0:00:02 > 0:00:03JAUNTY MUSIC
0:00:07 > 0:00:10We've become a nation of supermarket shoppers.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14We buy a staggering 90% of our food from supermarkets.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20Not everyone's a supermarket fan, but we do rely on them
0:00:20 > 0:00:23to give us the food that we want, when we want it.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25Now, that is a huge challenge.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28And I want to find out how the supermarkets do it.
0:00:32 > 0:00:33Whoa!
0:00:35 > 0:00:39I'm going behind the scenes with Britain's biggest food retailers.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42This may be the nuttiest thing I've ever seen.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46'I've got exclusive access, to discover how they source...'
0:00:46 > 0:00:47Let's grill one.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50'..how they make...'
0:00:50 > 0:00:52No! Slow it down, please.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57..and how they move our food, on an epic scale.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59HE CHUCKLES
0:01:00 > 0:01:02It's a massive operation.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06It runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09I'm tracking it season by season.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14And this time it's Christmas.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18And the supermarkets are gearing up for their biggest
0:01:18 > 0:01:20challenge of the year.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25I'll see what it takes to deliver millions of turkeys.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28There's hours and hours worth of work here.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30I hate turkeys.
0:01:30 > 0:01:35Find out about the battle to make sprouts a crowd pleaser.
0:01:35 > 0:01:36Lots of bitterness. Lots of iron.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Oh, that's like drinking petrol.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41And reveal how they make sure, we've got
0:01:41 > 0:01:43enough of our favourite Christmas tipple.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46That's like a great big paddling pool.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52Supermarkets have a huge influence over our everyday lives,
0:01:52 > 0:01:56but exactly how they bring us our food has been hidden, until now.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08MUSIC: "Winter Wonderland" by Dean Martin
0:02:08 > 0:02:10Winter.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13The days are short and the temperature's plummeting,
0:02:13 > 0:02:15but at least there is one thing for us to look forward to -
0:02:15 > 0:02:17Christmas is coming,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20and for supermarkets that makes winter their most important season.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24Christmas is make or break for them.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28A good one can be the difference between a bad and a successful year.
0:02:30 > 0:02:35We spend nearly £8 billion in the supermarkets in December.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37And go through the checkouts over 100 million
0:02:37 > 0:02:39times in the final week.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42No wonder it's murder out there.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46I try to get out of it whenever I can.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49What do you hate about Christmas shopping?
0:02:49 > 0:02:51Crowds. Too many people.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53The last-minute shop where you realise you've forgotten
0:02:53 > 0:02:57something and you have to go out on Christmas Eve and that's murder.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59What's your idea of Christmas shopping heaven?
0:02:59 > 0:03:00Send the missus.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02HE CHUCKLES
0:03:03 > 0:03:05Well, I suppose Christmas food shopping is just something
0:03:05 > 0:03:07we've just all got to get through.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10But if it's a headache for you, imagine the supermarkets.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12They've got to deal with not one Christmas dinner,
0:03:12 > 0:03:1350 million of 'em.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17In the week before Christmas,
0:03:17 > 0:03:21food sales go up a whopping 36%.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Meeting that demand tests the supermarkets'
0:03:24 > 0:03:26logistics to the absolute limits.
0:03:26 > 0:03:32So how do they make sure we don't show up to find empty shelves?
0:03:32 > 0:03:33BEEPING
0:03:36 > 0:03:39MUSIC: "Also Sprach Zarathustra" by Richard Strauss
0:03:40 > 0:03:43For a start, they need places like this.
0:03:44 > 0:03:45Oh, my word!
0:03:47 > 0:03:50This may be the nuttiest thing I've ever seen.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58Welcome to one of the biggest distribution depots in Britain.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01I'm standing in a half-mile long building,
0:04:01 > 0:04:06it has 1,200 workers and over four miles of conveyor belts.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10It supplies Sainsbury's stores around London.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13The man in charge is Baden Morton.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17Have we got food going out at this pace,
0:04:17 > 0:04:2024 hours a day, seven days a week?
0:04:20 > 0:04:21Yeah. Yeah.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24Although today is a busier day than normal, of course.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31It's the weekend before Christmas.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33Festive food is coming in from 500 suppliers,
0:04:33 > 0:04:37and is being divvied up for individual branches.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40This is a machine called a sorter and we're picking,
0:04:40 > 0:04:42we're preparing the orders to send to the shops.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44So each of these chutes represents a store.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47That's right and we have 89 stores all the way
0:04:47 > 0:04:48round at the moment.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54Barcodes on each product tell the system which store chutes to
0:04:54 > 0:04:55send it down.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01Christmas is flying by. 300 boxes a minute.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04All our smoked salmon, cheese, butter, the lot.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09I think I've just seen the cream for my Christmas pudding go past there.
0:05:09 > 0:05:10Yeah, you name it, we supply it.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16The supermarkets now have over 100 distribution
0:05:16 > 0:05:18depots around the country.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22They've become the heart of a network that connects
0:05:22 > 0:05:24the supplier to the store.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28And to our shopping baskets.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31Can I ask you, seriously, when everybody else is looking
0:05:31 > 0:05:34forward to Christmas, are you starting to get worried?
0:05:34 > 0:05:36Yes! For months beforehand. Definitely.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41If any of the UK's depots went into meltdown,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44our Christmas dinners would be in jeopardy.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46But to make sure that doesn't happen,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49this one has its own mission control.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51This is the...belly of the beast.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53BADEN CHUCKLES
0:05:53 > 0:05:55Hello, guys.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59And what we've got over here are, some of the guys who actually
0:05:59 > 0:06:03control the automation from up here, just introduce you here to Ben.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08'Ben is the very thin, fat controller of the depot.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11'From his crow's nest, he monitors every chute,
0:06:11 > 0:06:15'belt and worker to keep this place running.'
0:06:15 > 0:06:16What on earth is that?
0:06:16 > 0:06:17A whole lot of fun, my friend.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21Each of these screens represents a bit of this enormous warehouse.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24- Correct.- You are the eye in the sky. - Definitely.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26What can block our Christmas here?
0:06:26 > 0:06:29At any one moment, you can get, ten, 20 faults, sort of hit
0:06:29 > 0:06:32you all at once, and it's knowing in what order to call those faults in.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35If we do get a red mark, if we do get a block, what do you do then?
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Got a team of jam-busters, they're there to clear any blockages
0:06:38 > 0:06:41or faults that may happen around the sortation system.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44The belts, the inducts and such.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48- They're the International Rescue of the food chains. - Spot on. If anything, yeah...
0:06:48 > 0:06:50- You've got one, you've got one, there's red.- There you go.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53That's an induct, that's where the work's fed on, we've got
0:06:53 > 0:06:54a fault in there.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58A box of cream hasn't scanned properly.
0:06:58 > 0:06:59The sorter has stopped
0:06:59 > 0:07:03because it doesn't know what to do with the box.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05It's time for Ben to deploy the jam-busters.
0:07:05 > 0:07:06Hello, Al.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10Just, mate, could you pop along to the blockage on PLC 17, please?
0:07:12 > 0:07:15These depots are so vital to the way the supermarkets operate today,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18they can't afford any hold ups.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22Hello Alan, is it all clear, mate?
0:07:22 > 0:07:24'Yeah, yeah, all clear.'
0:07:26 > 0:07:29The depot is running late with its orders today.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33There are two huge electronic boards that show the workers whether
0:07:33 > 0:07:37they are delivering Christmas on time, or slipping behind.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41So although it's saying it's in red, it's also saying gaining,
0:07:41 > 0:07:43so the situation's improving.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46I suppose you could call it a motivation tool,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48it allows us to tell the guys how things are going.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51I wouldn't look at that and think, "Oh, good old Ben's up there
0:07:51 > 0:07:54"looking after me." I would think, "Ben's down there looking at me!"
0:07:54 > 0:07:56That is not comforting, can I tell you.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58What would be comforting - "Ben's gone home!"
