Amsterdam Summit Highlighted Key Challenges
London – Some of the key challenges faced by the sustainable food industry were
discussed in the European edition of the Sustainable Foods Summit (www.sustainablefoodssummit.com). Hosted in Amsterdam a few weeks ago, the summit focused on
protein alternatives, future of clean labels, and impact of new technologies.
The summit brought
together about 140 senior executives from the food industry, with
representatives from sustainable & organic food firms, large food &
beverage companies, ingredient firms, certification agencies and NGOs
participating. There was a call for fresh ideas to meet the sustainability
challenges.
In his keynote,
Professor Harry Aiking from VU University said food security and prioritising
environmental impacts were two crucial issues. According to Aiking, the food
industry needs to raise food production by 60% whilst reducing its environmental
impacts by a quarter by 2050. Sustainable alternatives to proteins are urgently
needed since rising meat production was having a high environmental toll. The
prospects for plant proteins, synthetic meats and other meat alternatives were discussed.
Consumer behaviour
was cited as the major obstacle for insects to become viable protein sources.
Professor Dr. Arnold Van Huis from Wageningen University believes insects can play an important role
in preventing a proteins crisis. There are also many sustainability benefits
since insect farming has a hundred times lower carbon footprint then livestock
production. Professor Van Huis says there are about 2,000 edible insect
species, giving a diverse range of food applications. In the interim, he believes
insects will play an important role in fishmeal and animal feed.
The clean labels
session covered the growing number of free-from labels in the food industry.
According to Michelle-Berriedale Johnson, the market has grown out of its niche
to mainstream because of the rise in food sensitivity. Alex Smith of Alara
Wholefoods cited intensive agriculture as a major cause, with a possible link
between hybridised wheat and gluten sensitivity. With free-from food labels
already established in retailers, foodservice was highlighted as the next
growth area.
MMR Research showed
there was still a lot of consumer confusion about such labels; its survey
showed that 71% of UK consumers did not know what clean label
meant, whilst just 5% gave a correct response. The research agency encouraged
food companies to focus on ‘shorter labels’ on product packs to prevent
confusion.
Panellists discussed
the future direction of clean labels. With eco-labels and free-from labels
becoming ubiquitous on food products, concerns were expressed about information
overload on product packaging. To avoid this, some food companies were focusing
on brands, rather then making free-from claims and brandishing symbols &
logos. Innocence was cited as an example of a beverage brand following this
route.
The impact of new
technologies on food production and marketing were also covered. IRB (Croda) is
using plant cell technology to harvest natural actives from plant materials.
According to the company, sustainable processing of plant materials in
biorefineries enables ‘soil to be left for food production’. A number of
speakers highlighted the growing role of mobile technology; Noteo showed how
mobile apps can be used to rate food products by environmental, social,
economic and health indicators. Chainfood outlined the role of mobile
communications to build sustainable supply chains. Another paper by Selerant
showed advances in life-cycle analysis to measure environmental impacts.
Large food companies
shared their experiences in meeting their sustainability challenges. Heineken
stated water scarcity, food security and climate change were the key
sustainability priorities of the global brewery. It has reduced its water
footprint by 20% since 2008. Nestle shared its plans for its European plants to
have zero-waste by 2020. Dansk Supermarked highlighted one of the major
decisions faced by retailers: should it focus on responsible (sustainable)
products or discounted core products? The Nordic retailer decided to ‘sit on
two chairs’ by marketing sustainable foods at competitive prices under its
private labels.
The Sustainable
Foods Summit emphasised the growing complexity of sustainability in the food
industry. Food companies and retailers are under pressure to address a growing
range of environmental and social issues. The food industry is becoming more
accountable, however consumers appear to be responding slowly; adoption rates
of sustainable foods (and ingredients) remain low. There are also concerns
about the growing number of eco-labels and related (free-from) labels in the
industry. Such sustainability issues will be tackled in 2015 editions...
Sustainable Foods Summit North America San Francisco, 21-22nd January 2015
Sustainable Foods Summit Europe Amsterdam, 4-5 June 2015
Sustainable Foods Summit Latin America São Paulo, 25-26th June 2015
About the Sustainable Foods Summit
Organised by Organic
Monitor, the aim of the Sustainable Foods Summit is to explore new horizons for
eco-labels and sustainability in the food industry by discussing key industry
issues in a high level forum. The proceedings of the 6th European edition (Amsterdam, 6-7th June) are available for a
professional fee. More information is available from www.sustainablefoodssummit.com
The summit in
pictures
http://www.sustainablefoodssummit.com/galleryjuly2014/summitpics.htm
About Organic Monitor
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specialist research, consulting & training company that focuses on the
global organic & related product industries. Since 2001, we have been
providing a range of business services to operators in high-growth ethical &
sustainable industries. Our services include market research publications,
business & technical consulting, seminars & workshops, and
sustainability summits. Visit us at www.organicmonitor.com
Further Information
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