The Danish biotech company Fermentationexperts is specialising in scalable technologies used for lactic acid fermentation of food and feed. The unique process is called solid-state-fermentation and uses less water and energy and produces little waste compared to other fermentation technologies. As the carbon footprint is lower, and the price is competitive, fermented foods are a great alternative to other plant-based and meat-based products.

Have you ever read the declaration on the back of plant proteins? If so, you might know that many meat alternatives have a long ingredient list. In addition, some of the plants used in the production of meat replacements are grown on entirely different continents. Yet, Fermentationexperts has made it possible to mix nearly every plant or protein source to create almost any amino acid profile. At the same time, the carbon footprint is minimised by processing the protein less – often in a wet form which can be directly involved in the process, thereby, reducing the drying process.

Natural, tasty, and nutritious plant proteins

Fermentationsexperts aims to alleviate the downsides of plant protein by providing consumers with local, textured, tasty, sustainable, and naturally conserved healthy plant protein. This can be done at a reasonable price, without any additives or E-numbers, and with a short-listed label with natural ingredients. Another benefit is that the production of lactic acid bacteria is very scalable and that the facilities can be set up locally to provide protein to local markets. After testing the fermentation process on plant protein and making application tests, the company is now planning its first pilot plant for fermenting plant protein for human consumption.

The fermentation process increases the nutritional value of the plant protein as it breaks down fibers and proteins in the plants

Fermentation fights poor food quality

Fermentationexperts uses lactic acid bacteria for the fermentation process, reducing the pH of the plant protein to a level where unwanted bacteria cannot survive. This means that the product is naturally conserved without using any conservation additives. Furthermore, the fermentation process increases the nutritional value of the plant protein as it breaks down fibers and proteins in the plants. As a result, up to 15% more plant protein and additional minerals are released.

Fermentation decreases many toxins and bitter-tasting components in crops. This includes glucosinolates in rapeseed meal, saponins in different plants and beans, as well as glycoalkaloids in potatoes. Glutamic acid, known for its meaty umami flavour, is also produced. Some plant proteins contain antinutritional factors, which can cause allergic reactions. When fermenting, these compounds are reduced, allowing more people to enjoy different sources of plant protein.

Decisions in a livestock production based on gut feelings, experience or even worse tradition cannot compete with the possibilities and results the farmer achieves, when decisions are based on facts and data. By doing so every change in the production is evidence based and it is easier to implement workflows and input from research farms, advisers, veterinarians or other farmers that performs well. In addition to that, decisions are not made to accommodate the average animal, but can take in consideration both high and low performers as well as the middle group. Every change is monitored, and the results are accessible even several months from now.

Accessible data in real-time

There are several factors to consider when trying to optimize an animal production. Farmers need to consider production time, feed amounts and monitoring the animal’s health and well-being as well as minimizing feed waste and lower the water and electricity consumption.

The Danish company Agrisys has created the IoT platform Consys to lever up the production of the future. By using AG-Tech ConSys IoT control platform, farmers can collect big data 24/7 generated from sensors registering that the animals are healthy, that the feed is sufficient, or it can be to sort animals out for slaughter or sale at the optimal weight. The data contributes to the farmer who can develop and innovate solutions to improve efficiency while reducing environmental footprint and improving animal welfare.

Data based feeding can save up till 8 days of production time and give up till 10 % less feed in e.g., a weaner production

Agrisys uses Consys as a tool to optimise livestock production and creates value for livestock production, the environment and economy where resources are utilised and less is wasted resulting in a more sustainable production. When such data is processed and presented to the farmer via the platform, it enables him to make the best decisions regarding welfare, economy and sustainability. The data can be accessed 24/7 and managed on computer, smartphone, or tablet.

Monitoring ensures animal welfare and sustainability

With activity data, the farmers get an indication if the animals are healthy and/or if they are ready for insemination. If increased activity is shown amongst finishers, this can be a sign of health problems as e.g., oncoming diarrhea so that the farmer can react quickly and treat only the animal with an unusual activity pattern or possibly remove the sick animal to avoid spreading. This minimizes the use of medication which again is a benefit for both animals, the farmer and the environment.

