Ecodesign and Ecoinnovation in the Food Industries

Gwenola Yannou-Le Bris, Hiam Serhan, Sibylle Duchaine, Jean-Marc Ferrandi, Gilles Trystram

• Publisher: Wiley-ISTE
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN:
  9781786304896
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781119687368
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Food Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Innovations of agri-food systems during the last 50 years have been guided by a globalized agro-industrial paradigm, which has contributed to climate change, degradation of natural resources, soil depletion, social inequalities, loss of biodiversity and various food-related health problems. Despite the increasing emphasis of food policies and research to address these issues with ecologically sustainable innovations, there are still no studies that explain how to utilize and integrate ecodesign practices in food products development in a world of finite resources. This book explains how to employ ecodesign in business models to address the economic, social, environmental, and nutritional problems that face the world?s food systems. The lessons of the ÉcoTrophélia project ? a unique program implemented by a group of European agricultural higher education institutions to involve students in designing and developing food ecoinnovation projects ? are explored. Through an analysis of these projects, the authors describe the tools, methods and standards that were developed to institute ecodesign into the business models of 11 ecologically-friendly food products. This book provides operational good practices that can be implemented in educational programs and agri-food industries, to orient learning and practices towards greater sustainability.

PART 1
Food and Sustainable Development Challenges

1
Food: Issues and Challenges

1.1. History and roles of food

Providing food is one of the major human activities, both for individuals and the organization of societies. Eating meets a vital need, but is also a source of questioning on the impacts of this diet on health. The solutions sought to meet this need vary according to different ethical, religious, community, social and other criteria. These solutions rely on anthropological, legal, health, chemical or microbiological studies and analyses. Indeed, the term “food” is a polysemic: it refers just as much to a science, a context and an industry. The social and scientific questions related to this term have not ceased to evolve over time, with the consequence that more and more scientific disciplines have become involved in this field.

These questions have always connected food to agriculture, livestock and fisheries. Even before the existence of organized agriculture, hunter-gatherers had to deal with concerns about their food, including preserving a level of hygiene, making it edible, as well as preserving food for “delayed consumption” when cultivation was not possible. These challenges remain and are the essential foundations for a history of food. To illustrate the main stages of this food history, Table 1.1 presents some key dates. These dates illustrate the various means implemented to ensure, first, a delayed consumption of food and then, gradually, the complementary search for flavors, tastes, textures and savors (olfactory sensations) that provide a new organoleptic¹ dimension that differentiates foods. These goals prompted the diversification of food sources and changes in diet. The history of various foods illustrates the evolution of consumer tastes and expectations. To illustrate, for a long time in France, white bread was a symbol of bourgeois wealth; in contrast to brown bread, which was consumed by subordinate social groups. It was not until the 1970s that the nutritional qualities of wholemeal bread (made with wholemeal flour) was discovered (Curtet 1998). The examples in Table 1.1 show that, in order to achieve food’s key nutritional functions (providing essential nutrients for the body’s make-up, maintenance and protection), it was necessary to develop physical, chemical and biological processes, either alone or in combination. It is thanks to these innovations that it has been possible to ensure the processing of agricultural raw materials and allow the development of a considerable range of attributes (criteria determining a food value).

Since the 1950s, there has been an acceleration in these dynamics of changes in food supply and expectations about food. Two major developments have been the development of transport and of the cold chain that significantly changed the link between agricultural production, location, processing, distribution and food consumption. In the aftermath of World War II, the ambition to feed the population led to the development of the contemporary dominant agro-industrial food system. Initially built to produce, process and distribute safe food, the system’s objectives have evolved. Due to fierce competition, its development has produced new foods that create new perceptions and sensations for their consumers. In order to ensure the stability of industrial processes and the characteristics of the final products, a standardization of agricultural materials was carried out, which contributed to the reduction of biodiversity. Thereafter, the pursuit of innovation has focused on diversifying and strengthening the nutritional functions of differentiated foods that meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population. Finally, more recently, the agro-industrial system has integrated concerns about sustainability, including natural resources preservation, environment protection and various social issues – as the impact of the food on the health – into the design of food.

However, the impacts of food cannot be considered solely through the prism of a particular food product. The nature of the diet and the associated mental behavioral components are also essential considerations. Moreover, there are not one but many food models; however, this book focuses on the agro-industrial model developed in the industrial countries. Indeed, the development of industrial solutions, guaranteeing in particular low food costs (the share of the French household budget devoted to food was 25% in 1970 and 13% today) is predominant and has been accompanied by urbanization – a phenomenon that can be observed globally as consumers have relocated to cities, often far from agricultural production.

Table 1.1. Examples of food history and associated discoveries

- 400,000	First proof of cooked food
- 9,000	Cheese-making technology	Delayed consumption of dairy products
- 5,000	Drying of meat products in their own fat (Egypt)	First known application of meat product frying without vegetable fat
- 4,000	Beer fermentation
- 3,000	Butter
- 2,400	Beekeeping (Egypt) hive engineering
- 2,000	Drying, salting, smoking of meat products (Babylon/Egypt)	Stabilization of meat products for preservation under non-controlled conditions
- 2,000	Noodles (China)
- 300	Jam (Italy)	Packing and preservation
- 340	Sausages (Greece)
- 350	Crystallization of sugar (India)
1238	Different laws and regulations for brewing processes	First appearance of food regulation
1680	Fried potatoes (Belgium)	Use of vegetable oil
17^th Century	Concentration of sugar cane juice: first fermentation and distillation of molasses	Example of circular economy and energy recovery and material saving
1735	Stock cubes (France)	Use of by-products to reduce loss and reduce waste
1756	Mayonnaise
1780	Establishment of industrial plants for drying
1797	Manual extrusion, used in 1920 for pasta
1801	Beet sugar
1804	First canned food	Preservation for delayed consumption
1842	Deep freezing of food
1850	Thermal stabilization of wine: Louis Pasteur
1866	Baby food (Nestlé)	Dried food products, long-term preservation without cooling
1869	Margarine, butter substitute: H. MegeMouries	Alternative to butter (animal product) with vegetable butter
1872	Spray drying of foods and powders
1885	Popcorn machines (Charles Cretors)
1893	UHT for liquids
1886	Coca-Cola (John Pemberton, Atlanta, United States)
1889	Dried coffee (New Zealand)
1902	Hydrogenation of oils
1902	Corn flakes (John Harvey Kellogg)
1913	Aseptic processing of food	Food safety, preservation
1930’s	Food storage in a controlled atmosphere	Packing and preservation
1940	Cleaning in dairy processes	Safe, sanitary dairy processes in particular
1945	Food irradiation
1946	Microwaves
2013	Artificial steaks, in vitro

1.2. Environmental impacts related to food

Food production represent...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Foreword: Experience and Imagination
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• PART 1: Food and Sustainable Development Challenges
• PART 2: Implementation of Ecodesign Practices in Food Innovation Projects
• Conclusion
• Appendix
• References
• Index
• End User License Agreement