Did you know that after produce and seafood, the biggest contributor to global food waste is baked goods? To help tackle this challenge for both bakers and consumers, Corbion offers a range of dough handling ingredients that not only help minimize waste in the home through extended shelf life, but also enable bakery customers to reduce losses on the factory floor.
In the words of Mark Hotze, Vice President of Corbion in North America, “Sustainability is good for our world. But it’s also simply good business.”
Extending shelf life
Extending the shelf life of baked goods has been high on the industry’s agenda since the 1980s. What separates Corbion from other ingredient companies in the marketplace is our ability to do this more sustainably – with naturally fermented ingredients that replace traditional chemical emulsifiers. “We help create safe, mold-free baked goods that last longer and that people enjoy eating,” says Mark. “In fact, we can now extend the shelf life of some products by up to 30 days, keeping them fresh and pathogen free.”
Extending shelf life in a more sustainable way clearly benefits Corbion customers due to its huge consumer appeal. However, it also unlocks other benefits. For example, the ability of baked goods to stay fresher for longer has transformed customers’ distribution models – especially in the United States, where bakeries can now send multiple products across longer distances. “It brings additional sustainable impact through the sheer economies of scale,” says Mark. “Fewer trucks are needed; less gas is consumed; and therefore, transportation costs are reduced.”
Reducing waste in the bakery
Corbion’s economic impact on the baking industry also extends to reducing waste in-production. For example, the high strength and tolerance that natural dough conditioners bring to recipes enable baking customers to deliver a more consistent, uniform product – with less waste and ‘scrap’ (which would otherwise be fed to animals). “Whenever people ask me what we do, I always say that Corbion is in the business of reducing food waste,” says Mark. “This is a benefit that resonates with all bakers.”