About this issue
Focus on Sustainability
Meeting the challenges related to an ever-increasing world population will require an even more innovative agrofood industry. Sustainability will play an important role in ensuring that we can provide for an adequate standard of living and health for an estimated nine billion people in 2050, while protecting precious environments and resources. Our society as a whole will have to find clever ways to reduce water and energy use and optimize arable land use, while maintaining high productivity and quality standards for food production.
The Netherlands has a lot to offer in this respect. Creative and unconventional business ideas are combined with outstanding, multidisciplinary research in a well-developed infrastructure. Some examples of successful Dutch businesses and research initiatives with respect to various sustainability themes are presented in this newsletter. Topics such as commercialization of residue flows, sustainable protein foods, water and carbon footprint reduction, sustainable food chains, innovative greenhouse technology, and sustainable sourcing are addressed. We hope that they inspire you to explore your innovation plans and business opportunities within a Dutch context.
About Food for Thought
Written for food industry decision makers, Food for Thought reports periodically on agrofood activities and advances within the Netherlands. Its articles, overviews, and white papers provide an overall perspective on food technologies, innovations, and R&D taking place here.
IFT11 Annual Meeting + Food Expo,
June 11–14,
New Orleans Morial Convention Center,
New Orleans, LA
The Netherlands will participate in the IFT11 Annual Meeting + Food Expo with the Holland Food Valley Pavilion (Booth #4829/4929), organized by the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency and Food Valley. The Holland Food Valley Pavilion will represent and showcase the food cluster in the Netherlands for international trade, science and technology cooperation, and foreign direct investments.
Attendees can meet with experts who represent the full agrofood chain in the Netherlands to discuss technology cooperation and investment opportunities in the Netherlands. Companies like NIZO food research, OMVE Netherlands Laboratory & Pilot Equipment, and Scelta Mushrooms will be present at the IFT show, as will DSM Nutritional Products, Innova Market Insights, Loders Croklaan, Purac, Sensus America Inc, and Van Eeghen.
Stop by the pavilion and meet representatives of some of the organizations and companies mentioned in Food for Thought including the editorial advisory board: Food Valley (Anne Mensink); the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (Allison Turner, Peter Folstar); the Netherlands Office for Science & Technology (Karin Louzada); and the Agricultural Office of the Netherlands Embassy (Caroline Feitel).
We would also like to welcome you to a seminar on Food & Nutrition from the Netherlands: New Solutions, New Ingredients for Well-known Challenges on Monday, June 13, from 4:00 to 5:30 pm at the Hotel Marriott New Orleans at the Convention Center (Julia Room) with keynote presentations by DSM Food Specialties, Wageningen UR Food & Biobased Research and NIZO food research. The seminar will be followed by the Holland Food Valley networking reception from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.
If you are interested in scheduling a one-on-one meeting, please email foodforthought@nfia.com or call 404-879-6760. For further information on the IFT Annual Meeting, the Food Expo or registration, please check www.ift.org. For more information about the seminar or to register, please email rsvp@nost.org.
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Two times more with two times less According to Toine Timmermans, Program Manager Sustainable Food Chains at Wageningen UR Food & Biobased Research, the challenge we all face is how to feed the world’s increasing population, which is estimated to grow to 9.1 billion by 2050 (U.N. data). In addition to the increased need for the total amount of food, rising welfare is drastically reshaping... |
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Provalor creates fibers and juices from vegetable rejects “Sustainable business development is our mission,” says Paulus Kosters, director of Provalor. Provalor, founded in 1998, has specialized in commercialization of residue flows from the food processing industry, with a primary focus on the vegetable processing industry. “Even in a small country like the Netherlands, as much as 600,000 tons of vegetables... |
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TNO develops processes that ensure protein functionality With a growing world population, sustainable recovery of edible proteins has become increasingly important. The Dutch research organization, TNO, is working on innovative technologies for efficient isolation of proteins from, for example, fish residues and algae. “Our challenge is to develop mild processes that ensure maximum protein functionality,” state TNO researchers... |
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Breakthrough process technologies for a smaller carbon footprint Since reducing the carbon footprint of production plants has become an important business goal, many companies are continuously optimizing their unit operations. Most of these activities are focused on increasing energy efficiency, extending run times (i.e. fouling reduction), and effecting more efficient cleaning and reduced product losses. For example, ... |
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Reducing the water footprint — cooperation in global food chains indispensable People use lots of water for drinking, cooking, and washing, but even more for producing things such as food, paper, and clothes. The water footprint of an individual, community, or business is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community, or produced ... |
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Koppert Cress and TNO lead the way to multilayer cultivation Amidst the scenic landscape of the Netherlands rises a shimmering structure that heralds a new age in horticulture. It is Koppert Cress’ newest addition to its already impressive armada of innovative greenhouses. Upon completion, it will house five stacked layers of the world’s most delicious and exclusive herbs. This multilayer approach not only saves the precious... |
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Small Bites:
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Editorial Advisory Board Dutch Food Industry Network The Netherlands USA |
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Links to Dutch Food Industry Network Netherlands Foreign Investment Food Valley Food & Nutrition Delta Ministry of Economic Affairs, Netherlands Office for Science and Technology |
About Holland Food Valley Knowledge, enterprise, and innovation are the key factors for success. Holland Food Valley brings them together. Boosting competitiveness through innovation. Introducing entrepreneurs to research institutes, government, and each other. Starting research projects and businesses. Raising the sector’s profile. This is the Holland Food Valley creed! Our wide network and various projects allow us to help you optimize, overhaul, and expand business. |
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