Carbon-neutral milk powder, zero-carbon vegetables … Have you ever eaten ＂zero-carbon food＂？
Buying a dish can also reduce emissions? Can a glass of milk also reduce carbon?
Recently, many careful consumers have found that many zero-carbon foods have been "updated" on both e-commerce platforms and supermarket shelves. Compared with ordinary food, this kind of food labeled "zero carbon" and "carbon neutral" is much more expensive.
Since the beginning of this year, many food companies have entered the field of zero-carbon food. So, can zero-carbon food really reduce emissions? Do consumers buy a box of milk, a pack of vegetables and three meals a day, which are related to carbon emission reduction and carbon neutrality?
Many enterprises have entered the field of zero-carbon food.
On the morning of October 11th, Jimu journalist saw in Boxma Xiansheng, located in Crab Point, Wuchang District, Wuhan, that many fresh vegetables had a green circular logo on the outer packaging-labeled "Zero Carbon Agricultural Products". Compared with the prices of ordinary vegetables, the prices of these vegetables labeled as "zero-carbon agricultural products" are obviously higher. For example, a serving of 50 grams of coriander costs 7.9 yuan, and a serving of 350 grams of sweet and crisp corn costs 13.8 yuan.
Corn labeled with zero-carbon agricultural products in the box horse fresh supermarket (photographed by correspondent Wang Lu)
According to the relevant staff, organic vegetables with zero-carbon certification do not use chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and the net greenhouse gas emissions in the production process are zero. Every time consumers eat a pack of organic vegetables, they are helping to achieve the goal of "double carbon". Since June this year, Boxma stores have launched zero-carbon certified organic vegetables. "At present, there are about 15 kinds of zero-carbon agricultural products in Wuhan stores, and the sales volume has been good."
Subsequently, the reporter visited many other supermarkets in Wuhan. Although no agricultural products with zero-carbon certification were seen, some supermarket chains indicated that they had plans to introduce zero-carbon agricultural products in the near future.
According to the news reporters, many food companies have entered the field of zero-carbon food this year.
Promotional page of Nestle carbon neutral milk powder (screenshot)
In June, Nestle released the carbon-neutral product "Zhuochun Nengren 3 Organic Milk Powder". It is said that every can of this milk powder that consumers choose can help offset 14.2 kilograms of carbon emissions.
In August, Unilever started to build a carbon-neutral production base in South China in Guangzhou. In the next three years, it will gradually form the production capacity of zero-carbon products covering three categories: personal care products, food and ice cream.
"Zero-carbon food" must be recognized by professional organizations.
During the interview, many consumers questioned: Can carbon-neutral food taste the same as normal food? Will the nutritional value be greatly reduced?
In this regard, the College of Food Science and Technology of Huazhong Agricultural University believes that from the perspective of food supply, carbon neutrality of food is achieved by controlling carbon emissions in the whole process of food production, so it does not have much impact on the nutrition and taste of food itself. However, at this stage, the cost of zero-carbon food in research and development, harvesting, processing, sales, storage and other links is higher, so the price will be relatively high. At the same time, Xiang stressed that whether a food can be called carbon-neutral food needs to be recognized by a professional carbon emission exchange, and the relevant standards are still being explored and optimized.
It is also reported that since the beginning of this year, Jiangsu Provincial Market Supervision Bureau and Nanjing Guohuan Organic Products Certification Center Co., Ltd. have taken the lead in exploring the research on the carbon certification system of food agricultural products in China, formulated the Technical Specification for the Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Zero-carbon and Negative-carbon Agricultural Products, and obtained the certification qualification for the record in the State Administration of Market Supervision, creating a precedent for the formulation of certification standards for zero-carbon and negative-carbon agricultural products in China. At present, the province has carried out zero-carbon agricultural products certification in more than 30 agricultural products such as cowpea, eggplant, leek, pepper, pumpkin, chicken hair, wax gourd, lettuce, watermelon and blueberry.
"Due to the lack of relevant regulations and standards, some enterprises are likely to exaggerate or fail to truly reflect the emission reduction effect, and consumers will have no way to judge or misjudge." The industry believes that only after the standards are sound, enterprises that strictly abide by the standards will strengthen consumer trust and bring competitive advantages.
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