Less plastic, more fibers, less sugar, more innovation and sustainability.
The FIA Food for the Future Summit took place a few days ago at Grand Hyatt (Singapore) and brought together senior executives from major food brands, SMEs and governments, as well as start-ups and venture capitalists to set the agenda for the industry to drive innovation of food systems.
We can expect a food innovation hub based in Singapore: it will aim to address the biggest challenges and develop a transformative roadmap for sustainable business. Developing healthy food products and sustainable packaging, whilst encouraging robust regulatory frameworks that can be harmonised across the region, will be key priorities for the F&B industry to ensure sustainable, long-term growth.
Singapore’s Minister for Finance, Heng Swee Keat, highlighted “the importance of multi-sector partnerships to promote a sustainable food system”. Mr Heng also announced FoodInnovate, a multi-agency initiative which will provide infrastructure, build knowledge base, drive co-innovation and cultivate disruptive technologies in Singapore.
Thought leaders at the Summit discussed the role of innovation in addressing the dual burden of malnutrition and obesity in Asia. An increasing number of food companies have started on the reformulation journey across their portfolios, to create healthier or lower-calorie product options. The Summit also showcased innovations from some of the most exciting businesses around the world. With cutting edge technology, these innovators are creating new food products from plant-based and alternative ingredients, such as Impossible Foods, Life3 Biotech, Tamu (that also presented a gelato made with Five10Fibre, a functional food ingredient derived from the fibre-dense parts of the natural sugar cane plant).
Food Industry Asia (FIA) concluded releasing findings from its study on tackling plastic and packaging waste in the region, which identified potential levers to tackle the issue.
(Valentina Righi - BOOP.NEWS)