In addition, the data will also provide insight into e.g. changes in feed type or quantity so that the animals get the optimal feed, the farmer can optimize his costs by using the correct feed type and quantity and minimize feed waste.

Freezing food is one of the oldest and most used methods for food preservation. Choosing the right freezing technology can minimise production costs, increase food quality, and reduce energy consumption.

A Mid-West American poultry processing plant faced the challenge of using an old technology spiral freezer that required a high amount of maintenance and negatively affected food quality and food safety. The poultry processing plant was freezing marinated chicken fillets and bone-in chicken products and was experiencing reduced efficiency due to snow building up inside the freezer, reducing flow and throughput. Resulting in large amounts of bacteria growth, moisture product loss and reduced product yield.

The strength of all freezing technologies

The Danish company DSI Dantech is the only worldwide supplier of all freezing technologies, and the company cover the full range of IQF mechanical, cryogenic, and plate technology within industrial freezing, cooling, and heat treatment of food. They offer customized, sustainable, and profitable solutions for all industries including meat and poultry, further processing, fish & seafood to fruit, vegetables, and ready meals.

The new freezer technology has ensured consistency throughout the product, and resulted in 25% reduction in energy consumption

The US poultry processing plant chose DSI Dantech as their new partner, with focus on optimizing production costs, food safety and quality. The Ultraflow Impingement Freezer was installed which features a specially designed high-velocity airflow over the product and forms a streamline coating at more than 30 meter/sec. It is designed to quickly crust freeze the product in less than 2 minutes which helps retain moisture after injection and run along operating time without defrosting.

Extremely quick freezing ensures improved quality

Due to the implementation of the DSI Dantech freezing technology, the US poultry processing plant have reduced moisture loss and improved product yield. The quick freezing has increased product flow and throughput resulting in reduced production time and a total increase of 2,800 more pounds chicken produced and frozen every day.

In addition, food loss has been reduced as unevenly frozen products and bad appearance due to belt marks has been improved. Furthermore, the new freezer design has ensured consistency throughout the product, resulted in 25% reduction in energy consumption compared to other impingement freezers and improved the overall product quality.

With the possibility to increase biodiversity, remove phosphorus and nitrogen, the Danish company Blå Biomasse (Blue Biomass) shows great potential with mussel farms located in the Danish Limfjord. The breeding of mussels has the possibility to ensure more sustainable food and animal feed.

The inland Danish waters are facing many challenges. The European Union has set a goal to achieve good ecological status for Europe’s to protect all forms of waters and restore ecosystems in and around water bodies. Today, only five out of 119 Danish water areas are rated in good ecological status, which is why we must find solutions that facilitate nature’s natural resources, while securing a better marine environment.

Nature’s own resources have multiple functionalities in the ocean

Mussels are part of the solution and act as a marine tool to achieve better environmental status in waters.  Blå Biomasse was established in 2016 and has since then developed an efficient and sustainable production of mussels extracting the potential of nature’s natural resources. The Danish Limfjord is a shallow sound in Denmark that separates the island of Vendsyssel-Thy from the rest of the Jutland Peninsula, which has many natural amenities. Here, Blå Biomasse harvests mussels that are served at the dinner table. The surplus mussels that are too small for consumption are used for research with the goal to transform the mussels into mussel meal, which is a source of protein in demand within the feed industry.

The mussels play an important role in the ocean and act as filters in the inland waters and are in no need for any feed or antibiotics to grow. Instead, they feed from microalgae that floats in the waters. The mussels breeding can thus ensure healthy and tasty foods in a sustainable manner with a low CO2 footprint.

8,000 tons mussels are harvested every year in Denmark removing 5.7-13 tons of phosphorus and 104-137 tons of nitrogen

Small mussels with large impact

Today, Blå Biomasse has 100 hectares to breed mussels distributed in six areas in Limfjorden. One big mussel can filter 5-7 liters of water from microalgae per hour, increasing water visibility up to four meters. Today, the plant harvests approximately 8,000 tons mussels every year in Denmark, which can remove 5.7-13 tons of phosphorus and 104-137 tons of nitrogen. In the future, they see a potential for 300,000 tons of mussel farming in Denmark. The mussel farms have increased biodiversity and new species arise on the seafloor. Today, the area around the mussel plant is rated as being in a highly good ecological status.

