Bunge North America, St. Louis, recently unveiled its Bunge Ingredient Innovation Center for Edible Oils and Carbohydrates (BIIC) in Bradley, Ill.

“As a global leader in edible oils and milling, our customers trust Bunge to be the experts in developing the innovative solutions they’ll need to meet future consumer demands,” said Soren Schroder, president and chief executive officer of Bunge North America. “This state-of-the-art facility ensures we can quickly take our ingredient solutions from concept through commercialization.”

The new center includes two pilot plants, one for milling and one for oils, which have full plant functionality in a scaled-down size and will be used to create and test new products. The BIIC also contains laboratories to analyze new products at each step of their development. 

“Our team of 25 scientists and support staff has created an award-winning portfolio to address concerns about trans fat in shortenings as well as the need for whole grain products,” said Roger Daniels, director, research and development, Bunge Oils. “With the BIIC, our customers will be able to test how these solutions improve the nutritional profile and performance of their existing products or work with our experts to develop new products.”