Dairy Dialog podcast 80: Carbios, Chr Hansen, Choicelunch, Friend of the Earth

And we also have our weekly look at the global dairy markets with Charlie Hyland from INTL FCStone.

Chr. Hansen Inc. launches science-based online probiotics platform in US

As the probiotics market continues to grow, a new initiative from Chr. Hansen Inc., the US based subsidiary in the Chr. Hansen Group, sets out to demystify and provide information about probiotics to healthcare professionals and the general public in the US.

Launched this week in the US market, The Probiotics Institute is a new online platform intended to inspire and educate consumers and healthcare professionals about the world of probiotics and the human microbiome.

The aim is to provide relevant and engaging content on probiotics and the probiotic strains and solutions offered by Chr. Hansen.

At launch, the content of The Probiotics Institute will target audiences in the US only.

A scientific approach to probiotics, “It is our ambition that The Probiotics Institute will foster the interaction of users, and become a natural forum of reference and interaction for healthcare professionals and science communities,” ​Andrew Scorey, senior vice president for Human Health, Chr. Hansen, said.

“We know that healthcare professionals and consumers have to distinguish reliable evidence from many conflicting scientific studies of varying quality. We want to help them make informed choices in the probiotic jungle. We will do this by providing high quality content on The Probiotics Institute, also relevant for customers, journalists and bloggers needing information, scientific data or educational content within the field of probiotics.”​

The Probiotics Institute front page is designed to give visitors a clear understanding of what The Probiotics Institute is and what information they can find, while returning visitors will be able to see what is new and be inspired to read more.

“As a leader in the probiotics industry we want to demonstrate Chr. Hansen Inc.’s commitment to public education and increase awareness about probiotics, based on our scientific approach to research and innovation,” Scorey said.

Carbios develops enzyme for PET depolymerization

Carbios, a French company pioneering new bio-industrial solutions to reinvent the lifecycle of plastic and textile polymers, has published an article in the journal Nature, entitled “An engineered PET-depolymerase to break down and recycle plastic bottles.”

The article is co-authored by scientists at Carbios and at the company’s academic partner, the Toulouse Biotechnology Institute (TBI).

The article describes the development of a novel enzyme, which can biologically depolymerize all polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic waste, followed by an efficient recycling into new bottles.

PET is the most common thermoplastic polymer and is used to manufacture bottles, polyester clothing fibers, food containers, and various thermoformed packaging and components.

Carbios’ recycling process, the first of its kind, initiates a real transition to a circular economy and can better prevent plastic pollution. The technology also paves the way for recycling PET fibers, another major challenge in guaranteeing a clean and protected environment for future generations.

Prof. Alain Marty, Carbios’ chief scientific officer and co-author of the Nature article, said, “I am very proud that Nature, one of the most highly respected scientific journals in the world, has validated the quality of the research led by Carbios and TBI laboratory scientists in developing a PET recycling enzyme and a revolutionary process. ​

“The results obtained confirm the industrial and commercial potential of the Company’s proprietary process, which will be tested in 2021 in our demonstration plant in the heart of the French Chemical Valley, near Lyon.”​

Dr Saleh Jabarin, Distinguished Professor at The University of Toledo, Ohio, and a member of Carbios’ scientific committee, said, “It’s a real breakthrough in the recycling and manufacturing of PET. Thanks to the innovative technology developed by Carbios, the PET industry will become truly circular, which is the goal for all players in this industry, especially brand-owners, PET producers and our civilization as a whole.”​

Dr Philippe Pouletty, CEO of Truffle Capital and co-founder of Carbios, said, “Carbios is the first company to successfully combine the two scientific worlds of enzymology and plastics.”​

Carbios and TBI were able to increase the degradation yield of PET waste to 90% in 10 hours, a significant upswing from the initial degradation yield of 1% after several weeks.

Choicelunch changes gear due to coronavirus

Keith Cosbey, COO and co-founder of Choicelunch, spoke with DairyReporter about switching from providing school lunches to creating a new online grocery outlet in California during the coronavirus crisis.

Farmers are dumping fresh milk and plowing vegetables back into the earth as the shutdown of the food service industry has scrambled the supply chain.

One company that saw this change as an opportunity to insert themselves into the chain and shift the sale of food products directly to consumers.

Choicelunch used to be in the business of making school lunches for hundreds of schools across California. But, when the schools started to close down due to COVID-19, it crippled the business.

Recognizing a need for additional avenues for consumer groceries, CEO Justin Gagnon and Cosbey reached out to the company’s food suppliers and created a new online grocery outlet, Choicelunch Pantry, to help move their inventory.

Since starting on March 23, the company has moved tons of milk, eggs, meat and vegetables that may have otherwise ended up going to waste, through their contactless, drive-through grocery pick-up service, and been able to re-hire staff initially let go due to the crisis.

Friend of the Earth

Friend of the Earth is a third-party certification organization that works with products from sustainable agriculture and farming.

It differs from others as it is international and covers a variety of products (to date the following products have been certified: quinoa, coffee, rice, tomato, wine, oil, eggs, meat, and dairy products including milk, yogurt and cheese such as Parmesan.

Other certification standards are either national and/or product specific, and Friend of the Earth said it believes third party certification needs to be independent, international and multiproduct in scope to be widely acceptable and easy to be understood by consumers.

Friend of the Earth is also reinvesting on conservation projects and campaign, making the certification a way to contribute to environmental conservation and protection of endangered species.