PASIR GUDANG: IOI Loders Croklaan Oils Sdn Bhd (IOI Loders), the downstream processing division of IOI Corporation Bhd (IOI), is confident of obtaining approval from the government for the distribution of its new product containing palm oil-based, specialty fat named Betapol by this year.
“We are already at the final stage of getting the approval. We are currently listening to advises from the ministry and they are also evaluating the effects of Betapol,” said Michael van Sallandt, chief operating officer of IOI Loders Croklaan, during a recent media tour to its factory, IOI’s plantations and mill.
Betapol, which was created to mimic the unique fat composition and structure of human milk, has been approved globally and IOI Loders Croklaan currently supplies to over 14 countries with China being its biggest market.
IOI Loders Croklaan is one of the largest integrated palm oil company in the world. It is also one of two companies and one of the pioneers in the development and production of specialty fat that mimics natural human milk.
The company currently has two factories developing and supplying Betapol which are located in Europe and in Pasir Gudang, Johor. A point Sallandt highlighted was that in China, Betapol are sold to premium products (infant formula) brands. However, he pointed out that more companies and brands are starting to use Betapol as part of the ingredients in their infant formulas.
He affirmed that China has placed infant formulas containing Betapol as the benchmark for high quality infant formula.
The market for this product has also increased tremendously over the last two years as more countries take up the ingredient for their infant formula products. This, Sallandt said, underlines the growing acceptance of the benefits of Betapol.
According to Youchun Yan, senior technical manager of IOI Loders Croklaan Asia, extensive scientific research done on Betapol, including numerous clinical studies, demonstrates that the product can play a beneficial role in both pre-term and full-term infant.
“Some of the published efficacy studies for Betapol shows that the ingredient increases calcium absorption, increased fat absorption, softer stools, increased bone density and content, and additional benefits from the combination with other ingredients,” he explained during a briefing of the product.
In this respect, IOI Loders Croklaan also highlighted that positive outcomes have been discovered from a recent scientific research on Betapol and potential effects on infant brain development.
The company said, the outcomes suggest that OPO, the main component of Betapol, has a positive physiological effect on brain function and physical development compared with standard vegetable oils used in infant formula.
“The infant formula market is a strategic growth market for IOI Loders Croklaan and we will continue to invest further,” Michael said.
Since Betapol is produced from a unique mix of crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kennel, he outlined that the product would also be beneficial for Malaysia as a whole, given its large plantations industry.
In 2011, the production of Betapol OPO was commissioned to IOI Loders Croklaan’s plant in Pasir Gudang. This production has been awarded the Malaysian Bionexus status, which is only given to qualified global and Malaysiam biotechnology companies.
The company said, the status is awarded to qualified companies undertaking value added biotechnology and/or life sciences activities.