Transparency rules as one of the top food trends this year
Labels the way the food was smoked may appear soon in several EU countries. German consumers are becoming more critical when it comes to food. They want accurate information about what ingredients are in food and how it is produced. But customers do not just want to know what is in the food, they also want to make conscious and informed purchases. After all, clean food complements the trend toward a sustainable lifestyle. But this requires more transparency. So, it is no surprise that transparency is also high on the list of Food Trends 2021 for numerous market researchers. The CleanSmoke Coalition has long called for labeling of sustainably produced smoked products.
The best available technique for clean smoking
For years, the European Union (EU) has been requiring the manufacturing industry to use only environmentally friendly processing technologies. However, this is not the case with conventional smoking. According to a life cycle assessment by the German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL), friction and smoldering smokers perform significantly worse than CleanSmoke. CleanSmoke is a freshly generated smoke from primary smoke condensate using compressed air – free of harmful substances such as tar and ash and the contamination with polycyclic aromatics (PAH) is largely eliminated. This means that food can be smoked with low levels of pollutants and in a way that protects the climate and conserves resources. The EU has therefore quite rightly named the CleanSmoke process "Best Available Technique" (BAT).
"Smoking is increasingly viewed critically," says Uwe Vogel, chairman of the CleanSmoke Coalition, a joint initiative of primary smoke product manufacturers, food producers and retailers. "Products smoked with CleanSmoke must be labeled as such. That way, manufacturers and retailers can show more environmental responsibility and meet consumers' demand for transparency."
Sweden as a role model
Sweden is already a big step ahead. There, more than 80% of all smoked products are already smoked with CleanSmoke. Initially, the Scandinavians had reservations about the modern smoking process. But the demand from politicians to protect the environment was stronger. Retailers and consumers were informed about the change with transparent communication. In addition to a significantly lower impact on food, CleanSmoke also scores points for climate protection, cleaner air, and a lower impact on water.
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