July, 2010

Now in our 10th year of business, Jensen Associates has reached another milestone by adding the tenth consultant to our group of surveyors with expertise within the fresh produce and food industry.

The first quarter of this year saw the addition of two surveyors in central Italy. This was further extended with a surveyor in Northern Italy by the beginning of June 2010, at which time we also welcomed an additional surveyor in the British Midlands, bringing our number of surveyors covering the UK to seven in total.

Perishable Products is all we do

All our surveyors have been picked because they already have a proven track record and in-depth knowledge from having worked many years within the perishable industry, AND the right academic qualifications. In fact, all our surveyors are highly educated industry experts in their own right.

We are not trying to be a Jack-of-all-trades. The purpose of Jensen Associates has always been to focus on the international trade of perishables, and hence we do not undertake surveys of machinery, electronics and other "non-live" products. Fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, that's the stuff we know about, and that's where we offer our expertise.

To see the updated maps of our actual surveyor locations, please click on the small maps to the right.




Surveyor network extended to Italy

March, 2010

The Jensen Associates network of surveyors and consultants has now been extended to cover Italy as well. Already counting six surveyors in the UK alone, we now have two surveyors available working out of the Pisa/Tuscany area. By June 2010, this will be further extended to include one surveyor based in North Italy, after which we will be able to reach most parts of mid and Northern Italy within approximately three hours notice.

As with all our UK surveyors, each of our new consultants in Italy has extensive experience within the storage, packaging and transport of perishables. Their many years of working experience within the perishable sector is combined with relevant, high-level academic backgrounds, ensuring that they will be able to evaluate each case independently and apply the professionalism we require.

All surveys in Italy will be coordinated via our London office and can be ordered by calling
+44 (0)870 777 3875 (24-Hour), or alternatively by email to survey@jensenassoc.com

To view the exact location of each surveyor, please click on the map to the right.




Now don't forget the Water Footprint!

October, 2009

Carbon footprint and how to become carbon neutral is certainly all the rage right now. While many are already thinking about the other consequences of global warming, much of this tends to be overshadowed by the constant media focus mainly on the CO2 aspect. Which is indeed important, but even if carbon emissions were cut to zero overnight, certain changes are already affecting us, and will continue to do so.

One of these aspects is the water footprint. Fresh water for drinking and food production is already a rationed commodity in many of the key food production areas of the world, and this will only become more prominent in the years to come, assisted as well by the continued growth in world population. The question will not only be, will we have enough water, but where will the food come from!

These two will be closely linked together, as water shortages in the normal export areas for certain products will cause shortages in delivery. One example of this is the problems faced in the Murcia region of Spain in recent years, where water supplies have not always been a guarantee throughout the growing season, forcing many fruit and vegetable growers in one of the country's major production areas to abandon large parts of their crops. In turn water shortages cause the production to shift towards the areas who can "afford" to use water on their production. In short, food production will get increasingly dependent on the water availability, regardless of whether it is beneficial for the overall carbon footprint or not.

Murcia is just one place where this is already happening. The repercussions of this will be felt throughout the world, and in the UK especially from an import point of view. When calculating the UK's water footprint in relation to food production, and taking into account that all imported food is dependent on water availability elsewhere, the "external" water footprint contribute more than 50% of the UK total. With such a heavy dependency on foreign water resources, it is bound to have serious effects for the industry, and should certainly be a factor that the entire food trade should keep in focus.

While it is not practically possible to attain water neutrality in line with CO2 neutrality, efforts are being made to move the global freshwater consumption towards sustainable levels, the focus being on off-setting negative effects whenever possible.

A good place to find further details about current scientific research is the Water Footprint Network: www.waterfootprint.org



New Surveyor in Southampton

November, 2008

We have once again extended our network of surveyors in the UK, this time with a surveyor placed in and working out of Southampton.

This means that we now have a total of six surveyors covering the UK, all dedicated to the international trade of perishable products, giving us a truly unique experience base within this field.

For a detailed map of the location of our surveyors in the United Kingdom, please click on the map to the right.



Could YOU be a Jensen Associate?

September, 2008

Are you already an independent consultant, or wish to further your career in this direction?

Do you have a background within the fresh produce and/or food industry?

Do you hold a degree within fruit/vegetable biology or microbiology?

Do you have relevant experience from working with international trade of fresh produce, meat and seafood?

Would you like a job where honesty and personal integrity are some of the most valuable assets?

If so, it may be interesting for you to become part of the Jensen Associates international network of consultants. Our company is growing steadily, and for the past three years we have been adding new surveyors and consultants to our network, in order to keep up with the changing geographical demands of our growing client base.

At this point, we are mainly looking for additional consultants to join us in Scandinavia and Western Europe. This being said, we are however also interested in hearing from you if you are placed outside this area or in other parts of the world, in order to consider future expansion possibilities.

