DuPont Tate & Lyle receives USDA certification for Zemea

03-Aug-2011 - Last updated on 04-Aug-2011 at 15:33 GMT

DuPont Tate and Lyle Bio Products has received certification from the US Department of Agriculture that its Zemea propanediol is a 100 percent biobased ingredient.

Zemea propanediol is a corn-based alternative to petroleum-based glycols, which has been accepted as coming from natural origin by the French certification body Ecocert as well as the Natural Products Association (NPA).

It is used in personal care and cosmetics formulas as a moisturising agent or emollient, and can be used as a solvent for naturally derived extracts.

Recognizable as biobased ingredient

“We are excited that Zemea is now a part of the Biobased Labeling program. This label will help our customers and downstream consumers easily recognize products that are made with biobased ingredients,” said Joe DeSalvo, marketing director, DuPont Tate and Lyle Bio Products.

“In addition to its bio-based content, the Zemea manufacturing process delivers excellent environmental performance resulting in a lower energy usage and less greenhouse gas emissions when compared to its petroleum equivalent,” added DeSalvo.

Under the USDA’s BioPreferred program, biobased products are defined as those composed wholly or significantly of agricultural ingredients.

And the company, which is a joint venture between global science company DuPont, and Tate & Lyle, a renewable food and industrial ingredients company, recently expanded the distribution of its Zemea product.

Appointing IMCD group as distributor, Zemea will now be sold in Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, Poland and South Africa.

Worldwide distribution

As well as distributing to the newly authorized countries Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, Poland, and South Africa, IMCD also oversees the distribution of Zemea in France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Luxembourg, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

“This partnership is founded on a common commitment to meet our customers’ needs”, stated Steve Hurff, vice president of sales, DuPont Tate and Lyle, adding that ICMD was well positioned to serve all cosmetics, personal care and cleaning products customers in these countries, “with its strong ingredient platform [and] market knowledge”.

DuPont Tate and Lyle has also entered in to the South American market for distribution of Zemea with Sarfam appointed as the distributor.

“Brazil is one of the world’s most dynamic markets for cosmetics and personal care products with several segments enjoying double digit growth rates. The ability to have Sarfam supply Zemea locally is important to our customer base”, commented Rose Durham, marketing manager, DuPont Tate and Lyle.