Have you ever thought about the journey your favorite snacks and treats take before they reach your plate? From the Snickers bar to a plate of chips and ketchup or a slice of toast with Nutella, the ingredients and production process behind these items likely involve a global network of supply chains. But have you ever wondered about the specifics of these supply chains?
Every ingredient in your favorite foods, from the tomatoes in your ketchup to the cheese in your Big Mac, has traveled far distances by air, sea or road to reach your plate. To shed light on this journey, we conducted research to uncover the production process and ingredients of some popular items and the findings might be unexpected.
More info: noblue.co.uk
Food miles are the distances that your food travels from where it is grown to where it is consumed
The concept of “Food Miles” was first introduced by Professor Tim Lang of City University London and has gained widespread usage, but it has also been criticized for not fully capturing the environmental impact of food production. NoBlue, a provider of business software solutions, conducted research to uncover the distance traveled by ingredients in popular foods and beverages to reach London and the results may be unexpected.
Nutella – 28,731 miles per jar
The beloved chocolate and hazelnut spread is among the more globally-sourced items on our list. The hazelnuts journey more than 2,260 miles from Turkey, the palm oil travels 6,485 miles from Malaysia, and the sugar and soy come from Brazil, a distance of 5,447 miles. This all contributes to the final product.
Snickers – 50,791.5 miles per bar
Snickers bars boast the most diversely sourced ingredients on our list, sourced from all corners of the globe. These include coconut oil from the Philippines at 6,795 miles, peanuts from Argentina at 7,291 miles, and vanilla extract from Mexico at 5,454 miles. But surprisingly, some ingredients like skimmed milk powder and egg white powder are sourced locally within the UK.
Coca-Cola Classic – 17,195.5 miles per can
Coca-Cola’s complete list of ingredients is closely guarded, but based on available information, this carbonated drink contains sugar and caramel sourced from Brazil at a distance of 5,496 miles, and coca leaves from Peru, located 6,075 miles away. However, it also uses locally sourced water and phosphoric acid, which reduces its total food miles.
Skittles – 29,558 miles per 55g pack
A pack of Skittles goes through a long journey before reaching your taste buds, with some ingredients like sugar, glucose syrup and carnauba wax are sourced from Brazil at 5,496 miles and others like palm fat coming from South East Asia at 7,424 miles, before finally experiencing the rainbow of flavors.
Big Mac – 8,050 miles per burger
Despite its global reach, the average Big Mac in the UK relies heavily on locally sourced ingredients, thanks to McDonald’s commitment to using local producers. The buns are sourced from Oxford, 77.5 miles away, the beef patties from Scunthorpe or Waterford, Ireland, averaging at 270 miles, the lettuce from Chichester or Spain, about 557.4 miles on average, cheese from Northern Ireland at 509.2 miles, and Big Mac sauce from Lancashire, 222.6 miles. The only exception are the onions and pickles, which come from the US at 4,484 miles and Turkey at 1,930 miles respectively.
Starbucks coffee – 5,427 miles on average per cup
A plain cup of black coffee may seem simple, but the beans used by Starbucks come from various regions around the world. To determine the food miles, we calculated the average distance from the different sources. As expected, these regions are some of the largest coffee producers in the world, such as Colombia at 5,290 miles, Ethiopia at 5,503 miles and Sumatra at 6,738 miles.
Heinz Ketchup – 18,804 miles per bottle
Ketchup, a beloved condiment, travels a long distance before it reaches your plate. Tomatoes are sourced from China, California, and Spain, averaging at 3,864 miles, sugar from Brazil at 5,496 miles, and spices from India at 4,648 miles, bringing the total distance traveled to over 18,800 miles.