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Issue 19

15 December 2012

1

Barentz Food Ingredients

The engineers behind our food and drink

Food and health: two

sides of the same coin More and more people are

keen to achieve a healthy life-

style nowadays, and diet plays

a vital role. Countless studies

have been

devoted

to the role

our diet

plays in

causing or preventing medi-

cal conditions such as car-

dio-vascu-lar disease, obesi-

ty or various forms of cancer.

Various international bodies

such as EF-

SA, the Eu-

ropean

Food Safety

Authority,

keep a

watchful eye

on our

nutrition.

Barentz Ingredients: Our food

experts in 25 European countries But who makes the food we eat?

Who adds the seed and grain pro-

ducts, minerals, emulsifiers and

other ingredients to our butter and

margarine, soft drinks, sauces, ice

cream, meat products? Barentz

Food, with its European headquar-

ters in Hoofddorp near Schiphol

Airport in the

Netherlands,

has been an

expert in food

and chemical

ingredients

and cosmetics

for nearly 60

years now.

With branches in 25 European

countries, Barentz is one of the lea-

ding companies in this field. Ba-

rentz specialists help to determine

what food tastes like, what it feels

like in the mouth, its shelf life and

attractiveness.

Who makes the food we eat? Bert Dijkink, food processing

technologist at L.I. Frank ,

member of the Barentz Group

What will people be eating in

20 or 30 years? What makes

us change our eating habits?

Sustainable consumption

starts by changing our ha-

bits. Barentz Food Ingre-

dients, one of the leading

players in the food industry,

is already working on the

spaghetti you will be eating

in 2050. Foresight leads to

insight, in the food industry

as elswhere.

2

Below: Video clip on a new, improved potassium-chloride-based salt reducer developed by Nu-Tek and

further refined by Barentz/Vitablend in their Centre of Excellence in the Netherlands.

Mariano Vasconcellos: ”Barentz is known as the specialist of specialties.”

Barentz has been at the forefront of innovation

during the 60 years of its existence. The food

industry is always fast-changing. As a result

the experts, the people who think up and ma-

ke the ingredients that stand at the start of the

food production chain, are continually faced

with new challenges. Dedicated staff at Ba-

rentz’ advanced Centres of Excellence test

and analyse ingredients. They develop healthy

solutions such as low-sugar and low fat foods,

functional solutions such as foods with a lon-

ger shelf life and green solutions such as food

without E numbers and finally solutions crea-

ted specifically to meet consumer require-

ments. Mariano Vasconcellos:”Our food tech-

nologists keep a close eye on the innovations

on the market.”

Future healthy trends: ”Better types of salt replacers and new sorts of proteins.” Mariano Vasconcellos, analytical chemist and food technologist, is Technical Director of the Food Divi-

sion at Barentz. “Food is my passion,” he says. “Even when I’m on holiday with my wife, I take a good

look at the packagings when we walk through the supermarket, because I want to know what ingre-

dients have been introduced. Sometimes I fill my shopping basket with new products we don’t even

need.” Mariano is one of the key strategists at Barentz. He built up a lot of experience during his time

with Heinz and Unilever, especially in the Savoury & Dressings field - things like soups, sauces, may-

onnaise, dressings and tomato products - and was the co-inventor of the soup-in-a-bag concept that

started life in the food service segment and is now available in every market. It is his job to notice ma-

jor problems such as the current high levels of salt in our diet. Common salt, or sodium chloride, con-

tains 40% of sodium which is a serious health hazard as it can lead to high blood pressure and in-

crease the risk of diseases. Barentz has been working with the American company Nu-Tek on the de-

velopment of a new, improved salt replacer that tastes saltier and does not have the bitter flavour that

older products suffered from. Another problem is the growing shortage of proteins that makes it more

difficult to get enough protein in our diet. “We need to tackle this problem. We must switch to new

forms of protein that are easier to produce,” explains Mariano. “People realise now that you can produ-

ce much more vegetable protein than animal protein from the same natural resources. We need to de-

velop completely different types of proteins, such as proteins derived from algae or even from insects.”

3

Innovative infant nutrition

Nutritional drinks and sport nutrition

Nutrition for the elderly and for hospital patients

Vitablend: Nutritional Fortification and Protection Solutions

Vitablend, an ambitious young company based in Wolvega in the north of

the Netherlands, was taken over by Barentz Europe in 2008. Vitablend deve-

lops and creates custom-made solutions such as nutritional premixes and

antioxidant blends that are used to fortify and protect our foods.

