A Cooking Energy and Cost Rating service has been launched by Campden BRI.
Campden BRI has introduced a Cooking Energy and Cost Rating service to assist food manufacturers and retailers in providing information about the energy used to cook their products. This service aims to empower consumers to make informed decisions regarding the cost of cooking their purchased items, either through on-pack labeling or other means.
The launch of this service comes as energy prices and the cost of cooking have become increasingly concerning. In a consumer poll conducted by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in December 2022, it was found that one in five consumers reported eating cold food due to the perceived inability to afford heating or cooking a hot meal.
Greg Hooper, instruction services manager and thermal process specialist at Campden BRI, highlighted the significant rise in average household energy bills between September 2021 and October 2022, making it unsurprising that consumers are worried about the energy consumption and cost of cooking.
Hooper stated, “But very little guidance is available about the cost of cooking or reheating particular food products. As many products can be cooked or reheated using various domestic appliances and are available in different formats, such as fresh, frozen, or canned, it has been extremely challenging for consumers to find accurate, detailed, and transparent information about cooking costs.”
The trials conducted by Campden BRI during the development of its Cooking Energy and Cost Rating service revealed noticeable differences among a wide range of chilled and frozen products. The results showed that frozen products required more energy to cook compared to equivalent chilled products. However, the cooking appliance used had a greater impact on energy usage than the product type and starting temperature. For example, fan-assisted oven cooking consumed approximately 1.5 times more energy than using an electric oven for the same product. The findings also indicated that microwave cooking could be 10 times cheaper than oven cooking and six times cheaper than air frying for certain products.
Greg Hooper emphasized the importance of understanding the impact of cooking on energy bills for consumers. The data gathered during the trials is expected to be extremely beneficial for both consumers and the retailers and manufacturers who can now share information about cooking costs related to their products and appliances.
The Cooking Energy and Cost Rating service is now available to all Campden BRI clients. It can be accessed either as part of the Instruction Service for generating and verifying cooking instructions or as a standalone service for products that already have verified instructions.
For more information about the Cooking Energy and Cost Rating service, click here to download the accompanying whitepaper.