Weekly Roundup: Symrise opens creative center in Egypt, Takasago opens facility in Indonesia

29 Nov 2019 --- This week in business news, Symrise inaugurated its Creative Center in Egypt and Takasago officially opened its first flavors and fragrances factory in Indonesia. In regulatory news, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that Golden Gate Soy Products, a California-based food manufacturer, agreed to discontinue selling food products until the company complies with federal regulations. Enterprise Ireland announced the funding of €7.2 million (US$7.9 million) for Food for Health Ireland, a technology center based in University College Dublin that aims to improve global health through innovation in functional food.

In brief: Business news
Symrise has inaugurated its Creative Center in Egypt. The subsidiary, on the outskirts of Cairo, comprises modern development and application laboratories for the categories Beverages, Confectionery, Dairy, Culinary and Snacks. Dirk Bennwitz, President Flavor EAME at Symrise, officially opened the new facilities. Symrise has equipped its development and application laboratories with state-of-the-art technology; within the Creative Center, employees will develop customized product solutions and applications and adapt existing products for the market. Compared to its facilities so far, the new creative center offers several advantages. Modern consumer and market analysis and quality assurance procedures are leveraged here to ensure “authentic and relevant” products for customers and consumers in the region.Takasago officially opened its first flavors and fragrances factory in Indonesia. 

Takasago officially opened its first flavors and fragrances factory in Indonesia. This US$25,000,000 capital investment is Takasago’s most significant investment in the country with the fourth largest population in the world. The facility is built on nearly 16,000 square-meters of land and has become Takasago’s 12th plant for flavors and fragrances production worldwide. This factory will serve the Southeast Asia market with up to 14,500 metric tons of capacity per year, and this is considered to be one of the company’s most modern flavors and fragrances plants in Indonesia. By having this state-of-the-art factory, Takasago will be able to provide better services to its clients in terms of lead time, and to support the fast-growing FMCG market in Indonesia, says Takasago. 

Olam International’s wholly-owned subsidiary Olam West Coast Inc. has agreed to sell the real estate assets of its onion and garlic processing facility in Gilroy, California, to Chicago-based investment management firm Mesirow Financial for a total consideration of US$110.3 million. Olam has also entered into a tiered revenue-sharing arrangement with Mesirow with whom it will share a part of the annual revenue from operating the assets for 25 years. Olam’s Managing Director and CEO of Spices, Greg Estep, says, “We are pleased to have secured a long-term tiered revenue-sharing agreement with Mesirow Financial for operating the onion and garlic assets for our US Spices business. As a large, leading financial services firm in the US, Mesirow has been a long-term partner of many large corporations in real estate transactions, so I am confident our partnership will go a long way towards creating value for our respective stakeholders.”

The US FDA has announced that Golden Gate Soy Products, a California-based food manufacturer, has agreed to discontinue selling food products until the company complies with federal regulations. This action follows several inspections conducted by the FDA, which found Listeria monocytogenes in the company’s food preparation area and that the company was holding food for distribution in unsanitary conditions. US Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley for the Northern District of California entered a consent decree of permanent injunction on November 22, 2019, between the US and Golden Gate Soy Products Inc. Golden Gate Soy Products specializes in manufacturing a variety of tofu and soy-based products, including soy milk.

Enterprise Ireland has announced the funding of €7.2 million (US$7.9 million), over five years, for Food for Health Ireland.In brief: Other highlights
Enterprise Ireland has announced the funding of €7.2 million (US$7.9 million), over five years, for Food for Health Ireland, a technology center based in University College Dublin (UCD) that aims to improve global health through innovation in functional food. “The great success of the Irish food sector in recent decades can be attributed to many factors, but chief among them is the ingenuity and innovative capacity of Irish food companies,” according to Alexa Toomey, Manager of Dairy, Beverages and FDI at Enterprise Ireland. This latest round of funding comes at the heels of the center’s ten-year collaboration with research and industry partners to produce peer-reviewed market-led research supporting innovation in the functional food space. Food for Health Ireland’s human-intervention trials have already produced results that can be translated into innovations in food for use in tackling the critical health issues that underpin diabetes, obesity and heart health, as well as supporting healthier aging.

Univar Solutions will be presenting a curated ingredients portfolio and offering solutions to many challenges typically faced by manufacturers when creating products that fit with today’s trends at Food Ingredients Europe (FiE) next week. The company’s stand will feature three areas, each representing a key trend ‘theme’ that has been established throughout the year. These themes, “Simple Ingredients,” “Wellness,” and “Permissible Indulgence” will encompass many of the biggest trends in food right now and will be essential topics in the years to come. Samuel Russell, Marketing Manager for Food in EMEA, says, “The most influential food trends are quite clear. Consumers are looking for cleaner labels, nutrition and plant-based alternatives. The challenge lies in creating products that hit these trends without any compromise on quality. Taste is still king.” Each theme will be presented alongside several edible concepts, including sugar-reduced Wellness muffins, high protein cold brew coffee and tasty seaweed-infused mayonnaise. FiE will also see various demonstrations of one of Univar Solutions’ newest innovations – Seaweed. The use of seaweed in food is growing, with it being highlighted as a trending ingredient by various insight groups.

Finally, British grocer Waitrose has announced plans to source all of its own-label fresh and frozen lamb from British lamb producers 365 days of the year. Already offering British lamb on its meat counters all year round, Waitrose will aim to complete the move to 100 percent British sourced across all fresh and frozen own label lamb by the summer of 2021, with all of its organic lamb already 100 percent UK sourced. All of the supermarket’s fresh chicken, pork, beef, eggs and liquid milk is already sourced exclusively from the UK. Having previously sourced some of its lamb from New Zealand during the winter months, the move will see Waitrose extend its commitment to UK lamb producers as it focuses its investment on the future of British agriculture. 

By Elizabeth Green