Axfoundation is the winner of the Swedish consumer prize Blåslampan 2020
Axfoundation runs several programs, each containing different research projects. The Future Food program aims to accelerate the transition to sustainable food systems, and at Axfoundations farm Torsåker, efforts and investments are being made to increase the pace of Swedish sustainable food innovation. Today Axfoundation is awarded the consumer prize Blåslampan for their work within the Future Food program.
Blåslampan is a consumer award instituted by the organization Sveriges Konsumenter (Swedish Consumers' Association) and the newspaper Råd & Rön. Each year, the award is given to a person or organization that has done something good for consumers. Axfoundation is today awarded the prize for their efforts in developing the future of food, work made together with researchers and experts in the entire food chain.
- It feels really great! The purpose of all Axfoundation's projects is to drive practical action and to contribute to real change. Without sustainable choices for the consumer, that change is not possible, says Madeleine Linins Mörner, Program Director for Future Food at Axfoundation.
We need to eat food that is good for people and the environment - now and in the future. If consumers are to be able to make the right choice, those options must exist and they must taste good.
- We can stop flying and stop buying unnecessary gadgets in theory, but we will never be able to stop eating. That is why it is so important to provide consumers with sustainable choices, says Madeleine Linins Mörner.
Motivation of the jury
The food of the future is on the dining table in the test kitchen at Torsåker farm. the sustainability-focused organization Axfoundation brings together fishermen, researchers, farmers and the food industry, among others, to jointly develop food that is good for both people and the environment - and through that work contribute to the necessary transition. Legume mince, circular green rainbow trout and, and most recently, fish cakes on bream are three innovations from the farm that have ended up on store shelves. Enjoy your meal!
About Torsåker farm
Torsåker Farm is Axfoundation’s center for future food. Here Axfoundation aim to help accelerate the transition to sustainable food systems, for the sake of the climate, the environment and public health. Together with researchers and practitioners, we take on complex challenges and develop concrete solutions – both in the fields and in the water, as well as in Ladugården’s (“the Barn’s”) test kitchens, restaurant kitchen and bakery. The ambition is to increase the pace of sustainable food innovation.
About Swedish legume mince
- In order to contribute to a shift in protein consumption in Sweden protein shift, Axfoundation, together with trade, chefs, farmers and researchers, has developed a sustainable, tasty and nutritious alternative to minced meat. The idea for Swedish Legume Mince was born at Torsåker farm in 2017 and the product consists of only five ingredients; sweet lupine, field bean, gray pea and leftovers from cold-pressed canola production and a little salt.
- The project was handed over to the commercial actor Färsodlarna in 2020. As a natural part of our working model, Swedish Legume Mince sprouts off. The Legume mince is today available to consumers under the brand name Svenskodlad Färs.
About Green rainbow trout – fed on Circular-based feed
- Axfoundation and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences launched the first green rainbow trout in Sweden. Instead letting the fish eat soy and wild-caught fish from all corners of the earth, the green rainbow trout was fed with a Swedish circular feed mainly made from insects, which in turn ate food waste. In total, the project has produced four tons of green rainbow trout of high gastronomic quality, which was sold to consumers in grocery stores and to restaurants.
- According to an evaluation the green salmon grows as well as other farmed salmon. And according to some of Sweden’s best chefs, the fish also tastes more like wild-caught fish than the reference fish raised on conventional forage. The project ‘5 tonnes of green fish on the counter’ was run by Axfoundation and Sweden’s University of Agricultural Sciences together with partners in the entire food chain.
About Bream
- 12 kilos of gutted fish and seafood are consumed annually per person in Sweden. And more than 70% of the fish eaten in Sweden is imported, even though there is good and nutritious fish in the Swedish lakes.
- Several species, such as bream, have previously not been considered commercially viable and are therefore thrown back into the water when fishing. But bream is an underutilized fish that is sustainable, tasty, and useful
- Swedish consumers mainly eat salmon and cod, but also herring and shrimp. The focus to primarily fish the predatory fish at the top of the food chain creates an imbalance in the marine ecosystem and is not sustainable.
- The bream mince is produced from fish from the Swedish lakes Mälaren and Vänern. The fish has been given the green light in WWF's fish guide, which means that it is fished from sustainable stocks and using gentle methods.
- The minced bream project has been handed over to commercial actors and is available today for purchase for food service. Fish cakes made from the minced bream, with the Garant brand, will be available for consumers to buy in stores during the fall of 2022.
Find out more about underutilized fish species
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