DSM Promotes Sustainable Ingredient Options for Festive Season

18 Dec 2014 --- Eating sustainably and healthily during this holiday season does not mean denying yourself your favorite foods. Santa and the rest of us can enjoy our festive feast to the full whilst helping the planet and our health.

“During the Christmas and holiday season people like to indulge in their favorite festive foods but it is also a time when we think about others”, says Lars Asferg, Head of Innovation at DSM Food Specialties. “Many consumers are unaware that an increasing number of food products they typically purchase from their local supermarket at Christmas time, are much more healthy and sustainable than a decade ago.”

Tuck into savory dishes for instance, made tasty with the use of natural yeast extracts that can have up to 50% less salt in soups, sauces and dressings. Or drink a specialty beer this year that is gluten-free yet looks and tastes exactly like regular lager and so can be enjoyed by all Christmas guests. For non-alcoholic drinks, red fruit juice pressed with the help of enzymes provides more than double the amount of anthocyan - a brightly-colored antioxidant - than when pressed without their use.

“Taking the yield improvements in Europe and US from this red fruit juice alone, we are able to save the thrown-away fruit and vegetable waste of 7 million European and US consumers annually,1” adds Fokko Wientjes, VP and head of sustainability at Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company. “Enzymes are a great contributor to CO2 savings and moreover can offer a real health benefit to consumers.”

For dessert, consumers can enjoy tasty yogurt, with reduced sugar but no loss of sweetness, as well as indulging in easy-to-digest ice-cream (including lactose-free varieties) to prevent that uncomfortable bloated feeling after your meal.

DSM’s portfolio harnesses natural ingredients such as yeast, enzymes or dairy cultures to create sustainable food products for its food and beverage customers around the world and in 2014 invested over €200 million in food research and development.

View a festive feast infographic with more facts here.