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Ecodesign and Ecoinnovation in The Food Industries Agriculture Food Science and Nutrition 1st Edition Gwenola Yannou-Le Bris
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Ecodesign and Ecoinnovation in the Food Industries
Series Editors
Jack Legrand and Gilles Trystram
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as
permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced,
stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers,
or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licenses issued by the
CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the
undermentioned address:
www.iste.co.uk www.wiley.com
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Foreword
When the two people in charge of the ÉcoTrophélia project – one being the
outstanding organizer of the ÉcoTrophélia student competition and the other the
head of AgroParisTech, a school for the training of the French food elite – asked me
to write a foreword, I pondered the subject. Here is another book on this famous and
indispensable ecological food transition, a book for “ecoinnovation” in food that is
based on the reflections of “agro” students. Is this really serious? But once you
know the background of the two authors, you are reassured about the rigorous aspect
of the book.
Beyond its academicism, this book is crucial. Certainly so. It is crucial because it
is essential for future professionals, students and engineers who will provide us with
the food of tomorrow, a possible 10 billion human beings by 2050! Everyone knows
or should know that if we continue to produce our food as we have done for
decades, our planet will no longer accept it. We are talking about transition when the
situation requires a revolution, a revolution to challenge decades of practice, habits,
traditions, beliefs and doctrines. The authors are aware, to know them well, that the
most recent in this game are the most effective.
This includes AgroParisTech engineers, who having worked for 20 years on the
innovative projects of XTC’s customers, participate happily each year in the national
ÉcoTrophélia Jury. I too know, beyond their rigor, their formidable creative power,
their great ability to overcome established rules and not to bother with professional
constraints... that they do not yet know. And I am always impressed with the result.
This is the great interest of this book: to know how to propose another
perspective on the methods that will make tomorrow’s food, combining experience
with imagination, the best of the scientific literature on the subject and the creative
power of the best of tomorrow’s engineers.
x Ecodesign and Ecoinnovation in the Food Industries
Undoubtedly, we must ask ourselves what an innovation is. Let us keep it simple
and avoid the sterile debate on the true and false innovation dear to theorists. There
is only one useful innovation, the one that brings a new benefit to the consumer.
This benefit, in this case, will be an “eco-benefit” that integrates the environment
from the design of the product or service and at all stages of its lifecycle. From the
formulation of the recipe, the farm, the processor, the packaging, logistics, the sale,
the consumption, the end of life, these benefits are potentially very numerous. These
include the ecology of the manufacturing process, the ecodesign of packaging, the
reduction of energy resources, fair price for all operators in the sector, animal
welfare, etc.
Let us never forget that the winning innovation is a set of several benefits whose
combination will seduce the consumer. The main risk here would be to suggest that
the ecodesigned nature of the product will be solely responsible for the failure or
future success of the product.
It is important to remember one thing: beyond the vital aspect of eating, eating is
above all an act of pleasure. But, in the same way that consumers do not accept a
guilty pleasure in terms of their own health, they will refuse tomorrow a pleasure
that could harm our planet. If this consumer is not aware of the urgency of the
subject, those who will tomorrow be at the helm of the food industry could have the
heavy responsibility of proposing an offer adapted to this vital issue for all of us.
May this book help them to do so.
Xavier TERLET
President of XTC World Innovation
Acknowledgments
The success of these projects was based on the skills of a group of teacher-
researchers, whose dual mission was to support and tutor student groups and to
mobilize common knowledge and skills to propose new learning frameworks for
ecoinnovation processes. These supervisors were numerous in all the institutions;
the list provided below stipulates those directly involved in ANR ÉcoTrophélia. We
equally thank their many colleagues who also contributed to the project. These
direct supervisors of the project included:
– AgroParisTech: Agnès Marsset-Baglieri and Gwenola Yannou-Le Bris;
– AgroSup Dijon: Jean-Marie Perrier-Cornet and Gaëlle Roudaut;
– UL-ENSAIA: Catherine Humeau-Virot and Lionel Muniglia;
– ENSCBP-Bordeaux INP: Fernando Leal-Calderon and Aziz Omari;
– ISARA Lyon: Jérôme Zlatoff and Pascal Boulon;
xii Ecodesign and Ecoinnovation in the Food Industries
Since 2000, the ÉcoTrophélia competition has motivated the organization and
participation of teams to present new ecodesigned products. This book illustrates a
very small part of the ecodesign projects submitted to the national and European
competitions. We extend our gratitude to all the members who organized these two
contests.
