THE NETHERLANDS—IOI Loders Croklaan announced Betapol® fat blend recently was awarded 17 new patents worldwide for the product’s production processes. The product mimics the unique fat composition and structure of human milk. It is a close natural match to breast milk fat and has become the scientifically substantiated standard for high-quality infant formula.

Among the latest patents granted IOI Loders Croklaan are several that provide worldwide protection for the process currently used in the company’s dedicated Betapol facilities in Malaysia and The Netherlands. This process involved the enzymatic acidolysis of a palm stearin component with oleic acid to produce an OPO-type fat, a process unique to the company.

Other patents protect many other enzymatic routes for making Betapol. The patents, divided into three patent families, apply in numerous countries worldwide.

“When it comes to products designed for babies, quality assurance is a top priority," says Ulrike Schmid, Ph.D., the company’s global IP and regulatory manager and a European patent attorney. The new patents, she says, provide the company’s customers with reassurance the products they buy are genuine and of consistent quality. Betapol acts as an alternative energy source for babies whose mother’s are unable to breastfeed.