Market Group Ventures Inc. (MGV, Inc.) is happy to announce that Jen Blaikie, our contract Graphics Artist has accepted the position to join our team full time.

As our newest addition to the MGV Team, Jen brings a wealth of creative design and graphic skills with her. Originally from the beaches of southern California Jen relocated to Victoria, BC which she now calls home.

Jen graduated with distinction from the Western Academy with a Diploma in Professional Photography and Advanced Visual Communications. Her ten years of experience in the creative field is certainly apparent and is greatly appreciated by the MGV team!

We are certain Jen will be a great asset as she continues to create company documents, flyers and promotional materials to support the efforts of everyone who is marketing Promolux Lighting and Econofrost night covers within the supermarket industry.

We look forward to working with Jen on future projects and we are confident that MGV and it’s supporting members will continue to see a difference in our promotional materials!

MGV, Inc. has supplied technology for the international retail food industry since 1975.

Market Group Ventures Inc. (MGV, Inc.) is pleased to announce Paola Levet has accepted the position to join the International sales team.

Paola will be working with the International sales team to assist in all aspects of customer service and marketing for both products (Promolux Lighting and Econofrost night covers) in all International sales regions.

Paola will be an effective member of the International Sales Team and brings with her a fluency in Spanish which is considered to be a great asset.  We are certain she will be a valuable asset in our continuing efforts to bring merchandising solutions to supermarkets world-wide and in providing excellent customer service in this growing market.

MGV, Inc. has supplied technology for the international retail food industry since 1975.

Market Group Ventures Inc. (MGV, Inc.) is very pleased to announce the addition of Paola Levet, to our administrative team for Promolux Lighting International and Econofrost Reflective Night Covers. Paola will be working with our sales team to assist in all aspects of customer service and marketing for both products in our North American and International sales regions.

Paola brings eighteen years experience in Mexico and Canada to MGV, Inc., including positions as Assistant to the Commercial Director for Latin America of Johnson & Johnson and Director of Corporate and Government Relations-Mexico for The Trust for Sustainable Development. She is fluent in English and Spanish and has an International Business Diploma from the Troeller Institute for Global Studies, Mexico City.

We are certain she will be a great asset in our continuing efforts to bring merchandising solutions to supermarkets worldwide.

MGV, Inc. has supplied technology for the international retail food industry since 1975.

Promolux Lighting International a pioneer in the field of lamp production technology, took note when it was alerted consumers to food safety violations in How Safe is your Supermarket

It’s tough to know how many people get sick from supermarket food, it’s not very serious, perhaps a case of what seems like the flu. People often don’t report food poisoning and if they do, it can still be hard to trace its source. But we do know food poisoning in general is a big problem in this country. The government’s Centers for Disease control estimates 5,000 people die and more than 70 million people get sick each year

Cameras were sent into stores where inspection records indicated a history of food safety violations. In 11 of the 18 stores visited, critical violations were uncovered that were capable of causing harm to a person in the form of food borne illness. It was reported finding critical violations like dirt and bugs around food, as well as potential sources of food poisoning from improper temperature control. Thermometers found food being kept either not cold enough or not hot enough. Food like fresh fish on sale in Texas was at least five degrees too warm.”

Bacteria can grow just as easily in a refrigerated unit if it’s not kept at the right temperature. The danger zone is the range of temperature from 41 to 135. And once you get in the middle of that, that’s where bacteria rages and reproduce. This is part of your job description, keeping foods safe. Keeping hot food hot, keeping cold food cold, and keeping the place clean. It’s a very simple direction.