By 2050 the world’s population will need twice as much food as it does today. But our resources, especially water, will be increasingly constrained. Furthermore, biodiversity serves as a crucial element to sustainable development, but is also declining.

Worldwide, more than 6,000 plant species have been cultivated for food, but today, only 9 of them account for 66% of total crop production. Safeguarding natural resources and biodiversity is thus critical to people’s health and planetary wealth.

We need a shift towards a greener economy as a major element of the transition to a net-zero emissions society, and it requires action on all fronts. Regarding food production, we need to take steps in a more environmentally friendly direction and reverse trends that lead to biodiversity loss.

Innovative tools enable Precision Growing

According to a 2020 study^*, high-tech greenhouses have the biggest positive impact on the UN Sustainable Development Goals compared to all other growing systems and score highest within water and nutrient efficiency. Additional research shows that the use of stone wool Precision Growing media in a greenhouse rather than soil to grow vegetables can produce higher yields with significantly less water**. Experiments have resulted in water savings of more than 95 percent in tomato growing using stone wool***.  The key is precision. In soil, not all the water reaches the root zone where it is needed, and this can quickly lead to excessive irrigation. The essence of Precision Growing is the use of less soil, less water, less fertiliser, lower CO₂ emissions, and gaining a higher yield.

Grodan is the global leader in supplying innovative, sustainable stone wool growing media solutions for the professional horticulture industry. Based on Precision Growing principles these solutions are used to cultivate a variety of crops among others tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, eggplants.

Grodan’s innovative growing solutions facilitate the sustainable production of healthy, safe, and fresh food produce. Furthermore, it creates the possibility to use biocontrol and reduce or even eliminate the use and risk of chemical plant protection products.

Less land for growing. More for biodiversity.

With Grodan growing media, the growers are able to increase yield significantly – up to 6 times higher than conventional in-soil horticulture, year-round independent of soil quality. The harvest season is prolonged to 48 weeks and greenhouses can be placed in arid climates without any negative impact on food quality, nutrition and yield.

At the same time, stone wool does not buffer water. The closed system and re-use of drain water results in no surface water pollution, less use of water and fertiliser and less use of pesticides. The water savings amount to +50% and 100% purification of water is possible. Grodan stone wool growing media enables innovative irrigation and recycling of drain water.

Substrate growing does not require fertile land, and less land is needed because of the high yield per square meter. Precision horticulture and the use of Grodan growing media reduce land requirements for vegetables by 75% or more.

* Source: Evaluating Greenhouse Production Systems based on United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Dianfan Zhou, Ep Heuvelink, Leo F.M. Marcelis, Wageningen, 2020. Nutrient efficiency is the reuse of the nutrient solution (recirculation) and herewith minimising its loss. It is made possible in high-tech soilless cultivation systems with stone wool

** Source:  Passion for a better future, Grodan, 2016. The facts presented in this booklet are a summary of a scientific review of dr. ir. Ep Heuvelink and prof. dr. ir. Leo Marcelis from Wageningen University and Research

*** Source: Evaluation of water saving technologies at Estidamah research center in Saudi Arabia, J.B. Campen, K. Al Assaf, A. Al Harbi, M.Y. Sharaf, F. de Zwart, W. Voogt, K. Scheffers, I. Tsafaras, O.M. Babiker, M. Qaryouti, 2018

Through scientifically based monitoring, a Danish tech start-up is using intelligent data analysis to accurately estimate the growth of pigs. This opens up ground-breaking opportunities for pig producers to optimise feeding and delivery strategies – an area that greatly impacts climate efficiency and the pig producer’s economy.

To ensure efficiency in pig production, it is important to have control over management, genetic potential, stable systems and not least the feed, which is the largest cost component in pig production. Traditionally, daily gain in pigs is calculated only four times a year, which makes fluctuations difficult to detect and react upon.  By monitoring the pigs via daily dynamic data, it is possible to assess the pigs’ daily growth and feed efficiency closely.

Using big data analysis to increase production efficiency

With a technologically innovative solution that can deliver dynamic data on pigs’ daily growth and feed efficiency, the slaughterhouse Danish Crown and the agricultural company DLG has joined forces to give their joint owners measurable results on key production figures.

