READY TO HELP INDIA’S DAIRY INDUSTRY

FOOD INGREDIENTS: One of the world’s leading producers of ingredients for the food industry, Denmark’s Danisco, is expanding its production in India to produce functional systems for the dairy industry

When Indian food legislation is brought into wider alignment this spring, the way will be open to making India’s food industry more efficient, and especially its dairy industry. India is already among the world’s largest producers of milk, but the dairy industry is fragmented and constrained by limitations, both of which are due to traditions and legislation.

“New rules for India’s food industry will mean a boom which can be felt,” says vice president Egon Bech Hansen of Danisco A/S, one of the world’s leading producers of food ingredients. Currently the company has small scale local production of flavours for the Indian food industry. But while India’s new food legislation is getting under way, Danisco is investing in new production of functional systems (knowledge optimised mixtures). These are especially intended for use in the Indian dairy sector e.g. for ice creams, yogurts and other dairy products.

“With the establishment of new production facilities at our factory outside New Delhi, we are almost doubling our activities in India,” says Chief Operating Officer Torben Svejgaard, who is responsible for emulsifiers, functional systems and textural ingredients at Danisco. “We believe the market has great potential both for local food producers and international food companies producing in India,” he says.

Danisco’s broad technology platform and product palette includes emulsifiers, enzymes, stabilizers, cultures, flavours and sweeteners such as xylitol and fructose. Most of the products are made from natural ingredients, for example Guar gum from India which is used in a number of Danisco’s functional systems.

Danisco’s technologies are intensively R&D based. The company, which last year acquired Genencor, a large US enzyme producer, has more than 2,000 active patents and patent applications.

“The high level of biotech in India is also part of our rationale for becoming more actively involved here,” says Egon Bech Hansen. “India has a very long tradition in research which fits well with western ways of doing things. In addition, Indian society puts great emphasis on ecology and safe food. They want a high degree of biodiversity and attach great importance to plantrelated biological technologies. So in our collaboration with Indian researchers, we hope that we can benefit from their knowledge in these areas, while we undoubtedly can teach Indian companies a lot regarding industrial development of food.”

http://www.danisco.com