As the global population is expected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050, meeting the food demand requires approximately 50% more food production. A critical yet often overlooked issue is postharvest loss (PHL). A new technology from iGRAIN can now monitor the grain, to successfully maintain high-quality grain and reduce losses.

17% of food is lost during postharvest operations. This has significant impact on food availability, straining natural resources, worsening hunger, and affecting farmers’ livelihoods. The losses are mostly due to lack of proper storage facilities, premature sprouting and risk of infestations. As the grains are vulnerable to high temperatures, the risk of fungal growth and other infestations is high and can lead to spoiled grains that cannot be sold. 

In areas where the climate is warm and food security is highly problematic, the loss of valuable grains has large consequences socially and financially. 

By minimizing grain losses, larger yields can be sold, increasing profits for local farmers

The role of monitoring 

Current grain monitoring technologies primarily focus on temperature and moisture levels. However, iGRAIN’s new All-in-One (AIO) Sensor Cables take monitoring to the next level by also capturing digital readings of CO2 levels in the stored grain. CO2 sensors can detect emerging problems weeks in advance, providing the most advanced and secure surveillance of crops. Detecting moisture, temperature and CO2 levels in a single sensor makes the technology highly cost-efficient.  

The data recorded by the sensors can then be viewed on the iGRAIN Smart App, at all times. The app can also display risks and ranks the silos according to the length of safe storage time, to reduce food loss. 

Economic benefits and higher quality food 

The iGRAIN AIO Sensor Cable technology significantly reduces postharvest losses, leading to more and better-quality food and feed. This not only supports global efforts to reduce food waste but also has substantial economic benefits. By minimizing grain losses, larger yields can be sold, increasing profits for local farmers. Consequently, this technology contributes to achieving food security and improving nutrition globally, in accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goal nr 2: End Hunger. 

In the realm of agriculture and industry, several challenges arise from bird interactions: birds consuming crops, the threat of bird flu, livestock injuries, and the nuisance of bacteria-laden bird droppings on factory roofs. 

While it is undeniable that birds pose challenges to crop cultivation and livestock farms, which can impact profitability, there is also a strong incentive to conserve wildlife. Birds are a crucial part of maintaining the ecosystem health and biodiversity. So, the question arises: how do we protect crops, livestock, and wildlife simultaneously? 

A scarecrow like never seen before

Danish company WildDetect ® offers a solution with their advanced scarecrow, BirdAlert ®. Unlike traditional scarecrows, BirdAlert ® is a cutting-edge intelligent technological device, designed to identify the species of birds approaching within a 250-meter radius.   

Upon detecting unwanted birds, BirdAlert ® activates connected scare devices in a varied pattern tailored to effectively deter that specific species. With this method the crops and livestock are sustained while no harm comes to the birds.  

Besides sustaining wildlife, BirdAlert ® 2.0 is also made of 100% recycled plastic, the packaging is 100% recycled cardboard, and it uses 60% less power than the previous version. With these alterations the carbon footprint has been reduced by 50% since the first version of BirdAlert ®.  

9 species and counting

What species does BirdAlert ® work on currently? As of right now WildDetect ® has focused on bird’s native to the European continent which are rooks, black crows, hooded crows, jackdaw, European starling, blackbird, barnacle goose, greylag goose and several seagull species. Over time, additional species will be included in BirdAlert ®, making it suitable for a wider range of locations worldwide. 

Birds are kept away in a sustainable manner, allowing for peaceful coexistence between birds and humans. Additionally, farmers who have used BirdAlert ® reported saving approximately EUR 1,300 per hectare. 

The global food industry is increasingly prioritizing sustainability and environmental responsibility. With rising awareness of climate change and resource scarcity, there is a growing demand for innovative solutions that address these challenges.

Supporting a healthy environment

One of the significant environmental challenges in the food industry concerns how popular flavors end up in consumers’ mouths. These challenges can come in many shapes and forms, e.g. bad farming practices in one, frequent use of chemicals and artificial additives in a second, or a high reliance on animal-based products in a third.

The common denominator for the various challenges related to many popular flavors is that they pose a threat to our planet and/or our health.

Natural alternative to popular flavours

Nocla confronts the challenges by offering a natural alternative to some of the popular flavors that have a large impact on our planet and/or health.

This is done by leveraging traditional fermentation techniques to create the desired taste profiles in a more sustainable way. Always plant-based, organic and Danish ingredients as the basis for the fermentation.

On top of this, the production is done at a scale that allows Nocla to be cost-competitive vs the traditional alternatives in need of replacement.