Finally, this project was initiated, led and coordinated by CCI Vaucluse led by
Dominique Ladeveze, whose team composed of Benoît Cuillière, Angela Frugone,
Olivier Toppin, Stéphane Brun, Céline Levert, Catherine Gravezat and Nickie
Mauche.
Acknowledgments xiii
Our appreciation also goes to the ANR and to all these institutions, teacher-
researchers, students, engineers and members of CCI Vaucluse, whose various
contributions have fueled the ideas and work presented in this book, as we hope it
will contribute to enriching your reflections and projects.
Introduction
All these innovations – whether they address food safety, the control or creation
of new sensory perceptions, the redefinition of nutritional compositions, the
introduction of efficient biological agents (such as probiotics), innovative
packaging, food-related services such as ease of preparation – are always part of a
purpose that accompanies human activities and their evolution or even their
mutation.
supply and influence of food companies’ strategies. This context induces a need for
new innovations and opens up a field for ecodesign and ecoinnovation.
These types of approaches are not, in fact, so new. They were often practiced
historically either to reduce costs (energy savings, and material savings in particular)
or for reasons specific to a particular agricultural resource or food. There is
nevertheless a great interest in understanding, mastering and implementing
approaches, tools and methods to ecodesign food and develop more sustainable
business models. In the absence of a formal method, good practices deserve to be
analyzed, developed and compiled.
After six years of working together, it seemed useful to make a restitution so that
engineers and students could have an overview and guidance on these methods,
good practices and tools. This is the purpose of this book.
It was difficult to present the hundreds of projects developed and their diversity.
A dozen of them were therefore chosen, and this description is the focus of a
chapter. However, it was essential to contextualize current developments in food
and, more generally, in food systems. The driving forces for companies to engage
in ecodesign and innovation are then analyzed. Finally, on the basis of the
ÉcoTrophélia cases presented and discussed, we have a chapter that analyzes
the driving forces and obstacles to ecodesign and ecoinnovation. This provides the
subsequent content of the book in detail.
details 11 projects developed between 2001 and 2017 that we have grouped into four
categories related to the orientation axis of the value of innovation: a) health through
food; b) improving the added value of by-products and the fight against waste; c) the
consideration of populations in precarious situations; and d) protein transition;
– Chapter 4, “Feedback for Ecodesign and Ecoinnovation”, presents the lessons
learned from these project experiences. It defines the different phases of an
ecoinnovation project, from stakeholder engagement to market creation and analysis
sessions, and knowledge creation process (new experiences and partnerships), and
engages in the construction of a sustainable business model. This chapter also
reviews the main obstacles to eco-responsible innovation and highlights the
educational and managerial contributions drawn from these projects.
In 18 years, the formula has spread and ÉcoTrophélia has taken on a European dimension,
a real reference in terms of innovation transfer and bringing together the academic world and
agri-food professionals. Today, in nearly 20 European countries, ÉcoTrophélia Europe is
stimulating the creation of student-food innovation competitions, with the support of the
European Union and professional federations.
Since 2011, ÉcoTrophélia Europe has motivated the organization of 120 national
competitions, brought together more than 500 universities and nearly 4,000 European
students, and enabled the celebration of more than 400 innovative food products. This success
is the result of broad partnerships at the local, national and European levels. The various
actors have found an interesting complementarity to create a structuring and beneficial
dynamic for the whole sector. ÉcoTrophélia Europe is to date a major European event for
innovation and competitiveness of agri-food companies.
2000. At the initiative of CCI Vaucluse, Actia (Technical Coordination Association for
the Food Industry) and the Agroparc Technopole, higher education institutions, universities,
professional branches and technical centers organized the first Trophélia.
