According to UN FAO, the food production and supply chain account for about 30% of global energy consumption. By 2030, the food and beverage industry will demand 45% more energy due to the impact of population growth and climate change (Sovacool et al, 2021). The need for a more sustainable food and beverage industry is as evident as it is urgent. Food manufacturers are seeking energy-efficient processing techniques to make their products more sustainable. Among those new techniques, pulsed electric field processing (PEF) has proven to be a tremendous success.
McCain Foods, the largest French Fries manufacturer in NZ, is in the sustainability spotlight- winning the NZ Energy Excellence Awards 2021 through implementing the PEF pre-treatment system in their plant. With the PEF machine, McCain can reduce 7 Tonnes of coal consumption per day and carbon emissions by approximately 3,990 tonnes per annum, with a cost saving of $ 1 million (EECA Case Study).
Similarly, PEF technology has moved many global food and beverage manufacturers toward more sustainable processing, advancing them to the market leader position by producing a better quality product at a lower cost. PEF technology has shown significant benefit in a broad range of food products, such as juice, jam, canned tomato, tomato sauce, frozen fruit & vegetables, dried food, meat and much more.
The numerous benefits discussed show PEF's potential as the next industry trend, but are ANZ food manufacturers ready for this innovation?
Do you know we provide free on-site or online consultancy to ANZ food manufacturers around PEF technology? Whether you want to know how PEF works, why it works, want to run a trial or want a chat about options, give us a call at +64 2102533635 or email Lily.liu@tllfoodtech.co.nz.
References:
UN Water. (2015). Water, food and energy. Obtido de UN Water. Retrieved from http://www.unwat er.org/water-facts/ water-food-and-energy/Woolley
Sovacool, B. K., Bazilian, M., Griffiths, S., Kim, J., Foley, A., & Rooney, D. (2021). Decarbonizing the food and beverages industry: A critical and systematic review of developments, sociotechnical systems and policy options. In Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (Vol. 143). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2021.110856