PotatoPro Newsletter March 21, 2007

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Dear Subscriber,

This week we saw an announcement of a carbon labeling scheme in the UK, part of the efforts to curb climate change. This label, developed by Carbon Trust, aims to help consumers make a choice based on a product’s impact on the environment, more specific, the carbon emission of a product during the product lifetime. The first product that is going to carry this carbon label is Walkers (Frito-Lay) cream and sour potato chips:

Total production of carbon dioxide for a standard bag of chips: 75 g CO₂ /package of 34.5 g

In the illustration on the right from Walkers you can see the percentage of carbon dioxide used for each stage in the production chain of these potato chips:

1. Raw materials: Potatoes, sunflowers and seasoning
2. Manufacture: Producing chips from potatoes
3. Packaging of chips
4. Distribution: Bringing the chips to the consumer
5. Disposal of the empty packs

This carbon label not only indicates the amount of carbon dioxide produced, it is also a commitment of a company to reduce the "carbon footprint" over time.

The carbon footprint can be reduced by saving energy. This can be done in the production, but also throughout the entire logistic chain, e.g. by reducing transportation distances. The study by Carbon Trust done to establish the carbon footprint of Walkers crisps suggests another example: current storage practice to prevent water loss during potato storage may be counterproductive (See Case study 1, page 12). I am not entirely sure about this suggestion (How about effect on cutting efficiency and CO₂ generation in storage?), but it is certainly something worth looking into.

Compliments to Walkers/ Frito-Lay for another "first"!

I found for you some other examples of energy saving projects in the potato processing industry:

• A case study on how Simplot saved energy upgrading the burners in a french fry processing plant.
• Energy and efficiency savings at Humpty Dumpty snack food processing
• Carbon Trust also gives some general tips for saving energy in industrial situations

Today, we feature books on energy as well.  

Another major development of this week is the announcement that Aviko is starting a production plant in China, initially producing potato flakes.

Enjoy reading

Paul van Eijck

Handbook On Bioethanol: Production And Utilization Ethanol is a fuel with characteristics that allows high efficiency in optimized engines and reduced ozone and smog formation. This volume addresses the key aspects of ethanol production from inexpensive and abundant sources: municipal waste, waste paper, more...

Handbook of Alternative Fuel Technologies In addition to enabling a clean and energy efficient future, alternative fuel sources are fast becoming a necessity for meeting today's growing demands for low-cost and convenient energy. The Handbook of Alternative Fuel Technologies offers a thorough more.