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At Metarom USA, we have firsthand knowledge about the steady shift toward sustainable sourcing in the flavor manufacturing process. Today’s consumers increasingly demand to know how their food products are sourced and exactly where their ingredients come from. Luckily, our team has been working sustainably for a long time.

Alongside the growing demand for sustainable goods and practices, producers are becoming more aware of local, sustainable sourcing strategies. These strategies may have benefits such as avoiding costly supply chain interruptions and long delays in flavor manufacturing. Best practices dictate future production, and choosing a supplier well-versed in consistent, reliable sourcing practices can make or break your product’s future success and widespread availability on the market.

Our team at Metarom works with the most reliable, sustainable flavor suppliers on a local scale. Discover how to use more sustainable sourcing to ensure your product’s future success. Explore how our team has a longstanding history of sustainable use and best environmental practices on a local and global scale.

What Makes Some Flavors More Sustainable?

Products from sustainable sourcing are more environmentally friendly and are produced with a long-term vision of preserving soil health, promoting future growth, and increasing conservation. At Metarom, we work directly with local sources, including farmers, workers, and local growers, to protect local biodiversity and long-term access to our most popular flavor sources. In short? We know where our food flavoring comes from. Not every flavor manufacturer can make the same claim, so when you choose a partner for flavor manufacturing, make sure you delve deeper into their sustainable practices.

Sustainable sourcing practices often involve flavors derived from organic farms that prioritize biodiversity and long-term soil preservation in the flavor manufacturing process. Consumers who prioritize sustainability and local protections can also look for food labels to help them understand where their food flavoring comes from. Metarom USA products are organic certified, meaning that we support the long-term protection of our flavor sources.

Best Practices in Flavor Manufacturing

The global landscape is constantly evolving as climate change becomes an ever-looming threat. Sustainable sourcing and food labels are becoming the best ways to combat the effects of climate change on food production. Without protections, natural resources risk being depleted until they are no longer available for use. Pure quality can also be difficult to guarantee, and the trustworthy source of a flavor is hard to trace back to its origin.

What else can companies do to support best practices in sustainable sourcing? A few examples are using hybrid or electric vehicles for transportation, using RSPO-certified palm oil, providing financial support to local farmers and potential new supply sources, and supporting safe working conditions and pay. These are all ways that companies in the food flavor industry can support sustainable sourcing conditions worldwide and make their mark promoting sustainable practices.

What Are the Benefits?

The goal is to ensure transparency for consumers and companies involved in the flavor manufacturing process. Best practices include many benefits. The main advantages are that flavors reach consumers and the food market without being overfarmed or depleted. Interruptions in the supply chain are costly–and can be avoided. Consumers are more likely to seek out products with sustainable and safe food labels in the coming years. Flavor manufacturing is a cutting-edge industry, and being a leader in sustainability is an advantage when it comes to growth and thinking about the future. Sustainable sourcing is a trend that is unlikely to go away anytime soon.

The Case Study: Vanilla Bean Production

The simple vanilla bean is a prime example of how supply chains can be impacted by climate change and overproduction. Authentic vanilla is the second most expensive spice in the world after saffron and is in high demand worldwide. Vanilla extract is highly desirable as a flavor for baking and other goods. Since vanilla thrives only in naturally moist locations, climate change has impacted vanilla’s growing season in many locales. Sustainable sourcing is an essential component in harvesting vanilla. Too much rain, or too little, can wreak havoc on the crop and interrupt supply.

Companies using best practices in the flavor manufacturing process should source 100% SVI-certified vanilla. This means that vanilla is being produced using long-term, sustainable sourcing goals. SVI certification also means farmer pay and rights are valued, and the product can be traced back to its origin. Without such certifications, it’s hard to know a flavor source’s true source or purity.

Isn’t Natural Flavor Better?

Just because a flavor is labeled as ‘natural’ doesn’t necessarily make it sustainable. Learning the difference between sustainable sourcing methods and natural flavor sources helps shoppers navigate the ins and outs of better protecting our natural resources and long-term health (read more here). Food flavoring can be both natural and sustainable–but many aren’t.

The most important thing to remember is that natural flavoring can still originate in overused and overfarmed areas. Furthermore, they may be infused with other additives that degrade their purity and taste. This puts the supply at risk of becoming unsustainable for long-term use.

Companies using sustainable sourcing are active in the flavor manufacturing process every step of the way. For more information on using sustainable sources, contact our food flavor team at Metarom.

Request a Sample Today

Metarom USA offers reliability through sustainable sourcing and naturally derived food flavors. Ask us about other health and environmental benefits! Contact our team to sample flavors today.