HELSINKI-Even coffee is no longer required to originate from nature. VTT Technical Research Centre, a public research institute owned by the Finnish government, has produced the first batches of coffee “cells” in a bioreactor, news outlets there say.
The Finnish institute stated in a press release that the innovation could help make coffee production more sustainable. The first VTT batches produced in a Finnish laboratory smell and taste like conventional coffee.
This year, coffee is among the foods that have been in short supply and experienced price increases. Increasing demand and numerous sustainability challenges in traditional coffee agriculture may exacerbate both of these issues. More land is required to produce sufficient quantities of coffee beans, which frequently results in deforestation, especially in sensitive rainforest regions.
Similar to the technologies used to replicate animal-based products such as meats and milk, coffee cell cultures begin replicating in nutrient-filled bioreactors. After analyzing the biomass, a roasting process was developed, and a trained sensory panel at VTT evaluated the new coffee. Several disciplines and experts in plant biotechnology, chemistry, and food science were required for the procedure.
Dr. Heiko Rischer, the leader of the research team, explains, “At VTT, this project was part of our overall effort to develop the biotechnological production of everyday and familiar commodities that are traditionally produced by agriculture.” “For this, we use a variety of hosts, including microbes and plant cells.”
Currently, all coffee produced under laboratory conditions is considered an experimental food and would require FDA approval before being marketed and sold to U.S. consumers. Before being marketed in Europe, lab-grown coffee must first be approved as a Novel Food.
Meanwhile, despite efforts to reduce waste, such as Starbucks Japan’s reusable mug service, an estimated 369.5 million disposable cups were still used by major coffee chains in Japan in 2020. This is equivalent to approximately one million paper and plastic cups per day.
In a recent study, Greenpeace Japan, an environmental protection organization combating global environmental problems, revealed these figures. The study examined the use of disposable cups at nine of Japan’s largest coffee chains: Starbucks Coffee Japan, Tully’s Coffee, Pronto, Doutor, Caffe Veloce, Excelsior Caffe, Ueshima Coffee House, Cafe de Crim, and Komeda’s Coffee.
Can you imagine the appearance of 369,500,000 disposable cups? According to the report, if these cups were stacked, they would weigh over 2,808 tonnes and equal approximately 60,000 Tokyo Skytrees.
Not only do disposable plastic and paper cups pollute city streets and the ocean, but they are also difficult to recycle, so the majority of them are incinerated after a single use. Greenpeace Japan has created an online petition to request that Starbucks, Tully’s Coffee, and Pronto serve coffee in an eco-friendly manner that uses fewer disposable cups in order to combat this issue.
The petition presents three primary requests to these coffee chains: establish realistic waste reduction goals, use mugs and glasses in-store, and encourage more individuals to bring their own cups for takeaway beverages or introduce returnable reusable cups.
https://thecooperator.news/global-coffee-exports-gain-slight-increase-says-new-ico-report/
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