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Commodities such as coffee, cocoa and olive oil have been in the spotlight in recent months due to supply chain issues. Some companies have even gone so far as to replace ingredients in their products that were traditionally included with the help of technology. For example, Voyage Foods SeedChips and melted wafers without okra.
Frank Jakash, CEO of Ayana Bio, a technology company that produces biologically active substances Ingredients that support health and well-beingIn an interview with Food Dive, he said the amount of ingredients and crops at risk is only increasing.
“This is not a new trend, it’s just getting more attention now,” Jakash said. “There were crops that were affected by climate change, but there are other crops that haven’t gotten as much attention right now, and those will continue to grow.”
Locust bean gum
This ingredient, also known as carb gum, A natural plant-based hydrocolloid extracted from carob tree seeds. It is often used as a thickener in products such as cream cheese and ice cream. Since most of the production takes place in the Mediterranean region, this ingredient is under threat as the temperature rises considerably, and the region is therefore subject to unstable weather changes.
lavender
The plant is gaining popularity for its unique flavor and health benefits. It is commonly used to add flavor to drinks and baked goods. However, hot summers have led to an increase in the population of insects such as the Cixiidae, a species of mini-leaf beetles related to cicadas, which have devastated the crops.
vanilla
Most of the world's vanilla supply has always come from Madagascar. Fears of a looming vanilla shortage were raised earlier this year when Cyclone Gamane flooded fields and tore vanilla berries from the vines.
“This has been a slow impact and there will continue to be a slow decline in the future, but the broader impact that is surfacing is that we are now starting to see a decline in nutrients for fruits and vegetables and a variety of plants,” Jakash said.
The CEO suggests that companies start thinking about growing crops beyond where these ingredients have historically been found, but that can be difficult due to the volatile nature of the environment.
nutritional loss
Another problem that goes unnoticed, according to Jacques, is that fruit and vegetable crops may look the same as they did years ago, but they are less nutritious.
“The fact that this problem actually exists is not widely known,” he said.
One of the things Ayana Bio does is to produce plants, fruits and vegetables in a way that preserves the health benefits found in the produce and add them to certain products.
“We will never be able to replace the farmers market stalls, but we aim to enhance these crops and grow plants without having to plant them in the ground.”
This involves “cheating” plants like broccoli or blueberries into growing in the ground, allowing companies to control factors like rainfall, temperature, and other environmental variables.
What Suppliers Can Do
Crops traditionally grown in certain areas are becoming less and less viable in their historical locations.
“Supplier will have to find other areas to grow, and that is happening more slowly than it needs to,” Jakash said. “If suppliers can grow these crops in a way that is drought-resistant and other environmentally challenging, that could be another way to solve the problem.”
Ayana Bio's response is completely different, and it may take some time for suppliers to figure this out.
The company is in the process of scaling up and developing an “elite plant cell line” that can produce significant amounts of the macronutrient. But the concern is how the company can produce it in quantities that can be added to food in a cost-effective manner.
