[Report] Seoul Food, Plant-Based Tuna, Sugar-Free Jam, Paper Containers... Eating and Using All 'Eco-Friendly'

Seoul International Food Industry Expo 2022
962 Companies Worldwide Participate
Plant-Based Products Like Alternative Meat Attract Attention
Eco-Friendly Packaging Companies Also Participate

Visitors are participating in the alternative meat tasting event held at the booth of the eco-friendly alternative food company 'Altist'.

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] “I’m not vegan, but I was thinking about reducing my meat consumption, and this seems like it could help.”

The largest domestic food industry exhibition, ‘Seoul International Food Industry Exhibition 2022 (Seoul Food),’ which opened on the 7th at KINTEX in Ilsan, was an opportunity to observe the recent eco-friendly trends in the food market that consider not only health but also ethical consumption. The exhibition, held over four days until the 10th, features 962 companies from 30 countries worldwide, meeting buyers and visitors.

The most eye-catching booths at this exhibition were undoubtedly those emphasizing health and the environment, such as plant-based products and sugar-free items. The booth of Altist, an eco-friendly alternative food specialist company that held a tasting event for sandwiches and tacos made with alternative meat products, attracted a particularly large crowd. A visitor in their 20s, Mr. A, said, “I’ve seen many alternative meat products recently, but plant-based tuna is new to me. Even knowing it’s not real tuna, I can’t tell the difference,” expressing admiration.

Altist, which introduced alternative meat brands like ‘Gogidaesin’ (Instead of Meat), ‘Green Butcher,’ and alternative sugar brands such as ‘Seoltangdaesin’ (Instead of Sugar) and ‘Sugar-Free Tea,’ has received vegan certifications in Korea, Europe, and the United States and was the first in Korea to develop plant-based tuna. Marketing assistant Juhee Lim of Altist explained, “We focus on creating a texture similar to real meat by structuring protein from soybean meal (the residue left after extracting oil from soybeans) using the 'LMHT' technology.” LMHT is an extrusion processing technology that creates protein structures by aligning protein fibers in a consistent direction.

The smart dry milling machine of 'Hyeonmi Jebunso,' the first in Korea to apply dry milling technology

Food manufacturing equipment companies emphasizing eco-friendliness also stood out. Hyunmi Milling, which participated with Korea’s first dry milling technology, is a representative example. Unlike conventional wet milling machines, Hyunmi Milling’s smart dry milling machine does not use water, so no wastewater is generated. CEO Dongseop Joo emphasized, “Since there are no wastewater treatment costs, we reduced the processing cost from about 1,000 KRW per kilogram to around 30 KRW while maintaining a long-lasting moisture retention rate.”

Additionally, companies showcasing the recent sugar-free trend in the food industry were easy to find, such as Daehung Food, which sells sugar-free jam made from fermented rice syrup (jocheong), and Global Generation, which introduced a ‘vegan cola’ sweetened with stevia instead of sugar, increasing sweetness while lowering calories and sugar content.

Visitors are examining products at the Hansol Paper booth, which introduced the eco-friendly paper container 'Terabas'.

Many eco-friendly food packaging companies, including those offering eco-friendly containers and reusable containers, also participated. Hansol Paper introduced ‘Terabas,’ an eco-friendly paper container using a water-based coating instead of plastic (PE) coating. Osangwon, head of the Eco Packaging Sales Team at Hansol Paper, explained, “It can be separated and recycled as paper, making it highly recyclable, and it is biodegradable when landfilled. Despite its high eco-friendliness, it also has strong water resistance and heat resistance, which are its strengths.” Terabas is currently supplied to caf? franchises such as Paul Bassett and Ediya.