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Sustainable commodities and food authenticity are focal themes of the European edition of the Sustainable Foods Summit on 7-8th June. Taking place in Amsterdam for the fourth consecutive year, the summit aims to encourage sustainable sourcing of commodities and shed light on food authentication tools to combat food fraud.

Sustainable commodities are a major theme because of growing concerns about the adverse impact of agricultural commodities on the environment and social communities. Popular methods of de-commoditising foods and ingredients by sustainable production will be explored. Dr. Ulrich Hoffmann, head of sustainable development at UNCTAD, will give details of a possible standard for sustainable commodities. The social impact of ethical sourcing will be discussed by Lee Byers from Fairtrade Labelling Organisation (FLO). Other papers in the sustainable commodities session cover transparency in the value chain, measuring environmental footprints, mitigating risks of sourcing, future direction of sustainable oils, and case studies involving coffee, tea, cocoa and fruits.

With growing incidents of fraud involving organic and sustainable foods, the summit has a dedicated session on food authenticity. The opening speaker outlines the various types of food fraud: adulteration, mislabelling, geographic origin, product substitution, counterfeiting, etc. The costs of food fraud on human health, consumer confidence, the environment and commerce is highlighted, followed by a detailed review of analytical tools and emerging technologies. Dr. Adrian Charlton from the Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA) gives a paper on novel authentication tools, whilst Dr. Pierre Ott from Ecocert looks at the application of such tools to provide traceability in the supply chain for organic foods. Details will be given on Earth observation techniques to target agricultural fields, and geo-traceability of organic & fair trade ingredients by sustainable indicators. Other papers cover new fingerprinting techniques, mass spectrometry and food isotopes, as well as emerging certification schemes.

The growing complexity of the sustainability challenge in the food industry is discussed in another session: pioneering sustainability initiatives. Key speakers will cover sustainable agriculture, biodiversity & benefit sharing, and sustainable supply chains. Woolworths, a leading retail group in South Africa, will give details on how it has set up local sustainable agricultural projects via its Farming for the Future programme. By taking a holistic approach to farming, the projects have improved soil fertility whilst reducing agrochemical usage and conserving biodiversity.

Jan Dalsgaard Johannesen, Environment & Climate Director at Arla Foods, will state how the largest dairy company in Europe is meeting the sustainability challenge. Its 2020 Environmental Strategy has set targets for the entire life-cycle of dairy products: from farmers, transportation, processing, packaging through to distribution to consumers. Robert van Otterdijk from the Food & Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations will look more closely at the role of distribution in waste reduction. According to his FAO UN study, about one third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally in the supply chain. Practical methods to improve efficiency in the supply chain and reduce food wastage will be discussed, whilst the proceeding paper will look at the role of packaging to address this sustainability issue.

With marketing increasingly making the difference between success and failure of new food products, the fourth session hones in on marketing & distribution innovations. Lieven Callewaerd from Chainfood discusses the growing use of smart phone applications in meeting the informational needs of consumers. Katrine Milman, CSR Manager of Coop Denmark, will share the retail group’s perspectives on selecting and marketing sustainable foods. Coop is one of the largest food retailers in Scandinavia; more than half of Denmark’s organic food sales are from its network of over 1,000 stores. Other papers will look at potential of sustainable foods in the HoReCa channel, novel distribution models, and consumer behaviour.

Organized by Organic Monitor, the aim of the Sustainable Foods Summit is to explore new horizons for eco-labels and sustainability in the food industry by discussing key industry issues in a high level forum. The sixth edition of this international series of summits will take place in Amsterdam on 7-8th June 2012. More information is available from the website

Source: Press Release
 

Man-made chemicals present in homes, schools, offices, cars and food are probably contributing to the sharp rise in obesity and diabetes in western societies, according to a review of scientific literature published.

Until now lifestyle factors such as lack of exercise and poor diet were believed to be the primary causes of the increased incidence of both conditions, whose proliferation has strained global health budgets.

While these remain undisputed factors, the review of 240 scientific papers by two leading experts, Professor Miquel Porta of Spain and Professor Duk-Hee Lee of South Korea, suggests chemicals in plastics and other surfaces play an important and avoidable role.

Their study assessed the impact of chemicals including the now banned PCBs, the plastic-softeners phthalates, and the plastic-hardener Bisphenol A, or BPA, a common substance in food packaging and plastic bottles which have been written widely about. All 240 studies they reviewed - whether in test-tubes, on animals or on humans - had been peer-reviewed and published in scientific journals.

The paper, the Review of the Science Linking Chemical Exposures to the Human Risk of Obesity and Diabetes, found some of the chemicals appeared to have a causal effect on obesity, some on diabetes and some on both.