Promolux International couldn’t agree more, and advises that light bulbs alone can increase surface temperature of foods on display by up to 8 degrees F, especially when placed too near the product. Ultraviolet radiation from general-purpose lamps encourages bacterial growth, enzymes, dehydration and oxidation which degrade food products quality.The Promolux solution is a line of specialty lamps designed for use in supermarkets and other locations where perishable foods are on display. Safe Spectrum Lamps play an important role in regulating surface temperatures of fresh foods and preventing food borne illness originating in foods kept at improper temperatures. Promolux Safe Spectrum lamps reduce the rate of heat and radiation damage to meats, milk, dairy and other products where bacteria can multiply rapidly and are approved in writing by health officials for meat display and other applications. Promolux Lighting products for quality commercial displays are available in all standard sizes and wattages
Promolux Lighting International is the first manufacturer to develop a light source that combines superior color rendering with reduction of harmful radiation. Promolux lamps apply Balanced Spectrum technology, a proprietary phosphor-coating process that produces a natural, balanced light and filters out damaging ultraviolet, infrared and visible spectrum wavelengths.

We all use lights and have a variety of lighting fixtures in our house but have you ever really stopped to think about the lighting industry in greater detail?  The lighting industry is more than just fancy lights and light fixtures for households

When asked what people think of when they think of lighting & the lighting industry most individuals responded by saying household lighting.  While the household fixtures represent a sizeable portion of the lighting market share, there are other segments of the market that are commanding more of the industry’s attention. 

For example, the commercial lighting industry that services the needs of large supermarkets, independent grocery stores, butcher shops and bakery shops.  Why is this market so different?  What special needs do these grocery stores have and how is lighting filling this niche market

To begin with the need for specialty lighting is very significant for supermarkets especially when it comes to designing a new layout for their store.  A store has many perishable food display cases and self-serve cases.  These display cases have different requirements when it comes to lighting and the type of lighting installed can mean a cost difference of thousands of dollars.

The first and foremost reason that a department manager needs to be concerned with what type of lighting they install in their perishable cases is because it is well documented that lighting causes oxidization of perishable products.  The UV radiation from lighting (visible and non-visible spectrum) can cause meat to turn color and dry out decreasing the value and integrity of that product.  Then there is the potential danger of bacteria growth which can be encouraged under the wrong lighting, again a concern of many department managers.

If a supermarket makes the wrong decision and installs incorrect lighting that was not specifically designed for perishable applications the end result will be sizable shrinkage (spoiled food that must be thrown out) and the dollar value loss associated with losing the sale and then having to throw out the spoiled product.

So what foods are affected by the effects of lighting?

Perishable foods including fruits and vegetables, deli meats, deli salads, cheeses, and packaged meat are the most severely affected by poor lighting.  Dairy products like milk may be affected as well as many other beverages including beer and wine, the only difference with beverages is that the type of packaging plays a key role in just how much oxidization of the product occurs.

Stores are becoming more conscious of their in-store practices and their need to increase product integrity.  Supermarkets spend thousands of dollars to get the customer through their doors, they spend thousands of dollars on store design and in-store advertising, all aimed at increasing sales and appealing to the customer.  As a consumer what is one of the first factors that influences your decision to buy a specific product?

That’s right, the appearance of the product. 

Your meat should look red, juicy and tender, not dark or brown, hard and dry.  Your salads should be fresh looking and maintain their moistness and freshness, the same thing for cheese, the color should be vibrant not faded and should be moist, not dry.

So what are the options store department managers have when it comes to increasing the integrity and quality of their perishable products?  First the department managers are responsible for convincing their store managers of the necessity for installing lighting that has been specifically designed for food applications, lighting like Promolux Balanced Spectrum low radiation lamps.

By installing lamps that are designed to reduce and eliminate those portions of the UV radiation the department manager is ensuring that his/her customers receive the freshest product while reducing their loss of shrinkage.  Supermarkets that are utilizing the products and technology available to them have the advantage over other supermarkets that are still deciding how they will manage their in-store operations and design. 

The importance of specialty lighting and energy management systems can mean the difference between a profit or a loss in a department but it could mean more than that, the consumer is looking to these supermarket giants as industry leaders who need to set an example and make a firm commitment to solving their in-store challenges in an efficient and eco-friendly way.  Throwing away tons of spoiled food is not an eco-friendly operation especially when it could have been prevented by installing the correct lights in the display case.
 

