Friday 10 January 2020

Quorn adds carbon footprint labelling

Quorn, the plant based meat alternative, is to become the first major brand to publish a product’s carbon footprint on its label.

It builds on the steps already taken by the company. It recently started publishing Carbon Trust-accredited carbon footprint data for more than 60% of its best-selling products on the Quorn website.

Peter Harrison, from Quorn Foods, said: “This is about giving people the information needed to make informed decisions about the food they eat and the effect it has on our planet’s climate, in the same way that nutrition information is clearly labelled to help inform decisions on health.”

A full labelling roll-out across the entire Quorn product range is due to be completed by next year.

The labelling move will be showcased by a multimillion-pound TV ad campaign launching this weekend entitled ‘Step in the Right Direction’.

An estimated 200,000 tonnes of CO2 were saved in 2018 from shoppers choosing Quorn products as an alternative to meat, the company claims.

Using mycoprotein, which is made of a mushroom-like fungus, Quorn “beef” products are estimated to have a carbon footprint that’s up to 90% lower than regular beef.

Quorn is calling on other food manufacturers to follow their labelling lead, saying such a move would help shoppers to make more informed decisions with direct comparisons.