Food industry review: Top read in 2022

As 2022 draws to a close, FoodIngredientsFirst reflects on the year’s biggest headlines, which offer indications of directions where the F&B sector will be heading toward next year. This year, plant-based diversification gained ground thanks to new ingredient discoveries like transforming sunflower kernels into a key ingredient in vegan chocolate. Beyond plant-based, cell-cultured meats and precision fermentation derived dairy are advancing at a quicker pace. With price inflation, energy costs and other supply chain disruptions mounting, companies scrambled to find an easy switch out for staple ingredients like sunflower oil. Industry titan Unilever moved to slim down its F&B portfolio to maximize efficiencies and focus more on its personal care offerings. Meanwhile, producers in Europe kept an eye on the sweeping titanium dioxide ban, which continues to propel industry toward researching sources of natural bright white food colors.