Vitablend experts analyse and design baby formulas, special foods for pa-

tients in healthcare and for athletes and nutritional drinks in their state-of-

the-art laboratories.

Vitablend boasts a team of highly qualified, experienced food technologists,

many of whom have learned the tricks of the trade in big food companies.

Barentz’ CEO Hidde van der Wal and his advisors knew they needed to at-

tract the best people in order to keep ahead of the competition, and they

have managed to recruit leading specialists with an outstanding knowledge

of the field, wide-ranging experience and a passion for food. Thanks to this

high-powered team, Vitablend reinforces Barentz’ leading position on the

international market.

Fortification Vitablend formulates innovative nutritional

premixes for fortification of food products con-

sisting of ingredients like vitamins, minerals,

nucleotides, amino-acids and other funtional

ingredients.

Protection Vitablend has extensive experience in the design

of antioxidant solutions for food and feed pro-

ducts. Antioxidants that protect the nutritional

quality of these products by improving their

shelf life.

Clean label products Consumers are increasingly demanding clean la-

bel products, because they want natural, healthy

food. Barentz and Vitablend realise the importan-

ce of this trend, and are jointly exploring ways of

meeting it without compromising the quality and

shelf life of their products. Vice President Kees

Schepers of Vitablend Netherlands and Vitablend

Singapore:”There is no unambiguous definition of

the clean label concept: every manufacturer inter-

prets it in his own way. Some claim that it means

products without E numbers, and others that it

refers to natural, organic food. At Vitablend, we

do our best to meet our customers’ requirements

dy devising solutions for specific applications

such as improving the shelf life of products.”

4

Barentz Food Solutions: ”Giving our favourite foods that special touch”

Kees Schepers elaborates: ”We also

supply citric acid, extracted from ci-

trus fruit. It is widely used in mayon-

naise, ketchup and beverages. Our

citric acid is a top-quality product.

Citric acid is a natural preservative

and antioxidant, and is also used to

give food a sharp taste and adjust the

pH of food products and cosmetics.”

Developing food for babies and

children is high-precision work Bert Pott, one of the founders of Vitablend,

is currently engaged in the development of

ingredients for baby food: he has his own

company, which ios active in this field. Bert

Pott can look back on ten years of experien-

ce with Nutricia. He sees the making of

food for babies and young children as a real

challenge. “These young people need the

very best food we can give them. No mista-

kes are permitted here: the food simply has

to be good, full stop. We enjoy the confidence of the market, because we have developed a comprehen-

sive, effective quality control system embodying so many checks that it’s almost impossible for any-

thing to go wrong. This is definitely high-precision work.”

Vitablend employs some 15 food technologists. Their task is to create ingredients for bread, various

types of meat products, soups and fish oil. Hidde van der Wal hand-picked them and melded them

into one coherent team. The interaction between the specialists yields superb products. Working to-

gether at top level to solve complex nutritional problems gives an incomparable feeling of satisfacti-

on. “The atmosphere sometimes gets quite hectic, due to all the acquisitions,” says Kees Schepers.

“But even the most highly qualified people enjoy working for us. The feeling that you are working in a

top-class company and the synergy caused by working alongside fellow-experts inspire us.”

Ralph van Hooijdonk, intuitive master baker

Ralph van Hooijdonk, is a baker and a recipe-maker at

Vitablend. He monitors the market, inspects different ty-

pes of bread. He develops enzyme blends for biscuits,

cakes and bread. “We also make ingredients for bread

rolls and we have activities in chocolate products, con-

fectionery and ice cream.” Ralph emphasises: “The art of

breadmaking is the best occupation there is. You need a

feel for it, and ambition. Ralph knows all the types of

bread in Europe. “I am one of the few people to have

had a higher tech-

nical education in

breadmaking.”

Photo left: Bread

made with toasted

corn germ from

L.I. Frank, freshly

baked at Vitablend.

Peter Houben, who started his profes-

sional life as a meat expert, is manager

of the Meat and Fish Buiness Unit. “One

of our specialties is protein blends for the

meat and fish industry,” he says. “You

learn the tricks of the trade in practice.

I know a lot about process technology,

the secrets of how things are made. Boi-

led ham, for example, is always proces-

sed by injecting water, salt and other

functional ingredients, or by ’tumbling’ it

in the presence of these ingredients.

Special additives are sometimes used in

pea extracts to give the right mixture.

We also make thickeners and seasoning

such as herb blends for vegetarian pro-

ducts. We are the only company in the

Netherlands to create high-quality vege-

tarian concepts.”

