Chemical and ingredient distributor Brenntag has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with US-based food company Cargill for the latter’s EpiCor postbiotic offerings.
The agreement spans most of Europe, encompassing the UK, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, BeNeLux, the DACH region, and CEE, including Baltics and Ukraine, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland.
Brenntag Specialties Nutrition EMEA president Frank Haven said: “We are delighted to increase the scope of our alliance with Cargill on exclusive basis for EpiCor, a leading postbiotic nutrition and dietary product.
“To the very important and intensely growing Nutritional Health, we bring the knowledge, infrastructure and creative innovation capabilities of Brenntag’s Food and Nutrition team together with the overarching expertise of Cargill.”
EpiCor is a postbiotic ingredient made from the proprietary fermentation of baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae).
The process results in a nutritious whole food rich in metabolites such as proteins, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and polyphenols, fibres and polysaccharides, and other nutrients.
EpiCor also aligns with the newly released consensus definition of a postbiotic, established by the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP).
It is a preparation of inactive microorganisms and components that have been shown in over a dozen published studies to potentially support immune and gut health functions, Brenntag said.
According to the chemical and ingredient distributor, the offering can be formulated into dietary supplements and nutritional to support immune and gut health functions.
Brenntag Specialties Nutrition EMEA industry market management director Willem van Dam said: “We look forward to developing and broadening relationships with our existing and new customers with this new offer of EpiCor.
“This will meet the current needs of our customers as well as new product requirements and can generate new product development projects.”
Last month, Cargill unveiled its plans to divest its dry sausage production facility in Nashville, Tennessee to Smithfield Foods.