High quality and sustainability with fermentation

The production setup is versatile, which allows Nocla to create a wide variety of popular flavors through fermentation.

This comes as an advantage for chefs, who can make tasteful dishes with a more responsible profile. It also gives food producers the chance to replace existing flavors with more sustainable alternatives. All of this to the benefit of our planet and our health.

Nocla operates as a full-service “taste partner” as the company develops, produces and implements fermented flavors of the highest quality. All of this in order to make the alternative available in professional kitchens and for food producers.

Nocla’s first product is “Kornfond” (grain stock), which is a completely natural alternative. Just the power of fermentation applied on organic, Danish pearl barley.

“Kornfond” is the first product of several flavorings launching this fall 2024.

Nocla is an innovative food company specializing in sustainable and natural flavorings for professional kitchens and food producers.

A large demand within the food industry for better, healthier, and more natural binders has pushed the company FERM FOOD to develop a unique, natural, and multi-functional binder based on fermented local grain. A production method with a potential to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 60%.

Binders play an important role in food products, for instance, providing plant steaks with the desired shape, texture, and juice while holding the plant ingredients together. Currently, many binders in the food industry contain numerous additives, undergo extensive processing, and come at a higher cost. Today, there is a growing interest in the food industry for binders that are perceived as healthier, more natural, and cost-effective.

Using fermentation to turn grain into a multifunctional ingredient

FERM FOOD is a Danish manufacturer of plant ingredients for food, based on local crops. After several years of development using biotechnology, the company has come up with a new type of binder based on locally produced grain.

FERM FOOD produce its binder by adding natural lactic acid bacteria to grains, like rye, oats, and wheat followed by a controlled fermentation process. This way, FERM FOOD is able to make a combined filler, texturiser, and binder.

The ingredients based on fermented grains has shown to hold a wide range of different properties, including malleability and high-water retention capacity. The product also holds nutritional benefits, such as a high content of dietary fibre and improved availability of vitamins and minerals.

today, there is a growing
interest in the food industry for binders that are perceived as healthier, more
natural, and cost-effective

Multiple functions with a lower carbon footprint

Fermented grains have a wide range of properties that multiple food categories can benefit from. The product can be used as an ingredient in both baked goods, meat products and the plant-based category and contributes with binding capacity, malleability, fullness, texture, and a low carbon
footprint. Compared to the production of other fillers, texturizers, and ordinary binders for food, the bio solutions-method developed by FERM FOOD is expected to reduce CO2- emissions by up to 60%.

Using fermentation, the Danish company EvodiaBio has reinvented the production of plant aromas. For a start, they are providing brewers with a more environmentally friendly way of making non-alcoholic beer taste right. The technology holds great potential for several other industries that relies on plant aromas for their products.

Today, aromas for food, perfumes, cosmetics, and cleaning products are primarily made one of two ways: Syntheticaly, using various compounds andsolvents or via direct extraction from cultivated plants. These conventional methods can have environmental implications, with somebeing resource-intensive and necessitating expansive land usage. One example is aroma from lavender, whichn requires up to 300 kilo of plant material to yield merely one kilo of monoterpenes – the aroma molecules known to provide flavour and scent in plants. Natural aromas by fermentation

In Denmark, a third, and more environmentally friendly production method, based on biotechnology is now a reality as the company EvodiaBio has reinvented natural aromas by fermentation, using yeast. The technology has been developed after years of research and enables an industrial-scale production of essential, aromatic molecules known as monoterpenes. A method that EvodiaBio plan to scale and develop for different beverages, perfumes, and a range of other segments using plant aromas.

Non-alcoholic beer is the first segment that EvodiaBio has addressed, as getting the taste of the beer right has been a major challenge for the brewing industry. EvodiaBio’s monoterpenoid aromas are produced using yeast cells that secrete the individual aroma components. These are then blended to replicate the aromatic profiles of various hops used in beer brewing. The result is a natural, pure, and sustainable product, enhancing the taste of non-alcoholic beer.

From 3.000 to just 1 litre of water

The natural aromas produced through fermentation can partly replace the need for harvested aromatic compounds. This enables a cost-effective and sustainable biotechnological production of aroma molecules without depleting scarce resources. Aroma hops used for non-alcoholic beer are typically purchased in the United States, where nearly 3,000 litres of water are used to grow 1 kg of aroma hops. To get the same aroma potential, EvodiaBio uses 1 litre of water while also reducing the carbon foot-print with more than 90% compared to the conventional production.

The global demand for natural colors is estimated to grow at an annual rate of 5-8% towards 2030. As the demand for nutritional and sustainable food options increases, so does the awareness of product ingredients. Denmark has earned a reputation as one of the absolute leaders for innovative ingredients, and natural colors are no exception. 

