“Germany Saves Food” action week
What does the “Germany Saves Food” action week have to do with Crespel & Deiters, an industrial company that extracts starch and protein from wheat? A great deal, because the appreciation of food and the prevention of waste starts right at the top of the value chain. What counts is not only the behaviour of consumers in the consumer society, but also behaviour in the upstream industrial stages. The Crespel & Deiters Group is an industrial partner and raw material supplier to the food producing industry. Our handling of the raw material wheat and our consistent avoidance of waste make an important contribution when assessing the sustainability of food.
With their action week ‘Germany Saves Food’, which starts on 22 September 2020, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) together with the ministries of the federal states and The Federation of German Food and Drink Industries (BVE) want to focus attention on the waste of food in Germany. We are taking part in this action week because this is not exclusively an issue for retail, the catering sector and the consumer. With our contribution we want to explain our role as an industrial company.
Preventing waste starts with a single wheat grain
Every wheat grain that we process is a tiny powerhouse. It is therefore important for the Crespel & Deiters Group to get the most out of each grain. To do this, we traditionally use mainly regionally grown wheat for further processing. In the separation process we make use of the entire wheat grain, which guarantees a highly efficient and resource-conserving use of the naturally renewable raw material.
This efficiency in the recycling of raw materials plays an important role, not only in the Crespel & Deiters Group, but also in the entire European starch industry. The resource-conserving use of renewable raw materials is a matter of course for the starch industry. Depending on the starch crop, up to 600 different products can be produced with a wide variety of properties and applications. This means the European starch industry provides a broad portfolio of safe and high quality products – starting with home-grown starches, modified starches, liquid and solid sweeteners to oils, proteins and fibres, which are used as ingredients and functional supplements in various applications and industries.
This appreciation of renewable raw materials and the avoidance of any waste means the european starch industry has already become a zero-waste industry.
For the separation of wheat into its components 99% of the wheat grain is utilized.
Waste prevention and shelf life go hand in hand
Shelf life is another aspect in reducing the profligacy and binning of food. The starch products of the Crespel & Deiters Group help to improve shelf life in a natural way. Various ingredients, which are based on natural wheat starch, are manufactured to the highest safety standards of the European food sector. These starch-based ingredients in the end products of the food producing companies help to significantly prolong the shelf life of foodstuffs and drinks.
The appearance of food is also another aspect of shelf life because, as the well-known expression goes: ‘we eat with our eyes first’. Starches are therefore used as stabilisers and thickeners in a wide variety of products. The desired characteristics and appearance of the product are retained for longer due to the starch, therefore the product can be stored longer. This is clearly illustrated by the example of ketchup: the starches prevent the ketchup from becoming runny even during longer storage.
With wheat-based ingredients, which improve the shelf life, appearance, texture and taste of foods, the Crespel & Deiters Group is contributing within the food producing industry to the reduction in the waste and binning of food by consumers. Consumers have more time between purchasing and consumption to fully use and enjoy good food.
Waste is not necessary! Food additives extracted from wheat contribute to a better shelf life of food and help consumers to consume it entirely.
To maintain the appearance and texture of foods, starch products are used as stabilizers and thickeners.
At Crespel & Deiters, we work every day in research and development to make products more sustainable and better using wheat.
The waste of food concerns us all
In the Crespel & Deiters Group we have always held this view. It is what drives us to get the most out of the renewable raw material wheat. It motivates us to constantly reassess the possibilities of our starches, to further develop them and to find new applications. This is how we want to contribute on a daily basis to making the EU food system even more sustainable. Because the waste of food concerns us all.
You can find more information about the all-rounder wheat in the Crespel & Deiters wheat poster
Find out what makes wheat so special as a raw material and what applications it can be used for.