European Vegetable Processors Focus on
Sustainability for Future Generations
By JOHN M. SAULNIER, QFFI Chief Editor & Publisher

It’s all smiles from fellow speakers as OEITFL Canned Vegetable Product Group Chairman J.B. Bonduelle (far right) kicks off the post-presentation question-answer session. Others seen, from left to right, are: Heidi Goovaerts, group marketing director of the Ardooie, Belgium-based Ardo Group; Frank Fay, deputy head of the EU Commission Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development’s quality unit; Anne-Cécile Cotillon of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Environment; James Clark, science and business development manager of ADAS Sustainable Crop Management, Boxworth – Cambridge, England; Professor Xavier Gellynck of the University of Ghent in Belgium.

Frozen production, led by Belgium and Poland, rises 5.37% to top 3.4 million tons in 2008. Will EC plan for reducing use of plant protection products dramatically cut post-2013 output?

Belgium may be small in size, but it is by far the biggest producer of frozen vegetables in Europe, having packed 900,479 tons at 16 locations in 2008. Indeed, it has been the continent’s most fertile garden for processed vegetables for more than two generations, and a number of the nation’s leading companies have branched out in numerous directions beyond the homeland during the past decade with the acquisition of factories and construction of new plants abroad.

Overall output of frozen vegetables in Belgium was up by 29,129 tons last year, with companies in the fertile West Flanders region accounting for most of the country’s 26% share of European production, exclusive of sweet corn. The export powerhouse shipped more than 800,000 tons beyond its borders.

Figures presented at the April 24 Conference of European Vegetable Processors in Brussels by Professor Xavier Gellynck of Ghent University charted steady upward growth on the EU frozen vegetable front during the past four years, with a cumulative 5.37% increase to 3,439,200 tons packed in 2007-08 among 18 countries tracked. Previous year-to-year advances in production were on the order of 4.10% from 2004-05; 4.78% in 2005-06; and 4.24% from 2006-07.

Output of canned vegetables, on the other hand, has slid every year since 2004. Production was relatively flat at -0.03% from 2007-08, however, at 2,788,052. The canning industry remains significant in scale with 171 production units operated by 139 companies in 16 countries. In the frozen vegetable sector, meanwhile, there are 176 processing plants run by 147 companies in 18 countries.

Poland is the number two producer of frozen vegetables in Europe, having packed 503,000 tons last year (up by 22,000 over 2007), which accounted for 14.62% of total EU production. There were 14 vegetable freezing plants in operation, compared with 10 canneries.

Third-ranked Spain was not very far behind in output, with 480,000 tons (up by 26,000 over 2007) accounting for 13.95% of the market. The number of frozen vegetable factories in action was 25, compared with 10 canneries.

Ranking fourth in frozen vegetable production was France at 470,000 tons (up by 33,671), which was good for 13.67% of the EU total. France far and away is number one in the canned vegetable sector, though, with output of 967,889 (1,000 units of 850ml) representing almost 35% of the market. Twenty-one canneries are active in the country, compared with 16 freezer plants.

Italy is first in the number of production sites, with 36 frozen vegetable plants and 32 canning factories. In terms of volume, tonnage of 258,000 in 2008 (up by 6,000 over the previous year) ranked it fifth in Europe, with a 7.5% share of the market.

Good Turnout for Conference

Held every two years under auspices of the Organization of European Industries Transforming Fruits and Vegetables (OEITFL), the Brussels Conference attracts the EU’s leading vegetable and fruit processors as well as government officials and representatives from regulating bureaucracies, retail and foodservice distributors, equipment manufacturers, seed specialists and other suppliers. The sixth edition was well attended, with 170 participants from 12 EU countries plus the USA on hand.

Conference speakers addressed subjects ranging from Trends & Figures and Promotion of Processed Vegetables, to the EU Sustainability Directive, and Carbon Footprint Labeling in the Food Industry. Co-chairs of the event were Ardo Group CEO Jan Haspeslagh and J.B. Bonduelle, director of external relations for the Bonduelle Group in France.

