France-headquartered multinational food products corporation Danone used its Danone Impact Summit 2024 – held last month – to reaffirm its commitment to health, through food, for as many people as possible, while preserving and regenerating nature, and helping people and communities thrive.

Expressing a sense of achievement and appreciation, Danone GM Hendrik Born explained that Danone had been able to achieve its goals through collaborative solutions.

“We already have well-established affiliates and have achieved our goal of providing healthier and tasty food options because we have worked with dietitians and researchers.”

Further, Netherlands industry body Dutch Dairy Association health and sustainable diets and dairy programme manager Dr Stephan Peters provided deeper insight into the health benefits of fermented dairy products and the so-called ‘good gut bacteria’ they contain, particularly those in yoghurt.

His presentation on the dairy matrix reflected that a significant portion of South Africa’s population is suffering from under- nutrition, while a large part of the population is suffering from obesity and its consequences, including diseases such as diabetes.

A diet containing products associated with fermented dairy, such as yoghurt, decreases the risks of colorectal cancer and Type 2 diabetes, he added.

During a panel discussion, Danone corporate affairs head Leanne Kiezer said that “every care is taken to make sure that our yoghurt is carefully crafted to add nutrients that are lacking in [the] diets of children”.

The total sugar content of Danone’s children’s products is controlled to ensure that it amounts to less that 10 g/100 g, in addition to limiting nutrients of concern, through a nutrient profiling tool.

During a different panel, Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment deputy director-general Mamogala Musekene, and nonprofit organisation Food Forward South Africa MD Andy du Plessis reflected on their roles as partners in the reduction of food waste.

Provided that the cold chain was maintained, yoghurt should be safe for consumption, even after its best-before date had expired, they explained, adding that it should not be “unnecessarily” wasted.

Musekene added that food production was resource intensive and, with over 13% of food produced being lost between harvest and retail, followed by 19% of the total global food production being wasted in households, a significant amount of the water and energy used to produce food is also ‘wasted’.

However, “we have been reducing waste throughout the value chain from farmer and logistics to retailers. We have also donated 4.5-million servings of dairy foods this year to feed vulnerable communities,” Danone cycles and procurement director Nosiseko Biko noted.