Selling products in over 120 markets, the Danish company Oterra is currently the world’s largest natural food color supplier, with an extensive product portfolio. In response to increasing demand, Oterra has improved every step in the value chain, from plant to final color product.  

Addressing the entire value chain

A crucial step in Oterra’s value chain starts with plant breeding. Through targeted breeding, new plant varieties with special desired properties are developed. By breeding parent plants and carefully selecting offspring with genetically higher concentrations of pigments, Oterra is increasing productivity. 

One such example is the black carrot containing anthocyanin pigment. Oterra more than doubled the pigment in black carrots, thereby optimizing farm costs and resource usage. This enables nature to reach its maximal-potential in producing natural colors and allows the black-carrot pigment to compete with synthetic colors. 

Oterra more than doubled the pigment in black carrots, halving costs and resource usage

Furthermore, Oterra has implemented a production method called coloring foodstuff where a juice concentrate is made instead of extracting and purifying the pigment directly out of the plant. This method retains the nutritional value of the raw material, providing additional benefits to the consumer. 

Tailoring sustainable and healthy natural colors

Oterra’s comprehensive approach to plant breeding has significant benefits. Their natural food colors enhance the visual appeal of food products and offer nutritional value to the final products. 

The higher concentration of pigment also increases sustainability. Agriculture area, transportation and factory capacity are being optimized as less raw material is needed for the same pigment output. 

By creating tailored natural colorants, Oterra not only meets the rising demand of natural food colors from consumers and the industry, but simultaneously supports sustainability and health in the agriculture and food sectors. 

 

Danish seaweed technology is nourishing a new business proposition for land-based aquaculture.

A plug-and-play system for seaweed cultivation gives land-based fish farms an outstanding opportunity to transform problematic nutrient emissions into a new source of income.

Danish start-up company Pure Algae has developed the technology for industrial facilities that use recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), which enable large-scale fish production in an almost closed loop.

Although modern filtration systems remove as much as 90% of nutrients from RAS fish tanks, the remaining 10% are still an environmental liability and a limiting factor for farms with ambitions to expand. It is this challenge that the Pure Algae’s automated seaweed-growing containers are designed to solve.

High-quality seaweed and tonnes of fish
Founder and CEO Esben Christiansen explains how the scalable, plug-in containers turn the concept of water purification around. From being an expense, nutrient removal becomes a driver of profit.

The technology can turn 60 tonnes of RAS process water into 300 tonnes of high-quality seaweed

“Compliance with environmental regulations is easier because the seaweed consumes waste nutrients in the water. RAS facilities can then produce tonnes more fish while creating an additional revenue stream.”

A rich source of bioactive compounds
Compared to a conventional nutrient capture and storage system, nutrients such as nitrogen and CO2 are captured and utilised for seaweed growth. The seaweed can be sold for use in dietary supplements, food products and cosmetics. Rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and omega-3 fatty acids, seaweed is also an efficient source of nutrition in fish feed – completing the circular loop.

“There are more than 10,000 seaweed varieties, each with their own properties. An important part of our role is to advise aquaculture companies on the best seaweed variety for their facility. Due to the high interest in seaweed from various industries, we can often connect them with a potential buyer for the seaweed that they can deliver with a stable high quality all year round,” Christiansen says.

International exports underway
Pure Algae delivers lab-scale units for production trials and large-scale container systems, which can be installed individually or in clusters. Industrial units for higher capacity needs will be launched in the near future.

The technology is attracting considerable international attention, with exports of the first container systems to Germany, Portugal and Switzerland.

 

Dairy farming is a critical component of the global agricultural sector, providing nutrients and food products to millions of people. However, the significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions are costly and unsustainable.

Manure management is a significant contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions, due to the high production of methane and nitrous oxide during manure storage. To combat this challenge, GEA has introduced a new system that reduces the emissions and increases the crop yield.

Reducing emissions with nitrogen content

To reduce emissions from manure management, GEA, in collaboration with N2 Applied, has introduced the GEA ProManure E2950 – Manure Enricher. The system converts livestock manure into an environmentally friendly nitrogen enriched fertilizer, through plasma technology. The system operates automatically and is installed in a 20-foot container, making it easy to integrate into a farm’s existing infrastructure. It can be remotely monitored, ensuring seamless operation.

Compared to normal fertilizer production that is heavy in greenhouse gases, the technology adds nitrogen from the air into slurry, increasing the nitrogen content. This reaction lowers the pH and reduces the ammonia emissions by 95% and methane emissions by 99% from storage and spreading.

