The Food Processing Industry's Environmental Issues and Solutions

Emphasizing HMA's commitment to helping restore ecological balance and mitigate the urgent climate change crisis, the food processing company raises its bar for action.

With the fast-growing population, the global population will be crossing 10 billion people by 2050. This means that there is a need to scale up the food production to feed the future generation, however not at the expense of the environment. One of the biggest issues faced by the food processing industries is feed sourcing. The entire process of raising cattle and poultry birds demands huge acres of land to sustain itself. Large acres of land need to be cleared which leads to a loss in biopersity, soil depletion due to extra use of fertilizers as well an increase in the levels of carbon pollution. Therefore, the food processing industry does play a big role in the contribution towards an array of environmental issues.

There is a need to adopt sustainable policies when it comes to feeding the world. One of the reasons HMA is having a big name in the market is because of the sustainable methodology they have been following. A huge plantation drive is conducted every year by HMA which aims to plant at least 2 million trees by 2030. Therefore the policy of reforestation will further fulfill the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) no: 13 which is Climate Change and UN SDG 15, which is Life on Land.

“United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) now allows countries to earn carbon credits for planting trees. HMA has already planted more than 65000 trees, which will function as carbon sinks and therefore contribute to India’s tryst with carbon credits,” said Mr.Gulzair Ahmed, Director and CFO at HMA.

“This is the only planet we have. What good nutritious food can do to people and this planet is very powerful. When it comes to the environment, it's great to see HMA’s investment in innovation to build a stable food supply system for the coming generations. The plantation drive has been running throughout the year and success will be determined in the long run.” said Mr.Gulzair Ahmed, Director, and CFO at HMA Agro Industries Ltd.

Waste-water Treatment System

When cattle are processed, their blood, fat, etc generate huge amounts of wastewater as the entire process is water-intensive. The processing water from slaughter, as well as cleaning, has huge amounts of animal waste like surface fat, hair, blood, etc. In the first stage, HMA treats the wastewater by the system of pre-treatment, which involves removing larger and smaller solids and separating oils and fats from the water. This is followed by the most efficient and robust technique of biological treatment for the removal of organic load and nitrogen from the water. During the process of anaerobic biological treatment, the carbon in the wastewater is transformed into biogas, which is used to produce electrical energy. 

Furthermore, HMA shared its wastewater minimization techniques. HMA mentioned that the amount of wastewater generated is reduced by commercially available high-pressure hoses and the use of taps with automatic shut-off. They even mentioned the optimized use of detergents and disinfectants in the washing water. HMA is contributing to the horticulture sector, which provides raw materials to food processing industries and plays a vital role in the Indian economy. HMA has plans to produce environment-friendly solid and liquid fertilizers in the future.

Way Forward

HMA believes that the right combination of equipment and devising sustainable policies will reduce the overall environmental impact. In conclusion, optimizing the food supply chain, achieving sustainability, improving water efficiency, and restoring the environmental balance is their focus to create value for the planet and the families it is feeding.