Technology In The Food Sector To Improve The Impact On The Environment

we speak today sandra ramsoSustainability expert and co-founder of Seven Roots.

At Seven Roots, we invest in companies with a positive impact that are dedicated to using technology to improve their impact on the environment. One example is the Bio brand, a company that has created cutting-edge technology for mobile charging through interaction with nature, but there is more.

How can technology help the food sector to improve the impact on the environment?

Technology is a great ally for the food sector from many perspectives.

All the technologies applied in this area, from prediction systems to material intelligence, can allow us to move towards a more efficient and, consequently, sustainable food supply.

The food of the future will change thanks to technology and innovation. Technology capable of preserving nutrients without harming food quality, technology that reduces waste throughout the process chain, technology that will reduce single-use packaging.

From Seven Roots, which technology in this area has attracted your most attention?

Our aim in the food sector is to develop products that are truly healthy. Until now, it has not been possible to use technology capable of maintaining the original nutritional content of food. Historically, the food industry has abandoned nutritional quality in favor of increasing the shelf life of the product.

But there are alternatives capable of ensuring a healthy product without harming nutrients. We’re betting on one of them, freeze-drying, that NASA already used on Apollo 11 in 1969. Our innovation has focused on this technology and all the processes involved in it to get the best fruit product to be consumed anytime and anywhere.

In addition, this technology allows to reduce food waste by more than 50% by implementing its use in large productions. We’re starting with fruits like avocado, which are very expensive to produce especially in the ecosystem, but are a great superfood as well.

What are the short-term and long-term benefits of investing in this type of technology?

Investing in real food is like investing in health. We must bet on nutritional quality unprocessed products, because our preventive medicine is our food.

Consumers appreciate that products are truly healthy and that the entire value chain benefits. But realizing them requires investing in the technology and innovation needed. We must exit the chain of operations based on economic and productive efficiency for nutritional efficiency.

Is investment increasing in this area?

Yes, Spain is one of the most important countries in the development of food technology. Technological advancement and increased investment are the two key elements in this sector.

How would you convince a food company to bet on technology that has a positive impact on the environment?

There are two important reasons: the first is to develop an internal policy for leveraging waste across the chain of operations, eg and easy to implement. Companies that have these types of policies are 30% more productive and also benefit from cost savings.

Reason 2: Developing a product with sustainability in mind from design will make us more efficient in its packaging and preservation. Most of the waste in food is not strictly necessary, we should go to minimalism and innovate with different ways to eliminate a food product without diluting its benefits.

When the focus is on sustainability, the value of any product increases manifold and the benefits are economic and social.

If it’s so easy to convince, why do you think there are still many people who turn their backs on this technique?

It is not easy to break out of the common processes we know so far. Most of us have used the same production system for years and have done very little innovation in sustainability. So far we have implemented innovation to achieve economic efficiency and especially with productivity parameters.

We should stop focusing on productivity and bet on products that are really healthy. The consumer will appreciate and value it both in terms of its value and in terms of its recurring consumption or loyalty.

Now not everything goes into food, we really have to bet on healthy and sustainable products.

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Thanks sandra.

You can learn more about Seven Roots on their website, Sevenrootsvc.com.