If interested, please write in full confidence to Carsten S. Jensen, Managing Director, e-mail csj@jensenassoc.com, or by post to Jensen Associates, 31 Harley Street, London W1G 9QS, United Kingdom.



Independent surveyors throughout the UK

April, 2008

Jensen Associates now offers a solid geographical coverage within the United Kingdom. We currently have five surveyors working out of different locations, which means that we can cover most urgent requests for surveys within approximately two hours, regardless of the geographical location

Each surveyor we deploy is highly experienced within the perishable industry, with many years of work experience and extensive, specialised education behind them. They fully appreciate and exemplify the importance of a high level of attention to detail, and of taking an independent view. Most of all, they all share the Jensen Associates passion for the food industry, and have the desire to make a difference and help improve handling and transport whenever possible.

For a detailed map of the location of our surveyors in the United Kingdom, please click on the map to the right.




2nd Perishable Product Transportation Seminar, October 15th &16th, 2007

August, 2007

For the second year running, Lloyd's Maritime Academy will be hosting a seminar on Perishable Product Transport. As last year, the seminar will be held in London as a two-day event, on October 15th & 16th, 2007.

While keeping the focus on adding value to perishable product transportation and claims prevention aspects, the format of the seminar has been upgraded to include two workshops, where the participants will have the chance to put the knowledge gained into two practical scenarios. The cases will then be discussed in a forum with experts in the various practical, technical and legal considerations arising.

Mr. Carsten S. Jensen, Director of Jensen Associates, will be speaking at the seminar again this year on the subjects of Technical Innovations in refrigerated transport, and the effects of improper handling. With the increased international focus on the environmental impact of food production and transport, he will as well look at the current debate on food miles and carbon footprint, and the impact this will have on the industry. Mr. Jensen will also be available during the two practical workshops.




Reefer Logistics Conference, June 6th-7th, 2007

April 17th, 2007

For the second year in succession, Lloyds Maritime Academy will host a Reefer Logistics Conference on the 6th and 7th of June 2007, with focus on the international transport of perishable products by sea, air and road. The event will this time be held at Hotel Meridien in Barcelona, Spain.

Following the success of the first Reefer Logistics Conference in Antwerp last year, this conference will have an underlying environmental theme. Jensen Associates has been invited to speak on the subjects of claims prevention and preparation of perishable products for transport. Other key themes that will be discussed at the seminar include:

- The evolving structure of the reefer logistics market
- The impact of energy consumption on food transportation and distribution
- Could green taxes change consumer behaviour?
- 360-Quality Assurance as a risk management tool

If you would like further information on Jensen Associates sessions or the event as a whole, or to sign up for the event, please visit www.lloydsmaritimeacademy.com/lm1863 or email Suzanne Jacobs at suzanne.jacobs@informa.com




Improved UK Coverage

January 30th, 2007

Jensen Associates now offers comprehensive survey coverage of Northern England. Until recently, our surveyors were located mainly in the Southern part of the country, which meant that our response time to assignments in the north could at times be long, depending on traffic conditions.

Following requests from our clients, we now have surveyors working directly out of the Liverpool/Manchester area. This means that response times in the north have been reduced significantly: Under normal circumstances, we can now attend locations in Liverpool and Manchester within the hour of notification, the north-east (eg. Hull, Grimsby) within a couple of hours, and Newcastle and the Scottish borders within three hours.

As with our other surveyors, these new appointments are proven industry experts with comprehensive knowledge of various perishable products and their properties, as well as extensive experience in how to handle and transport them. These are the cornerstones that enable us to make efficient and truly independent evaluations of a given scenario.




Perishable Product Transportation Seminar, November 15th &16th, 2006

October 4th, 2006

Lloyd's Maritime Academy will be hosting a Perishable Product Transportation Seminar in London on November 15th & 16th, 2006, focusing on claims prevention and how to retain quality and value during shipment and storage of perishable products.

At this event, Jensen Associates will be speaking on the technical aspects of refrigerated transport, as well as contributing to a transportation case study. We are joined by some of the key players in the perishable products transportation arena, to cover a range of relevant topics:

- Regulation, Compliance and Legislation
- Contracts of Carriage by sea
- Pre-shipment operations
- Carriage of goods - improper handling
- Post-shipment - the losses that can occur
- Technological advances
- Temperature monitoring
- Legal and insurance issues

Both days will provide a mixture of focus on the legal, operational and technological aspects of perishable product transportation, helping to reinforce the consequences of inadequate cold-chain management at all the stages of the supply chain. It will also provide an insight into the regulatory requirements, highlighting how legal intervention and insurance-based claims can be avoided.

If you would like further information on Jensen Associates sessions or the event as a whole, or to sign up for the event, please visit www.lloydsmaritimeacademy.com/lm1825 or email Charlotte Hayes at charlotte.hayes@informa.com