2021 has marked a momentous shift in mindset towards the issue of food waste from businesses and consumers, according to Olio, which has raised $43m and seen a surge in users.
What we eat is contributing to some of the greatest challenges facing the world, from climate change to global health crises. Can a shift in consumption also be part of the solution?
Lofty Box has a mission to reduce food wastage. The UK subscription-based brand takes surplus stock that typically goes to waste or ends its life in landfill and creates boxes for conscious consumers.
Dutch start-up Orbisk, which says its monitor can help hotels, restaurants, and industrial kitchens reduce food waste, is scaling up in preparation for market entry.
By René Floris, NIZO Food Research Division Manager
All too often, controlling pathogenic and spoilage microbes in a new or reformulated food product comes at the end of the development process. René Floris, NIZO Food Research Division Manager and member of the FoodNavigator expert advisory panel hears...
The UN FAO is raising awareness in schools to reduce and prevent food waste. Communications and Partnership Consultant Oksana Sapiga shares why targeting children - the 'consumers of tomorrow - is important.
Taste and nutrition company Kerry has conducted new research into consumer expectations around sustainability in the food and beverage sector. The ‘really surprising results’ are in: Consumers ‘positioned sustainability as a must-have rather than a differentiator’.
The company, called Synomics, says it has identified a way of selectively breeding the Cassava plant to make it more disease resistant, thus solving the twin problems of food security in developing counties and food waste.
Olam Food Ingredients aims to improve the sustainability of its cashew supply chain. A key lever for the supplier is farmer incomes. “We want to do more for the livelihoods of farmers,” MD and CEO of edible nuts, Ashok Krishen explained.
Barry Callebaut brand Cabosse Naturals is launching a line of ‘next gen’ ingredients for snacks, drinks and ice cream that utilise the whole cacao fruit, while Cacao Barry, also part of Barry Callebaut, is rolling out a WholeFruit chocolate offering....
UK retailer Tesco has increased the amount of strawberries it is purchasing this season in response to a bumper harvest in the UK. The elastic approach to procurement fights food waste as the supermarket leans on its promotional tools to drive up demand.
Emissions from food production are vastly underestimated, claims a new study. But its lead author is ultimately optimistic the industry can address its environmental problems.
A traditional Vietnamese meat snack could hold the key to developing a safe and natural food preservative, addressing the twin global problems of food waste and food-borne illnesses, scientists claim.
The meal box provider says it will trial carbon labelling on its recipes next year ‘to empower customers to make more environmentally conscious dinner choices’.
The UK’s Discarded Spirits has just unveiled a grape-based vodka, made using waste-products recovered from the wine making process, in an attempt to tap into consumer desire for zero waste ingredients.
The plant-based meat and dairy market is booming globally. But, as consumer concern over safety increases, experts from Kerry Taste and Nutrition stress that there is a need to develop food safety strategies that build consumer trust in the sector.
Austrian entrepreneurs are extracting cyanide from stone fruit seeds – a side stream of the fruit processing industry – before upcycling them into B2B food ingredients.
Researchers are upcycling shrimp side streams to create products for the food and supplement industries, which also makes the production of peeled shrimp more sustainable, explains Associate Professor Nina Gringer from the Technical University of Denmark.
There is room for growth in the meal kit market, according to commentators, after European kit giant HelloFresh posted a strong set of results in the first quarter of 2021.
Chr. Hansen has developed what it describes as ‘game changing’ food cultures that utilise ‘traditional fermentation principles’ to improve quality, extend shelf life and reduce food waste.
PepsiCo R&D Fellows are a ‘select’ group of innovation specialists with ‘exceptional expertise’ and a proven track record of ‘significant technical innovation’. FoodNavigator speaks to Chief Medical Officer and executive program sponsor, Antonio...
‘Magnetic tongue’ technology could help industry identify compounds that affect the flavours that make fish offcuts unsuitable for human consumption, Nofima researcher Silje Steinsholm tells FoodNavigator.
Wasteless, which uses dynamic pricing in supermarkets to incentivise consumers to buy soon-to-expire products and thus help cut down on food waste, has recently reported a nearly 40% reduction in food waste at hundreds of test stores and now claims it...
As a new fund announces it will invest up to €30 million in the most promising companies over a span of up to four years, EIT Food identifies to FoodNavigor the problems for which it is seeking solutions.
The use of PEF plastic – which is made entirely from plants, is fully recyclable and which degrades in nature much faster than normal plastics -- has the potential to become the standard in the food and drink industry, claims the company attempting to...
A new tofu alternative, developed from peas rather than the conventional soybean, is offering a sustainable addition to the meat alternative landscape, according to Peafu founder Tor Kemp.
A public-private partnership is repurposing leftover papaya in Ethiopia to develop ‘affordable’ and ‘nutritious’ fruit bars enriched with whey protein, vitamins and minerals for locals.
Apeel Sciences – the Santa Barbara-based firm behind an invisible plant-based edible skin proven to dramatically extend the shelf-life of fresh produce - has announced an expanded partnership network made up of 20+ avocado industry leaders in the US,...
A new frozen ingredients supply venture in the UK will import frozen food ingredients from around the world, specialising in Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) fruit, vegetables, spices and herbs for further processing by UK and Irish food and eventually...
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...
Oddbox is a UK online delivery platform on a mission to fight food waste. The company, launched in 2016, recently underwent a brand overhaul as it works to grow its community and build on the momentum built-up during COVID lockdowns. FoodNavigator caught...
Danish food tech start-up Lyras has developed a pasteurisation technology that it says has a lower environmental impact than traditional pasteurisation while also cutting food waste and delivering on safety and nutrition.
For the first time in history, across the globe people aged over 65 now outnumber children under five, according to the UN. By the middle of this century there will be more than twice as many. In Europe, the population of over 65s is expected to reach...
Global investment in alternative proteins was the highest ever in 2020 and three times the capital invested in 2019 – signalling growing momentum for sustainable alternatives.
Clinical data suggests that arabinoxylan – a fiber found in the cell walls of several plants – has a range of benefits from prebiotic effects to blood glucose control and immune health support. But no one has found a cost-effective way to isolate and...
The food industry has a ‘critical and urgent’ role to play to resolve the food waste crisis, according to Unilever’s president of foods and refreshment, Hanneke Faber.
Despite the pandemic straining supply chains, causing food shortages and price volatility, Europe’s high-income levels and relatively low rates of inequality mean it is well placed to cope with the types of unexpected economic shocks that can drive food...
