Savola Foods announces the winners of the global innovation competition for sustainable alternatives to edible oils

Savola foods, one of the largest food companies in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa, announced today the winners of the competition to innovate sustainable alternatives to edible oils. This global competition, conducted in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), has successfully identified innovative solutions in the quest for more sustainable dietary choices.

The competition aims to explore more sustainable alternatives that have the physical and functional properties of traditional fats but with less impact on the environment.

Two teams of accomplished researchers and scientists have emerged as the winners in this competition. The top-ranked team represents the American University in Cairo, while the second team represents the University of Rwanda. The winners aim to develop their products and take them to the market in the near future.

The team of the American University presented a new technique for the production of sustainable vegetable fats from microorganisms, while the team of the University of Rwanda presented another composite technique for extracting a larger yield of fat from pumpkin seeds.

Sameh Hassan, CEO of Savola Foods, said: “We are proud to announce the winners of the sustainable fat innovation competition. This competition represents our ongoing commitment to research and development and the development of more sustainable products and processes,” he added, “this is the first time that Savola has organized an open global innovation competition, the competition has received more than 65 entries from food scientists all over the world”.

He further stated: “We are committed to supporting innovation in the field of sustainable food, and we believe that this competition will help strengthen global efforts to reduce the environmental impact of the food sector, and Savola is focusing on sustainability and green processes in line with the kingdom’s Vision 2030”.

Diaa Rashwan, General Manager of Savola Foods Innovations, said “This is a successful beginning of a journey to transform the winning ideas into industrial-scale realities and bring more value to future generations”