| Purified DHA oil for infant formula |
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| Integrated business process for products other than functional lipids |
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On March 26, 2009, Nissui established TN Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd. (TNFC) through a joint investment with Thailand's major marine processing company, Thai Union Group (51% of TNFC stock is Nissui). TNFC was established mainly for the purpose of utilizing the byproducts that result from Thai Union Group's processing of marine products.
The Thai Union Group is a major manufacturer of canned tuna. TNFC plans to extract oils from the heads of skipjack and tuna used in the process before they undergo heat processing, and produce high-purity functional lipids that are not only clean and stable, but compliant with the global standards for edible fish oils. The TNFC plant and its products are compliant with EU HACCP standards and have even received Kosher and Halal* certification. After undergoing final purification at the Tsukuba Plant, the product will be sold to European and U.S. manufacturers as DHA oil for infant formula, thereby accelerating the expansion of the global market in this field. TNFC is scheduled to commence operations in October 2009 and it will expand into the pharmaceutical, health foods, dietary supplement and cosmetics fields both on the domestic and global markets in the future.
The Thai Union Group also operates one of the world's leading shrimp businesses and TNFC is considering plans to produce fully traceable glucosamine from the shells discarded from the processing of shrimp. While the market for glucosamine, effective in alleviating arthritic pain, expands in Japan, it has grown into a massive market of 4,500t in the U.S. Currently the majority of glucosamine is produced in China, but Nissui is considering the possibility of entering the U.S. market––currently the world's largest––by utilizing the product’s traceability as its sales point.
Starting from April of this year, the Sakaiminato Plant has established a production system for producing glucosamine from crab shells, in addition to the existing chitin and chitosan production lines. However, there is a limit to the amount of crab shells that can be harvested and production has been limited to a maximum of 40t. Once operations using shrimp shells from Thailand are up and running, a production volume of nearly 300t is expected.
Youichi Sekiguchi, Executive Officer, explains, "In the past, no one was really concerned with the ingredients that went into fine chemicals. But from now on, people will seek traceability of the raw materials. Establishing this new company will be extremely beneficial in that it will give us direct access to raw materials. In the future, we hope to launch new projects to follow these current projects by utilizing the byproducts from the processing of other marine products."
At the Kashima Plant, chitin and chitosan are made into oligosaccharides and N-acetylglucosamine, to be used as materials for health foods, and further processed into derivatives, to be used as materials for cosmetics. Nano-fibers made out of chitin and chitosan have potent antibacterial qualities, and their potential uses include cosmetic sheets and bandages.
In 2007 the Codex Committee (International government organization established by CODEX Alimentarious / FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and WHO (World Health Organization)) advocated adding DHA and arachidonic acid to infant formula. If this recommendation is advocated throughout the world, it would without a doubt lead to substantial growth in demand.
In other words, a big change will happen in the global finechemicals fields in the next few years.
In light of these circumstances, Youichi Sekiguchi, Executive Officer, points out, "It must be noted that marine resources are, by no means, unlimited. Although at the moment, we are extracting and purifying materials derived from natural products, a shortage of resources can occur at any time. Also if we were to limit our products to materials of fish origin, we would be able to maintain a competitive edge. However, synthetic compounds and cultivated materials through biotechnology could also prove to be competitors. Nissui had already anticipated such future competition three years ago and consequently established the Bio-Production Research Center. At the Research Center, production technology that is not dependent on the harvesting of natural products is being developed as the third means of production."
Shinichi Sugimoto, the Head of the Bio-Production Research Center, adds, "DHA and EPA contained in fish are the results of substances that had always been found in marine microorganisms, which have found their way into fish by climbing up the food chain. At our Research Center, we are studying ways to prduce them by microorganisms cultivation. We are currently conducting joint research with three universities."
Nissui, on the strength of its Global Links and Local Links, operates a unique type of integrated business that spans every step from marine resources to the finished product. In the Fine Chemicals Business as well, Nissui has added a new link and is poised to develop sophisticated and high-quality products through its integrated business and create a new market for the world.
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