Pinguin Foods reviews 34 jobs

The consultation period began last month and will conclude in mid-December, a spokesman told FoodManufacturer.co.uk.

But the spokesman rejected reports that a total of 34 jobs will be lost from its Boston facility. Although 34 jobs are under review, the number of redundancies will be significantly lower, he said. “People are making mountains out of molehills here. There will definitely be some​ [job losses] but the number will be small,”​ he said.

He specifically highlighted BBC coverage of the review, which he described as “unfair”.

The firm, which is a subsidiary of Belgian-based global food firm PinguinLutosa Food Group, said the 34 jobs under review are spread across the site. But Pinguin has no plans to close the facility located on the Riverside Industrial Estate, said the spokesman.

Increased competition​

The consultation was part of a review of Pinguin’s UK business following pressure from rising raw material costs and increased competition from European food processors.

Pinguin produces a range of frozen vegetable, fruit, potato products – as well as convenience foods – for both the retail and food service sectors. In addition to Boston, the firm operates sites in King’s Lynn and Bourne.

Earlier this month, the publication Bourne Local​ reported that a dead rat discovered in a bag of frozen mixed vegetables had been traced to Pinguin’s factory in Bourne.

The bag was sold as an own-label brand in Co-op supermarkets.

A spokesman for the retailer said the company had stopped deliveries from Pinguin’s Bourne site but would continue to sell vegetables from the firm’s other sites.

Tests had revealed that there had been no risk to health from the contaminated product.

Meanwhile, for the nine months to 30 September 2011, PinguinLutosa recorded consolidated sales of €406.7M, which represents an increase of 17.2% compared with the same period last year, according to its latest financial statement.

Potato division​

Sales were bolstered by the potato division, which saw a growth of 4.8% despite a decrease in volume of 19.7%. This was attributed to a 27.7% increase in the sales price, which was introduced to offset rising raw material costs.

The frozen vegetable division saw sales fall by 4.5%, however this was attributed to changes in exchange rates. If the exchange rate for the pound had remained unchanged, sales would have increased by 3.8%, said Pinguin. The actual volume of sales fell by 4%.

Earlier this year, the company invested £13M in its King Lynn site in order to build a high speed freezing production line, a 10,000 pallet cold store, a more environmentally friendly biological effluent plant and a new product development centre.