Professor Gellynck’s presentation, which was co-authored by fellow academic Hans De Steur of Ghent University’s Department of Agricultural Economics, provided an overview on major forces driving consumer societies of industrialized countries.

“Today’s aging baby boomers, those 50- to 60-plus-year-old, are the first generation in Europe to cash in on a double retirement,” he pointed out. The professor was quick to add that 49-58-year-olds nowadays regard themselves as, and behave like forever-young 34-43-year-old persons.

While there is no lack of disposable income among the majority of newly “gorgeous grey” shoppers in the EU, they are often time-pressed and stress-challenged as technology rapidly marches forward at breakneck speed in an environment of constant communication bombardment. Indeed, the warp-speed of information exchange has morphed in less than a generation from fast faxing and faster e-mailing to Internet Instant Messaging, nano-second SMS texting and Twitter tweets.

Speakers from FRoSTA and Casino Group Talk Carbon Footprinting and Enviro-Labeling Urban Buschmann discusses FRoSTA’s participation in the PCF carbon footprint project in Germany. Marc Voinnesson of Casino Group gives the retailer’s perspective on environmental labeling in France. Environmental matters mattered a great deal to delegates attending the 6th Conference of European Vegetable Processors in Brussels, where the subject of carbon footprinting received a large measure of attention. Urban Buschmann of FRoSTA AG addressed the PCF carbon footprint project in which the Bremerhaven, Germany-headquartered company took part, along with 13 other German firms including retailers Tengelmann and REWE. FRoSTA, which is a major producer of frozen vegetables, found that the field-to-factory production of organic spinach had a smaller footprint than did the production of conventional spinach, but only by a measure of 0.99 kg vs. 0.10 kg CO2e per kilogram. It also measured the emissions impact related to producing 500 grams of wild salmon for use as a ready meal base. The total footprint amounted to 1,400 grams of CO2e, with raw materials (52%), storage by consumers at home (26%), and industrial processing (17%) accounting for 95% of the total. Marc Voinnesson of the Casino Group, in outlining the French retail chain’s strategy for total environmental labeling of its products, said that the company has targeted the elimination of 1,800 metric tons of cardboard packaging by 2009. “In the case of chocolate mousse alone, we optimized product packaging by saving 66-grams of cardboard per multipack, thus saving 821 metric tons of packaging from 2006 to 2008,” he said. In a top-down assessment of greenhouse gases emitted as a result of our the retailer’s activities in France, which were analyzed using the Bilan Carbone (carbon footprint) calculation, Casino concluded that it generated 1.3 million metric tons of CO2 out of the national total of 553 metric tons, While employee and customer travel accounted for the largest amount of CO2 at 38%, refrigerant emissions and goods transport came in second and third at 18% and 16%, respectively. “The mandatory replacement of old-generation refrigerants before 2010 provides a real opportunity for us,” said Voinnesson, noting that in addition to utilizing environmentally-friendly refrigerant, cooling circuit sealing will be improved. As for goods transport, noted Voinnesson, “Continuous optimization will result from deployment of GPS tracking and renewing our tractor-trailer fleet with new-generation units equipped with Euro 5 engines.” Speaking specifically about frozen foods, Casino’s man in charge of sustainable initiatives said that, among other things: “We are encouraging people to take items such as vegetables out of the freezer and defrost them for two hours rather than microwaving them for five minutes.”

While the convenience and value of processed vegetables fits in well with the lifestyles of many modern Europeans, “People expect more than a product,” said Gellynck. “They are looking for an experience.”

The frozen vegetable segment, arguably more so than the canned sector, has proved to be adept at providing consumers with meal “experiences” – particularly in the form of ethnic stir-fry dishes and value-added blends that run the gamut from Waldorf Salad to Malay Wok Mix featuring a medley of Asian-style vegetables including baby corn, bamboo shoots and peppers.

