DuPont commences production at new probiotic facility in China

US chemicals group DuPont has started production at its new probiotic blending and packaging facility in China, as part of its efforts to meet the increasing demand for probiotics in the country.

With the new facility, DuPont Nutrition & Health is entering into the ready-to-market probiotic segment, which will allow the company to offer its customers improved speed to market, quality and flexibility.

The plant will manufacture ready-to-market probiotic formulations comprising Danisco Howaru premium and FloraFIT custom probiotic brands.

In 2011, DuPont acquired a food processing facility north of Beijing and transformed it into a new probiotic blending and packaging site to cater to global dietary supplement and food and beverage customers, with focus on China and the Asia Pacific region.

The investment is part of the company’s global multi-year capacity expansion programme for cultures and probiotics in the US, Europe and now in China.

DuPont Nutrition & Health’s Health and Protection vice-president Fabienne Saadane-Oaks said that this expansion allows the company to custom-blend and package probiotic products for its customers.

"Probiotics is a fast-growing segment of our business and the industry is experiencing double-digit growth rates annually around the world and in China," Saadane-Oaks said.

DuPont Greater China president Tony Su said: "This expansion is a further reinforcement of DuPont’s long-standing commitment to China, our customers and consumers."

The probiotic formulations provide digestive and immune health benefits for the dietary supplement, dairy and beverage markets.

DuPont will source the probiotic cultures from its North American and European sites.

The new facility in China will custom-blend the ingredients to meet the requirements of local customers.

According to DuPont, China is already a significant market for the YO-MIX dairy cultures from the company’s Danisco range.

DuPont operates eight sites in China that offer a range of food ingredients, including emulsifiers, hydro-colloids, enzymes, sweetener ingredients, food protection ingredients, soy protein, lecithin and fibre, and molecular diagnostic solutions.

DuPont Nutrition & Health, a business of US-based chemical company DuPont, offers bio-based ingredients and microbial diagnostic solutions to provide safer, healthier and more nutritious food.