5

Barentz’ member L.I. Frank: 260 years’ experience in ingredients

LI Frank - Specialist in natural beans and grains

L.I. Frank Food Products, founded in 1753 in the

Netherlands, is an experienced beans and grains

company specialized in processing natural raw ma-

terials like lupin, soy and corn into food ingredients.

Beans and grains are natural components that offer a

wide variety of functionalities in bread, bakery and

new applications like meat and dairy alternatives.

L.I. Frank joined the Barentz Group in 2007 and is

world leader in the processing of lupin beans.

Lupin is cultivated in various European countries and

Australia. The company imports lupin beans from

Australia and Germany, but also gets supplies from

Dutch growers. Lupin beans are processed in L.I.

Frank’s Dutch plant in Twello near Deventer to yield

ingredients that are used in a wide variety of pro-

ducts, such as biscuits, cake, bread mixes, slimming

tablets and rodent feed. Sales Manager Carrie Lu-

cassen explains the process: ”The lupin beans are

cleaned and toasted to inactivate the enzymes they

contain, which would interfere with the baking pro-

cess. Lupin products help to improve the way food

feels in the mouth, its structure and the way it can be

processed in the food industry.”

General Manager Erik Engbersen of L.I.

Frank: ”We make lupin, soy and corn germ

products. One of our innovative products is

Fralu CPS, a lupin-based mix that can be used

for example as a milk replacer in ice cream.”

AgriNutrition: Experts in animal nutrition ingredients

L.I. Frank has developed a toasted corn germ

derived from European maize, which is an inno-

vation in the food industry. Toasted maize germ

adds value to products like bread, tortillas and

biscuits, thanks to its delicious flavour and aro-

ma that resembles that of peanuts or other nuts.

Barentz acquired AgriNutrition, a specialist in raw materials and additives

for cattle feed and supplements, in 2012. Alfred Jansen is the foun-

der and CEO of AgriNutrition. General Manager Pieter van den Berg

explains: ”AgriNutrition is a big player on the European market, specia-

lising in the distribution of in-

gredients for agricultural feeds

(cattle, chicken and piglet feed),

but we also deliver to producers

of pet foods (dogs, cats and fish). We supply animal proteins,

yeast cultures (beer yeasts) and fish meal substitutes for fish

food. Big salmon, trout and eel farms are also among our

customers: we supply them with protein products, such as soj

proteins and starches for use in fish feed.“ Hungry calf drinking milk replacer

6

”You have to be present on the ground if you want to be a

world player,” says Kees Schepers. “Vitablend’s Asian activities

are mainly focused on the fortificationof baby foods and on cli-

nical and sports nutrition. Our Protection Business Unit concen-

trates more on the development of clean label antioxidant

blends containing natural ingredients that help to slow the on-

set of rancidity in dat systems, thus improving the shelf life of

food products. A good example is the combination of green tea

extract with natural vitamin E.”

Barentz’ pioneering spirit makes all the difference Hidde van der Wal, who has been, at the helm at Barentz since 2002, has provided the impetus that has sparked unprecedented growth dur-ing the past decade, making the company a major international player. Developments in Asia have played an increasingly important role here. Kees Schepers, Vice President of Vitablend Netherlands and Vita– blend Singapore, spends a lot of time shuttling between these two spheres of activity. The brand new production facility in Singapore, opened in November 2012 (photo right), is strategically located to serve the main markets of Southeast Asia. “I enjoy the challenge of hel-ping, even indirectly, to improve the quality of food in Southeast Asia,” emphasises Kees Schepers. CEO Hidde van der Wal is also pleased: ”Singapore give us access to coun-tries like Thailand, Vietnam, Indone-sia, South Korea, Malaysia.”

Passion for good food. Typical Italian:

a plate of carpaccio, lovingly prepared.

Barentz Italia: The art of preparing and enjoying food Barentz further stengthened its position 2012 by the acquisition of Prochifar srl, in Milan. Prochifar’s

main focus is on food and feed ingredients. Managing Director Oliver Fox is passionate about Italian

food and inspired by the Italian food market. He stresses the importance that Italians attach to good

food, well prepared. “Italians always go for quality.” It is not only in fashion, art, architecture and mu-

sic that they excel, thanks to their strong imagination and powers of visualisation. Food is prezioso in

Italy too: cooking and the rituals surrounding the meals, the aperitivos, the digestivos and the sociali-

sing around the table are all seen as part of the culinary art and at the same can be very meaningful

for the family. That is why Italians are called “i maestri del godimento”, masters of the art of enjoy-

ment. Hidde van der Wal took op the story: ”The acquistion of

this leading Italian company, which its strong focus on health

and well-being, reinforces our Pan-European ambitions.”