2008. Based on the principle that made Trophélia France so successful, CCI Vaucluse and
ANIA created the Trophélia Europe competition as part of the SIAL (Salon international de
l’alimentation) in Paris, which was participated by eight countries. The involvement of the
national food federations grouped within FoodDrinkEurope supported this European
development. The winner of the national selections of each participating Member State was
de facto the representative of its country in the European competition.
2011. The European Commission recognized Trophélia’s exemplarity and mandated CCI
Vaucluse to implement a European project to promote ecoinnovation in the agri-food sector.
Students had to integrate an eco-responsible dimension into the design and implementation of
their project. Taking into account the elements of sustainable development in the development
of agri-food products has become a requirement and a major challenge for the
competitiveness of agri-food companies for the future. Trophélia thus became ÉcoTrophélia.
2012. ÉcoTrophélia was one of the winners of the IDEFI call for projects, selected as part
of the Programme investissements d’avenir, France. The objective of this project was to
create a national and European network for training in excellence in food innovation and to
strengthen the competitiveness of agri-food companies (particularly SMEs) through
innovation for the years ahead.
2013. The 2030 Innovation Commission announced the launch of the global innovation
competition. The organization of this global competition was specifically inspired by the
ÉcoTrophélia competition, a now recognized reference in food innovation.
2014. The support of the French Fund for Food and Health made it possible to create the
“ÉcoTrophélia France innovation nutrition” prize.
2015. ÉcoTrophélia was a partner of the France pavilion at the Milan 2015 Universal
Exhibition “Feeding the planet, energy for life”, and 16 European countries participated in
ÉcoTrophélia Europe 2015 at the European Commission pavilion.
2016. INTERFEL awarded the competition a new special prize “Services INTERFEL” to
encourage the creation of services associated with the product and belonging to the world of
fresh fruits and vegetables.
2017. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food awarded the competition a special “Fight
against food waste” prize to encourage the reduction of food waste, at the processing,
distribution and/or consumption stage at home or out-of-home catering.
Providing food is one of the major human activities, both for individuals and the
organization of societies. Eating meets a vital need, but is also a source of
questioning on the impacts of this diet on health. The solutions sought to meet this
need vary according to different ethical, religious, community, social and other
criteria. These solutions rely on anthropological, legal, health, chemical or
microbiological studies and analyses. Indeed, the term “food” is a polysemic: it
refers just as much to a science, a context and an industry. The social and scientific
questions related to this term have not ceased to evolve over time, with the
consequence that more and more scientific disciplines have become involved in
this field.
Since the 1950s, there has been an acceleration in these dynamics of changes in
food supply and expectations about food. Two major developments have been the
development of transport and of the cold chain that significantly changed the link
between agricultural production, location, processing, distribution and food
consumption. In the aftermath of World War II, the ambition to feed the population
led to the development of the contemporary dominant agro-industrial food system.
Initially built to produce, process and distribute safe food, the system’s objectives
have evolved. Due to fierce competition, its development has produced new foods
that create new perceptions and sensations for their consumers. In order to ensure
the stability of industrial processes and the characteristics of the final products, a
standardization of agricultural materials was carried out, which contributed to the
reduction of biodiversity. Thereafter, the pursuit of innovation has focused on
diversifying and strengthening the nutritional functions of differentiated foods that
meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population. Finally, more recently, the
agro-industrial system has integrated concerns about sustainability, including natural
resources preservation, environment protection and various social issues – as the
impact of the food on the health – into the design of food.
However, the impacts of food cannot be considered solely through the prism of a
particular food product. The nature of the diet and the associated mental behavioral
components are also essential considerations. Moreover, there are not one but many
food models; however, this book focuses on the agro-industrial model developed in
the industrial countries. Indeed, the development of industrial solutions,
guaranteeing in particular low food costs (the share of the French household budget
devoted to food was 25% in 1970 and 13% today) is predominant and has been
accompanied by urbanization – a phenomenon that can be observed globally as
consumers have relocated to cities, often far from agricultural production.