IQinAbox, the supplier, is a Danish tech start-up specialising in real-time monitoring and big data analysis in pig production. By providing very accurate estimates of the growth of pigs through scientifically based monitoring, IQinAbox can supply crucial data for everyone in the value chain. This significantly improves sustainability, production efficiency and animal welfare.

BY Providing accurate estimates of the growth of pigs, iqinabox brings value to everyone in the value chain

Using advanced algorithms and data analysis, IQinaBox has developed a solution called Dynamic Gain in collaboration with Danish Crown. With Dynamic Gain, farmers can monitor the daily gain of individual pigs every time they are delivered to the abattoir and weekly changes in daily gain are observable, providing an opportunity to react much faster than before.

Optimisation of feeding and delivery strategies

The collected data, along with data retrieved from farms and public registers, are sent to both Danish Crown and the individual farmer’s app. This provides the farmers with comprehensive insight into pig growth, number of days in the housing unit, and slaughter weight, as well as providing insight into the quality and homogeneity of the finisher pigs provided by the pig suppliers. Dynamic Gain can thus help farmers, feed suppliers and meat producers unlock the full potential of their data and optimise their production.

 

Soy has various uses in global food production, where more than 70% of the finished soy products are used for animal feed. With more than 1 million square kilometres of land currently cultivated for soy production, it also represents challenges from a sustainability and climate point of view.

The global demand for especially animal foods is increasing. Consequently, more land is being cultivated for soy production, leading to deforestation in some areas and in some cases causing damage to local ecological environments leading to loss of biodiversity or harming local communities.

Being rich in protein, soy is an essential ingredient in animal feed and a source of important income for farmers in meat producing countries. Denmark is a world-known exporter of livestock and meat products and thus also a big importer of roughly 1.5 million tonnes of soy annually. With an increasing focus on sustainability globally, it has become more important to ensure that soy purchased for feed from Danish agriculture is sourced responsibly.

Leading the transition to more responsible soy imports

The Danish agriculture sector has increased its efforts for sourcing responsible soy with the collaborative platform ‘Danish Alliance for Responsible Soy’. The alliance consists of 20 partners ranging from retail and food producers to NGOs and government authorities and is facilitated by Ethical Trade Denmark.

The alliance aims to support and increase the import and use of responsibly produced soy. The vision is to ensure that all imported soy has been produced responsibly and without deforestation.

‘Danish Alliance for Responsible Soy’ consists of 20 partners ranging from retail and food producers to NGOs and government authorities

Action plans to achieve results

All participants in the alliance have committed themselves to a binding agreement. For companies this includes the publication of action plans that include agreements with suppliers, acquiring certification credits compensating for soy consumption, working towards traceable soy supply chains, and investigating alternative supply options to current soy import, such as locally produced grass proteins. Furthermore, companies commit to report on their progress annually.

This is not an easy transition and requires action from all stakeholders in the supply chain. Therefore, the partners in the alliance will continue to collaborate to identify pathways and opportunities to achieve their common vision.

For more information regarding the alliance, visit this page.

With a new tool that can calculate climate impact in canteen and industrial kitchens, companies can set ambitious emission reduction goals based on specific data. This is possible thanks to a joint initiative between the two Danish companies, Rambøll and Meyers.

UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 encourages urgent action to combat climate change and the resulting increase in global temperatures. One of the primary focus points is to limit the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere and achieve carbon neutrality.

The foodservice company Meyers and engineering company Rambøll have developed a climate footprint calculator to combat this issue in industrial and other larger kitchens.

It is now possible to calculate the impact on the climate of the raw ingredients

Providing accurate and specific climate impact data

Meyers and Rambøll have cooperated in the development of the climate footprint calculator. It is now possible to calculate the raw ingredients’ impact on the climate as well as the impact of the kitchen’s daily operations.

The calculations are based on life cycle assessments that details the climate impact on all levels of a raw ingredient’s supply chain. The data originates from EXIOBASE, which is the most complete and detailed database model for calculating CO2 footprints.

Easier to set specific reduction goals

The first version of the “climate footprint calculator was rolled out in all 90 of the kitchens managed by Meyers across Denmark in 2021. These kitchens are now able to document their climate impact and set goals for emission reductions based on the data gathered from the climate footprint calculator.

