Across many parts of Europe, the recent heatwave has further aggravated groundwater levels after the hot summer of 2018. Where the situation is threatening, municipalities, environmental authorities or water suppliers are already calling for the economical use of drinking water.
The general population, however, has ong been sensitive to the issue of wasting resources. According to a survey by the German trade magazine “Fleischwirtschaft”, two out of three consumers would like to see agricultural resources used sparingly.
This also includes water consumption for smoking food such as meat, fish or cheese. Compared to conventional smoking, CleanSmoke’s innovative smoking technology not only produces safe and healthy products, but also sustainably reduces the burden on the environment. Approximately 90 percent of water can be saved. The CleanSmoke Coalition (CSC), a joint initiative of manufacturers of primary smoke products, food producers and retailers, has set itself the goal of educating consumers and the interested public about the potential of CleanSmoke technology. When smoking with CleanSmoke, a stable smoke for the smoking chamber is freshly produced from the purified primary smoke condensate. According to a Life Cycle Assessment by the German Institute of Food Technology (DIL), smokehouses using CleanSmoke use around 37 litres of water per tonne of smoked food for cleaning. The indirect water consumption for plant growth and logging is about seven litres. According to DIL, conventional smoking, on the other hand, consumes 301 litres of water per tonne of meat for cleaning and around 38 litres for growth and harvesting.
If all smoking plants in Germany were to use CleanSmoke, the consumption for cleaning the smoking machines would be around 66,000 cubic metres (m3) of water. With conventional smoking, direct consumption for cleaning is 545,000 m3 respectively.
The fourth CleanSmoke Coalition Congress takes place in Hamburg, Germany, on October 29, addressing how smoking can be made fit for the future. To find out more visit www.clean-smoke-coalition.eu
