of these unique additives will ensure that they are less desirable to secondary materials markets and are easier to detect, while maintaining the same high quality performance.
The bakery alliance, Bakers Basco, established to tackle the issue, said: "The theft of bread baskets and dollies has been a problem for numerous years. Replacement rates range typically between 40-100%."
Allied Bakeries supply chain director Jacquie Cahill added: "We welcome the efforts being made by suppliers, such as Luxus, to tackle this industry-wide issue. Baskets are used throughout our supply chain to deliver our bread and bakery products, and we incur enormous costs in replacing those that go missing during the process.? We believe in providing a quality product as cost effectively as possible, and fully support new innovations that reduce supply chain costs and the potential for theft."
