Unilever talks food waste: ‘Our mission is to inspire consumers to be more resourceful with food’ Unilever has some ambitious goals on food waste. The multinational wants to halve waste from its direct operations by 2025 and is working with suppliers and customers to reduce waste across the food chain. It also hopes to tackle one of the trickiest issues, food that is wasted in the home. We spoke to Christina Bauer-Plank, Global Brand Vice President of Hellmann’s, to find out how.
One third of all the food produced globally goes to waste. If food waste were a country, it would be the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, behind only China and the USA. Twenty-five percent of the world’s fresh water supply is used to grow food that is never eaten.
Keto for healthy ageing: F&B brands tap into ketone production with older generations in mind How are brands responding to growing demand for keto-friendly food and drink that supports healthy ageing?
Proponents of keto say health benefits associated with the new diet trend are far reaching, from supporting weight loss to improving acne and reducing ‘brain fog’.
Supporters have also drawn links between keto and healthy ageing. And with older population numbers on the rise in most European countries – largely due to a higher life expectancy, a decline in mortality rate, and an increase in fertility – food and drink brands are taking notice.
Fonterra’s dairy ingredient business, NZMP, is launching a new carbonzero certified organic butter. Hans Huistra, Fonterra president of Europe and Africa, speaks to FoodNavigator about the launch and the drive to low-carbon dairy.
Fonterra rolled out its NZMP Organic Butter in North America this month, with further expansion into Europe planned for April. The ingredient has been certified carbon neutral by third party certification programme Toitū Envirocare.
NZMP Organic Butter is Fonterra s first certified carbon neutral product, meaning its carbon footprint has been measured and reduced, with carbon offsets used to move it to net zero.
“To gain carbonzero certification, and make this butter carbon neutral, we first measured the carbon footprint of our organic butter, and then made a plan to reduce the emissions even further from the production of our organic butter. Toitū Envirocare then verified that we had measured our footprint correctly and
Nestlé launches bio-based lids and scoops for infant formula Nestlé is introducing bio-based lids and scoops made from sugar cane and its by-product for a range of its nutrition products for infants and children.
The company said the main advantage of the bio-based plastics is that they are made from a renewable plant material that can be continually replenished and that absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In addition, the packaging helps Nestlé reduce its use of fossil-based plastics.
Nestlé Nutrition s NAN infant formula packed in the new packaging materials was introduced in Hong Kong in 2020 and will be available in other markets globally from 2021, including for other brands such as BEBA and GUIGOZ.
Unilever looks to fat alternatives in quest to hit €1bn plant-based sales target The FMCG giant recently tasked start-ups to find solutions that promise to improve the taste, texture, sustainability and affordability of plant-based meat and dairy alternatives. The winner? A French company with a patented plant-based fat that closely resembles animal-fat both in the pan and in the mouth.
The start-up, called 77 Foods, uses the plant-based fat tissue to make what it calls ‘insanely craveable’ plant-based bacon and lardons. It told FoodNavigator
“the innovation is a game-changing, plant-based bacon that actually sizzles in the pan thanks to a patented technology that replicates animal fat tissue.”