Functional flours: Limagrain inaugurates €9m production line in France

23 Oct 2020 --- Limagrain Ingredients, a European specialist in functional flours, is significantly developing its production capacity. With an investment of more than €9 million (US$10.6 million) on its site of Arques, in the North of France, the company has extended the existing buildings and installed a new line that will enable the production of almost 15,000 metric tons of functional flours across Europe.

This new industrial line will help the company to reach quality, product consistency and food safety that meet today’s highest agro-industry demands, it notes.

“Consumers today are asking for more transparent and clean label ingredients lists, with just a few and known ingredients,” Pauline Arramy, marketing manager at Limagrain, tells FoodIngredientsFirst. 

Clean label credentials
“Functional flours are a key ingredient for clean label ingredient lists. Indeed our functional flours have great benefits, have texturizing, process improvement and flowability. Therefore, they also allow formulators to replace starch in the final product with a natural flour labeled as ‘flour,’” says Arramy. 

Limagrain believes that clean label is a “pillar trend” in Europe.  Functional flours are not yet very well known, especially concerning the benefits they can bring in finished products, according to Arramy. 

Therefore, there is still great potential for the industry in Europe – snacks, bakery and culinary products – and pet food, she highlights. 

“We believe that clean label is a ‘pillar trend’ in Europe. For 30 years, we have supported our industrial customers for their clean label strategies,” she continues. 

“Indeed, transparency and fewer ingredient lists are requested more frequently. The clean label trend is part of our strategy as we expect that this trend will still increase in the coming years.”

Combining synergies
Limagrain aims to meet industry expectations, particularly with gluten-free and allergen-free ingredients, with optimum microbiological characteristics and ultra-controlled particle size.

This new installation also ensures increased safety for the company’s employees.The new line will enable the company to reach levels of quality, product consistency and food safety.  

Gaetan Demon, director of the plant, explains: “Given the financial context of the project, the imperatives of the construction deadlines, the sanitary context, as well as the maintenance of the current production 365 days a year, 24/7 throughout the construction work, there were many challenges to be taken up.”

This new line will develop Limagrain Ingredients’ functional flours activity, reaching an annual volume of 45,000 metric tons annually, to provide support for the company’s European industrial customers in their progress, particularly in terms of clean label initiatives.

*Functional flours are the result of a synergy between our cereal expertise, via varietal selection, and the expertise of our hydro-thermal processes,” Demon explains. 

“Our 100 percent clean label range is an alternative to thickeners and starches, to bring a clean label texture to ready meals, soups, bread, pastries, dairy products with a simple ‘flour’ declaration,” he concludes. 

By Elizabeth Green