content tagged as Sustainability

Clean meat – meat produced through cell culture – has the potential to address all of the most pressing concerns about industrialized animal agriculture, including land use, water consumption, food safety, antibiotic overuse, and animal welfare concerns. The first public demonstration and tasting showcasing clean meat technology occurred in 2013, with a price tag of hundreds of thousands of dollars per pound. In the intervening half-decade, the field has made tremendous progress – both in technological sophistication and in approaching economically feasible price points. As of the 2017 IFT session on clean meat in June of last year, over a half-dozen companies had launched to commercialize clean meat. Since that time a flurry of activity has occurred, including the genesis of several new companies and the influx of significant venture capital and meat industry corporate venture investment. In this session, we will focus on the developments that have occurred in this fast-moving field in the preceding 12 months. Our speakers include an academic with a long track record of rigorous bioprocess design for large-scale animal cell culture; the food policy expert who is spearheading the collaborative effort for clean meat’s regulatory approval; and the CEO of one of the first-established clean meat companies. The session will be opened and moderated by Dr. Liz Specht, senior scientist with the Good Food Institute, to introduce the concept of clean meat for audience members for whom this is a new concept and to put each speaker’s role in the development of this technology in context.

*Our thanks to Axiom for their sponsorship of the Alternative Protein Deep Dive programming*

Protein, one of the three major macronutrients in our diets, is essential for human growth and health, especially for building and maintaining muscle mass. Protein demand is expected to grow in the future as consumers continue to demand high protein products. In light of environmental and sustainability concerns regarding the current use of animal proteins, and the more recent consumer awareness of the health benefits of plant-based diets and meat alternatives, whether a balance of animal and plant proteins in the diet can meet humans' health needs is of interest.

In this symposium, we will discuss the dietary protein requirements of humans throughout growth, development, and aging and ask several important questions, such as: Are proteins derived from plant sources nutritionally adequate with respect to their amino acid composition and bioavailability? What role can plant proteins play in meeting the dietary protein requirements of humans throughout life? How is protein quality rated and why and when do protein quality ratings matter? What are the regulatory challenges faced by industry in the marketing of foods containing plant proteins?

More than 2 billion people live below the poverty line and experience malnutrition or food insecurity. Usually, global development programs are not necessarily associated with food science and technology but more so with the improvement of agricultural practices, standard setting across nations through Codex activities, or in rapidly responding to humanitarian crises. However, food science and technology is at the core of the Sustainable Development Goal that aims to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. This general lack of awareness of the junction between food science and sustainable development results in lack of innovation targeted to foods or food ingredients for humanitarian purposes, their safety or stability; lack of food safety management systems focused on informal markets or small manufacturers in developing economies; and little attention is given to capacity development throughout value chain addition in the poorest sectors of the population. Furthermore, there are no clear venues for food technology professionals to contribute with their expertise and collaborate with multilateral organizations in projects either remotely or locally. For example, WFP feeds 80 million people annually with only a staff of 20 food technologists contributing to the development, distribution and management of the safety and quality of food value chains in some of the planet’s most remote and insecure regions.

The session aims at providing clarity on how interested food technologists could participate either remotely or locally in the various programs managed by UN food agencies. This is a first collective step between these organizations and IFT to find avenues to identify food technology capabilities and resources that can contribute to the strengthening of capacities of local communities that these organizations assist.

The demand for plant protein from different sources is growing, not only due to the growing interest to reduce meat consumption in the western world, but also to face the challenge of feeding 9 billion people in 2050. Next to the leading plant protein source worldwide – soybean – microalgae are one repeatedly proposed alternative. Microalgae offer great potential through their high productivity per area and time compared with other crops and they do not compete for the limited arable land available. Moreover, they can contain up to 70% protein per dry weight, unsaturated fatty acids, and other high value components of interest to the food, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries. This symposium focuses on the entire value chain of this emerging protein source with spotlights on the cultivation, the downstream processing, and already commercialized products and concludes with a critical view from a sustainability perspective.

Arthrospira spp. are one of two microalgae species that are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by FDA and serve as red line in the symposium. The blue-green cyanobacterium is commonly cultivated in large open “race-way-ponds” between the 30° northern and 30° southern latitudes. It is an effective, low cost, and robust way to produce large amounts of dried biomass, well known as Spirulina, rich in proteins and unsaturated fatty acids. However, cultivation in open ponds has certain limitations, especially with regard to the total biomass concentration per volume, which is affecting the efficiency of all subsequent downstream processing. In open pond systems the important impact factor is light: its intensity and distribution per volume element cannot be precisely controlled. Light stress induces an increased production of phycocyanin, a blue protein, which is the coloring principle of natural blue and green food colors. The effect of stress factors on metabolic pathways to trigger responses on cellular level are emerging research topics in the field with direct implications on economic feasibility. Technologically improved cultivation systems address these issues, including production and processing in urban environments.

