Matriark Foods launches carbon neutral, upcycled pasta sauce

Matriark Foods, an upcycled foods company has launched a carbon neutral, climate-friendly pasta sauce, in what the company claims is a world first.

The sauces are available in three flavours, Gentle Marinara, Tomato Basil and Spicy Arrabiata, and are vegan, non-GMO and free from the top eight allergens, with no added sugar.

Each year, a third of food produced is lost or wasted globally, amounting to about 1.3 billion tons annually, worth approximately $1 trillion, according to Matriark. The company predicts that this waste of food and water results in 170 million metric tons of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere in the US alone.

Matriark Foods was founded with a vision to scale access to healthy food for the benefit of people and the environment by transforming farm surplus and fresh-cut remnants into healthy vegetable products.

“Our ultimate goal is to invigorate and accelerate a transformation of our food system. We want to create a domino effect by empowering consumers to prevent food waste with the products they buy and to inspire all brands to support a more resilient and efficient food system that addresses the climate crisis,” said Anna Hammond, founder and CEO of Matriark Foods.

With every carton, 0.4lbs of tomatoes are diverted from landfills and 50 gallons of water are saved. Additionally, Matriark says that it has 37% lower emissions per carton due to the use of upcycled tomatoes and lower emissions packaging compared to conventional tomato sauce in glass packaging.

The company is starting with pasta sauce, as tomatoes are one of the highest emitters of greenhouse gasses of any produce in landfills. Matriark purchases tomatoes that have already been harvested, are too ripe for certain specs, are too big, too small, or have a minor blemish. This creates extra revenue for farmers while keeping usable tomatoes out of landfill.