MILWAUKEE, Wisc.—Chr. Hansen expanded its application lab and R&D staff in Milwaukee, Wisc. with the opening of a Global Expertise Center. There, the company’s natural color specialists will assist customers solve technical issues and help them convert to natural colors.
"The health and wellness platform is driving healthier eating habits and thus the growth in natural colors," comments Kurt Seagrist, Senior Vice President, Chr. Hansen Inc. “Unlike Europe where recent legislation requires a warning label on food products if synthetics are used, there is no such regulation in the US market and therefore no conclusive data. While Chr Hansen does not foresee food legislation changing in the near future, continued consumer interest is driving new product development with US food companies to use natural colors."
Of all product launches using natural colors in the first half of 2011, bakery accounted for 13.3%, sauces and seasonings 9.6% and ready-to-eat meals 8.0%, according to Innova Market Insights. “This indicates a desire to convert to natural colors in the prepared foods category," notes Peter Gower, Business Development Director, Prepared Foods, who has been recruited to head up the new Global Expertise Center.
Apart from Milwaukee, US Chr. Hansen has a ‘Global Expertise Center’ in its corporate headquarters in Hoersholm, Denmark which focuses on natural colors for confectionery and ice cream, and one in Montpellier, France which specializes in natural colors for beverages, dairy, fruit preparations and phytonutrients.