Besides on the focus on Spirulina cultivation, its optimization and downstream processing, the symposium will address the life cycle assessment of Spirulina cultivation in comparison to soybean farming. As the leading plant protein source, soybean production and processing is highly optimized and serves as a benchmark, although major drawbacks like farmland usage for animal feed production and GMO soy plants are causing consumer concerns. The sustainability assessment is needed to identify critical points in recent Spirulina production and processing which have to be investigated and optimized to make Spirulina a sustainable green protein source.

Experts from academia and industry will present on how (i) a state-of the art industrial scale Spirulina cultivation is realized; (ii) in what way photo-bioreactors can contribute to the Spirulina cultivation in the future; (iii) explore the potentials of natural colors based on Spirulina as raw material, and the usage of process side streams; and (iv) in combination with a critical LCA to depict the potential of algae protein to close the protein gap in the future.

Part II of the session will discuss the complexities associated with removal of a broad range of food residues from surfaces using a combination of chemical and flow characteristics.

Today’s consumer seeks greater transparency to all aspects of the food they purchase, including how it is grown or raised. This session will address the similarities between organic, conventional, and biotech food production, and dispel myths between the various agriculture methods. Technologies along the continuum of gene modification will be discussed, including CRISPR gene editing, methodologies used in the Artic Apple, and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) gene transfer. Real life examples from the family farm will include how the synergies of different farming systems work together toward true sustainability and how farming in sensitive watersheds has more to do with which tools in the toolbox are utilized over which farming system is employed. Attendees will be challenged to ensure their decision-making, policy making, and communications align with science and fact-based information while meeting consumer demand for greater transparency to food production methodology. Too often we believe the answer is one way or another, but multiple methods of agriculture can co-exist in today's dynamic and global food supply to provide choice to consumers.

The concept of in-place cleaning (CIP) has been commercialized for over 70 years, but many of the basic mechanisms of this approach to cleaning food contact surfaces remain unexplored. This approach to cleaning has had significant impacts on the time and labor for food manufacturing operations, and has ensured uniformity and consistency in cleaning practices. Although CIP processes are very effective, it is currently impossible to ensure that the outcomes are optimum. The overall objective of this symposium is to review the current status of CIP, and explore the research challenges to be addressed. Much of the reviewed interest in the science and engineering of CIP is associated with the mechanisms involved in creating the residues on food-contact surfaces, as well as the mechanisms associated with removal of the residues. Included in the renewed focus is the need to accomplish cleaning with reduced amounts of water, a more conservative use of cleaning agents, and an overall reduction in energy requirements. In multiuse product lines, product and operational losses due to cleaning and changeover are significant and represent an environmental impact of the manufacturing operation. Ultimately, the cleaning process must continue to meet an increasing array of challenges to ensure that food contact surfaces are free of residues that could support creation of biofilms and lead to product contamination.

Technology is changing at a revolutionary pace. Think about how the commoditization of the internet changed the retail and banking sectors. A similar trend is being observed in the world of food traceability. It’s not just that we are collecting more data about our global food system but we are getting smarter about how we leverage technology to get smarter about utilizing the data we collect. Data collected for traceability is helping anticipate issues in food quality and respond more effectively to issues in food safety. IFT’s Global Food Traceability Center has studied and evaluated several novel traceability technologies that show potential, from the use of whole genome sequencing to trace foodborne outbreak pathogens and contamination sources to the use of synthetic DNAs sprayed on packaging to prevent temperature abuse. Lessons learned from other industries can help accelerate the rate of adoption of traceability best practices such as RX360 in the pharmaceutical sector or electronic patient records in the healthcare sector. One exciting technology that is promising the potential to bring our food safety systems into the 21st century is blockchain based on lessons learned from the financial sector.

Blockchain is a transformative technology that could finally enable the traceability and the transparency that the industry has been working toward. This holistic view of information could enable better execution in the supply chain itself to drive improved food safety, better sustainability, reduction of waste and other key benefits. Blockchain isn't a silver bullet, but its unique characteristics as a trusted, shared system of record allow us to solve both the underlying technology problem and the fundamental social problem that have hampered previous efforts. With blockchain we can improve how we digitize and distribute all of the information on the food ecosystem. In addition, we can provide the trust that allows entities to actually participate. By enabling the participation of the entire ecosystem with the creation of a trusted record of the food system, the food ecosystem will be transparent and traceable, and in a way that supports the business interests.

The food system has been changing since the dawn of time, but never more rapidly or dramatically as it has the potential to do so today. Whether we live in Shenzhen, Santiago, Sheffield, or Chicago, we can choose to buy local or enjoy the best products from the best producers anywhere in the world without regard for the season. We go online and get whatever we want to be delivered directly to our door or local store. While this modern food system has resulted in more choice, affordability, and convenience, in some instances, it also has resulted in consumers being far removed from where food comes from and how it’s been produced. As a result, there is a need for even greater collaboration regarding food traceability and transparency solution. Blockchain, as new and emerging technologies, have the potential to enable a new era of end-to-end transparency in the global food system that will further promote responsible actions and behaviors.