Brussels, 25/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 22 April, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Puratos, a leading company in its field in the food industry, signed a loan contract for €45 million that will be dedicated to the Puratos European research and development programme until 2015.
The Puratos group is a Belgian-Spanish family-owned group active in the production and commercialisation of ingredients for the bakery, patisserie and chocolate sector for both artisans and industrial customers. Puratos today has some 6,500 employees and is active in over 100 countries, with a proven track record in R&D. With its new research programme, it is aiming to develop and deliver within the next few years new enzymes and food ingredients. More especially, the project co-financed by the EIB will focus on developing new fermentation-based functionalities, yeast components and emulsifiers to the bakery sector. The technical objective is to decrease the amount of hard fats and cholesterol-raising ingredients in the food production process and to increase the proportion of healthy natural ingredients. Its overall aim is to make it possible for the food industry to produce healthier bakeries and confectionery products.
The activities financed will be carried out in Puratos EU-based RDI and production facilities, primarily at its main research centre located in Groot-Bijgaarden near Brussels, Belgium. (OL/transl.jl)