Frutarom Opens New Starter Culture Laboratory

20 May 2014 --- Frutarom Savory Solutions has opened a new laboratory complex within the company’s customer center in Holdorf, Germany. It is dedicated to R&D activities in microbial food cultures such as starter cultures. Holdorf is located in the geographic center of Germany’s meat processing industry, so this new location will facilitate closer working relationships with customers.

The seven-digit investment in the extension of laboratory space and cutting-edge equipment allows Frutarom to extend its R&D activities as well as to accelerate its product development processes and expand its starter culture portfolio.

This latest investment underlines Frutarom’s long-term strategy to position itself as a leading supplier of starter cultures to the meat processing industry. Besides established R&D activities, the new facility accommodates a separate laboratory, where antagonistic principles can be researched. This type of research is essential for the development of state-of-the-art microbial food cultures. Due to their activity against pathogens, starter cultures and protective cultures can contribute to increased food safety. Trials and studies which would have previously been conducted by external institutes or laboratories can now be carried out in house. Hence, Frutarom’s internal expertise will extend and development processes will be faster and more flexible.

Furthermore, the new pilot plant at the Holdorf facility allows for fermenting and freeze-drying of small quantities of microorganisms to produce pilot quantities of starter cultures. Again, the main benefits are improved flexibility, quick implementation and more customer focus.

Dr. Christian Hertel, R&D Manager Cultures, explains: “Our new laboratory opens up much more possibilities in research and development for microbial food cultures. We can speed up our R&D activities and offer better tailor-made, customized solutions. When developing starter cultures the focus is always to combine maximum product safety with excellent sensory properties of the final product. A comprehensive range of new starter cultures and protective cultures will in time, complement our existing portfolio perfectly.”

This investment enables Frutarom to improve its all-round-competence in research, development and production of meat cultures. Combined with its portfolio of ripening agents and seasonings, the company already offers a comprehensive service that is unique in Europe. The new R&D laboratories will further strengthen this position.

Earlier this year the company brought out cultures in liquid form designed for meat applications. Bitec Starter LR 1-1000 and Bitec Starter LR2 can be diluted directly to the meat mass after diluting, skipping the reactivation step, which is usually performed when using freeze-dried powdered starter cultures. This therefore makes the manufacturing processes more efficient.

“Other meat starter cultures on the market are frozen during production by using liquid nitrogen and then stored at -50 degrees C,” Dr Christian Hertel, R&D manager cultures, told FoodIngredientsFirst. “In contrast, Frutarom’s liquid starter cultures are kept in liquid form all the time, also during storage at -18 degrees C. In the past, there were starter cultures on the market which also have been produced and stored in liquid form but their shelf life was significantly lower (a few weeks only) than Frutarom’s newly developed starter cultures (which have a shelf-life of six to nine months).”