Nomad Foods publishes third-party technical report of its peer reviewed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study

• Results for the 22 frozen products assessed showed that most had an equal or lower carbon footprint than similar products using other preservation methods
• Report illustrates importance of including the whole product life cycle in any LCA

 FELTHAM, England - January 31, 2023 - Nomad Foods, Europe’s leading frozen food company, which owns brands including Birds Eye, Green Cuisine, Findus and iglo, has today released a 100-page third-party technical report of its life cycle assessment (LCA) study, covering a wide range of frozen food products and their alternatives. This follows Nomad Foods announcement last year, that it had enlisted the help of PRé Sustainability, an international leader in impact assessments, to conduct a unique end-to-end LCA study for 22 of Nomad Foods’ most popular products. The results have been peer reviewed by Prof. Dr. Matthias Finkbeiner, Prof. Dr. Greg Thoma and Kai Robertson – some of the world’s most prominent experts in LCA methodology, agrifood LCAs and food waste.

The report draws upon 15,000 data points sourced from Nomad Foods, its suppliers and several retailers, and found that for the 22 frozen products assessed, most had an equal or lower carbon footprint than similar products using other preservation methods, such as fresh or chilled. In only three cases was the frozen product footprint higher.

Typically, LCAs of food products have adopted a “cradle-to-gate" approach which excludes the distribution, retail, and consumer stages which the Nomad Foods report shows are the cause of a significant share of the total carbon footprint of food products. Due to the study’s wide range of frozen food products assessed, consistent methodology and the large amount of primary data used at each stage of the process, PRé Sustainability has labelled it as “one of the most elaborate frozen food LCA studies ever done”.

Stéfan Descheemaeker, Chief Executive Officer, Nomad Foods, said: “Following publication of the detail behind our LCA study, we are now looking forward to re-engaging with industry experts on why it is vitally important to measure the whole lifecycle of food products and apply up to date, reliable data.

Fully understanding the contribution of food waste in the product life cycle is vital to identify where we and others can continue to reduce carbon emissions. Our study shows there are clear and significant benefits to frozen food, in terms of longer-term food preservation and reduced food waste. We are, therefore, keen to play an active role in the ongoing discussions at both an EU and UK level on what sustainable labelling methodologies should look like, ahead of any formal proposals being put forward over the next year.”

To download the full report please find links at the bottom of the page here: https://www.nomadfoods.com/eating-for-the-planet/

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Nomad Foods Media Contacts:

Sam Fulton
Group Director of Corporate Affairs
sam.fulton@nomadfoods.com
+44 7936 924691

Oliver Thomas
Corporate Affairs Manager
oliver.thomas@nomadfoods.com
+44 7568 108744

About Nomad Foods

Nomad Foods (NYSE: NOMD) is Europe’s leading frozen food company. The company's portfolio of iconic brands, which includes Birds Eye, Findus, iglo, Ledo and Frikom, have been a part of consumers' meals for generations, standing for great tasting food that is convenient, high quality and nutritious. Nomad Foods is headquartered in the United Kingdom. Additional information may be found at www.nomadfoods.com.

About PRé Sustainability

For thirty years PRé Sustainability has been at the forefront of life cycle thinking and has built on its knowledge and experience in sustainability metrics and impact assessments to provide state of the art methods, consulting services and software tools. Internationally, leading organizations work with PRé to integrate sustainability into their product development procedures in order to create business growth and business value. PRé has an office in the Netherlands and a global partner network to support large international or multi-client projects. www.pre-sustainability.com.

Notes to Editors:

The comprehensive LCA study covered 10 keys stages. Stages 6 – 10 are the extended scope of the assessment not generally included in other studies:

1. Ingredients: Production, including transport to factory.
2. Processing: All activities that happen at the factory including energy, on-site waste and the treatment of it, and activities related to packaging the product. Also includes any pre-blanching or pre-freezing before it reaches the factory. The study included primary data for all material processes improving the accuracy of the assessment.
3. Packaging: Packaging materials, including their transport to the factory.
4. Distribution: Transport from the factory, storage at the distribution centre, transport to the retail hub and storage at the retail hub.
5. Retail storage: Electricity and coolant use in the retail cold room and on the retail floor.
6. Retail waste: Waste treatment of transport packaging, product losses and waste treatment of product losses, including the original processing, packaging, and distribution of the product losses.
7. Consumer transport: Transport from the retailer to the consumer.
8. Consumer storage: Electricity use for storage at the consumer.
9. Consumer preparation: Energy use at the consumer to cook the food product, as well as any capital goods.
10. Consumer waste: Waste treatment of primary packaging and product losses. This includes all upstream processes required to compensate for the product losses at the consumer.

A full list of Nomad Foods frozen products from the report:

1. Alaska Pollock fish fingers
2. Battered Alaska pollock fish fingers
3. Atlantic cod fish fingers
4. North Pacific Hake fish fingers
5. South African Cape Hake fillet
6. Atlantic cod loins
7. Atlantic salmon fillet
8. Schlefi (fish bake)
9. Fish gratin
10. Vegetarian Burger
11. Chicken nuggets alternative (plant-based)
12. Falafel
13. Garden peas
14. Extra fine peas
15. Cream spinach 700gr.
16. Cream spinach 750gr.
17. Leaf spinach
18. Italian vegetable mix
19. Roasted parsnips
20. Red cabbage with apple
21. Super sunshine mix
22. Minestrone mix