Ashland is ready to assist the food and beverage industry in the Asia-Pacific region with a range of technical solutions following the completion of an expansion project at its technical centre in Shanghai, China.
New state-of-the-art equipment is in place that affords food scientists at Ashland the ability to work closely with dairy, bakery, beverage and meat product makers to solve complex formulation and processing challenges.
Speaking to executives of major food manufacturing companies during a dedication ceremony, David Neuberger, Vice President of Pharmaceutical, Nutrition and Agricultural Specialties, said the nutrition centre is now a premier source for very precise technical solutions that form the foundation of advances in the integrity and consumer likeability of food and beverages produced on a commercial scale in Asia, to create and apply specialised chemistry in ways that enable customers to amplify the efficacy, refine the usability, add to the allure, ensure the integrity and improve the profitability of their products and applications.
'Making high-quality food and beverage products that consumers want necessitates expertise in ingredients, formulation and manufacturing. Ashland now has all of the ingredient specialists, process engineers and pilot-scale manufacturing facilities in place in Shanghai to support companies with insights that lead to the manufacture of high-quality products everyone can enjoy,' Neuberger said.
Ashland is one of the world’s leading producers of food cellulose gums, a gluten-free ingredient essential to improve the allure of some food and beverage products and vital to advance the integrity of products produced in a commercial setting. A hydrocolloid, cellulose gum finds application in protein stabilisation of dairy products, texture enhancement of various beverages and quality enhancement of baked goods. Ashland also supports thermal gelation, film formation, thickening and food binding solutions with modified cellulose products sold under the Benecel trade name.
Catering to Asia’s demand for dairy
As the dairy industry continues to expand in Asia, a new Ultra High Temperature (UHT) system and online homogeniser are now in place at the technical centre to simulate conditions representative of commercial milk production.
William Zhao, General Manager of Specialty Ingredients, Greater China, said UHT-processing fits well with a significant need in Asia to secure low-fat milk products that taste great, exhibit good texture and remain stable for an extended period.
'Adding a UHT pilot system in Shanghai enables Ashland to assist companies with technical and product development troubleshooting to ensure the production of milk products that fit the lifestyles and consumer preferences of consumers in Asia-Pacific,' said Zhao.
In addition to dairy equipment, Ashland has in place analytical and pilot-scale operations to support producers of baked goods, beverages and meat products.
