News on Energy and Environment from Belgium

Scientists confirmed this week that summer 2023 was the hottest season the world has ever seen by a large margin. Europe is warming almost twice as fast as the global average, at about 2.2C above pre-industrial times.

As part of a package of measures for a sustainable use of natural resources, the European Commission is proposing to set legally binding food waste reduction targets to be achieved by Member States (MS) by 2030.

A recent report by the Global Coalition of Fresh Produce (GCFP) analyses the global trading environment for fresh fruits and vegetables and concludes a number of challenges threatening the long-term economic viability of the fresh produce sector worldwide.

Copa-Cogeca, Freshfel Europe, the European Fresh Produce Association, and Europatat, the European Potato Trade Association, have taken note of the European Commission’s proposal for a Regulation on Packaging and Packaging Waste that was published on 30 November 2022

Potato trade association Europatat will participate in EU project WASTELESS, which aims to develop tools for measuring food loss and waste in the EU food supply chain, currently estimated at 88 million tonnes every year.

In recent weeks, power network company Fluvius has carried out important construction works near the West Flemish producer of potato products Agristo in Wielsbeke.

KLIM’TOP Controls manufactures, sells and installs cooling units and ventilation systems for the farm industry, and more precisely for long-term storage root vegetables such as potatoes.

The Conference main theme was 'EUPPA driving sustainability across the potato processing sector'. It was the first gathering of the kind since the Covid-19 outbreak.

Starch Europe announced the adoption and publication of a sector-wide decarbonisation Roadmap 2019-2030.
At their yearly conference, returning this year to an in person event

During its last meeting prior to Potato Europe 2022, the North-western European Potato Growers (NEPG) estimates that global potato production in the NEPG zone (EU-04) will be down by 7 to 11 %.

When businesses behave with sustainability, it’s not only society that benefits – this can also help bring in new business. Stefaan Kennis, Director of Strategy, Market Intelligence and Sustainability at TOMRA Food.

It’s not easy for potato growers and processors to always ensure food safety or meet customers’ specified standards. For one thing, all sorts of foreign materials get mixed up with potatoes when they’re harvested.

How do different potatoes respond to heat, drought, and waterlogging stresses? EU-backed scientists are investigating the changes that make potatoes resilient or susceptible.

TOMRA Food has unveiled a new brand strategy that highlights the value it creates for customers and food production worldwide, spotlights the ambition it shares with customers

The European Potato Processors’ Association (EUPPA) released a special report highlighting progress made in recent years by the sector across key areas of environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

Una envasadora de patatas belga propone platos preparados veganos. La cosecha de las patatas belgas presenta una serie de desafíos en términos de calidad, de acuerdo con Geoffrey Delbaere, gerente de ventas de Warnez Potatoes.

A lot of water, energy and nutrition is lost during the processing of vegetables and potatoes. Scientists from Ghent University, together with partners Flanders' FOOD, Howest, VITO and Vlakwa, are therefore reviewing the processing process from A to Z in the VEG-i-TEC research center.

Europatat is part of an international consortium involved in the research project ADAPT (“Accelerated Development of multiple-stress tolerAnt PoTato”), which aims at developing new strategies to make potatoes fit for the challenging growth conditions of the future.