SELT Marine in the thick of Food Ingredients Europe

SELT Marine, a producer of natural food thickeners and gelling agents based on marine algae (agar-agar and carrageenan), specialises in the production of semi-refined carrageenan. With its new extraction process, the dose is 20% lower than that of competitors and the cost price is 30% that of refined carrageenan, for an equivalent quality.

These products, known as hydrocolloids, are used to provide texture in food products in all sectors (dairy, meat, confectionary, drinks, sauces, coatings, etc.). The same applies to the variety of gums (carob, guar, konjak, tara, xanthane and gum arabic), which SELT Marine also markets. The company has also developed a range of products to replace animal gelatine (extracted from cow and pig meat).

SELT Marine has an annual production capacity of 1,400 tonnes of semi-refined carrageenan, 400 tonnes of refined carrageenan and 200 tonnes of agar-agar. It controls the entire production line from the cultivation and extraction of algae, via formulation and R&D, to international distribution. Its R&D laboratory is used to formulate specific solutions for each customer. It also provides customised technical assistance – its team of food technologists travels throughout the world to provide assistance and advice to customers. SELT Marine makes more than 98% of its turnover on the export market.

About SELT Marine

The company was created under the name SELT Marine Chemicals in 1996 in association with the Laboratory for Fundamental and Applied Marine Biology in Marseilles in south-east France. When a subsidiary for algal extraction was set up in Tunisia in 2000, it took over this process from the R&D laboratory in Marseilles. In 2003, an alga-processing subsidiary for the production of carrageenan was created in Indonesia (SELT Indonesia). The company employs 11 people in France and 80 in Indonesia and Tunisia.
The company will be present at the FIE (Food Ingredients Europe) trade fair at Paris-Nord Villepinte, France, from 29 November to 1 December 2005 (Stand C51, Hall 2).

For further information, please go to: www.seltmc.com