Promolux Safe Spectrum lighting helps keep food displays appealing and safe on the shelf.

Supermarket customers pay a lot of attention to selecting food for flavor and nutrition, and most of us assume that food from the supermarket shelf are both palatable and safe. Describing foods as diverse, complex and active systems, in which microbiological, chemical, enzymatic and physicochemical reactions can simultaneously take place, T. P. Labuza, food chemist from the University of Minnesota, points to a complex challenge all retailers of perishable foods face: that of delivering to discerning consumers a range of top quality food products that are always subject to deterioration and damage from the environment.

Grocers use the term to describe a period of time that a perishable food remains marketable acceptable enough for consumers to make the purchase. Many fresh foods are marked with an expiry date, after which the store can no longer guarantee the safety of the foods. Expiry dates are really educated predictions based upon data gathered from experience and knowledge of specific conditions and give consumers a general indicator of freshness.

Food retailers know that a longer shelf life means better profits, so providing optimal storage conditions for fresh foods like fruit and vegetables, meats, fish, and bakery products is of prime importance in the grocery industry. A lot of money is spent creating and maintaining well-lit, attractive displays, but the visual appeal may not last long enough. Changes inevitably occur in foods displayed on the shelf.

For retailers to effectively maintain the quality of perishable foods and to protect food safety, Labuza says, they require three things: understanding of these reactions, the influence of the environment and the successful limitation of the ones most responsible for spoilage or loss of desirable characteristics.

Deterioration of perishable food is accelerated when foods are on display, due especially to exposure to heat and light. Commercial lighting is often a source of retail food storage problems that mean shorter shelf life and wasted food. When exposure to light and heat are controlled, photo oxidation and loss of nutrients can be reduced. The correct supermarket lighting can reduce supermarket losses and translate directly into better profits for a more viable business.

Specialty lighting designed specifically for the food industry should meet stringent criteria of both low heat emissions and low levels of UV radiation. Promolux balanced spectrum lamps fulfill the expectations. Compared with everyday fluorescent and incandescent lighting products, Promolux lamps emit lower levels of heat, less ultraviolet radiation and reduced levels of damaging visible spectrum radiation.

Commercial lighting and heat emissions.

Bacterial contamination can occur at any stage in the food delivery chain and at a low level is not considered particularly harmful. Even though refrigerated cabinets and chilled ice beds are used to extend the shelf life of dairy products, meat, seafood and other fresh foods, commercial light fixtures can radiate enough heat to accelerate bacterial growth.

Bacterial growth must be controlled, especially when foods are left to sit on the supermarket shelf under hot lamps, where organisms can multiply rapidly to a toxic level capable of causing food poisoning in humans. Because Promolux food safe lamps emit less heat than everyday lamps,  bacterial growth is controlled and drying and shrinkage reduced.

Commercial lighting and ultraviolet emissions

Ultraviolet  light is electromagnetic radiation not visible to the human eye. UV radiation from artificial lighting can be responsible for photochemical changes that occur in the lipids, or fat, components of meats and other foods. Lipid oxidation causes off-flavors and eventually rancidity. UV radiation also damages sensitive food color pigments and other additives and leads to fading or discoloration and loss of visual appeal.

Both fresh bulk foods and packaged foods deteriorate while displayed under retail lighting. J. C. Acton from Clemson University, SC, advised that while modified atmosphere packaging or use of barrier films may reduce the rate of product deterioration, lighting environments, similar to temperature environments, will provide energy for oxidation to occur.

Many products are extremely sensitive to not only the UV portion of the lighting spectrum but also to light energy from certain portions of the visible spectral region. Yellow and green wavelengths predominate in everyday bright fluorescent lighting and cause color distortions.

