Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche yesterday opened a new food premix facility outside São Paulo, Brazil.
The facility will strengthen the global network for Roche Vitamins' premix business and also sets new quality and safety standards in South America, according to the company.
The premix plant is to support manufacturing for the 'Nutrix' concept developed in Latin America for the food and pharmaceutical industries. According to Roche, the custom-made Nutrix blends require a high level of plant sophistication and environmental control, achieved through equipment selection, quality systems and air-flow control system in the production area.
Most Nutrix products are used in branded fortified foods and nutritional supplements and in staple food fortification programmes.
The plant will produce around 2000 tons of vitamins and mineral premixes a year, both for the Brazilian food and pharma industries and for export to other countries in South America. Roche added that its new facility will meet quality standards by ISO, GMP and HACCP certification, in addition to an on-site analytical laboratory using the latest equipment.
Roche's Vitamins and Fine Chemicals unit, said to be the world's leading supplier of vitamins and carotenoids to food and pharmaceutical industries, was recently bought by Dutch life sciences company DSM and is waiting for merger approval. In 2002, it recorded sales of around SF3.4 billion.
The facility in Jaguaré was opened by Dr Markus Altwegg, head of the Roche vitamins and fine chemicals division.