Food: Issues and Challenges 5
- 3,000 Butter
1756 Mayonnaise
Establishment of industrial
1780
plants for drying
1946 Microwaves
If we turn to the food processing phases, they impact the natural environment
through wastewater discharges, particularly water withdrawals and significant
energy consumption. Some aspects of the food production process, such as heat
treatment, consume significant amounts of energy. Food packaging also has a major
environmental impact through the waste it produces. Finally, in France, 25–30% of
processed food is wasted (not consumed) and some studies estimate that controlling
this waste alone would make it possible to address global food insecurity (Esnouf et
al. 2011).
Minimizing waste during food processing and stabilization is an old issue. For
example, sugar cane factories (see Table 1.1) historically have been self-sufficient in
terms of energy and can even generate and supply electricity to the grid because a lot
of work has been done to control their energy consumption. Moreover, beet
sugar factories have gradually but dramatically reduced their water consumption
and encouraged the reuse of process water. Some deli meats are also energy
self-sufficient thanks to the reuse of animal fats. Today, energy accounts for only
3–15% of food processing costs and there is much engineering work underway to
further reduce energy use. The optimization of transportation and warehousing is a
vital area for further preservation, as the environmental impacts created by
transportation can be significant. Finally, food storage (including refrigeration) and
cooking also have significant environmental impacts.
The term “food” refers both to an individual process and to the services provided
by one or more food systems that deliver food to populations. The term “food
system” refers to “all the activities that contribute to the food function in a given
society [...] the way in which people organize themselves to produce and consume,
as well as the level and structure of their consumption” (Malassis 1994, p. 11). In
other words, a food system refers to a production and consumption model it induces
in a given space and context. It mobilizes its own actors, resources and means that
enable it to produce and distribute food products/services. A food system constitutes
of a specific implementation of the food function and the multiplicity of existing
food systems synthetizes the various food offers in markets.
The food systems underpin our societal structures. Food systems have always
been a major concern for humanity, because the existence and well-being of
societies depend on the efficiency and quality of food production and distribution.
The structures and dynamics of food systems are influenced by a set of elements
(means, institutions, practices and actors), formal and informal relationships
between their actors and the regulatory modes that govern them (e.g. market,
conventions, norms and regulations). It is through these structures and their
combinations that companies organize their food supplies and consumption (Esnouf
et al. 2011).
The analysis of food supply from the food system(s) perspective first of all raises
questions about how each of the food systems contributes to the satisfaction and
evolution of the food provision. Second, the food system paradigm allows us to
question the type of actors and activities that structure and animate the system.
These include agriculture, transportation, processing, distribution and consumption.
In order to integrate sustainable development into the food system through
innovation, it is essential to consider the nature and impacts of the various activities
and their interactions. Such a framework makes visible the relationships between the
activities, flows, institutions and the knowledge necessary to feed a population.
10 Ecodesign and Ecoinnovation in the Food Industries
not, however, meet our need here to present a global overview of the major forms of
existing food systems in developed countries.
– The historical and socio-economic approach highlights the characteristics of
the different periods that have shaped the world history of food. For example,
Malassis (1994) referred to three main periods or “food ages” that are mainly
present in developed markets: the pre-agricultural age (hunting and gathering);
the agricultural age (sedentarization of humans, cultivation, livestock) and the
agro-industrial age (agriculture based on industrial and commercial activities). This
periodization is extended by Rastoin’s (2015) claim that we are now in an
“agrotertiary” age. In this period, farmers are no longer just agricultural producers,
they also provide services related to products or region. In this age, food is, from the
point of view of its economic content – no longer simply a material good, but a
service-solution to certain problems in particular contexts.
The consideration of these variables illustrates the diversity of supply chains and
food products that may exist. However, within this diversity, six archetypal food
systems can be identified that we outline in the next section.
12 Ecodesign and Ecoinnovation in the Food Industries
VARIABLES CHARACTERISTICS
Historically, different food system models have emerged to meet the needs of the
various actors in food production and distribution process and the populations
dependent on these systems. Figure 1.2 illustrates the major FS models and their
global function. Each system is the result of a particular organization and a specific
network of actors. Indeed, the industrialization of the agricultural sector and
distribution has resulted in the transformation of the food economies in the way of a
mass consumption economy (Malassis 1996). This market is made up of an
intertwined set of food systems whose respective importance varies according to the
Food: Issues and Challenges 13
production and import capacities of each country. But this market is also defined
according to the standards of living, consumption practices and public expectations.
