PepsiCo exec joins electrochemistry pioneer Dynamic Food Ingredients
We begin our gallery with news that PepsiCo exec Richard Bellas (formerly global VP, advertising, marketing and corporate services) is the new chief commercial officer at ‘green electrochemistry’ pioneer Dynamic Food Ingredients, which is commercializing technology it claims could slash production costs for erythritol, methionine and formic acid.
Typically, firms producing erythritol (a zero calorie bulk sweetener) in commercial quantities do so via fermentation (where a sugar-rich substrate is fermented by a specialized yeast strain to yield erythritol), although it can also be produced via chemical synthesis.
By contrast DFI – which has a pilot plant in Buffalo, NY - uses a ‘green electrochemistry’ process developed at Purdue University - and licensed to DFI - that can dramatically speed up production times and deliver far higher yields from the starter material (anything that contains glucose).
DFI’s technique (click here for details) involves passing raw materials through an electrolytic cell, a technique well known for treating water or making chlorine but not something that has been used for industrial-scale applications in food before.