Based in The Netherlands, NIZO Food Research focuses on the role of aroma in satiety mechanisms using its state of-the-art olfactometer to carefully administer aroma stimuli to consumers.

The Netherlands is the world’s third-largest exporter of agricultural products and is home to one of the largest agrifood clusters in the world with more than 100 research-driven companies, as well as a variety of academic groups and research institutes – with open access to biotech, nanotech and IT.

In 2006, the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) – a department of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs – was involved in a record 113 investment projects of foreign companies that located operations in the Netherlands. The projects represented the creation of 2,425 jobs and a planned capital investment of more than $460 million.

“The growth in the R&D sector reflects our focus on strengthening the climate for innovation,” explains Michael Ooms, executive director of NFIA in North America. “As always, we remain committed to actively supporting the 1,865 North American companies already located in the Netherlands.

“Because of our competitive and geographical advantages, we continue to capitalize on attracting a large number of new projects related to European headquarters and distribution centers.”

Food Valley
The Netherlands’ Food Valley – much like Northern California’s Silicon Valley – features top R&D centers and institutes, only Food Valley specializes in areas of agrifood, life sciences, genomics, nutrition and health.

Many American companies have a strong presence in Food Valley, including H.J. Heintz, Abbott Laboratories, Sensient Technologies Corp. and Price Waterhouse Coopers.

Located in Wageningen, the Netherlands, there are many reasons foreign firms would want to partner and invest in this area, and Food Valley and NFIA are working to spread the word.

“Food Valley has an ambitious program building on the unique strengths of the region,” Food Valley Managing Director Roger van Hoesel says. “[We do this by] fostering innovation and new businesses, stimulating entrepreneurship and spin-off companies, offering facilities like incubators and science parks, setting up networks of science and business, and facilitating the establishment of companies and institutes.”

Booming Hub
NFIA cites a number of reasons the Netherlands is an attractive business investment, including:  

• Its central location in Europe, which enables it to service markets within the European Union as well as Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
• Its international business environment, which creates a gateway to Europe that helps international companies succeed throughout the continent. “An international outlook and openness to foreign investment is firmly engrained in the Dutch culture, and this has yielded a wealth of world-class business partners who know how to deal with global business challenges in today’s economy,” says Jochum S. Haakma, NFIA managing director.
• A superior logistics and technology infrastructure, including the port of Rotterdam, the world’s largest seaport. In addition, Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport is recognized as one of the major business hubs in Europe. “The Netherlands is also classified as one of the most wired countries in the world, a dynamic force in e-commerce, communications and outsourcing,” Haakma insists.
• The Netherlands has one of the most highly educated, multilingual and flexible work forces in Europe. Dutch professionals are also among the most multilingual in the world, enabling them to successfully operate in a global marketplace.
• The Netherlands is proud to have a high standard of living and quality of life, as well. The costs of living, housing, education and cultural activities are lower than in most Western European countries.

Let There be Light
The Netherlands is home to a number of key food technology innovations, such as Clean Light, a UV crop protection company that was founded in 2005 by forestry engineer Arne Aiking. It’s popularity has grown, he says, because it is “cost effective, safe for consumers and safe for the environment.”

“I have worked on large-scale reforestation projects in countries like Brazil, Chile, South Africa, Thailand and New Zealand,” he adds. “The pressure on us to reduce the application of pesticides is universal. It is my experience as a professional grower that the UV crop protection technology is more effective than the chemicals I myself used to apply.”

Clean Light worked under the exacting standards of Wageningen Agricultural University in the Netherlands for the development of this technology. The university has also performed several efficacy tests confirming that a small dose of light kills the fungus without stressing the crop.

Scent of Health
Based in Food Valley, NIZO Food Research is also making major advancements in the food industry with its expertise in flavor, texture, processing, health and food safety.

As a large independent research company, NIZO helps clients develop “functional ingredients and aims to develop tasty, low-calorie foods,” it says. “To demonstrate effects on, for example, gut micro-flora and satiety, various in vitro, animal models and human trials are available.”

Satiety is a major factor in finding ways to curb obesity, and NIZO is one of 30 partners in a European integrated project on obesity “DiOGenes” – which stands for diet, obesity and genes.

The project aims at understanding the dietary and genetic factors influencing obesity and develop preventive and treatment measures. In this program, NIZO focuses on the role of aroma in satiety mechanisms using its state-of-the-art olfactometer to carefully administer aroma stimuli to the consumers under study.

With the ability to administer aroma profiles separately from other stimuli, such as different ingredients, textures and tastes, NIZO is able to investigate the relative importance of aroma stimuli for satiety.

The company currently has offices in France, the U.K., the United States, Japan and Thailand.

Milking It
Milk products are not known for being particularly innovative, but one Netherlands-based firm has been focused on changing that perception.

International cooperative dairy company Campina adds value to liquid milk, dairy drinks, yogurt, desserts, cheese, butter products, cream products and ingredients for the food and pharmaceuticals industries. “In recent years, Campina has been granted patents in packaging, cheese, desserts and ingredients used in the food and pharmaceutical industries,” says Ridwan Sarwin, research manager for Campina Innovation.

Campina and DSM Food Specialties – a producer of value-added ingredient solutions for the international food, feed and beverage industries – partnered on the development of Fabuless, a revolutionary weight management ingredient.

The shot drink product that uses Fabuless – Optimel Control – is a second-generation line extension of Campina’s highly successful Optimel range of dairy products for the weight-conscious consumer. “Research has shown that straight-forward and effective weight management is a key requirement for modern consumers,” says Lucas Hendrikse, DSM’s dairy ingredients business unit director.

Fabuless is a patent-protected combination of oat and palm oils that are formulated in a novel emulsion. Its microstructure prevents the digestion of palm oil droplets until relatively deep in the small intestine. Undigested fat arriving in the ileum – the latter part of the small intestine – and triggers an “appetite satisfied” signal to the brain. Because they feel no need to take in more calories, consumers can eat less and still feel satisfied.

Safety Leader
Food safety is an international concern, and EBI Food Safety, based in Food Valley, develops natural bacteriophage products to be used against dangerous bacteria in food. “We’re viewed as product leader committed to making the application of bacteriophages a new industry standard,” CEO Mark Offerhaus says.

LISTEX P100 is the company’s product against Listeria, a bacterium that causes serious infection, Listeriosis. “LISTEX P100 is a culture of safe and natural [organic] bacteriophages, characterized by its broad spectrum toward Listeria monocytogenes strains,” he says. “It is used as a processing aid in the production of meat, cheese, fish and other food products.

“We have been working ... with many U.S. food processors, consultants, regulators and industry associations, such as the American Meat Institute Foundation,” Offerhaus says. “On a research level, we also work with many research groups outside of the Netherlands, but perhaps the most important one for us is the collaboration with the ETH Zürich [Swiss Federal Institute of Technology].”

He says EBI works closely with Martin Loessner, a professor of food microbiology at the Institute of Food Science and Nutrition of the ETH Zürich. “We consider him to be the pre-eminent authority in the field of bacteriophage technology for food applications, especially on dangerous food pathogens such as Listeria and Salmonella,” Offerhaus says.

Learn More:

• Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency
• Food Valley
  
• Clean Light
  
• NIZO Food Research

• Campina
• EBI Food Safety
• Holland Tourism