For this system to develop, two prerequisites were essential: the ability to
preserve and store food to ensure its year round availability. The two major
innovations that made this possible were (Soler et al. 2011):
– the development of preservation techniques such as some food preservatives
and refrigeration systems. These techniques encouraged the development of
abundant supplies, especially of ultra-fresh and dairy products. It also contributed
greatly to the deseasonalization of the fruit and vegetable supplies;
Food: Issues and Challenges 15
– the use of various preservatives that ensure that the desired properties of the
food product are consistent.
The evolution of the general principles on which the contemporary food industry
is based has been made possible by the dissociation of two stages in the
transformation process (Soler et al. 2011):
– the refining of agricultural raw materials in such a way as to extract their
elementary components;
– reassembly, which is the process by which food is reconstituted from these
elementary components to constitute a recipe.
In Europe, the food supply from agro-industrial food systems now confronts
societal demands in certain markets. These demands include, for example, the
reduction in meal preparation times due to women entering the work force and the
increasing proportion of single-parent households. In France, increased urbanization
has resulted in shorter meals and demand for practical, almost tailor-made meals
(Madella 2018). Thus, to accompany these new lifestyles, food is becoming more
and more functional as expressed in the saying “we eat as we live”. Simultaneously,
growing concerns about the impact of food production on the environment and its
consumption on health are pushing the evolution of food systems (Kantar TNS study
conducted for SIAL 2016). In this regard, the European Commission points out that
“urban planning and management” and innovations in urban food systems are
providing development opportunities in both urban and rural areas, improving food
security and countering various forms of malnutrition (De Cunto et al. 2017). This is
at the heart of current widespread concerns about how to feed the world’s population
in 2050 if two-thirds of the population lives in cities (FAO 2014).
16 Ecodesign and Ecoinnovation in the Food Industries
This evolution suggests that now agriculture has a new market logic that defines
new competition between producers and is based on new concepts and methods
adopted from the tertiary sector. This tertiarization appears in three ways (Lorino
and Nefussi 2007):
– farmers have become providers of market services. For example, they are
involved in the development of green tourism (catering, accommodation, etc.);
– farmers become non-market service providers. Here, they are recognized as
providing landscape management, land use, environmental preservation, etc.;
– the tertiarization of agricultural production, providing a “product-service” can
mean making raw products available in places close to where consumers live
(vegetable baskets at the exit of the subway, at the workplace, etc.) or undertaking
initial processing on the farm. This includes producing soups or preserves,
butchering fresh meat and vacuum packing, and a myriad of other products/services.
With agricultural sector tertiarization, value creation methods within food chains
are changing and becoming more complex (Lorino and Nefussi 2007). This
tertiarization suggests reexamining the modes of creating and sharing the economic
value created. The addition of a service to the agricultural product allows farmers to
increase the value of the product, but also transforms the farm’s economic model.
Food processing requires premises that comply with the health regulations. This
implies investments in equipment and training, but also requires operators to find
time to produce, promote and distribute their products.
operation, but also on the environment in which they operate (Zysman and Kenney
2018). Indeed, these machines, ranging from feeding stations and dairy farm milking
machines to tractors and machines for sowing and field harvesting, can detect,
collect and transmit data to databases where the information can be processed and
presumably result in greater efficiency. To achieve their optimal service efficiency –
for economic actors and for the environment – the use of these technologies will
require new working and organizational methods, new skills that will be
accompanied with greater processing of information flows. While these digital
innovations offer new opportunities for agri-food system actors (improved
operational function, prediction of risks, etc.), they nevertheless change skill
requirements, such as an ability to use software and analyze output, and change
employment and employability. These may change the role of farmers in this
transformation of the organization of work in agricultural, food and distribution
enterprises.
