Beyond The Headlines: Cargill promotes US agricultural development, Arla cuts carbon emissions

08 Mar 2024 --- This week in industry news, Arla Foods Ingredients constructed an electric heat pump facility in Denmark to cut emissions. Cargill collaborated with Agrozal on a corn project and Roquette appointed Rader as the sole distribution partner for its core food ingredients business in Italy.

Business highlights
Cargill joined forces with Agrozal, a public company of the government of San Luis in the US, to promote agricultural development in the region. The move aims to provide better services to the province’s producers, prioritizing the industrialization of raw materials and storage of corn for consumption by agroindustries. For instance, with a new unloading point, producers are expected to gain agility for their grains in the region. Agrozal offers storage, loading and unloading, drying, aeration, cleaning and fumigation services for grains, which creates a convergence point for the production of San Luis.

Plant-based ingredient supplier Roquette appointed Rader as the sole distribution partner for its core food ingredients business in Italy, which is a key European market for Roquette. Rader already handles the distribution for Roquette in Northern Italy and will now cover the south of Italy as well. The decision will be effective from next month.

Arla's Denmark heat pump is expected to cut the site’s GHG emissions by 14,500 tons CO2 eq a year (Image credit: Arla Food Ingredients).Dutch cheese supplier Zijerveld changed its name to Velder, in a move it says marks a new chapter in the company’s development from a traditional cheese trade into a supplier with high-quality cheese concepts.

Sustainability highlights
Arla Foods Ingredients constructed an electric heat pump facility at its primary processing plant in Denmark. The €32 million (US$34.8 million) project is Arla’s largest single investment in net-zero initiatives to date, says the company. The shift to heat production by electricity instead of gas will cut the site’s greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 14,500 tons CO2 equivalent a year – a 22% reduction compared to 2023. The Danmark Protein site is expected to commence functions in 2025 and will be able to convert 2.8MW of electricity into 8 MW of heat.

Unilever released its first Climate Policy Engagement Review with a call on industry associations to step up climate efforts. Rebecca Marmot, chief sustainability officer at Unilever, said that governments, industry associations, businesses and civil society must work together to prevent further climate breakdown and create the conditions needed for a just transition to a low-carbon economy. 

Givaudan was rated with a CDP A rating for supplier engagement. The Supplier Engagement Rating Leaderboard evaluates corporate supply chain engagement on climate issues and recognizes the highest-rated companies. As part of the company’s journey to becoming climate positive before 2050, Givaudan has set targets to cut supply chain emissions by 20% by 2030 and by 50% by 2040. By the end of last year, the company had achieved an 8% reduction in these emissions, alongside a 43% reduction in its scope 1 and 2 emissions.

Applegate's move to regeneratively-sourced beef hot dog will contribute to regeneration of 6 million acres of grasslands, says the company.US-based natural and organic meat brand Applegate announced it will transition its entire beef hot dog portfolio to regeneratively-sourced beef by the end of 2025 in an effort to improve cattle grazing practices to both meet demand and positively impact the environment. 

Launches and innovation
PIPA, an AI-driven nutrition, health and wellness innovator and Mars developed an omics analysis platform to improve food safety for consumers and their pets. The computational bioinformatics solution will support the detection of foodborne pathogens and assist with outbreak prevention through the analysis of the whole genome sequences of microbial isolates. This will help food manufacturers make informed decisions that ensure supply chain continuity and accelerate research and operations insights related to potential pathogen risks throughout the food supply chain.

Absolut Vodka unveiled a new flavor — Absolut Nights Orange Peel — which is the third product for Absolut Vodka’s innovative shots range – Nights. The drink contains a blend of oriental orange peels and coffee, with the flavor inspired by Chenpi, of local dried orange rind with a complex balance of sweet and sour notes and a spiced tangerine kick delivers a bold and fresh experience. The product will be launched in China at the end of this month.

PIPA and Mars' omics analysis platform in expected to ensure food safety for consumers and their pets. Cannabis drink manufacturer Green Monké and cannabis brand Cookies partnered to launch a higher-dose THC-infused drink offerings to the California market in the US. The first Cookies and Green Monké collaboration drink will be Original California Iced Tea Lemonade, with 100mg THC in a 12-ounce can. 

Pepsi rolled out its new logo, its first visual identity change in 14 years across 120 countries worldwide. To mark the moment, digital installations worldwide featured above landmarks, showing the re-designed and refreshed Pepsi globe logo. The updated color palette includes electric blue and black to bring a contemporary edge to the classic Pepsi color scheme.

Other highlights
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) started a month-long campaign in Hong Kong featuring high-quality British dairy and red meat cooked by three of Hong Kong’s most talented chefs. The dishes showcased include Tossed Ox Tongue Spicy Sichuan Sauce, Scotch Egg Piccalilli and Tunworth Cheese, Alpine Plum, Buckwheat Crumb and Lemon Thyme. 

By Insha Naureen