FRANCE — Roquette, a French-based global leader in plant-based ingredients, is launching a new line of organic pea ingredients, including organic pea starch and organic pea protein, from peas sourced in a network of organic growers from Canada.
The ingredients produced at the company’s plant in Portage la Prairie, Man., are adapted for the specialized nutrition, non-dairy and meat alternative markets, according to Roquette.
“Our teams created these great products based on consumer needs by leveraging our longstanding expertise in plant proteins and peas,” said Jeremy Burks, senior vice president of plant proteins at Roquette.
“This launch, just five months after Nutralys organic textured protein, reflects Roquette’s ambition to speed up innovation to keep pace with new consumer trends and to continue to be the partner of choice for customers who share our passion for plant-based cuisine.”
Backed by full traceability back to the farm, the new ingredients will launch in North America, Mexico and Europe, with a rollout planned for other markets.
The new line of organic pea protein isolate comes in addition to Roquette’s Nutralys organic textured proteins, which are available in the United States and European markets.
Ingredion plans to measure ingredient sustainability
Meanwhile, American multinational food ingredients supplier Ingredion is partnering with technology company HowGood to measure the sustainability of 50 ingredients on the Illinois company’s strategic growth platform.
A scorecard assessing eight sustainability metrics for each ingredient, including greenhouse gas emissions, processing, water usage, soil health, land use and labor risk will be made by the end of this year.
Ingredion said the partnership will provide transparency for its customers and help the company meet its own sustainability goals.
Brian Nash, vice president of corporate sustainability at Ingredion, said there is growing demand from regulators and companies that buy their ingredients for more transparency.
“We’re doing it because it’s the right thing to do, but also because we think it’s going to be a driver of growth in our business,” Nash said.
Each of the 50 ingredients will be given a sustainability score of up to 100. Other attributes will also be listed, like if an ingredient is clean label or minimally processed.
The development comes against a backdrop of growing criticism of CPGs on slow progress toward achieving their sustainability goals.
CPG companies have, as a result, been at pains to clearly demonstrate their commitment to improving their sustainability, given that it’s hard to measure the progress they make.
The scorecard will make it easier for buyers of Ingredion’s products to understand the impact of each ingredient, enabling them to make an informed decision factoring in both environmental and social impact considerations.
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