These new organizational forms in the agricultural world are emerging and
changing the existing order in response to the expectations of public and societal
policies. This requires firms, which are dependent on consumer confidence, to create
innovative or customized food products, introduced as “solutions” compatible with
the new requirements. This means the development of products that meet current
values, including respect for the environment, improved animal husbandry
conditions, and the enhancement of the production area of agricultural products.
Section 1.3 introduced the organizational archetypes of major food systems and
the objectives to which they respond. In this section, we describe how changes in the
practices and paradigms of the various stakeholders have made it possible to
transform these systems and change the very nature of food.
The evolution of food is understood in the light of the changes that society has
undergone as a result of the industrial and agricultural revolutions. The industrial
revolution, a consequence of the discovery and exploitation of fossil fuels, has
totally changed the role of physical labor and the scale of food production and
processing. This industrial revolution has transformed agriculture and changed not
only production, but also the functions and value of food. The mechanization of
agriculture, the intensive use of fertilizers and pesticides, and progress in the
processing, packaging, transport and marketing of agricultural products have
all contributed to and been the result of the emergence of an agri-food industry.
All of these developments coevolved with changes in consumer demand and societal
needs.
The food evolution has taken place in a context of growing populations and
wealth. An increasing number of innovations of functional food have been
accompanied by the development of these riches. This process of “industrial
capitalism” (Cohen 2006) manifested itself through six revolutions or disruptions
(see Table 1.3): in agricultural production modes (see section 1.4.1), business
organization (see section 1.4.2), agricultural food processing, land use and
development (see section 1.4.3), distribution (see section 1.4.4), consumption (see
section 1.4.5) and in the identity and value of food products (see section 1.4.6).
20 Ecodesign and Ecoinnovation in the Food Industries
Disruptions in the ways in Transition of food production from the farm to the sectors.
which space is occupied Agricultural spaces as lands of geographical denomination and
and developed know-how
During the 20th Century, cultivation and livestock farming methods in developed
countries underwent a major transformation. Extensive animal husbandry practices
(open-air grazing), in large part, have given way to intensive animal husbandry.
Thus, of the 60 million hens raised in France, only 5 million live outdoors. Globally,
industrial livestock farming produces 74% of the poultry meat, 50% of the pork
meat, 43% of the beef and 68% of the eggs consumed2.
2 Source: www.donnees-environnement.com/chiffres-agriculture.php#france.
Food: Issues and Challenges 21
However, the evolution of the supply of food systems is not only driven by
technological innovations. As mentioned in Table 1.2, societal demand is also
responsible for the increase in the number and change in the nature of the quality
criteria for defining a foodstuff.
The wide range of solutions made possible by the intersection of all these
characteristics sheds light on the complexity of food product design. This
complexity is reinforced by the variability in the final consumer’s perception of their
culture, previous experiences, timing and tasting conditions (Eckert et al. 2014).
The evolution of food supply over the past century, which has led to the
multiplicity of these criteria, is illustrated in the French context by Figure 1.4
resulting from the work of Colonna et al. (2011). The latest development is the rise
of concerns about the sustainability of food systems. This concern has led food
production stakeholders to reengineer their previous criteria to make them
compatible with the principles and challenges of sustainable development.
The technical constraints of the processing industries require, on the one hand,
stable properties in raw materials and, on the other hand, compositions appropriate
to the physico-chemical reactions they must control (e.g. a high gluten content of
wheat for baking). These constraints have pushed agricultural production towards
specialization and standardization. This standardization has moved innovation
spaces to transformation, where new recipes are created. The value-creating factors
in this area were initially far removed from the quality of the material itself. Then
there were, questions on the impact of material quality on consumer health, and then
finally on nature and society.