0:08:03 > 0:08:06I've been in the food business for decades,
0:08:06 > 0:08:08but this is a whole new world for me.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11I've never seen anything on this scale.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Behind all our festive food there's been months of planning
0:08:19 > 0:08:23and preparation, and there are some products the supermarkets
0:08:23 > 0:08:25absolutely have to get right.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29One supermarket chain has what it calls red products.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32That's things that they simply must have on their shelves
0:08:32 > 0:08:35at Christmas, otherwise they're worried their customers will go
0:08:35 > 0:08:36and shop elsewhere.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39But one of these red must-have Christmas lines,
0:08:39 > 0:08:41is something that we...love to hate.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45- Do you like these? - No.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47- Do you like these? - I hate Brussels sprouts.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49- Do you like these? - No.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51- Do you like these? - No, I hate them.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53Do you like them? I'll carry on following you around.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Do you want to try one?
0:08:58 > 0:09:00Yeah, not good.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03If you don't like them, why do you have them at Christmas?
0:09:03 > 0:09:04Tradition.
0:09:04 > 0:09:05I have no idea, mate!
0:09:05 > 0:09:07It's not a good idea, is it?!
0:09:07 > 0:09:11What if I said you'd never have to have another Brussels sprout again at Christmas?
0:09:11 > 0:09:15I'd probably be quite happy, to be honest, but my mum wouldn't be.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19Sprouts have been a traditional Christmas veg for around 300 years.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23But I'm struggling to find anyone who actually likes them.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25This isn't easy, is it?
0:09:25 > 0:09:29But there must be some secret sprout eaters amongst us.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31Because at Waitrose alone,
0:09:31 > 0:09:35Brussels sprout sales have gone up by nearly a third in the last year.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37So, what's changed?
0:09:37 > 0:09:41How have they brought us sprouts that we actually want to eat?
0:09:47 > 0:09:50I've come to a colossal sprout farm in Lincolnshire to meet a man
0:09:50 > 0:09:53with the answer.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56Waitrose technologist Paul Yarrow has been part of a silent
0:09:56 > 0:09:59revolution in sprouts.
0:09:59 > 0:10:00It's mid November,
0:10:00 > 0:10:04and today he's making sure his order for Christmas is on track.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11But getting to him is no walk in the park.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13Good morning to you, Gregg.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15Morning, mate! This is fun.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18- Good to see you. - How you doing?
0:10:18 > 0:10:19Very well, thank you.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21What, what are we doing here, what are you doing here?
0:10:21 > 0:10:26So, what's happening this morning is, all these sprouts are being topped.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31These sprout plants are known as trees because they're so big
0:10:31 > 0:10:33and tall.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37Tearing the top part off the stem encourages them to put their energy
0:10:37 > 0:10:42into the sprouts themselves, rather than making the plants taller.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45And this helps make the sprouts all a consistent size.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49The problem is, if it comes to...Christmas time,
0:10:49 > 0:10:54a big sprout's going to cook a lot slower than a small sprout.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Right, of course. So you want them all the same size.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59So what we want to do is encourage these smaller spouts to get
0:10:59 > 0:11:01bigger, so they're all cooked at the same time.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09This farm doubles its workforce in the lead-up to Christmas
0:11:09 > 0:11:11and runs two ten-hour shifts a day.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16I'm actually really impressed at the pace that these guys work.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18They're good, they're using both hands
0:11:18 > 0:11:21and walking down the field at a good pace, snapping all the tops out.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24- That's quite incredible, isn't it? - Yes.- Can, can we join in?
0:11:24 > 0:11:27Absolutely, Gregg, shall we get on the end? Yes.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31So what you want to do is every top, just snap it off and drop it.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39Supermarket food technologists like Paul are hands on.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45He works with suppliers to choose what varieties get planted,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48and regularly checks up on the crops.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50It takes a special sort of breed of man who wants to wade
0:11:50 > 0:11:52waist high in Brussels spouts, mate.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Absolutely!
0:11:57 > 0:12:01Paul's big thing is taste, and for the last 13 years,
0:12:01 > 0:12:03he's been part of a mission to find sprouts we'll love.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06- So we're going to munch a couple, are we?- Yes, Gregg.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09So, what I do when I come out to the fields is we're looking at crops in
0:12:09 > 0:12:12the field, seeing how they're growing, but what we want to make sure
0:12:12 > 0:12:15is that the flavour and the taste is good as well as the appearance.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18So, let me get this right, most of the time, you are knee deep
0:12:18 > 0:12:20in wet sprouts, then you have to eat them?
0:12:20 > 0:12:22That's the enjoyment of my job.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Get paid well do you, Paul?
0:12:24 > 0:12:27I don't think well enough sometimes, Gregg.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30Paul's job might not be the most glamorous,
0:12:30 > 0:12:34but he knows all about our love-hate relationship with sprouts.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36A lot of people are turned off by sprouts,
0:12:36 > 0:12:39they think of sprouts as mushy, bitter and quite nasty
0:12:39 > 0:12:42and actually the thing they leave on side of their roast.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45The bitterness comes from a cluster of naturally-occurring
0:12:45 > 0:12:48chemicals called glucosinolates.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51These chemicals are part of the sprout's defence
0:12:51 > 0:12:55mechanism against being eaten by animals and insects.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57AND part of what we taste when we eat sprouts.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02But they affect each of us differently.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06Some people can taste that bitterness a lot stronger
0:13:06 > 0:13:08- than others.- It's a genetic thing? - Absolutely.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Some people will taste a Brussels sprout and go,
0:13:11 > 0:13:13"I can't taste any bitterness in it at all."
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Others would actually screw their face up and spit it out.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17All to do with genetics.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22There are around 50 human genes which can influence how we
0:13:22 > 0:13:25respond to the bitterness in sprouts.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29Some of us have lots of these genes, others very few.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32The more of these bitterness genes you have,
0:13:32 > 0:13:35the more of the bitter qualities of a sprout you'll taste.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40I have to confess, I'll stomach them, but I'm not a huge fan.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42- Because of that bitterness of them? - Yeah.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46'I'm definitely sensitive to bitterness.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49'Like lots of us, I've hated sprouts since I was a kid.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53'Paul has a drink that will recreate the sprouts of my childhood.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56'It's packed with the bitterness chemicals you find in sprouts.'
0:13:56 > 0:13:59- So, cheers to you. - Oh, that stinks!
0:14:06 > 0:14:08Lots of bitterness, lots of iron.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10Oh, that's like drinking petrol.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13And that's a memory that's put you off sprouts in the past, I'm sure.
0:14:13 > 0:14:14Oh, mate!
0:14:16 > 0:14:20You may think that all sprouts are the same, but they're not.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24In fact, suppliers use 25 different varieties to cover
0:14:24 > 0:14:27the UK's seven-month sprout season.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30In the 1990s, a crusade began to create newer,
0:14:30 > 0:14:33sweeter varieties, and these sprout seeds are the result.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39Scientists took sprout varieties that had the lowest
0:14:39 > 0:14:42levels of bitterness, and bred them with each other.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45The results were amazing.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49By reducing the bitterness,
0:14:49 > 0:14:51the hidden sweetness of the sprouts emerged,
0:14:51 > 0:14:56and the sweet varieties are on the supermarket shelves over Christmas.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59Are people aware they can get a less bitter sprout?
0:14:59 > 0:15:01I think we've been doing work quietly about it,
0:15:01 > 0:15:04and actually it's, it's softly, softly
0:15:04 > 0:15:08so that, the, the bitter sprout has been going over several years,
0:15:08 > 0:15:11and the sweeter sprout is coming in, and, hopefully what that
0:15:11 > 0:15:14means is, the childhood memories of a bitter sprout and the screwed up face,
0:15:14 > 0:15:18is going to be less because the sweeter flavour's coming through.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22The development of sweeter sprouts is one reason why the sales
0:15:22 > 0:15:26of this little green veg have gone up 30% in the last year.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30'So, can Paul's sweet sprout win over a sprout-aphobe like me?'
0:15:36 > 0:15:39Mmm. They are nowhere near as bitter.
0:15:39 > 0:15:40That's like a sweet small cabbage.
0:15:40 > 0:15:41- Absolutely.- Fantastic.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44- I'm pleased you've enjoyed them. - No, no. I really did like them.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46Got some butter?
