Belgians form healthy ingredients collective

03-Jan-2013 - Last updated on 03-Jan-2013 at 13:41 GMT

The Belgian ingredient firms including Kitozyme, Cosucra and Galactic that united under one banner in June last year say their quality seal will be ready for use by its 11 members by the time Vitafoods Europe is held in May in Geneva.

Belgian Health Ingredients Group (BHIG) marketing development manager Alicia Orlowski told us the seal was almost ready to go and could be added to prototypes the group was also working on to showcase at trade fairs.

“We are working with scientists and specialists on the quality seal,” Orlowski said of the group that is part-funded by WagrALIM (the agrifood competitiveness cluster of the Walloon Region).

The group has launched a website and is considering two applications that would see its membership swell to 13.

At the time it launched, Bruno Stiernon, BHIG manager and CEO of start-up Oxylent stated:

"The development and online web platform was a priority. Through it, the eleven Walloon companies who formed the group now have available a targeted communication tool that allows them to make themselves known at national but also at international level.”

“The visibility is crucial to attract the attention of customers likely to form business partnerships on health ingredients ready as well as international investors who might be interested in meeting our members to collaborate on R&D projects.”

Other members are: Ajinomoto OmniChem, The Lipid Company, Enzybel International, Hedelab, Synaco, Taradon Laboratory and THT.