Frost & Sullivan Commends Isobionics for Technology Innovation

LONDON, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2010 Frost & Sullivan Global Technology Innovation Award in Food Ingredients is presented to Isobionics. The company offers guaranteed supply and consistent high quality of Valencene Pure™ - a natural flavour molecule for orange notes - based on a unique fermentation process.

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Valencene Pure™ is produced from a new biotechnological process developed and implemented by the company through in-house research efforts. Combining fermentation with biotransformation, this innovative method addresses the issue of cost-effectively and easily producing natural flavour profiles.

"Isobionics can rightly claim to be the first company to have targeted a molecule rationally for synthesis using biotransformation technology," notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Dr. Kaushik Shankar. "Isobionics' unique process has enabled the introduction of Valencene Pure™ within three years from the date of patenting the idea, indicative of the robustness of the process and the confidence of the company in the technology."

Consistent supply and high cost have been the main factors impeding the shift from synthetic flavour compounds to natural and nature identical flavours across food applications. With a nearly 10 fold decrease in anticipated cost of using Valencene Pure™ compared to orange derived valencene, the issue of cost is addressed with ease.

Moreover, the controlled fermentation method employed for production uses commonly available feedstock, glucose. Hence Isobionics can comfortably satisfy the demands for valencene worldwide with their proprietary product derived from patented technology.

"By recreating the exact molecule that is obtained from Valencia oranges, Isobionics has added value to a product that is normally dependent on agricultural production cycles," adds Dr. Shankar. "Standardisation is achieved both on molecular consistency and pricing."

The important feature of the technology employed for production of Valencene Pure™ is the scalability. This allows for quick upgrades of production capacities, which is impossible in agriculture derived ingredients.

As a result of the technology employed for the synthesis of the molecule, Valencene Pure™ is available in a concentration much higher than orange derived valencene, Furthermore, the development of flavour profiles based on Valencene Pure™ is easier since it requires only minor tweaking.

"Food manufacturers can make use of Valencene Pure™ to create natural grapefruit notes in their products without having to worry about quality issues that plague natural extracts," remarks Dr. Shankar. "While concentrations of the active molecules are consistent, there are little or no associated impurities with the product like insecticide residues, which are common in natural products. This results in greater customer confidence."

The technology developed by Isobionics reduces the amount of energy embodied in the production process for valencene and therefore enables the creation of a more environment friendly product. Manufacturers may also be able to develop products with the ultimate aim of reducing the footprint of their final product, using ingredients such as Valencene Pure™.

The Technology Innovation Award is presented to the company that has excelled in the following criteria: uniqueness of technology, impact on new products/applications, impact on functionality, impact on customer value and relevance of innovation to industry.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

About Isobionics

Isobionics is a Dutch biotechnology company run by experienced technologists and professionals. The company has a portfolio of natural products, each one unique in its production method and functional features. The company has a vision of developing high quality products based on sound technologies. The development of technologies is the company's core strength, which also enables it to provide value-added services to its customers. Isobionics has an Intellectual property portfolio comprising varied biotechnological aspects including metabolic engineering, biochemical engineering, downstream processing and upscaling. The company prides itself on its "win-win" approach in working with the customer for developing new products and technologies.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from 40 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.awards.frost.com.

SOURCE Frost & Sullivan