0:15:48 > 0:15:51Paul still has a nail-biting few weeks ahead.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54He might have got more of us to like Brussels,
0:15:54 > 0:15:58but getting them on our plates is no easy task.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03I'll be back to see why this innocent-looking veg is such
0:16:03 > 0:16:05a tricky customer.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18For lots of us,
0:16:18 > 0:16:21one of the things at the top of our Christmas shopping list is booze.
0:16:23 > 0:16:28And the supermarkets are now where we buy most of it, especially wine.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31Supermarkets have completely conquered the wine world.
0:16:31 > 0:16:3540 years ago, they were just a small drop in the wine business.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39Today, they sell a whopping great 84%
0:16:39 > 0:16:41of the wine in Britain.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45At Christmas, we spend 40% more than normal on wines.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50Our favourites in the festive period are all white. Sparkling wines,
0:16:50 > 0:16:55Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio are the top sellers.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58So, how do the supermarkets keep up with us?
0:17:00 > 0:17:04It's three weeks before Christmas and in nearly 2,500
0:17:04 > 0:17:06Tesco stores across Britain, they are
0:17:06 > 0:17:10restocking their wine shelves, ready for the Christmas rush.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Dan Jago is the head of wine for Tesco.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16- Busy day here.- Very exciting day today.- Why?
0:17:16 > 0:17:17Beginning of Christmas.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20We've got three actual weeks to go before Christmas, but, this is
0:17:20 > 0:17:24the day where we really launch our final set of offers for customers.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26We put a lot of new stuff on the shelves.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28We take down some of the stuff that's probably not
0:17:28 > 0:17:30relevant for the last two or three weeks.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32Dan and his team us previous years'
0:17:32 > 0:17:36sales data to identify exactly what we drink at Christmas.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Customers said, "On Christmas Day, we like to have something really special.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42"If I've got the family coming round, I want to show them
0:17:42 > 0:17:44"something a little bit different, a little bit extra."
0:17:44 > 0:17:48- We get all posh at Christmas, do we? - Exactly what we do. We get all posh at Christmas.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52Their predictions are so precise, they know
0:17:52 > 0:17:57we change what alcohol we buy each week in the lead-up to Christmas.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00In early December, it's all about party time.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03So they roll out the cases of beer and Cava.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07But by mid December, their data shows we move towards buying posh
0:18:07 > 0:18:08bubbles for the big day.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11Roughly, how many wines are you in charge of here.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14We sell at Tesco one in every four bottles of wine
0:18:14 > 0:18:16consumed in the United Kingdom.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18Including restaurants and hotels and everything else.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20Oh, my word.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23You must be the biggest wine buyer in Britain.
0:18:23 > 0:18:24The world.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28- You are the biggest wine buyer in the world.- Yep.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31In the UK, we spend more in the supermarkets on wine than
0:18:31 > 0:18:33anything else.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38But the supermarket shelf is not the natural home for a bottle of wine.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40I thought wine was supposed to be kept in the cool and the dark,
0:18:40 > 0:18:44but supermarket wine is on the shelf under hot lights.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47It's a form of impact called light strike that causes the wine
0:18:47 > 0:18:48to go off.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51So you'll notice that the vast majority of white wines don't
0:18:51 > 0:18:53actually come in clear glass bottles,
0:18:53 > 0:18:55they come in this slightly off-set green bottle.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57The other thing we do is we make sure the lights
0:18:57 > 0:19:00we use in our supermarkets are of a certain sort.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05Normal supermarket lights are fluorescent, and emit wavelengths
0:19:05 > 0:19:10of light that over time can destroy the aroma and taste of wine.
0:19:10 > 0:19:11So, in a lot of stores,
0:19:11 > 0:19:15they fit yellower lights over the wines that are less destructive.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18So, in the wine aisle, you'll see we've got slightly lower-intensity lights
0:19:18 > 0:19:19than we've got elsewhere.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21So these are the wine aisle lights, come here,
0:19:21 > 0:19:26you've got a completely different sort of light. And it really makes a difference.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29But the biggest headache for Dan is how to transport
0:19:29 > 0:19:32millions of litres of wine across the world.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35- What's a nightmare for you? - Running out of stock.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37The worst thing that could happen for me is we run out of stock,
0:19:37 > 0:19:40and a lot of this wine's got to travel a very long way,
0:19:40 > 0:19:43so we've got to order it four, five, six months in advance, so making the
0:19:43 > 0:19:47right call in July for what you've seen today, that's quite difficult.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49To make sure we can get the wine we want
0:19:49 > 0:19:54when we want it, they've come up with some ingenious solutions.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56MUSIC: "The Onedin Line Theme" by Aram Khachaturian
0:19:56 > 0:19:58Like this.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05Making its stately way down the Manchester Ship Canal is
0:20:05 > 0:20:07Tesco's latest delivery of wine.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13On the last stage of an epic 10,000 mile,
0:20:13 > 0:20:16seven-week voyage from Australia.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18I cannot believe,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21you've got this much wine on the Manchester Ship Canal.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24- Welcome to Manchester. - Incredible!
0:20:27 > 0:20:29Under our feet, how many litres of wine are there?
0:20:29 > 0:20:32You could get 130 containers on board,
0:20:32 > 0:20:34each one full of 26,000 litres of wine.
0:20:34 > 0:20:3626,000 litres times 130?
0:20:36 > 0:20:39- I can't do that maths. - Me neither.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44However, someone with a calculator has told me that this
0:20:44 > 0:20:48boat can carry three and a half million litres of wine.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52But the supermarket's secret isn't the quantity,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55it's the fact that there's no glass involved.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59All of this wine, there's not one single glass bottle.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02Not unless the crew have got one down below in the galley but,
0:21:02 > 0:21:06what we are doing is moving large volumes of wine as efficiently
0:21:06 > 0:21:10and as carefully as possible around the world.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14I've got visions of an old boy in Australia, a real artisan, filling
0:21:14 > 0:21:18each and every bottle lovingly, that's not happening at all, is it?
0:21:18 > 0:21:20No, it's not, Gregg, and not really any more.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23Maybe 40 or 50 years ago, when you were a young lad but no,
0:21:23 > 0:21:25not any more.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30Once the wine is safely through customs,
0:21:30 > 0:21:35Dan can reveal how he transports all this wine without any bottles.
0:21:38 > 0:21:39GREGG CHUCKLES
0:21:39 > 0:21:41There it is.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44That's like a great big paddling pool.
0:21:44 > 0:21:50Who knew? They're moving wine around the world in giant bags.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52Come and have a look at this. Feel that.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56Why is that so hard? It's like a piece of wood.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00It starts off as a completely air-free small bag,
0:22:00 > 0:22:02and you fill it up with nothing in it,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05so there's no air in there at all, so it's in effect been
0:22:05 > 0:22:09filled into a vacuum, so it's filled absolutely to tight capacity.
0:22:09 > 0:22:10Nothing moves.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13The liquid in there is in effect almost a solid mass
0:22:13 > 0:22:15when it's being transported.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18Bags are much lighter than bottles,
0:22:18 > 0:22:22so they're cheaper to transport and they don't break.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25And there's another big advantage.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27Because they're so tightly filled,
0:22:27 > 0:22:31they minimise the amount of oxygen the wine comes in contact with.
