Centre of Excellence Structured Emulsions officially opened

Unilever R&D opened the Centre of Excellence Structured Emulsions on Tuesday, designed to develop food innovations, healthier choices and functional foods with the natural goodness of oils.

Based in the Netherlands, with branches in France and the US, the centre hopes to counter the rise in commodity costs by using alternative ingredients and novel product structuring techniques.

The centre will aim to develop world-class capabilities in the areas of fat technology (fat modification and crystallisation) and emulsification (protein and water structuring, emulsion formulation and process). It will also host the European packaging technology centre with a technology and material focus on tubs, pots and glass packaging.

"With the opening of our Centre of Excellence Structured Emulsions, we are establishing a world-class R&D capability that will lead to more winning innovations across the globe," said Carla Hilhorst, director of the centre.

"With R&D experts from 20 countries, we have a deep expertise and a wide perspective which will allow us to deliver taste, health and convenience for consumers around the world."

The centre opening ended with the unveiling of the world's highest emulsifier sculpture, measuring more than 3 m high and weighing 10 t. The sculpture symbolises the ambition for the centre to be the "world champion in structured emulsions and their applications in tasty, healthy and convenient foods".