Superior Lighting Solutions

Since shoppers generally prefer food items that look the freshest and most natural, and expect their purchases to retain their fresh food flavors and appearance for a reasonable time at home in the refrigerator, retailers should install Promolux lighting as part of their ongoing food safety strategy.

Promolux full balanced spectrum lighting is designed for true color definition and to maximize the shelf life of foods displayed for sale. Promolux is engineered to reduce the rates of growth of microbial pathogens by controlling levels of both visible and invisible emissions, to display fresh foods with their full balanced range of color, and to extend the shelf life of all perishable foods.

Promolux Low Radiation Lighting is Food Safe and Profitable for Bakery and Food Display Cases

Baked goods, donuts gourmet baked goods, baked cookies, cakes  birthday cakes, wedding cakes displayed under any kind of lighting fixture for bakery display cases will always suffer damage from the effects of heat and light radiation caused particularly by the infrared, and ultraviolet lights.

Safe Spectrum lamps reduce radiation while maintaining spectacular true color definition of all your fresh bakery goods in bakery shops.

Food Safety and Shelf Life is Serious Business

Changes in appearance, taste and smell quickly become evident in bakery goods displayed under lights.  Exposure to light and oxygen causes lipid oxidation, resulting in discoloration and dryness.  The loss of fresh baked fragrance and crispness not only make baked goods unappealing, but have been proven to indicate diminishing nutritional value, chemical changes and potential acceleration of the growth of dangerous pathogens such as bacteria and mold.

Temperatures above 70°F can cause a white film to form on the surface of chocolate and undesirable chemical reactions can occur in as little as four minutes of exposure to direct sunlight or four hours of exposure to fluorescent lighting.  UV and visible spectrum radiation emitted by conventional bakery display case lighting accelerate the growth of food borne pathogens in confections containing eggs and dairy products, even when the desserts are refrigerated and can ultimately produce the danger of food poisoning. Independent laboratory tests conducted at the University of Zaragoza confirmed that refrigerated bakery products displayed under Promolux lighting have lower surface temperatures and suffer less heat and radiation damage. Lower levels of pathogen growth means that fresh food are safer and have a longer shelf life.

Outstanding Bakery Displays and Merchandising

The pioneer in true and natural color definition lighting, PROMOLUX lighting gives retailers the ultimate merchandising advantage for fresh bakery displays. Unlike general purpose lighting, the balanced full spectrum does not distort colors with too much yellow or green.  Under color balanced lamps, all colors are more vibrant and appealing. 

Approved by health officials for all food displays, PROMOLUX lamps filter damaging radiation, protecting the appearance and flavor of delicate bakery goods and ensuring food safety.
 

A new study on light variation explores when imperfectly matched lighting is OK and when it’s not. Marilyn R. P. Morgan,Lighting Research Center.

Light sources of the same type are not always exactly the same color. That can cause problems for retailers, who suffer when such mismatches give customers an impression of lower quality.

Even though two lamps may produce white light, one might be a yellowish white while the other might be slightly blue. Such ever-so-subtle differences can make a store look less attractive. Upscale retailers must be especially careful about their lighting in order to maintain their images.

What people involved with lighting need to know is how closely individual lamps must match for a given application so the lamps can be obtained as inexpensively as possible while still producing attractive lighting. Producing lamps with no apparent color differences requires a manufacturing process with close tolerances, which can increase the cost of the lamps.

Just how much variation is acceptable? That depends greatly on the application. For example, if the lamps are close together and directly visible to the observer, a small color variation will be noticeable. On the other hand, if the same lamps are placed far apart, the color variation may not be noticeable.

Because color discrimination depends on the application, setting a general criterion for acceptable color variation for a lamp type may not be appropriate: What is excessive for some applications may be inadequate for others. How, then, can manufacturers and users of lighting products know how much variation is acceptable?