0:22:32 > 0:22:37Too much oxygen can harm the colour, flavour and smell of the wine.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43The bags are now drained into huge vats.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48- So, this is an hour later. - This is.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51And, you can see that most of it's come out now.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54It's only now that the precious cargo can go into bottles.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58The supermarkets are doing this with high-volume
0:22:58 > 0:23:00wine from all over the world.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04From South America to Australia and South Africa.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09Thanks to innovations like the giant bags, the wine
0:23:09 > 0:23:13arrives in as good a condition as when it left the vineyards.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16So, I'm including myself in this, that we drink a lot more wine and
0:23:16 > 0:23:19we're much more knowledgeable now than we ever were in this country.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22- Years ago we didn't bring great quantities. - We didn't, we couldn't.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25In the last 40 years, the wine industry's been revolutionised,
0:23:25 > 0:23:27we're able to drink wines we could never have done
0:23:27 > 0:23:29and more wines from further away that are clean
0:23:29 > 0:23:31and fresh when they arrive on the shelf.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35Ha-ha! Well, that is it.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38The reason the supermarkets can supply us Brits
0:23:38 > 0:23:41with wine from all over the world is not just amazing
0:23:41 > 0:23:43logistics, it's enormous plastic bags.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47HE CHUCKLES
0:23:53 > 0:23:55Over the Christmas period,
0:23:55 > 0:23:59supermarkets serve over 100 million customers.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03And that can lead to something that us Brits love to hate.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05Queuing.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08You've done your shopping. You got to the tills.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11The kids are climbing the walls or somebody else's are.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13The last thing you want to find is a massive queue.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16Well, thanks to some new smart technology, you're less likely to,
0:24:16 > 0:24:20because they know you're going to head for the tills before you do.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22MUSIC: "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell
0:24:25 > 0:24:29When queues start to build up, supermarkets try to keep us
0:24:29 > 0:24:31happy by opening extra tills.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34But spotting when it's getting chocker at the checkouts
0:24:34 > 0:24:37isn't always easy in a crowded store,
0:24:37 > 0:24:40so they employ an eye in the sky to help.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44Mike McNamara is Tesco's head of technology.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51So, these are infrared cameras, wee things that look like smoke detectors
0:24:51 > 0:24:54above each of the checkouts, and what they're
0:24:54 > 0:24:57doing is they're taking an infrared image of the checkout queues.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02And when you'll see when somebody enters the frame,
0:25:02 > 0:25:04like this lady here, coming along,
0:25:04 > 0:25:08she's represented by this red dot which comes in and joins the queue.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10And there another person has just walked through
0:25:10 > 0:25:12and again joining the queue.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17The data from these infrared cameras gives store managers a constant
0:25:17 > 0:25:21readout of exactly how many people are waiting at the checkouts.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23So they can try and tackle any tailbacks.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30The cameras are also used by other supermarkets.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33But Mike is now experimenting with something more ambitious.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Tackling the queues before they form.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39A couple of our stores we're trying the infrared cameras over,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42over the entrances, so to try and predict what the
0:25:42 > 0:25:45queues are going to be in about a half-an-hour's time.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49The entrance cams count our trolleys
0:25:49 > 0:25:52and baskets as we walk into the store.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55The system then uses the average time we spend shopping
0:25:55 > 0:25:58to predict how many checkouts they will need to have open.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02They've calculated that, with a trolley,
0:26:02 > 0:26:05we'll take around 45 minutes to get through our shop.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10But when we grab a basket, we're at the checkouts within ten minutes.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13Except, it turns out, we're not so predictable.
0:26:15 > 0:26:16You know, some people take 20 minutes,
0:26:16 > 0:26:19some people bump into their mates and take an hour and a half,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22so getting the mathematics right to predict what the queues
0:26:22 > 0:26:26are going to be in a half an hour is really, really, really difficult.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29So, they're not there yet, but pretty soon
0:26:29 > 0:26:33we could well say goodbye to the great British queuing tradition.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35In the supermarkets at least.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45I'm on a mission to find out how the supermarkets source,
0:26:45 > 0:26:48make and move our food in the run up to the biggest
0:26:48 > 0:26:51event in the shopping calendar - Christmas.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54More food goes through the checkouts during the festive period,
0:26:54 > 0:26:57than at any other time of year.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00And the food items we buy most of at Christmas are...
0:27:02 > 0:27:04..at number three...
0:27:04 > 0:27:07mince pies. At number two...
0:27:07 > 0:27:08chocolates.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12And at number one...
0:27:12 > 0:27:13it's potatoes.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20And there's another bestseller that wouldn't even have
0:27:20 > 0:27:23registered on shopping lists when I was a kid.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27Smoked salmon seems to be absolutely everywhere at this time of year.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30Supermarkets have taken it from a rare luxury to something
0:27:30 > 0:27:33that's a must-have on everybody's Christmas table.
0:27:34 > 0:27:3840 years ago, smoked salmon was seriously hard to come by.
0:27:38 > 0:27:43Now, we buy three and a half million packs of it in December alone.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47The first thing you need to produce huge volumes of smoked salmon
0:27:47 > 0:27:49is huge volumes of salmon.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52So I'm on a special Christmas trip to the Scottish Highlands
0:27:52 > 0:27:56to find out exactly how you produce salmon, to order, en masse.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01I'm heading to a fish farm in Mallaig in the north west
0:28:01 > 0:28:03of Scotland.
0:28:03 > 0:28:04I'm here to meet Ally Dingwall,
0:28:04 > 0:28:08the man responsible for fish welfare at Sainsbury's.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10- Ally?- Gregg.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12- Hi, Gregg. Pleased to meet you. - Good to meet you.
0:28:12 > 0:28:13Very, very good to meet you.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15Fish eggs?
0:28:15 > 0:28:17These are salmon eggs.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21So this is the start of the life cycle of Atlantic salmon.
0:28:21 > 0:28:22That's actually salmon caviar.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25We could have that now on a bit of crostini.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28I wouldn't recommend that cos these guys are alive, you can see they've
0:28:28 > 0:28:31got eyes, they're past that stage where you might want to eat them.
0:28:31 > 0:28:32So this room...
0:28:32 > 0:28:34has got about two million eggs in it.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37That extrapolates potentially to about 8,000 tonnes of fish.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39That's a lot of fish.
0:28:39 > 0:28:408,000 tonnes!
0:28:40 > 0:28:43That is a big smoked salmon and scrambled egg breakfast.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46- Yeah, it is yeah. - That is phenomenal.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50How long between egg and fish on a plate?
0:28:51 > 0:28:55From hatching to harvest, we're looking at about three years.
0:28:55 > 0:28:59So, for Christmas, in three years' time, it starts here.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02You have to plan three years in advance?!
0:29:02 > 0:29:05Yeah, pretty much that's it.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09The growth of salmon farming has been meteoric.
0:29:09 > 0:29:11Up until the late 1960s, all salmon
0:29:11 > 0:29:12we ate in the UK was wild.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17Since the '70s, salmon farms have sprung up
0:29:17 > 0:29:23at an incredible rate, growing salmon in huge underwater pens.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28But with the growth of salmon farming came controversy.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32Top of the list, animal welfare, food safety,
0:29:32 > 0:29:34and the effect on the environment.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37Farm fishing hasn't always had a great name, has it?
0:29:37 > 0:29:39Well it's quite a young industry,
0:29:39 > 0:29:42it's only really 40 years old, so like any industry it's gone through
0:29:42 > 0:29:47an evolving process so, in the early days it learnt a lot of lessons.
0:29:47 > 0:29:48Been some bad press,
0:29:48 > 0:29:52and a couple of food scares but it's a completely different
0:29:52 > 0:29:54industry now, to what it was, you know, 20, 30 years ago.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56Completely different.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59I'm coming at this from a shopper's point of view, we're just confused,
0:29:59 > 0:30:01we don't know what fish is sustainable and what's not.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04We don't know whether to trust farm fishing or not.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07What would you say to people then that are still worried about farm fish?
0:30:07 > 0:30:10So, if you look at something like the Freedom Food standard,
0:30:10 > 0:30:12you don't have to take our word for it, that the
0:30:12 > 0:30:16fish are grown to a higher welfare standard, that's an independent
0:30:16 > 0:30:20standard, developed by the RSPCA and audited by Freedom Foods.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22Independent stamp.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28Today, nearly all of the fresh and smoked salmon we eat is farmed.
0:30:29 > 0:30:31Wow. It's a floating farm.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35Yes, this is a freshwater loch site.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40Farmed salmon are grown to order, by carefully managing
0:30:40 > 0:30:42their natural life cycle.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44Wild salmon start life in fresh water,
0:30:44 > 0:30:49before migrating to the sea, and that happens in farmed salmon too.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52When they are young, they look nothing like
0:30:52 > 0:30:55the silver-skinned fish we see on the shelves.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59Looks a bit like a trout, doesn't it? You see the, spots on it.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03So, it's a classic kind of freshwater fish, and that fish'll change
0:31:03 > 0:31:08into the classic salmon shape and silvery flanks that you and
0:31:08 > 0:31:12I would associate with being a, you know, a typical salmon, so to speak.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14I'll put this guy back, actually.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19In the wild, salmon move to the sea to mature.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23It only happens during six weeks in spring, when the days get longer.
