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De-Commoditisation of Food Ingredients by
Sustainable Production
Growing consumer demand for sustainable
products is leading many ingredients to become de-commoditised.
A growing share of food commodities – such as coffee, tea and bananas -
are now marketed as value-added (sustainable) products. Organic Monitor
finds the same trend is now occurring for ingredients.
Sustainable ingredients are gaining currency as growers look at
value-added production methods to raise income, whilst food & beverage
companies consider ways to reduce their environmental and social
footprints. Companies are also looking at sustainable ingredients
because of the growing importance of sustainability reporting as well as
pressure from the media and retailers.
Most strides have been made with coffee, the second largest traded
commodity in the world. Almost 10 percent of coffee
sold in North America and Europe is now
produced according to organic, fair trade, Rainforest Alliance,
UTZ Certified or similar standards. Major brands and retailers have made
pledges to source sustainable coffee, with many making social
investments in developing countries.
Sustainable sourcing is also becoming important for cocoa, vanilla,
sugar and other ingredient commodities. Large chocolate manufacturers,
such as Cadbury’s and Nestlé have made commitments to source fair trade
cocoa. UTZ Certified extended its ‘Good Inside’ programme
to cocoa in 2007. With large companies like Cargill and Mars coming on
board, cocoa could become the most traded sustainable food ingredient in
the world.
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Converting existing supply chains to organic, fair trade and other
sustainable ingredients can be a lengthy and sometimes complex
process.
It can thus be easier to set up new supply chains for such
ingredients, as many suppliers of novel ingredients have discovered.
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Organic
Monitor finds that many novel ingredients from Africa and Latin
America are increasingly produced by sustainable
production methods. African specialties – including baobab
and shea butter – are mostly fairly traded from women’s
cooperatives. Argan oil, described as ‘liquid gold’, is almost
entirely produced by organic
cultivation.
Intensive media coverage about the destruction of rainforests has
been partly responsible for the emergence of Amazonian sustainable
ingredients. The American company Sambazon is sourcing organic açaí
berry products from over 10,000 family farmers in the Amazon. As
well as becoming the world’s largest supplier of açaí ingredients,
the company makes a range of finished products. New sustainable
ingredients like Sacha Inchi oil are also emerging from the region.
They are invariably fairly traded and / or certified organic.
Sustainable ingredients are becoming prominent in the food industry.
However, there are major differences between their environmental and
social footprints because of variations in sustainable
production methods. Fair trade is popular because it creates
positive social impacts, whilst organic is considered a highly
ecological form of production. UTZ certified provides greater
traceability and provenance, and Rainforest Alliance
conserves biodiversity.
Consumers are increasingly seeking sustainable foods,
yet a major question hangs over whether
existing schemes (eco-labels) are meeting their rising expectations.
Also, is the way forward, convergence of existing eco-labels in
terms of environmental and social parameters? Or will existing
eco-labels seek to keep their parameters separate,
possibly leading to divergence?
Sustainable Foods Summit
Sustainable commodities is a key focus of the next edition of the
Sustainable Foods Summit, taking place in Amsterdam on 7-8th June
2012. Sustainable ingredients as well as convergence and / or
divergence of food eco-labels are regular features of the summit.
The sixth edition of the executive summit will bring
together some of the leading organisations involved in eco-labels
and sustainable ingredients to debate
such issues. More information is
available from the
website
Posted: December 9th 2011
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