Weekly Roundup: Nestlé and Nizo tech reduces fat in Edam, Ingredion’s sugar reduction campaign

01 Jul 2022 --- In industry news this week, Nestlé and Nizo created a process to reduce fat in Edam cheese and Ingredion launched a campaign showcasing its sweeteners and texturizers that enables food formulators to meet the demand for reduced sugar products. Meanwhile, The Cultured Hub helped start-ups support the scale-up of cultured meats, cultured fish, seafood, and precision fermentation products.

In brief: Business moves
Nestlé and Nizo have developed a new process for an Edam cheese with reduced fat, which supports its goals to reduce saturated fat in frozen pizza. The cheese has 30% less fat than the full-fat version but offers the same flavor, melting behavior and shredability without requiring the cheese producer to source special ingredients or equipment.

Ingredion Europe, Middle East and Africa regions launched Taste Sweet Liberation, a campaign that showcases its portfolio of sweeteners and texturizers which enables food and beverage formulators to meet the growing consumer demand for reduced-sugar products, improve Nutri-Score and align with government health initiatives such as reducing high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) food products.Ingredion launched Taste Sweet Liberation to meet the growing consumer demand for reduced-sugar products. 

Bühler Group and Flottweg SE signed a cooperation agreement to offer full value chain solutions to customers in the plant-based protein market. Combining Flottweg’s wet fractionation expertise and Bühler’s dry process expertise allows the two companies to deliver high yields, reduce environmental impact and provide quality protein isolates.

Brenntag Food & Nutrition extended its agreement with Marigot for the exclusive distribution of its range of plant and marine based minerals in Sweden. The new geographic territory is an expansion of the existing cooperation in Denmark. Marigot’s Aquamin range has built a strong reputation as a clean, natural, and bioactive source of marine multi minerals.

The Cultured Hub helped start-ups to develop market-ready products after having entered a joint venture with Givaudan, Bühler, and Migros recently. The company is also equipped with a product development lab, cell culture and fermentation capabilities to provide facilities, technology and expertise to support the scale-up of cultured meats, cultured fish and seafood, as well as precision fermentation products.

Verdify raised €800,000 (US$834,000) in addition to the €1.3 million (US$1.4 million) in funding raised in December 2021 bringing the seed round funding to € 2.1 million (US$2.2 million). The additional capital will be provided by Brave New Food Investments and existing shareholders Brightlands Venture Partners and Joles. The funding will be used to accelerate the market introduction of Verdify’s platform for recipe personalization. Consumers and companies in the food sector will be able to use the software that can adapt online recipes to lifestyle and nutrient requirements.Brenntag Food & Nutrition will exclusively distribute Marigot’s range of plant and marine based minerals. 

In brief: Acquisitions
Nestlé Health Science acquired The Better Health Company (TBHC) from CDH Investments and TBHC founding shareholders. The acquisition includes the Go Healthy brand, New Zealand Health Manufacturing and the Manuka honey brand Egmont.

In brief: Sustainability
A recent consumer survey conducted by The Vegan Society found that one in three (35%) supermarket shoppers scaled back on meat products or cut it out all together to maximize their budget amid inflation and rising food costs. 

The Westfalia Fruit Group unveiled three environmental and social projects at its fruit processing plant in South Africa. The plant refines avocado used in formulations that range from cooking to cosmetics. It also developed ways to reduce the three types of waste generated in the refining operation – soap stock, spent bleach earth and avocado wax. 

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) validated FrieslandCampina’s climate targets. Earlier this year, the company published its climate plan with concrete reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions. SBTi confirmed that FrieslandCampina’s 2030 climate targets are in line with the maximum 1.5 degrees Celsius warming agreed in the Paris Climate Agreement.

Raízen’s Elo Programme has been officially recognized by the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative. The program is a voluntary sustainability initiative for Raízen’s cane growers and suppliers, which certifies producers against 34 environmental, social and economic sustainability criteria. The scheme was developed in partnership between Raízen, Imaflora and Solidaridad. 

In brief: Other highlightsThe UK will further fund research projects that help boost farmers’ businesses, among others.
UK environment secretary George Eustice is planning to further fund research projects that will help boost farmers’ businesses and help improve the environmental impact of farming. In addition, the recent Food Strategy committed to spend £270 million (US$ 328 million) on R&D in the Farming Innovation Programme up to 2029. 

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board explored opportunities to ship pork from the UK to Mexico after market access was granted in late 2021. Mexico represents a valuable market opportunity for UK pork primals, with the country importing 106,000 metric tons on average each month. AHDB is working in partnership with the UK government and the UK Export Certification Partnership (UKECP) and others to gain further market access for offal exports from the UK, with the necessary documents currently under review by the Mexican authorities.

A new study published in eLife found that a highly antibiotic-resistant strain of the superbug methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) emerged in livestock in the last 50 years, probably due to widespread antibiotic use in pig farming. The strain, called CC398, has become the dominant type of MRSA in European livestock. It is also a growing cause of human MRSA infections. The study found that CC398 has maintained its antibiotic resistance over decades in pigs and other livestock. It is also capable of rapidly adapting to human hosts while maintaining this antibiotic resistance.

By Inga de Jong