0:31:26 > 0:31:27On the farms,
0:31:27 > 0:31:31they can trick them into thinking it's spring for up to 30 weeks.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34This means they can get a steady supply of mature
0:31:34 > 0:31:36fish across the year.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39- What does the light do? - We're mimicking nature.
0:31:39 > 0:31:43These, have just come out of winter, they're getting 24-hour light
0:31:43 > 0:31:46for about a couple of months, they think it's spring, and they
0:31:46 > 0:31:50are ready to go to sea at the end of that two-month period under light.
0:31:50 > 0:31:51Brilliant.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54They think it's getting warmer, they start getting ready,
0:31:54 > 0:31:57- preparing themselves for sea. - They think it's spring.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00As they would in the wild, in the spring the wild fish goes down the
0:32:00 > 0:32:04river out to sea, it's exactly the same as you would see in wild fish.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06- That is nuts. - Welcome to salmon farming.
0:32:06 > 0:32:07That is nuts.
0:32:09 > 0:32:14Salmon farmers also use a surprising way to replicate the fish's
0:32:14 > 0:32:16epic journey out to sea.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19You're moving the fish by lorry.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21Absolutely. Best way to do it.
0:32:21 > 0:32:25The fish are perfectly happy in those tanks on that truck,
0:32:25 > 0:32:27for that hour's journey up to Mallaig to the well boat.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30You're, like, hoovering them up through a pipe from the tank,
0:32:30 > 0:32:32into there, and then drop 'em in the sea.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35Yeah, it's top-quality kit though.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38I don't suppose many people realise there are lorry loads of fish
0:32:38 > 0:32:39being driven around the Highlands.
0:32:39 > 0:32:41Not many, but you and I know.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45Ally and his suppliers need to be sure that there is enough
0:32:45 > 0:32:48fish being produced to meet demand.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51Before they head off to their new saltwater home,
0:32:51 > 0:32:54it's time for a fishy roll call.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56Fish! Loads of them.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59Each and every fish is counted,
0:32:59 > 0:33:01and then sent down the flume to the truck.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04So you can see the fish coming down in the pipe here.
0:33:04 > 0:33:06There's going to be about 25,000 on that truck,
0:33:06 > 0:33:10so they've got just over 15,000 just now, so out
0:33:10 > 0:33:13of this site, in a year, we'll transfer about three million fish.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15That's quite a lot of trucks.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17Can I get up on the tuck and have a look?
0:33:17 > 0:33:18Sure, let's go.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26All year round, trucks full of fish are hurtling round the Highlands.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30But you've got to ask yourself, is there really any need for all
0:33:30 > 0:33:33these fish to pick up so many road miles?
0:33:35 > 0:33:39Forgive me, but why don't you just leave them in the fresh water.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42Well, the farming life cycle just mimics the wildlife cycle,
0:33:42 > 0:33:44so the fish are ready to go to sea.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47Plus, the freshwater environment doesn't have the same
0:33:47 > 0:33:48carrying capacity as sea water.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51It's very sensitive in balance so it just wouldn't make sense,
0:33:51 > 0:33:53to grow the fish to a much larger size
0:33:53 > 0:33:56and put more nutrients into the freshwater environment.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02The fresh water can't cope with millions of mature salmon.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04All the waste from their faeces
0:34:04 > 0:34:07and food would damage the ecosystem in this small loch.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12Out at sea, the waste is diluted much more.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16Although the water quality still has to be closely monitored,
0:34:16 > 0:34:20it's a better environment for the salmon to spend their adult life.
0:34:21 > 0:34:22I like this.
0:34:22 > 0:34:23It's good, isn't it?
0:34:23 > 0:34:25Yeah. Let's grill one.
0:34:25 > 0:34:27HE CHUCKLES
0:34:28 > 0:34:32It'll be some time before I'm let near this lot with my griddle pan.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35These salmon will now spend two years in the saltwater farms
0:34:35 > 0:34:37out at sea.
0:34:42 > 0:34:44And most days, at midnight,
0:34:44 > 0:34:47fully-grown salmon are brought back to the mainland.
0:34:47 > 0:34:50Tonight is one of the deliveries for Christmas.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53- That's an impressive sight - Yeah.
0:34:53 > 0:34:58So the...the smolts that you saw going to sea this morning...
0:34:58 > 0:35:01in two years' time they'll be making their journey back
0:35:01 > 0:35:03here for harvest, on this boat.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09Gregg, this is Hendry, he's the well boat skipper,
0:35:09 > 0:35:10he's the man in charge.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13This is a very different atmosphere than I expected,
0:35:13 > 0:35:16it's really very serious, and very technical.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19I feel like I'm on some sort of spaceship or something.
0:35:19 > 0:35:21Yeah, there's a lot of technology here.
0:35:22 > 0:35:27Hendry McNicol monitors the fish through cameras.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30He controls the side arm to move the fish from tanks in the boat.
0:35:32 > 0:35:37This slowly encourages the salmon to swim down a pipe at the harbour-side,
0:35:37 > 0:35:39that leads into the processing plant.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43- How big are those fish right now? - They're 4.4kg.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46From a pink egg, to this big fish - three years?
0:35:46 > 0:35:47Yeah.
0:35:47 > 0:35:50And it's been watched ever single step of the way.
0:35:50 > 0:35:51Yeah, absolutely.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53I recognise that one.
0:35:54 > 0:35:55He's smiling, look.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01Some of the salmon will go direct to the stores to be sold fresh.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04Others will be sent to be smoked, the last stage,
0:36:04 > 0:36:06before they're ready for us to enjoy.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10You hold a packet of smoked salmon in your hand,
0:36:10 > 0:36:14at Christmas time and you'd have no idea, no idea.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18This is a lot of technology for a slice of smoked salmon.
0:36:18 > 0:36:19Yeah.
0:36:19 > 0:36:23Most of the salmon consumed in the UK these days
0:36:23 > 0:36:26is produced using this sort of technology.
0:36:26 > 0:36:31Every Christmas, we buy 2,000 tonnes of smoked salmon in the UK.
0:36:31 > 0:36:35That takes nearly a million whole fish to produce.
0:36:35 > 0:36:36Wahey!
0:36:36 > 0:36:38Here's some of the fish from tonight's harvest.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41This is the end of a three- year cycle.
0:36:41 > 0:36:45See, you've got a four and a half kilo farmed Scottish salmon.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47It's a fantastic fish.
0:36:47 > 0:36:48And the important thing is,
0:36:48 > 0:36:51these are going to be on the shelf this Christmas.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55- Good job. - Yeah. All down to me.
0:36:55 > 0:36:56All down to you.
0:36:56 > 0:36:57BOTH LAUGH
0:36:57 > 0:37:02Mass farming of fish like this has its critics, but it's turned
0:37:02 > 0:37:05a luxury item into a cheaper food that more of us can enjoy.
0:37:12 > 0:37:17Nothing bears the brunt of our huge Christmas supermarket shop
0:37:17 > 0:37:19more than the trolley.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22We love to moan about them, but the modern trolley is
0:37:22 > 0:37:28the product of decades of research and some serious engineering -
0:37:28 > 0:37:30German engineering.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34Seven out of ten British trolleys are built here in Stuttgart,
0:37:34 > 0:37:40by global trolley giant, Wanzl, run by Gottfried Wanzl.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44This is our assembly hall.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47Here is assembled up to 8,000 a day.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51Here's a red one, this is Germany, and then you can see over
0:37:51 > 0:37:54there Britain, which are just being passed forward.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58Over there we have some Tesco trolleys and Lidl, and the green
0:37:58 > 0:38:01ones they go for Middle East even, yeah, the green ones over there.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06Gottfried's factory makes trolleys for supermarkets
0:38:06 > 0:38:10from the Middle East to Iceland, each with their own specific design.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14And there is a special place in Gottfried's heart,
0:38:14 > 0:38:17for the steel-wired, zinc-plated, British trolley.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22These trolleys are typically British.