Initially, the craftsman was replaced by the factory operator; then the number of
the latter decreased due to the mechanization of production. The loss of knowledge,
know-how and responsibilities of the operators of these successive organizations has
Food: Issues and Challenges 23
Figure 1.4. Historical evolution of factors explaining the evolution of food quality
(source: Colonna et al. 2011). For a color version of this figure, see
www.iste.co.uk/yannou/ecodesign.zip
At the end of the 20th Century, food quality control and assurance were
integrated into organizational management practices as a new source of business
value. The deployment of quality management system standards (the ISO 9001
family) has become widespread in agri-food companies and craft workshops,
thereby playing a major role in the dynamics of these organizations and increasing
the value of food products. Indeed, by supporting continuous improvement loops,
24 Ecodesign and Ecoinnovation in the Food Industries
The shift from artisanal to industrial food production has distanced the end user
from the raw material producer. This distance implies a transfer of responsibility, as
the processor becomes the guarantor of the level of hygiene of the product. To
ensure this result, public policies have established a regulatory framework that
ensures the health and safety of production and thus consumer protection. This
regulatory framework his complemented by a normative framework, based on good
practices, the implementation of which can have two effects. First, the application of
standards provides certain factors that differentiate the product offering and include
compliance with rules regarding the product’s safety. Second, management system
standards are a potential source of questioning established practices, and encourage
the analysis of new stakeholder needs; in this sense, they constitute a lever of
innovation for the company (Serhan 2017).
By moving away from their initial status as food producers, consumers have
changed their eating habits, while having an increasing concern about their food.
They no longer know the history of the product they consume, feel they have lost
control over the quality of their food and consequently question their trust in the
food industry in general and in food brands in particular. These concerns have been
fuelled by various scandals and journalistic investigations.
Fischler (2004) distinguishes two categories of changes that have occurred since
the 1950s that have contributed to the evolution of Western eating habits:
– general changes (social and demographic factors, etc.) have impacted the use
of the agricultural space in Western European countries. In the 1950s, a quarter of
the French population lived off the land or in the countryside. Between 1980 and
2007, the active agricultural population in France dropped from 8 to 3.4% of the
total active population (Agreste 2011). Between 2010 and 2013, the number of
farms fell by a further 8% from 490,000 to 450,000 (INSEE 2015). Moreover,
agricultural activity no longer depends on all family members, as farmers’ spouses
are increasingly working off farms (Agreste 2012);
Food: Issues and Challenges 25
– Changes, specifically in relation to the field of food, have influenced the diet
and sense of the function in industrial countries. Food has become a product
processed by industry or food services firms and is increasingly consumed outside
the home. Social categories are also changing as consumers are increasingly
from “white-collar” occupations and have different nutritional and service
needs from those consumers with high levels of physical activity that constituted a
preponderance of food markets in the 1960s.
The development of specific quality food products (AOP, PGI) has addressed
some of these concerns. These products, which are based on a region, have enabled
producer groups to differentiate themselves by reserving names (mainly
geographical) associated with “products of origin” whose specificity is linked to
local production conditions (geology, climate) and related heritage (traditional
know-how). However, over the past 20 years, the differentiation function played by
appellations of origin and food certification has become less predominant. This is
because of the establishment of private label products that have the advantage of
referring to the locations, but also have lower prices (Lagrange and Valceschini
2007).
The increasing urbanization of populations has intensified the extent of the gap
between agricultural production and consumers. In parallel urban lifestyles, changes
in household composition and the increase in employment among women increased
consumer demand for processed food despite the concerns they have about such
foods. The development of registered designations and quality labels is an attempt to
address these concerns and create products with higher added value. And yet, the
multiplication of such quality signs has, in recent years, blurred their meaning and
reduced their effectiveness with consumers.
However, some consumers have become aware of the effects of the industrial
production and consumption model on global warming, depletion of natural
resources, nutrition and health and social inequalities. This awareness is now driving
food system actors to search for alternative business models to provide new meaning
to food and new values for food. These new expectations regarding food supply
have prompted some agricultural producers and some agri-food industries to adopt
new innovative strategies to enhance the value of their products through new
production techniques valuing nutrition and health, respect for the environment,
humans, biodiversity and land.
Supermarkets with an abundant supply of both food and non-food products have
changed our consumption patterns. Awareness of the effects of industrial production
on natural resources, the environment and the social factors involved in the food
chain is driving some consumers to demand products with ethical and ecological
characteristics that are superior to what has been previously offered.