With the exception of imported Asian vegetables, most of the basic ingredients for popular mixes are generally available in ample supply from European producers. In fact, last year the production of a number of key frozen vegetable components was up, as detailed in the box at left.

The output of peas advanced dramatically, reaching 591,913 tons compared with just 412,890 tons in 2007.

Production of cabbages was also up (from 462,068 to 478,181 tons), though brussels sprouts tonnage fell from 76,643 to 70,717 tons.

Among key vegetable varieties with reduced tonnage figures were carrots (declining from 456,075 in 2007 to 426,696), and to a lesser extent leeks (down from 53,485 to 52,964), non-fried potatoes (retreating from 64,225 to 58,651) and spinach (dropping from 242,486 to 222,382).

While 2008 EU internal trade import statistics were not available to analyze at the conference, 2007 numbers showed that Germany was the leading destination for frozen vegetable imports as it received 500,000 tons. The United Kingdom ranked second, taking in a bit more than 400,000 tons, followed by France at approximately 380,000, Italy at 300,000, the Netherlands at about 240,000, Spain at roughly 180,000, and Scandinavia at approximately 120,000.

On the all-important export side of the ledger, Belgium [as already reported] and Poland topped the list with external shipments exceeding 800,000 and 300,000 tons, respectively.

Ranking third through eighth in exports were the Netherlands (250,000), Spain (249,000), France (approximately 190,000), Hungary (100,000), Germany (about 80,000) and the United Kingdom (approximately 60,000).

Sustaining Industry & Environment

“Sustainability” has evolved in recent years into a politically correct buzz word with widespread currency, thanks in no small part to environmental-protection driven campaigners. Safeguarding the integrity of biological systems to endure and remain productive over time is nothing new, and has long been near and dear to the hearts of vegetable and fruit processors who rely on harvests from the good earth for their living.

OEITFL Frozen Vegetable Product Group Chairman Jan Haspeslagh, noting that the organization’s members are all for sustainability, commented: “But we still have to operate our business. And there are too many schemes [proposed and implemented by governments and their bureaucracies]...We are not against change, as long as it’s practical.”

Better Living Without Chemistry?

Jan Haspeslagh, chief executive officer of the Ardooie, Belgium-headquartered Ardo Group, performs double duty as chairman of OEITFL’s Frozen Vegetable Product Group.

One such scheme, though it was not clear if Haspeslagh was referring to it, is the EU’s Framework Directive on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides. Steps for reducing risk to human health and environment were addressed by Anne-Cecile Cotillon of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Environment. She outlined objectives of the EC’s “thematic strategy” that included promotion of the use of Integrated Pest Management and alternative approaches, such as non- chemical alternatives.

“Integrated pest management means careful consideration of all available plant protection methods and subsequent integration of appropriate measures that discourage the development of populations of harmful organisms, and keep the use of plant protection products and other forms of intervention to levels that are economically and ecologically justified, and reduce or minimize risks to human health and the environment,” she stated. “Integrated Pest Management emphasizes the growth of a healthy crop with the least possible disruption to agro-ecosystems and encourages natural pest control mechanisms.”

James Clarke, science and business development manager of ADAS Sustainable Crop Management, Boxworth – Cambridge, England, remarked: “Resistance to pesticides is widespread”... and “downward pressure on availability of new or existing plant protection products (PPPs)” is intensifying.

“Nearly three-quarters of pesticides that used to be available are no longer available,” he continued. “A bad situation is getting worse. Herbicide losses are very likely. Fungicide losses will depend on definitions, and insecticide losses are possible.”

Clarke warned that among the impacts of new EU pesticides legislation on vegetable crops will be higher costs for growers and lower expectations for “clean crops” and desirable size yields – particularly when it comes to carrots.

Controlling weeds in onions is apt to be an especially acute problem starting in 2013, when a ban on key herbicides pendimenthalin, linuron and ioxynil goes into effect.