0:38:22 > 0:38:24But typical for the British trolleys is the rounded,
0:38:24 > 0:38:27there's a rounded edge, or a rounded corner in front.
0:38:27 > 0:38:31If you hit an obstacle you don't crash so much like in a car,
0:38:31 > 0:38:36or so, so this is typically British, and to have a main fleet trolley
0:38:36 > 0:38:40and to have a little sister, a daily shopper, for the light trolley
0:38:40 > 0:38:44as we call it, this couple, I think is also quite unique.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46The idea came originally from Britain.
0:38:46 > 0:38:51Gottfried is the smiling face of the Wanzl trolley empire,
0:38:51 > 0:38:54but his number two, Dr Sattler, takes a tougher approach.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00He bashes, tilts and drops trolleys, to check
0:39:00 > 0:39:04if they can withstand the punishment we give them back in Blighty.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11The tested trolleys get rolled over this 10,000 times.
0:39:14 > 0:39:19And he checks the trolley isn't going to tip over too easily.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22We want to avoid accidents in the supermarkets.
0:39:22 > 0:39:26You can imagine, the child is hanging to one side of the,
0:39:26 > 0:39:30of the basket, some terrible accidents can happen.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35And there's nothing we hate more, than wonky wheels.
0:39:35 > 0:39:41But Dr Sattler is adamant these trolleys are almost indestructible.
0:39:41 > 0:39:45Our casters which we are producing here do not fail in this test.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49We can pass 1,000 obstacles and nothing will happen at all.
0:39:49 > 0:39:51So, there you have it.
0:39:51 > 0:39:55The clattering British shopping cart is, in fact, German
0:39:55 > 0:39:58and has been tested within a inch of its life.
0:40:06 > 0:40:10Earlier, I discovered how that familiar Christmas veg, the sprout,
0:40:10 > 0:40:14has been changing into something we might actually want to eat.
0:40:15 > 0:40:17But as the big day gets closer,
0:40:17 > 0:40:21the simple sprout sets the supermarkets a different challenge.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25If we don't find them on the shelves,
0:40:25 > 0:40:27we're likely to head for the competition,
0:40:27 > 0:40:30so I want to know how they make sure that doesn't happen.
0:40:33 > 0:40:35Eight days before Christmas,
0:40:35 > 0:40:38I've come back to meet Waitrose sprout guru, Paul Yarrow.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43This is it, this must be serious sprout time.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45Yeah, eight days out from Christmas,
0:40:45 > 0:40:49really working hard to make sure we have all the sprouts on the shelf.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53- This is vital for you now then. - Absolutely.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55This is the eight days when we've got a real push,
0:40:55 > 0:40:58making sure we've got all the sprouts in store for Christmas.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02The pressure is on Paul and his growers,
0:41:02 > 0:41:06because sprouts have to be harvested at the last possible minute.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11As a former greengrocer, I know that sprouts have a much shorter
0:41:11 > 0:41:13shelf life than most other veg,
0:41:13 > 0:41:18and it's all to do with the rate they use up their energy.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22Well, look we're all aware that some vegetables last longer than others,
0:41:22 > 0:41:24but there is a fascinating reason why.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27Plants, vegetable plants have energy in them,
0:41:27 > 0:41:29and when you cut them they'll only last as long as they'll
0:41:29 > 0:41:33burn their energy, so, something little like a Brussels sprout,
0:41:33 > 0:41:37or a spear of asparagus, burns its energy really quickly.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40It's like a sprinter, it's the Usain Bolt of vegetables.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42Where something that burns its energy slower,
0:41:42 > 0:41:46like a potato or a carrot, that's more of your, your Mo Farah.
0:41:46 > 0:41:50Sorry, Mo. I know you're not a potato, but, you get my point.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54Harvesting these little blighters in frosty or wet
0:41:54 > 0:41:56conditions can be a nightmare.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59But today, they've got a weather window,
0:41:59 > 0:42:03so the pickers are going all-out to harvest as much as they can.
0:42:03 > 0:42:05It's time for me to take my place on the hopper.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11On this machine, large blades cut the sprout trees at their base,
0:42:11 > 0:42:15and us pickers feed the trees through a sprout stripper.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19The thick stalks end up back in the mud,
0:42:19 > 0:42:21and the sprouts end up in the hopper above my head.
0:42:23 > 0:42:28I'm steering this, this cutter, with my feet
0:42:28 > 0:42:31and I'm working the blade, and then you have to get this
0:42:31 > 0:42:35absolutely right, and quick, straight down the hole.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38It's a bit like feeding an angry robotic beast.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42This is hard work, innit? Physically demanding.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46Knowing sprouts burn up their energy quickly,
0:42:46 > 0:42:49the next stage is to cool them down and give them a drink.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54Oh, ho, ho! What is this?
0:42:54 > 0:42:56So, what is here, it's a cold store.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59We're trying to keep these sprouts as cool as possible,
0:42:59 > 0:43:02and also, get lots of mist in here so, to keep them really moist,
0:43:02 > 0:43:04cos what we don't want them to do is dehydrate.
0:43:04 > 0:43:08The perfect sprout, rub it together and it should squeak like rubber.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10Yeah, you can hear it in your ear.
0:43:10 > 0:43:12So, you've got two days here,
0:43:12 > 0:43:14then maybe a couple of days on the supermarket shelves.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17We're looking at, like, five days, the life of a sprout?
0:43:17 > 0:43:19That's our target, yes.
0:43:19 > 0:43:21That's not long at all.
0:43:22 > 0:43:25With a veg that can decay so quickly,
0:43:25 > 0:43:28they need to keep a close eye on the state of every sprout.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33From these mist-filled fridges, these squeaky sprouts begin
0:43:33 > 0:43:37an assessment process that MI5 would be proud of.
0:43:37 > 0:43:39They're my sprouts!
0:43:39 > 0:43:41They're sprouts harvested earlier, yes.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44That's a special batch of Gregg sprout, that is!
0:43:44 > 0:43:45HE LAUGHS
0:43:45 > 0:43:48Whoa!
0:43:48 > 0:43:51That is one big tub of sprouts.
0:43:51 > 0:43:56First the sprouts are graded by size. Then, photographed.
0:43:56 > 0:44:02A computer analyses the photo for colour, size and defects.
0:44:02 > 0:44:06Every sprout's being turned through the camera.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09- That is ridiculous.- Yeah.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11If the sprout doesn't make the grade,
0:44:11 > 0:44:14a gas gun blows it off the conveyor.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17The rejects go into processed foods.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19Hear the hiss, hiss, hiss?
0:44:19 > 0:44:22It's knocking the bad sprouts out.
0:44:22 > 0:44:24The ones that pass go through a second check
0:44:24 > 0:44:27from beady-eyed sprout monitors.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30Finally, they get their bottoms chopped off,
0:44:30 > 0:44:33their outer leaves removed and they're ready to be packed.
0:44:34 > 0:44:38I absolutely love that. They are trimmed perfectly, look.
0:44:39 > 0:44:43Then it's one last rush to get them into refrigeration trucks,
0:44:43 > 0:44:46and onto the shelves in time for Christmas.
0:44:46 > 0:44:51Here they are. The most complicated vegetables on the shelves -
0:44:51 > 0:44:52Brussels sprouts.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55So, the next time you get them on your plate, give them a go.
0:45:02 > 0:45:06Shelf life is a major issue for the supermarkets,
0:45:06 > 0:45:08especially at Christmas.
0:45:08 > 0:45:12Their research shows we prefer to buy enough food to cover
0:45:12 > 0:45:13the whole holiday period.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18So, they try to come up with products that will stay fresh
0:45:18 > 0:45:20throughout the festivities.
0:45:22 > 0:45:24And they've found ways to give a longer life,
0:45:24 > 0:45:27to some surprising items.
0:45:27 > 0:45:28I love cake.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31What does... "I love the cake."
0:45:31 > 0:45:34Moira Silenti is a technologist for Tesco.