This reaction lowers the pH and reduces the ammonia emissions by 95% and methane emissions by 99% from storage and spreading

The use of nitrogen enriched fertilizer has not only reduced emissions significantly, but also resulted in greater crop yields. On average, dairy farmers have realized that compared to untreated livestock slurry, the system has increased their crop yields by up to 40% and reduced air pollution on dairy farms by up to 50%. Moreover, the process eliminates leakages and typical manure smells on their farms, providing greater flexibility for manure spreading.

An investment in the climate and cost effectiveness

The technology can be profitably utilized within the framework of the EU’s Farm to Fork program to effectively reduce agricultural emissions and meet the climate targets set by individual nations. This is particularly beneficial for countries which have or consider introducing the CO2 tax, as it helps reduce overall costs for dairy farmers.

Feed prices vary a lot in the aquaculture business. When they go up, the higher production cost is not necessarily reflected in the sales price to consumers. That can really put earnings under pressure in an industry where feed is the biggest expense.

For the fish feed specialists at Aller Aqua, ensuring the fish farmers’ profitability is an important part of the job. The Danish family-run business draws on 60 years of experience when tailoring feed products that balance farm budgets with the needs of the fish.

“Being close to our customers is how we differentiate ourselves. It’s not just about delivering fish feed. We have to be able to react quickly and spar with customers about how we can optimise their business,” says Henrik Halken, group vice-president.

Efficiency with a low footprint

Sustainable sourcing of raw materials plays a big role in that. By prioritising locally sourced raw materials, Aller Aqua has come a long way with improving cost efficiency and reducing the feed’s carbon footprint. At the company’s European factories, for example, the substitution of imported soymeal with local crops has cut CO₂ emissions by 17%.

Henrik Halken adds that extra flexibility comes from the use of alternative raw materials, such as processed animal proteins for protein powder or rapeseed oil instead of fish oil.

Around 90% of raw materials today come from the area around our production plants, particularly in Europe. Because we’ve become really good at using what we have in the region, we transport less.

Tailored feed for 30 species

The Aller Aqua research centre in Germany is responsible for testing the palatability, digestibility and quality of new raw materials and their impact on fish growth and health.

Large-scale feed trials are then conducted at sites in China, Egypt, Zambia and China. These ensure the feed is perfectly adapted to each fish species under local conditions. Feed formulations have been developed and comprehensively tested for 30 species in all.

In addition to its factory in Denmark, Aller Aqua has production facilities in China, Egypt, Germany, Poland, Serbia and Zambia. Exports to more than 70 countries worldwide are  testament to the company’s knowledge and expertise.

 

Relentless innovation is a must in the fisheries sector to overcome challenges like excessive by-catch and seabed damage. Using the latest proven equipment, fishing vessels and sea-based fish farms can make their operations more efficient and sustainable.

Flume Tank North Sea A/S in northern Jutland is the go-to test facility for validating new gear before it goes on the market. The largest in Europe and the second largest in the world, the tank can demonstrate exactly how a new trawl door, fish cage and other devices will behave in the ocean. The tank can also detect unforseen errors with a negative impact on performance.

The tank can also detect unforeseen errors with a negative impact on performance

Real-time performance data

Precision testing relies on the tank’s ability to simulate ocean current and waves. Real-time performance measurements are then captured by an advanced 3D video setup. Along the tank’s clear sides, there is plenty of space for the large groups of international observers who regularly visit.

According to CEO Mette Hyldgaard Roussis, Flume Tank North Sea A/S serves as an important bridge between research, business and fishery authorities.

“The biggest value we provide is that our clients can see what’s happening in the water. They may need to ensure a certain piece of equipment meets legal requirements or to determine how to optimise it to improve safety. Or they may be working on an innovation project to develop a new type of net that reduces by-catch, for example. We give them a detailed report after each test.”

A centre of international renown

Most of the clients are big equipment suppliers from around the North Atlantic. Often they bring their own customers for a demonstration before finalising a sale. Other clients include Denmark’s National Institute of Aquatic Resources, which recently opened a new campus at the North Sea Science Park, where Flume Tank North Sea A/S is based. Fishery authorities also use the facility for training purposes.

From autumn 2024, it will become possible for visitors to view tank demonstrations via a new online platform. Mette Hyldgaard Roussis expects this to make the facility more useful to international organisations from further afield.

“The fishery sector must stay innovative to meet new requirements for protecting the marine environment. We are here to facilitate that continuous development so the industry can operate sustainably and profitably in the future.”