Many are endocrine disruptors, which can change human hormones, including the stimulation of appetite and fat storage and regulation of sugar.

Six out of 10 adults in England are overweight or obese and diabetes in the UK has more than doubled since 1996 to 2.9 million people, which is about one in 20 people.

One of the study authors, Professor Miquel Porta, of the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, Barcelona, said: "The epidemics in obesity and diabetes are extremely worrying.

"The role of hormone disrupting chemicals in this must be addressed. The number of such chemicals that contaminate humans is considerable.

"We must encourage new policies that help minimise human exposure to all relevant hormone disruptors, especially women planning pregnancy, as it appears to be the foetus developing in utero that is at greatest risk".

Some of the chemicals studied - organo-chlorine pesticides, PCBs used to lubricate electrical equipment and to make plastics fireproof; and many Brominated Flame Retardants - have now been banned but others such as BPA and phthalates are still widely used in everyday products.

BPA is commonly found in the plastic lining inside tinned foods, on thermal till receipts and in consumer electronics such as mobile phones and televisions, while phthalates are present in vinyl flooring, shower curtains and children's toys.

CHEM Trust (Chemicals Health & Environment Monitoring Trust), the British pressure group which commissioned the research, urged the UK Government and the EU to press industry to find safer alternatives.

Elizabeth Salter Green, director of CHEM Trust, said: "If exposure to hormone disrupting chemicals is programming us to be fat, it is high time that public health policy takes into account cutting edge science. Obesity and diabetes are examples of the adverse health trends linked with endocrine disruption which need to be urgently addressed.

"We are talking about prevention, not cure here, and in this time of financial squeeze, anything that can help with prevention, reducing NHS spending, is a good idea."


Related Report: Green Cosmetics: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...

Source: The Independent

Fairtrade sales increased by 12% last year to more than £1.3 billion (EUR 1.6 billion) , prompting claims the movement chimes with the current desire for "responsible capitalism".

The increase in sales is lower than 2010's 40% rise, but the sector continues to perform strongly despite tough economic times which saw the UK's gross domestic product, a broad measure of the wider economy, grow at just 0.8% in 2011.

Sales of cocoa products such as chocolate bars carrying the Fairtrade mark, which pays producers a fair price and a premium for community projects, grew by a third (34%) in 2011, while sugar sales increased by more than a fifth (21%).

The commitment by Morrisons to switch all the sugars it sells in its supermarkets to Fairtrade, by stocking Tate & Lyle, brings Fairtrade's share of the UK bagged sugar market to 42%. Tate & Lyle became the first major brand to switch to Fairtrade in 2008, while Sainsbury's and the Co-operative own brand sugars are all Fairtrade and other supermarkets sell some sugar carrying the mark.

The Fairtrade Foundation is calling on the industry to help tip the balance and achieve a 50% market share for bagged sugar. Many brands also now use Fairtrade sugar, including Cadbury Dairy Milk and Kit Kat four-finger, while Maltesers is switching this year. Ben & Jerry's is also converting all its ice-cream to Fairtrade this year.

Elsewhere, the Co-operative is marking Fairtrade Fortnight by switching all its bananas to Fairtrade, with the fruit supplied by a 50-50 split between producer co-operatives and smallholders.

Sainsbury's is putting QR codes on its Fairtrade products, which customers can scan with a smartphone linking them to the company's website where they can learn about the producers growing bananas, coffee, tea, cotton T-shirts and roses.

Marks & Spencer will be selling the first ever tea grown and packed at Iri-iani, a smallholder group of producers in Kenya which it has shared expertise and skills under a scheme part-funded by the Department for International Development.

The Fairtrade Foundation's executive director Harriet Lamb said: "Fairtrade is an example of responsible capitalism in action. "We believe that responsible businesses are those who don't just tackle the company bonuses at the top - but also take steps to ensure a fairer deal for the workers and farmers at the bottom of the supply chain too."

Organic Monitor Comment
The UK already had the largest market for fairtrade products in the world. In spite of economic stagnation, fairtrade product sales have continued to strengthen. Other ethical products - including sustainable seafood, natural cosmetics, ecological household cleaning products, green cars - have also increased since 2008. Organic food & drink is the one sector that has declined over 3 consecutive years; Soil Association figures showed that sales fell by 3.7% in 2011.

A major question mark hangs over the UK organic food & drink market: considering ethical consumerism continues to rise, why are organic product sales in reverse? In spite of poor economic conditions, the organic sector has been more resilient in countries like Italy, Spain and Greece. The industry should be asking itself, what makes the organic sector different from other sectors as well as in other countries?

Source: Wales Online / Organic Monitor