0:45:34 > 0:45:38She travels the UK testing and tasting hundreds of desserts.
0:45:39 > 0:45:41Today we're off to Cornwall,
0:45:41 > 0:45:45where she is assessing one very unusual Christmas creation.
0:45:47 > 0:45:51So, we're going to a factory today to look at a chocolate wreath
0:45:51 > 0:45:53that we've been working on since January.
0:45:53 > 0:45:56- What's it called, a chocolate reef?- Yep.- Reef.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59Wreath, yeah like you put on the door at Christmas.
0:45:59 > 0:46:00- A wreath.- Yeah.
0:46:00 > 0:46:02- Is that what it looks like?- Yeah. - Hang on.
0:46:02 > 0:46:06Doesn't a chocolate cake sort of melt within a day or two, or go off?
0:46:06 > 0:46:10It won't go off and it won't melt, cos we're putting in the fridge,
0:46:10 > 0:46:14and also we've developed it so that it's got a long shelf life.
0:46:14 > 0:46:18- How long? - So it's got 26 days' life.
0:46:18 > 0:46:20It lasts for nearly a month?
0:46:20 > 0:46:24Yeah, yeah, it does. It's brilliant. You are going to love it.
0:46:24 > 0:46:26HE CHUCKLES
0:46:26 > 0:46:31How on earth do you make a chocolate dessert that lasts 26 days?
0:46:31 > 0:46:35Behind this unremarkable exterior are wizards of the baking world.
0:46:38 > 0:46:42Kensey Foods make all manner of desserts for Tesco.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44And from their development kitchen they are constantly offering
0:46:44 > 0:46:46up ideas for new ones.
0:46:50 > 0:46:53Now, when we bake at home,
0:46:53 > 0:46:56we're mainly thinking about what it'll taste like.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59If you're baking for the supermarkets there's an extra
0:46:59 > 0:47:01checklist as long as my arm.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06First up, how will customers get it home?
0:47:06 > 0:47:08You know what? That is as light as a feather, it's so delicate,
0:47:08 > 0:47:11I would love to be able to buy one of these and take it home.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14That's pie in the sky, cos you can't put that in your shopping trolley.
0:47:14 > 0:47:17Second, will it sell at the right time of year?
0:47:17 > 0:47:19Are they drinks, or are they desserts?
0:47:19 > 0:47:21They're cocktails, so they're cocktail desserts.
0:47:21 > 0:47:26For me, these feel quite summery, so I can see myself on the beach,
0:47:26 > 0:47:28eating this.
0:47:28 > 0:47:32And, will it last long enough on the shelves, and in your fridge?
0:47:32 > 0:47:35I mean, that is, that is lovely, but that's not going to last is it,
0:47:35 > 0:47:37how long would that last on the shelf?
0:47:37 > 0:47:39Maybe three, four days tops.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42So, yeah, so anything with fresh fruit is
0:47:42 > 0:47:44a no-no as far as shelf life's concerned.
0:47:44 > 0:47:48When Moira wanted a posh Christmas dessert with a long shelf life,
0:47:48 > 0:47:50what did they come up with?
0:47:50 > 0:47:52This is it, is it? This is it.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55- Yep, this is our Christmas product. - What is it exactly?
0:47:55 > 0:47:59It's all-butter biscuit base, with chocolate ganache,
0:47:59 > 0:48:02nuts and dried berries, mixed with the ganache
0:48:02 > 0:48:05and topped with more dried fruits and nuts.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10A typical chilled dessert lasts five to ten days.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13This one is designed to last 26.
0:48:13 > 0:48:17The trick is controlling the water.
0:48:17 > 0:48:21Bacteria that cause food decay need water to grow.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24What the bakers have chosen for this cake,
0:48:24 > 0:48:26is either very dry ingredients...
0:48:26 > 0:48:28- Nuts good? - Yep, absolute great.
0:48:28 > 0:48:29Dried fruit?
0:48:29 > 0:48:33Or, ingredients where the water is bound together with sugar,
0:48:33 > 0:48:35which means bacteria can't get to it.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38- So, chocolate, obviously, big shelf life.- Yep.
0:48:38 > 0:48:42- Crystallised, sugared fruit.- Yes. - I'd like to see it being made if that's all right.
0:48:42 > 0:48:45- Yeah, let me take you now, into the bakery.- Wahey!
0:48:46 > 0:48:49The factory is about to start full production of the wreath,
0:48:49 > 0:48:53but before they do, Moira has to be sure that what's being made
0:48:53 > 0:48:56here is exactly to her specification.
0:48:56 > 0:49:00So, we're coming in to see the chocolate wreath being manufactured.
0:49:00 > 0:49:03First of all we have to take our outdoor shoes off and put them
0:49:03 > 0:49:04into the racking.
0:49:04 > 0:49:08If you're making a factory dessert, it's not just bacteria
0:49:08 > 0:49:12from the ingredients you need to keep out, it's from humans as well.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15Blue mesh hairnet on.
0:49:15 > 0:49:18I know you've not got a lot to cover up but, for consistency.
0:49:18 > 0:49:21Not funny, right. Not funny at all.
0:49:22 > 0:49:24Over the top.
0:49:24 > 0:49:26Well, that's doubly safe, innit?
0:49:26 > 0:49:30Yep and then, twist our legs over and then we just need to put,
0:49:30 > 0:49:31your wellies.
0:49:31 > 0:49:33Put your hands in here.
0:49:35 > 0:49:38So we just need to go and repeat the process here, Gregg.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40Got to wash our hands again!
0:49:40 > 0:49:43We must have gone, five steps, and we've got to wash our hands again.
0:49:43 > 0:49:47So here we put our hands through, and this time it's hand sanitizer.
0:49:47 > 0:49:48So sanitising your hands so...
0:49:48 > 0:49:50She's having a laugh.
0:49:50 > 0:49:54- So this is our boot wash.- Right.
0:49:54 > 0:49:57Way-hey-hey! Lovely!
0:49:59 > 0:50:02Now that I've been scrubbed, washed and sanitized,
0:50:02 > 0:50:05we're finally ready to see the production line.
0:50:07 > 0:50:10The Christmas Wreath order is small by supermarket standards,
0:50:10 > 0:50:15just 10,000 cakes, and each one is finished by hand.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18But there is no space for a bit of cook's judgment here.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22Moira needs every wreath to be exactly the same.
0:50:22 > 0:50:27We've put chocolate, cherries and berries, flaked almonds
0:50:27 > 0:50:29and nibbed pecans.
0:50:29 > 0:50:30Is this to make the base?
0:50:30 > 0:50:32To make the base. Make the ring.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35I want to know how you go from a bowl of that,
0:50:35 > 0:50:37into a base, a round base.
0:50:37 > 0:50:39- Would you let me show you?- Yeah. - Could I show you?- Yeah.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42- Right. Thank you.- Don't hang about.
0:50:42 > 0:50:45All the ingredients are strictly measured.
0:50:45 > 0:50:47That's half a kilo of chocolate.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50- It is.- First I make the biscuit base,
0:50:50 > 0:50:53then we add the dried fruit and nut ring.
0:50:53 > 0:50:56He's our lovely chocolate wreath that we're going to glaze.
0:50:56 > 0:50:57Look at that, look.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00Once it's glazed, it's ready to send down the production line.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02You've got a conveyor belt though, one's doing the
0:51:02 > 0:51:07- oranges, one's doing some more dried fruit, one's doing the nuts, one's doing the cherries.- Yeah.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09How many nuts have I got to put in each section?
0:51:09 > 0:51:10Five in each section.
0:51:10 > 0:51:12You're mad, there's not room put five in.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15- That will lift the colour. - Stop crouching me.
0:51:15 > 0:51:19Once I've put on 30 nuts, 15 cherries, three bits of orange
0:51:19 > 0:51:22and 12 apricots, it's time for a bit more glaze.
0:51:22 > 0:51:24Wahey!
0:51:24 > 0:51:25'Some choccie tubes...'
0:51:25 > 0:51:27- One of me nuts has fallen off. - That's OK.
0:51:27 > 0:51:29'And I'm done.'
