Cargill invests $17.5 million in Izegem edible vegetable oil refinery to advance food safety and infant nutrition 

(IZEGEM, Belgium) August. 30, 2018 – As the food and infant nutrition market evolves rapidly and new European legislation drives significant change, Cargill is anticipating customer needs with an investment of $17.5 million in an upgrade of its refining facility. The investment allows Cargill’s global edible vegetable oils business to increase production capacity and provide a safe and reliable supply of high-quality food and infant nutrition oil for its customers.

Upgrade to edible oil refinery

The new world-class refining installation includes replacing existing equipment with new machinery, such as a deodorizer and processing technology that will facilitate the production process and assure the supply of safe and high-quality food and infant nutrition edible oil products for customers.

EU infant nutrition regulation

European food safety legislation often leads the way in intensifying efforts to improve food safety, especially in the area of  infant nutrition regulations. Recently, strict standards were set in place for chemical compounds such as 3- and 2-monochloropropanediol (MCPD) and glycidyl esters in infant food. The upgraded installation in Izegem facilitates the technical processes and allows Cargill to meet the required European safety and quality standards and address rising consumer food safety concerns. 

“The company is well-positioned to meet future, increasingly stringent, European regulations on food safety,” said Sabine Sagaert, managing director for Cargill’s oils and seeds business in EMEA. “With many new ingredients entering the food and infant nutrition segment, food safety is an important starting point for every product . Cargill’s ability to safeguard the quality and integrity of food and infant nutrition ingredients is key to our customers’ success.”

Cargill Izegem celebrates 20th anniversary

Cargill has been active in Izegem since 1998 and has since invested more than $74 million in the modernization and upgrade of its refinery and bottling activities. Today’s inauguration of the upgraded refinery is an important milestone in the site’s 20-year journey. 

The plant is one of the most complex edible oil refineries in Europe. With its refining, hydrogenation, interesterification, winterization and blending technologies, the plant is able to process 11 types of oils and fats into over 300 product blends, each answering to specific customer demands for products such as cooking oils, salad dressings, infant nutrition and applications. Cargill’s Izegem plant also houses a bottling capability, one of the largest of its kind in Europe and a center of expertise for packaging within Cargill. From bulk oil to packed oil, the site maintains food quality and safety to the highest standards. There are currently 280 people employed at Cargill’s site in Izegem.