Cargill’s Red Seaweed Promise designed to improve producers’ prosperity and conserve the environment

 To help ensure a long-term sustainable red seaweed supply chain, Cargill has launched the Red Seaweed Promise™. The program is specifically designed to address key sustainability challenges for the harvesting and cultivation of red seaweed, while enhancing producer livelihoods, supporting local communities and conserving the marine environment. Red seaweed is the raw material needed to produce carrageenan, a texturizer used in various applications such as dairy, confectionary and personal care products. The program also answers food industry and consumers’ needs for more sustainable food ingredients, with a commitment to source 60 percent sustainable red seaweed by 2025.

“’Red seaweed production is critical to the prosperity of approximately one million producers and their communities,’’ said Sebastien Jan, Cargill seaweed strategic sourcing project manager. “Today, these producers face multiple challenges, from climate change and extreme weather events to inefficient farming and harvesting practices, which have a significant impact on the quality of red seaweed. The Red Seaweed Promise supports producer’s prosperity by providing the training, coaching and tools producers need to adopt environmental and safe production best practices while committing to sustainable marine and coastal ecosystems.”  

The Red Seaweed Promise leverages Cargill’s strong partnerships with producers and suppliers to increase traceability and transparency in the supply chain for its customers. Proforest, a leading non-profit group offering consultancy services in sustainable sourcing of natural resources, supported Cargill in the definition of a credible industry standard evaluation tool and conducted verifications in the regions where the company sources red seaweed. Results are used to set region-specific continuous improvement plans, focusing efforts on four priority areas: empowering seaweed producers, improving production and harvest practices, supporting sourcing communities and strengthening partnerships.

“We are committed to making a positive impact and securing sustainably sourced red seaweed for our customers. To ensure we are following international sustainability priorities, the program supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals“ said James Ede, sustainability manager Cargill. ”The Red Seaweed Promise supports our customers’ sustainability commitments and provides assurance to consumers who are increasingly seeking sustainably sourced products.”

Cargill sources red seaweed from four continents. The company has worked in red seaweed since the early start of the industry, for more than 50 years, and is a recognized supplier of high-quality carrageenan.

We combine 153 years of experience with new technologies and insights to serve as a trusted partner for food, agriculture, financial and industrial customers in more than 125 countries. Side-by-side, we are building a stronger, sustainable future for agriculture.

Cargill Starches, Sweeteners & Texturizers business develops and commercializes ingredients made from renewable and nature-derived sources.  We employ about 10,000 employees in 40 countries who are committed to deliver our food, feed and industrial customers with high-quality products.  We process corn, wheat, potato, peas, seaweeds, fruit-peels, sunflowers, rapeseed and soy to manufacture a comprehensive collection of value-added ingredients dedicated to the food & beverage, papermaking & corrugating, pharmaceutical, and animal nutrition industries. We take a unique approach to each of these categories to help our customers thrive and deliver them valuable products and services.  In the food space, we focus on sweetness, texture and protein & specialties innovations, while our industrial offer is designed to supply solutions made with renewable materials  Our portfolio includes sweeteners, starches, ethanol, acidulants, proteins, texturizers, corn oil, dry corn ingredients, specialties and animal feed ingredients.

Proforest is a unique, non-profit group that helps companies, governments and others to implement their commitments to the responsible production and sourcing of agricultural commodities and forest products. The group works through a combination of programs and consultancy services to provide the most appropriate and up-to-date support to its partners and clients. More information on Proforest is available at www.proforest.net