Nutriswiss, one of the leading refiners of edible oils and fats in Switzerland, uses a special combination of physical refining processes to effectively purify organic oils and optimize their taste. After treatment, the oils are virtually free from process contaminants (3-MCPD, glycidol, trans fatty acids). Mineral oil residues, plasticizers, free fatty acids and other contaminants are effectively reduced while micronutrients are preserved.
As a contract manufacturer, Nutriswiss refines a wide variety of oils for the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Its state-of-the-art processes enable the gentle refining of oils in compliance with European organic guidelines and other certifications such as Demeter, Bioland and BioSuisse.
In this way, oils that would be of limited suitability for further processing or trade due to intense flavors, coloration or exposure to environmental and transport contaminants become safe ingredients. Unlike conventional physical refining at high temperatures, which creates process contaminants and destroys valuable micronutrients, the thermal load in “mild refining” processes remains comparatively low. The process is therefore also suitable for sensitive raw materials such as omega-3-rich seed oils like rapeseed or linseed oil, algae oil or other specialty oils.
Gentle physical refining
Contaminants can originate during organic cultivation from exhaust gases, for example, or can enter the raw material through contact with machinery and transport circumstances. During an internal random analysis of various organic rapeseed oils in the Swiss retail market, for instance, mineral oil residues were detected. And although these contaminants were present in “acceptable” concentrations (according to the orientation values for MOH compiled by the German Food Association [Lebensmittelverband Deutschland eV] in August 2021), they are still considered to be “unwanted.” With “mild refining” technologies, Nutriswiss succeeds in purification without the formation of process contaminants such as glycidol and 3-MCPD, for which strict limits will apply from January 2021 according to EU Regulation 2020/1322. Highly pure and sensorially neutral products can thus be produced in a gentle manner.
Michel Burla, Managing Director Nutriswiss, comments: “The contract production of high-purity oils in organic quality is a very special addition to our existing range of services. We are proud that we can now meet market demand with certified, purely physical processes.”
About Nutriswiss
Nutriswiss AG specialises in the refining of high-quality, tailor-made edible fats and is the Swiss leader in special and organic products. For national and international food manufacturers, the catering, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries, as well as artisan bakers, crude oils from all over the world are neutralized, bleached, modified by fractionation, transesterification or hydrogenation, mixed and deodorized. At its headquarters in Lyss in the canton of Berne in Switzerland, a total of 90 employees produce around 55,000 tonnes of high-purity edible oils and fats annually, 95 percent of which are of vegetable origin. Under the brand name, BELFINA, sister company Grüninger supplies the national catering trade, food craft and retail trade with special fats and margarines. Nutriswiss, founded in 1879, is part of Centravo Holding.