“Few remaining herbicides available will cause issues of broad-leaved weed control,” said the ADAS manager. “The impact on yield and quality could be up to 100.”

If that is not worrisome enough, the loss of Mancozeb fungicide usage, critical for controlling downy mildew, could result in a 50% yield loss.

The story is similar for peas and carrots. Quoting conclusions from a report published by Drew Associates, Clarke stated: “Vining peas [will be] unecomnomic to grow and process in the UK. Factory closures. Frozen and canned peas will be imported.”

As there is no alternative for metroxuron, coupled with the loss of prometruyn and pentanochlor, unintended crop-ups of volunteer potatoes in cultivated carrot fields are expected to get worse.
The result could be serious yield loss and harvesting complications amounting to losses of £10 million in the United Kingdom alone, estimated the ADAS manager. Out-of-control weeds in the carrot patch could add up to further losses in main crop carrots of approximately £6,600 per hectare, he added.

No Easy Answer Foreseen

“Will the consumer accept lower quality?” asked Clarke. “Because that could be a solution.”

In time, new plant breeding techniques could offer relief for farmers intent on remaining economically viable. “This may be a solution for pesticides and disease, but not weeds, which will continue to be a major problem,” said the ADAS manager. “There are some very interesting insecticides coming down the line, but none will control slugs.”

Boosting Vegetable Consumption

Philippe Barillet and Serge Limbergen of JBT FoodTech passed out information at the OEITFL Conference and answered questions about the company’s numerous food freezing, processing and sterilization systems.

Piet Benoit of Isocab was on the scene to talk about the Harelbeke-Bavikhove, Belgium-based company’s insulated panel offerings. The unit of Thyssen Stahl AG is a polyurethane panel specialist with more than 25 years of experience.

David Adams and Lawrence Kuhn of Buhler Sortex Ltd. seen at an exhibit during OEITFL Conference breaks, at which time they distributed technical literature and promoted the company’s InGaAs technology and Sortex E frozen fruit and vegetable sorting system.

“It is important that we grow vegetables in the best conditions, but in the end we have to sell our products. That is why we are carrying out a multinational campaign to promote consumption of processed vegetables,” stated Heidi Goovaerts, Ardo Group marketing director.

She outlined key components of a three-year program co-financed by the European Commission, vegetable processors, growers and national ministries in Belgium, France and the Netherlands. The per annum budget for each country, respectively, amounts to EUR 120,000, 1,620,000 and 260,000.

“Our objective is to convince consumers that processed vegetables (both frozen and canned) can play an important role in fulfilling public health recommendations for the daily intake of fruit and vegetables,” she said. “We want to help consumers increase their vegetable intake, and overcome prejudice and preconceptions that processed vegetables are of inferior quality.”

The Flanders Agricultural Marketing Board (VLAM) is spearheading the Belgian campaign, which is targeting doctors, nutritionists and dieticians, along with the press, caterers and general public.

Home consumption of vegetables in Belgium rose from 66.27 to 68.71 kilograms per capita from 2006 to 2008. However, during the same period intake of canned vegetables fell from 6.2 to 6.0 kg, while frozen consumption rose slightly, going from 3.7 to 3.9 kg.

While conventional supermarkets are where 54.4% of retail frozen vegetables are purchased in Belgium, hard discount stores have gained more than five points since 2005 to claim a 16.1% market share.
“Health professionals are the most important group to impress, because they have a lot of influence,” said Goovaerts.

According to results from a recent evaluation, 71% of Belgian dieticians surveyed “totally agree” that “frozen vegetables are a healthy solution to reach public health recommendations of 300 grams of vegetable consumption per day.” Another 24% of the sample “rather agreed.”

Only 24% of doctors, however, checked the “totally agree” box, while 49% ticked “rather agree.”
For pediatricians, the figures were 29% and 43%, respectively. What was disturbing with this group, however, was that 25% checked the “rather not agree” box and 3% ticked “totally not agree.”