The company has freed up a new generation of these vegetable oil blends, which are used to give texture, taste and consistency to margarines, spreads and cooking oils.
Production of these lines has been made possible thanks to recently developed processing methods that make use of enzyme technology. These methods work at temperatures of just 70°C, compared with traditional temperatures of 120°C, saving 600t of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the new process results in almost no waste water, slashing previous amounts generated by 10,000m3.
Sime Darby's current capacity for this new generation of hardstocks is 20,000t, but the company aims to push this up to 100,000 by the end of this year. "Consumers increasingly wish to buy high quality food products made from responsibly produced natural ingredients," said Sime Darby Unimills md Alexander van der Klauw.
"Our new generation green hardstocks fit perfectly with our focus on innovation and the sustainability efforts of the Sime Darby group as it enables us to develop solutions with specific environmental benefits."
Delico 375; Delico 381; and Delico 382 are the first products processed using the new enzyme technology to be launched.
"Thanks to a century of innovation in this particular category, Sime Darby Unimills today is market and technology leader in Europe in hardstocks for margarines, both for consumer margarines and industrial bakery margarines," said van der Klauw.
"Our investment in enzyme technology builds on our dedication to respond to increasingly complex customer requests. It mirrors the trend of a greening vegetable oil industry and responds to the market's strongest call; it is therefore the next logical step in our offering."