Sustainable nutritious foods
Today’s consumers require clarity about food in order to make conscious choices. They expect foodstuffs to be healthy, durable and sustainably produced, while also consisting of recognisable natural ingredients. Wageningen Food & Biobased Research supports the food industry in developing products that consumers actively choose to buy.
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Sensible food choices
Shelves full of foodstuffs that are tasty, healthy, sustainably produced, natural (clean label), safe and durable – this is the vision that Wageningen Food & Biobased Research aims to realise in the coming years. The possibilities on offer should make sensible choices a matter of course for consumers, who are increasingly aware of what they are buying. They also take into account the ecological imprint of the food products they consume, are busy with the salt, sugar and fibre content, and have opinions about added ingredients and production techniques.
Clean label and reformulation
In other words, there are plenty of opportunities to develop ingredients and products to respond to the increasing demand for healthy foods with clean labels. Wageningen Food & Biobased Research experts work together with various companies on the best ways to produce natural sweeteners, preservatives and flavourings, for example from residual streams. In addition, the food industry can turn to us for solutions to sustainability and durability issues, and we know what consumers expect from clean-label products. We also have the capacity to substantially reduce salt, sugar and fat content in products while maintaining their quality.
Working on solutions
Wageningen Food & Biobased Research is working on various solutions within this research programme:
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Clean label shelf life management
Growing consumer demand for clean-label products is creating new food safety challenges. Consumers want less intensively processed ingredients and artificial preservatives in their food products, without compromising on shelf life. Scientists from Wageningen Food & Biobased Research use mild preservation techniques to offer integrated solutions to issues related to food safety, durability, quality and the clean-label concept.
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Sustainable functional ingredients
In addition to expecting food products to consist of natural ingredients (the clean-label concept), consumers also require them to be sustainably produced and of a high quality. Functional ingredients such as flavourings and colorants must also be natural, which is not always an option as they are usually produced via chemical processes. Wageningen experts can produce functional ingredients from residual streams, ensuring that they are both natural and meet sustainability and quality requirements.
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Healthy clean label foods
With consumers requiring healthier food products, the food industry is seeking alternative ingredients for sugar, salt and fat. At the same time, as consumers also associate ‘healthier’ with as little processing and artificial additives as possible, these alternative ingredients must also be natural and recognisable to people (the clean-label concept). Scientists from Wageningen Food & Biobased Research help companies solve this issue by combining technologically driven formulation and reformulation with knowledge of consumer behaviour.