Rambøll’s canteen kitchens are taking charge with the most ambitious goal of all the kitchens using the climate footprint calculator: a 25% reduction in CO2 emissions in 2021. This is a vital step in their continuous effort to reduce CO2 emissions wherever it is possible across all aspects of their business. Rambøll is utilizing the climate footprint calculator in all three of their canteen kitchens in Denmark.

Through public-private partnerships, Denmark has succeeded in significantly increasing the availability of whole grain products and increasing consumers’ knowledge and awareness of whole grain products. This success has only been possible due to the joint efforts of authorities, health NGOs and the food industry. The goal now is to inspire the international community to take similar actions.

Consumption of dietary whole grains helps prevent non-communicable diseases such as overall cardiovascular, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer and mortality. Despite these benefits, most of the global adult population does not meet recommendations for whole grain intake. In fact, whole grain intake decreased between 1990 and 2010, also in Denmark. Therefore, the Whole Grain Partnership was established to counteract this development and it turned out that the public-private partnership played a vital part in changing the way people eat.

A strong tradition for collaboration

In 2008, 31 Danish partners from authorities, health NGOs, businesses and retail created the Whole Grain Partnership. Due to impressive results, the partnership received international recognition in 2019, when the EU Commission honored a number of ’best practice’ initiatives that have contributed significantly to improve public health, and asked Denmark to share its recipe behind its success through a three-year program.

while there existed around 150 whole grain products in Denmark in 2009 that number has exploded to around 1,000 products in 2024

The WholEUgrain project, which is a European action on Whole Grain partnerships, was launched in November 2019 in collaboration with project partners from four countries (Denmark, Romania, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina). The aim is to facilitate and transfer some of the Danish best practices for a Whole Grain Partnership to other countries, mainly the countries involved in the project – but also by involving other countries and stakeholders, working to increase the population’s whole grain consumption.

Partnerships are key in developing healthy food solutions of tomorrow

Since the establishment of the Danish Whole Grain Partnership in 2008, the partnership has succeeded in making the average Dane eat 82 grams of whole grains a day, compared to just 6% in 2004. And while there existed around 150 whole grain products in Denmark in 2009 that number has exploded to around 1,000 products in 2024. The hope and ambition is that the strong Danish results can be transferred to other countries, and in that way increase the health of the global population – one whole grain at a time.

Globally we need to rethink how we grow, produce and consume our food. With a growing population, we must take actions to prevent food scarcity, climate change, loss of biodiversity and hunger. There is no silver bullet on how to face these massive challenges, but a holistic approach that not only focuses on production but also at environmental aspects might be part of the solution.

Globally, there is a growing market for plant-based alternatives to meat, but few of them are clean-labeled. The Danish company Organic Plant Protein fills a gap in the market with their plant-based organic brand that is produced without the use of isolates.

Locally sourced plant protein following the organic principles

Organic Plant Protein produces organic, textured plant proteins from peas and faba beans which are sold both to retail, foodservice and as an ingredient to food manufacturers. The raw materials are currently sourced from Nordic and Baltic countries and in few years, Organic Plant Protein expects to locally source their raw materials from Denmark.

The raw materials are extruded exclusively by a mechanical process, which brings the protein content up to 55-58%

The protein concentrates are produced in a dry mechanical process without the use of chemicals. For the extrusion process to work, the protein flour must have a very high protein content. In order not to compromise on the organic principles, Organic Plant Protein has as one of the first in the world been able to extrude plant protein without the use of isolates.

High protein content without the use of chemicals

The raw materials at Organic Plant Protein’s factory are extruded exclusively by a mechanical process, which brings the protein content up to 55-58%. Their dry TVP-product contains 53% protein and around 18% after absorption of water, marinade or another kind of liquid. The product furthermore has a low-fat content of 4%, a high content of dietary fibre of 15%, and is completely allergen free.

When the factory is fully developed, Organic Plant Protein estimates that they can produce 5000 tons of textured plant proteins per year. With 80% of their raw materials coming from peas, they have a very small CO2 footprint compared to other protein-rich plants that can be used for food.