The ambitious 43-year-old Oliver Fox is the right man in the

right place to lead the expansion of Barentz Italia. OliverFox:

”I set up Barentz Services Italiain 2005, with the support from

Hidde van der Wal’s team. Though we are in the north of Italy

- 15 kiloometres north of Milan - we supply ingredients to big

food producersthroughout the country.””

Oliver Fox “We sell taste, texture and perfection”

“It is a big challenge to work for the Italian food industry,

because the Italians are perfectionists. You can see that from their clothes, and from their food too.

Everything has to be just right. The Italians are very keen on pure, natural ingredients, with as little

modification as possible. We have a big reputation in the Italian food world. As distributors of high-

quality and specialty food ingredients, we add taste, texture and refinement with a total focus on qua-

lity. Not least because Italians are used to a good life: they want to enjoy things - but above all, they

want quality. That is why we focus on exclusive offerings. We don’t present 3 types of vanilla. We just

offer the best type. We often have exclusive contracts with our suppliers. We are very strong in ba-

kery, fruit juices and confectionery, but also in meat, savoury dishes and ready meals.”’

7

In the footsteps of Herman Barentz - “Foresight leads to insight”

Hidde van der Wal, CEO of the Barentz Group since 2002, joined the company in 1988 after qualifying as a food technologist. He is an experienced international leader and a visionary, with a sharp eye for detail. As CEO and strategist he is responsible for the growth of the business in 25 European coun-tries and for the ongoing expansion into Asia. The company was founded in Amsterdam in 1953 by Herman Barentz, as a producer and distributor of chemical raw materials. He managed it for the first 20 years of its existence, and laid the foundation of the current Pan-European enterprise.

In 1953 Herman Barentz came into contact with the Kodak Eastman Company, commonly known as Kodak, an American multinational and photographic equipment company. Kodak is re-nowned for having invented the core technology now used in digital cameras. Herman Barentz, however was much more interested in the activities in the che-mical sector. While every-one else concentrated on its photography products, Barentz signed a contract with the company that allowed him to sell chemical raw materials in the Netherlands. Hidde van der Wal is full of praise for Herman

Barentz, who guided his initial steps in the business. “He had the unique ability to learn from the past, and to keep looking ahead. Putting the customer at the heart of our thinking, was the fundamen-tal lesson he had in mind. Herman Barentz was a real pioneer, who combined vision, drive and team spirit. He was highly skilled at managing operation s from a distance,” Hidde says.

“We can end world hunger if we really want to” Hidde van der Wal enjoys cooking in his free time. As a result he is keenly interested in nutrition - and in the problem of feeding the world’s population. “The world feeds some 8 billion people every day. Some get 3 meals a day, others 1 or 2, while some get none at all. Efficient food production cuts the cost of food. We can end world hunger if we really want to. The technology to do this already exists.”

“A growing demand for infant formula” “’There are very promising markets in South-East Asia, with huge numbers of young consumers. I ndonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Korea have a combined population of about 500 million, much more than that of Europe. Both men and women have to work here, to make ends meet. The traditional picture of the husband as a breadwinner and the wife whose place is in the kitchen is a thing of the past. There is a clear demand for baby formula. There is a legal obligation to add essential vitamins and minerals to these products. Our production facilities in the Netherlands and Singapore deliver vitamin premixes for infant nutrition.”

The challenge of different culinary cultures Hidde van der Wal sees the different culinary cultures in more than 25 countries as a challenge. ”Food is international nowadays,” he says. “The Italians export spaghetti and other types of pasta, the Netherlands is one of the biggest exporters of potatoes. No one outside of Japan had heard of Sushi 20 years ago. America has introduced the Big Mac everywhere and Heineken and Coca Cola are very popular. Habits change, and food changes with them. The growth of the world population will lead to different types of agriculture. Our dietary pattern will probably be very high tech in 2050, but on the other hand traditional dishes like sausage and mash, well prepared, will still be a delicacy.”

HIDDE VAN DER WAL: THE ENERGISING FORCE BEHIND BARENTZ EUROPE

Barentz Europe B.V.

Saturnusstraat 15

2132 HB HOOFDDORP -

The Netherlands www.barentz.com