Cargill invests in liquid flavour blending in Grasse

05-Apr-2011 - Last updated on 06-Apr-2011 at 11:45 GMT

Cargill has bolstered production flow efficiency and consistency for repeat orders at its flavours plant in Grasse, France, through a ‘significant investment’ in re-design and equipment.

The agri-foods giant has not disclosed the level of investment in the newly-designed plant, which will open officially on 29 April, but it says now enables the component materials for each bespoke flavour to be collated in one pass.

This, together with new technology like mobile recipe-weighing stations,an automated dosing robot and paternoster system for compounders, is expected to ensure repeat flavour specifications “are accurate and consistent every time”.

As well as liquid flavours, the plant in Grasse produces flavour chemicals and natural extracts, and handles powder blending.

The company says the plant is “best known for production of brown note flavours, such as cocoa and vanilla”. These are used widely in the beverage and dairy sectors, as well as other applications.

Cargill’s Grasse plant produces flavor chemicals, natural extracts and liquid flavors as well as powder blending.

“This is a significant redevelopment for Grasse and underlines our commitment to growing our share of the flavors market,” says Leon Berndsen, operations director for Cargill Flavor Systems.

Cargill Flavor Systems does not currently appear in the top ten flavour and fragrance companies, as ranked annually by Leffingwell and Associates. As a private company Cargill does not release detailed financial reports nor break out earnings for its various divisions.

However its model does mean that each of its divisions has access to ingredients and expertise from the others, leading to collaborative projects that can function as ‘one stop shops’ for food and drink manufacturers seeking to solve specific problems.

For instance, last month Cargill announced a new approach to developing reduced calorie beverages containing stevia-derived sweeteners which involves input from Cargill Health and Wellness, Cargill Texturizing Solutions and Cargill Flavor Systems.

Also certified

Berndsen said that at the same time as making the investment in Grasse, Cargill achieved FSSC 2000 certification for the plant. This ISO 22000 and PAS 220-based scheme for food manufacturers is supported by the CIAA and recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative.

While Grasse is considered the “spiritual home” of the flavours and flavours industry, with hundreds of years of history in the southern French town, Cargill Flavor System’s plant there is but one of a number in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), North America, and Asia.