An Enlightening Study
The Lighting Research Center (LRC), based in Troy, N.Y., recently completed a research project in this area. As part of this effort, researchers, including Nadarajah Narendran, Sandra Vasconez, Peter Boyce, and Neil Ecklund, investigated at what point observers perceive a color difference between similar lamps when used in display lighting. “The LRC is working to improve lighting in both homes and businesses,” says Mark S. Rea, Ph.D., director of the center. “Part of that improvement is in the area of cost. Neither lamp manufacturers nor retailers should have to spend more money than is truly necessary to meet the needs of their customers.”

This study simulated the frozen food aisle in a grocery store using a mock-up refrigerator display case with two side-by-side cabinets divided by an interior wall so each cabinet could be illuminated separately. The experimental setup duplicated the light levels of typical freezer cabinets and was placed in a room that had general lighting similar to that of a supermarket. In the cabinets, the researchers placed common frozen food items such as entrees and ice cream. The researchers systematically varied the color of the lighting in one of the two cabinets while keeping the color in the other cabinet constant. Then they asked test subjects whether they could detect any difference.

The research confirmed that a single standard for consistency in color among lamps is not adequate for all situations. “With visually complex displays, such as those that include objects of many colors and lots of fine detail,” Vasconez says, “you find that people have a greater tolerance for illumination from lamps of different colors than they do otherwise.” The color of lamps for refrigerated grocery display cases can vary significantly before customers start noticing a color difference because colored objects inside the cases make color discrimination more difficult.

On the other hand, less visually complex displays, especially those that include white objects, require lamps made to closer tolerances. White objects easily reveal the color of any light that shines on them, so they pose a special challenge in lamp color matching. Lamps used as wall washers, for example, should be closely matched because wall and ceiling surfaces are likely to be white and relatively simple, visually.

Common Mistakes
What should retailers know about buying lighting products for their stores? The most common mistake buyers of lighting products make is not realizing that there are different colors of white. White lamps are broadly differentiated into warm white and cool white. Within these categories are different whites distinguished by color temperature. “Someone who doesn’t know that a 3000-K lamp will be yellow-white while a 5000-K lamp will be blue-white may order lamps randomly and put them up in the ceiling together, and that’s going to look pretty bad,” Vasconez says.

Retailers should stick with a single lamp manufacturer whenever possible rather than buying lamps from many different manufacturers. Two 3000-K lamps from the same manufacturer will probably look more alike than two 3000-K lamps from two different manufacturers. If it’s necessary to buy lamps from different manufacturers, it’s best to use them in applications where there will be visual complexity so customers are less likely to see any difference in color.

Lighting experts usually advise those in charge of maintaining facilities to replace all the lamps in a system together at fixed intervals rather than replacing lamps piecemeal as they fail. This “group relamping,” as the practice is called, can reduce the cost of operating the lighting system by saving on labor costs. It also keeps illuminance levels close to the design value for the facility. Another reason for group relamping is that it avoids mixing old lamps with new. Some lamps, especially metal halide lamps, shift in color as they age, so mixing old lamps with new ones may introduce color differences even though all the lamps have the same color temperature rating.

Vasconez has one more tip for retailers: “Conceal the light source whenever possible, especially if you think the lamps may not be exact matches. Some people will look up at the ceiling, for example, and they may be able to tell that one lamp is more yellow than another, but if the lamps are hidden it will be much more difficult for anyone to see a difference.”

Alternatives to Fluorescents
It’s to a retailer’s advantage to understand how consumers react to display lighting. Retailers can also start investigating alternative ways to light cases: There are other options besides the traditional fluorescents. Technologies such as metal halide lamps, fiber-optic lighting, or lighting-emitting diodes (LEDs) can provide solutions for specific lighting applications. Even though these technologies are notorious for variations in color among lamps of the same nominal type, they can still be used in applications where this variation is not noticeable.

Marilyn R. P. Morgan is a technical editor at the Lighting Research Center. The center is an interdisciplinary center of 40 professionals devoted to lighting excellence