0:51:29 > 0:51:31So, we've made our cakes, now what?
0:51:31 > 0:51:34Yep, so we're going to take them into the kitchen and check
0:51:34 > 0:51:36whether they're good enough to go on the Tesco shelves.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41Moira needs to check that what's coming off the production line,
0:51:41 > 0:51:43matches her strict specification.
0:51:46 > 0:51:48Do you do this every single time you launch a new cake?
0:51:48 > 0:51:51- Yeah, pretty much yeah.- Every cake.
0:51:51 > 0:51:53- Every cake?- Yep. - Every cake.
0:51:53 > 0:51:58These three count every single nut, cherry and choccie tube.
0:51:58 > 0:52:03- This cake...- You've got the three orange slices, but no cherries.
0:52:03 > 0:52:06That cake gets a red light.
0:52:06 > 0:52:10So, to me, this has got five, for the chocolate scrolls evenly placed.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12Would you agree this cake gets the green light?
0:52:12 > 0:52:14- Yes.- Good to go.- Great.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16Excellent.
0:52:16 > 0:52:18The next crucial test.
0:52:18 > 0:52:23Will this dessert last on the shelf for 26 days?
0:52:23 > 0:52:26Moira is using a bit of kit that tests something called
0:52:26 > 0:52:28"water activity".
0:52:28 > 0:52:31A measure of the water that's available for bacteria to grow in.
0:52:33 > 0:52:36So, I've taken some of the base, placed it into the container,
0:52:36 > 0:52:37put the lid on.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41We press start on the machine.
0:52:41 > 0:52:45Supermarkets set their own standards for shelf life.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48Moira needs a reading of below 0.85
0:52:48 > 0:52:52to give the wreath a life of 26 days.
0:52:52 > 0:52:53You've got your result.
0:52:53 > 0:52:55Yeah, so the machine's finished reading
0:52:55 > 0:52:59and the water activity there is 0.7112
0:52:59 > 0:53:03so that's well below the 0.85 that we need.
0:53:03 > 0:53:05HE EXHALES Yep, definitely.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07- We're fine. - Good to go.
0:53:07 > 0:53:09We're fine. We're fine, we're fine. All right, well done.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12Well done, crying out loud, a lot goes into a cake.
0:53:12 > 0:53:14I just normally bake one at home.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17I don't put a silly hairnet on, I don't plug it into a computer.
0:53:17 > 0:53:20This dessert has already been through months of taste testing
0:53:20 > 0:53:22and customer taste panels.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25But Moira wants to check it one final time.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27So it's my chance to try some.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36That is a decent, well-made cake.
0:53:36 > 0:53:38I like the crunch, I like the chocolate.
0:53:38 > 0:53:41That is rich and it's heavy. And I've got a sweet tooth.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43I like that, but you wouldn't want a great deal of it.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46So, would you buy it?
0:53:46 > 0:53:47Would I buy it?
0:53:47 > 0:53:49I don't think so.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51Because I can bake, and bake well.
0:53:51 > 0:53:53ALL CHUCKLE
0:53:53 > 0:53:57I mean I'm impressed that you can get a cake that tastes like that,
0:53:57 > 0:54:02that can last 26 days, that does impress me, it really does.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05And I'd happily eat it if somebody gave me a slice.
0:54:05 > 0:54:06Happily eat it.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15Well, I've eaten my fair share of desserts in my time,
0:54:15 > 0:54:17and, to be fair, I've made better ones than that at home,
0:54:17 > 0:54:19but I don't think that's the point.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22What that is, is a triumph of science and food engineering,
0:54:22 > 0:54:25because there is a decent flavoured chocolate cake that can
0:54:25 > 0:54:28last on the shelf for almost a month.
0:54:35 > 0:54:38I've travelled across Britain to see how all our festive
0:54:38 > 0:54:40food has been made and moved.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45Everything from salmon to sprouts...
0:54:45 > 0:54:47desserts to drinks...
0:54:47 > 0:54:51and I've saved the centrepiece of our Christmas dinner to last.
0:54:53 > 0:54:57My final stop is back at Sainsbury's depot Waltham Point,
0:54:57 > 0:54:58where my journey started.
0:55:00 > 0:55:04It's time for me to muck in on one of the last shifts before Christmas.
0:55:06 > 0:55:08OK, gentlemen, now you've had your brief,
0:55:08 > 0:55:11it's going to be a really busy day today.
0:55:11 > 0:55:14It's the weekend before Christmas and these guys are getting
0:55:14 > 0:55:17ready to put all our Christmas food onto trucks to head to the stores.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20They've put me with the tough guys of the depot,
0:55:20 > 0:55:22I'm on the turkey team.
0:55:22 > 0:55:25And we know we've got a busy day, so let's get on with it.
0:55:25 > 0:55:28Do any of you work on chilled, do you know where I go with the turkeys?
0:55:28 > 0:55:30Yeah, turkeys...over there.
0:55:30 > 0:55:32Morning, gents.
0:55:32 > 0:55:34Let's get these cases onto the shelves,
0:55:34 > 0:55:37and ultimately onto the customers' tables.
0:55:37 > 0:55:41We spend 55 million quid on turkeys at Christmas.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44It's the most important festive product.
0:55:44 > 0:55:46Lovely. OK.
0:55:46 > 0:55:50But the big birds present a challenge to depots like this.
0:55:50 > 0:55:54While the rest of our shopping whizzes round on conveyor belts,
0:55:54 > 0:55:55turkeys are too bulky,
0:55:55 > 0:55:59and they've got to be done the old-fashioned way.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02It's a long time since I've handled one of these.
0:56:02 > 0:56:03It's just like riding a bike.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05This is what we used
0:56:05 > 0:56:09when I started out as a greengrocer nearly 30 years ago.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12It's nice to see that despite all the belts and lasers,
0:56:12 > 0:56:15there are still guys lifting boxes to order.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19These turkeys have just come in from suppliers,
0:56:19 > 0:56:22and we've got to get them sorted to go to stores across London.
0:56:22 > 0:56:24How many, Baz?
0:56:24 > 0:56:26You need one.
0:56:26 > 0:56:28New group. Yeah, one in there
0:56:28 > 0:56:29- I'm good at this, ain't I? - Come on, keep up.
0:56:29 > 0:56:32Dulwich. Not far from where I come from.
0:56:32 > 0:56:34Running a bit behind, we need to step it up now.
0:56:34 > 0:56:37- Chiswick. - Five to Chiswick
0:56:37 > 0:56:38Five!
0:56:38 > 0:56:41Chiswick's just showing off.
0:56:41 > 0:56:44After a couple of hours' work, I've shifted a few hundred turkeys -
0:56:44 > 0:56:48a tiny contribution to our nation's Christmas dinner.
0:56:49 > 0:56:51Across the country, depots at Christmas are sorting out
0:56:51 > 0:56:55millions of turkeys for us, along with thousands of other products.
0:56:55 > 0:56:59- I work like lightning, mate, you're better off just standing. - I want to go home today.
0:56:59 > 0:57:03You'll get the hang of this, Barry, won't you, you'll pick this up, I reckon.
0:57:03 > 0:57:04Yeah, not as quick as you though, you know.
0:57:04 > 0:57:08Well, no, you're not going to be as quick as me but I reckon you'll pick it up.
0:57:08 > 0:57:11- When do we get a tea break? - Tea break...?
0:57:11 > 0:57:14It's easy for me to get nostalgic about the old way of doing
0:57:14 > 0:57:17things, but these huge computerised warehouses
0:57:17 > 0:57:20are the modern world of supermarkets, a world that
0:57:20 > 0:57:24can handle food on a vast scale and bring us our Christmas.
0:57:26 > 0:57:29Delivering food to the shelves is complicated at any time of year,
0:57:29 > 0:57:32but at Christmas time the supermarkets are at full throttle.
0:57:32 > 0:57:34It's then when the stakes are highest
0:57:34 > 0:57:36and they're the most under pressure.
0:57:36 > 0:57:40For me, it's been fascinating, looking at the planning,
0:57:40 > 0:57:44the logistics and the level of detail that goes into it all.