Clean and savory: Kemin’s new factory to scale natural ingredients for meat and seafood

15 Nov 2021 --- Global ingredient manufacturer Kemin Industries is breaking ground on a new manufacturing site in Verona, Missouri, US. The US$40 million site is designated toward producing clean label enhancement ingredients for meat and seafood applications, which help improve cook yields, moisture retention and sodium reduction.

The new facility, scheduled to open in March 2023, will be a production plant for Kemin Food Technologies – Americas to manufacture its Proteus portfolio of patented, clean label protein ingredients for meat, poultry and protein-based applications.

“Proteus is a line of functional proteins,” Dr. Chris Nelson, president and CEO of Kemin, tells FoodIngredientsFirst. “This line offers the industry an effective alternative to traditional phosphates.”

“It provides meat and poultry manufacturers clean label yield enhancement solutions for beef, chicken, pork and seafood.”

Kemin acquired Proteus Industries in April 2021, adding to Kemin’s innovative portfolio for sustainable, yield-enhancing technology to further expand its global Food Technologies business.

Kemin’s Proteus solutions are marketed as helping formulators create a juicier product with a natural taste, appearance and bite.Elevating taste, texture, yield and moisture retention
Compared to products using phosphates or other yield enhancing additives, Kemin’s Proteus solutions are marketed as helping formulators create a juicier product with a natural taste, appearance and bite.

“The line offers increased cook yields with reduced sodium contribution as compared to other products with sodium phosphates or high levels of salt,” says Nelson. “It is also a great alternative to traditional fillers that are often labeled allergens, such as soy.”

Proteus also helps retain moisture throughout the entire processing and cooking process, which leads to a reduction in purge and increased cook yield for better plate coverage. 

This moisture retention is said to last for longer periods of time, even under harsh conditions in food service settings, such as over-cooking, under heat lamps and during rewarming.

New facility capacities
The new 38,000-square-foot production plant will have an initial capacity to create applications for more than 100 billion pounds of meat, poultry and protein-based ingredients.

Since 2011, Kemin has had a presence in Missouri when Kemin Nutrisurance, the company’s pet food and rendering technologies business unit, opened its first manufacturing facility in the region. 

“Southwest Missouri has served as an excellent place for Kemin’s production capabilities and will continue to be a great community to expand our manufacturing opportunities,” says Nelson. 

“We believe that Verona and the surrounding areas provide a talented and dedicated workforce, ideal to grow our global footprint and transform the quality of life.”

Kemin has over 3,300 global employees and operations in 90 countries, including manufacturing facilities in Belgium, Brazil, China, India, Italy, Russia, San Marino, Singapore, South Africa and the US.

Kemin’s R&D pipeline
Among its recent developments, Kemin expanded its Fortium R product portfolio that uses rosemary extract for color and flavor protection to enhance the shelf life of meats and baked goods. The portfolio will now include Fortium R30 OR, an organic option for food manufacturers in the EMEA region.

Last September, the company celebrated the 25th anniversary of its rosemary-based natural preservation ingredients, noting that innovation in precision agriculture will help sustain the growing practices of this product line.

The company has also explored alternative solutions to synthetic ingredients for preventing the loss of color and flavor while extending shelf life.

By Benjamin Ferrer