28 Ecodesign and Ecoinnovation in the Food Industries
The role of food is no longer only to nourish and provide the calories required to
satisfy metabolic functions. It should provide the right nutrients to prevent disease or
delay aging; something particularly important in societies where self-image is
becoming increasingly important. Such a perspective fundamentally transforms the
objectives of food product design, transforming it from the “pleasure food” rationale
characteristic of the traditional French culinary model to a “healthy food” rationale
that was adopted in the English-speaking countries. This nutritional model, which
also experienced success in Asia, has struggled to be accepted in France.
Despite the French market’s reluctance to accept such health foods, certain
functional foods, aimed at a specific health function, have been commercially
successful. Actimel is an example of these successes. This product is fermented milk
enriched with probiotics and vitamins marketed as a food that strengthens the
immune system. Cereals fortified with oat bran fermented with lactic acid bacteria
beneficial to the intestinal flora or margarines fortified with vegetable stanols to
lower cholesterol levels are other examples of functional/customized foods
associated with specific health objectives. However, in France, these health-oriented
innovations are often perceived as “unidentified edible objects” (Fischler 2001).
While some consumers have acquired the necessary nutritional knowledge to take an
interest in these new products, others have not accepted them either due to lack of
knowledge and/or refusal to eat foods perceived as unnatural (Lagrange and
Valceschini 2007). However, demand for natural food has grown in the 21st
Century. A desire for “just food” (Padilla et al. 2005) has grown among some
consumers in search of authentic products whose origins and/or manufacturing
processes is known. These are products that the consumer believes express who they
are and, as such are singular (Camus 2004). They are characterized by the
naturalness of their ingredients (organic farming, ingredients with little processing,
etc.) and are believed to contribute to the health of their eaters. The raw and processed
products from the Bleu-Blanc-Cœur sector containing omega-3 rates higher than those
on the market illustrate the products that have been accepted and valued by
this market. In this case, the omega-3 content is not due to a “fortification” of
the food a posteriori (such as certain milks that can be fortified with iron), but due
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reaches the nobility of his etched portrait of Watts—and the pencil
drawings of the nude, several of which Legros has given to the
Museum of his birthplace, Dijon, where the stray Englishman who
stays to look at them finds that they are as finely severe as are the
pencil drawings of Ingres. I have his one big etching, ‘La Mort du
Vagabond’—the scale too large to be effective generally, but, pace Mr.
4
Whistler, I do not, in this case, find it ‘an offence,’ —and amongst
others, two that have, it may be, no particular rarity, but that are
worthily, and I think even exceptionally, characteristic. The one is ‘La
Communion dans l’Eglise Saint-Médard’: in line and in feeling an
instance of the most dignified treatment of ecclesiastical function or
religious office. And the other is ‘Les Chantres Espagnols,’ the singing-
men, aged and decayed, eight of them, in a darkened choir—was ever
a vision of narrow and of saddened lives more serious or more
penetrating!
4
‘The huge plate,’ writes Mr. Whistler—on the
whole truthfully—‘the huge plate is an offence: its
undertaking an unbecoming display of
determination and ignorance, its accomplishment
a triumph of unthinking earnestness and
uncontrolled energy.’
all these things show one or other of the qualities that are good in
him. But other things, of course, showing the quite other qualities
that have given Macbeth a name, are more conspicuous and
abundant: at all events are more upon the surface; and the art is
great that knows how to dwell on the sympathetic and worthy, and
that in doing so does much to modify the popular conception.
It may be true, of course, that the main thought of Irving in
Macbeth is to show the deterioration of character through one crime
that brings another; but such deterioration is, after all, generally a
gradual process, and there is time, while it is proceeding, to show
something of the higher nature with which the character began. I
think I note also, in Irving’s Macbeth, an added emphasis, not only
on his belief in the supernatural, but in the power of the supernatural
over him. The prophecy of the weird voices is more than ever a
destiny. His crimes are done under a spell. He is moved to them
from without, by a something not himself, making for Evil.
And the hold that this force from without, this supernatural
power, this sense of destiny, this something not himself, making for
Evil, has upon him, divides Macbeth until the very end of the action
of the play, from such as his own hired murderers. Not that these,
indeed, are set before us, by Shakespeare, as quite voluntary cut-
throats, rejoicing in their profession; but as men rendered desperate:
the one