Beyond The Headlines: dsm-firmenich improves poultry footprint, advances in sustainable beer

This week in industry news, dsm-firmenich partnered with a Philippine poultry producer to enhance its sustainable operations and the Alianza Team broke ground on its US oils and fats site. Meanwhile, Aldi focused on animal welfare by giving chickens 20% more space than the industry standard and Australian brewer Lion reduced water consumption at its New South Wales site.

Business highlights

dsm-firmenich joined forces with poultry producer and food retailer Bounty Fresh Group (BFG) Philippines to implement dsm-firmenich’s life cycle assessment platform Sustell, which measures and improves the environmental footprint of animal proteins. The platform will help BFG enhance the sustainability of its poultry operations. The move marks another sustainable agreement for dsm-firmenich in the Philippines’ farming sector.

Lipids, oils and fat solutions supplier Alianza Team started constructing its first US-based site in Goldsboro, North Carolina to serve its North American customers more effectively. The blending and finishing facility’s construction is expected to bolster the company’s entry into the US market and support job creation and the business community in the region.The company operates in the US, Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Europe.

Construction of Alianza’s fats and oils blending and finishing facility will begin immediately (Image credit: Alianza Team).LBB Specialties announced a distribution partnership with Myzel Organics that supplies 100% organic functional mushroom powders for the food and nutrition industry. The move is expected to bring Myzel’s range of organic, non-GMO, gluten-free mushroom powders to the North American market, addressing the growing demand for high-quality, functional ingredients.

An analysis from UKHospitality, the trade body for the industry in the UK and the British Retail Consortium revealed that the sectors collectively pay one third of all business rates in the UK, while accounting for 9% of the economy. Both organizations are calling for the Chancellor to implement a fairer level of business rates for hospitality and retail in the Budget, which will rebalance a system which they say unfairly punishes the high streets and town centers. In 2023/24, retail and hospitality businesses combined to pay almost £9 billion (US$11.6 billion) in business rates.

German retailer Aldi introduced new stocking density requirements for its fresh chicken to improve their quality of life and promote animal welfare. From October 30, all fresh chickens sold at the store will come in new packaging highlighting higher welfare. Aldi sources all its chickens from British farms, which now have 20% more space than the industry standard, claims the supermarket. 

The UK Edible Insect Association announced that it will hold a farmed insect protein conference early next year to support business growth through collaboration. The event is expected to bring experts and enthusiasts from across the enterprise and research spectrum together to discuss the future of insect protein in food and feed. It will include expert speakers, practical workshops and sampling sessions from insect protein start-ups like Yumbug and will take place at Nottingham University, England from January 9 to 10, 2025.

Lidl’s own brand plant-based range Vemondo includes tofu, burgers, sausages and dairy-free yogurt.Supermarket chain Lidl said it will more than triple its plant-based product range after seeing a 12% increase in demand over the past year. From this month, select stores will introduce new items, including plant-based burgers, sausages, mince and nuggets ahead of a national roll out by January 2025. The UK discounter will sell meat alternatives such as plant-based sausages (£1.89) (US$2.45), mince (£2.49)(US$3.22) and nuggets (£1.99) (US$2.57) from its own brand plant-based range Vemondo.

Sustainability highlights

The Science Based Targets initiative validated dsm-firmenich’s 2045 net-zero targets and near-term targets to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 42% by 2030 from a 2021 base year. Additionally, it confirmed the firm’s absolute scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods and services, fuel and energy-related activities, upstream transportation and distribution and waste generated in operations by 25% by 2030, from a 2021 base year. 

Australian beverage company Lion commissioned a Reverse Osmosis Water Recycling Plant at its Tooheys brewery in Lidcombe to significantly reduce water used at the site, the largest brewery in New South Wales and Lion’s Australian network. The company says the US$7.2 million project is an investment toward more sustainable beer and will save an estimated 270 million liters of water each year.