Will Meet Growing Demand for Probiotics and Cultures Products

BEIJING, July 15, 2013 – DuPont has launched production at its state-of-the-art probiotic blending and packaging facility in China.  The new site in Beijing represents DuPont Nutrition & Health’s first step in packaging probiotics into ready-to-market formats that allow DuPont to offer its customers improved speed to market, quality and flexibility.  Investment and capacity were not disclosed.

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DuPont Nutrition & Health has launched a state-of-the-art facility in Beijing to serve the market for probiotics, which support digestive and immune health. Photo courtesy of DuPont

DuPont’s new probiotics blending and packaging facility in Beijing will support dietary supplement, food and beverage customers. Photo courtesy of DuPont

In 2011, DuPont purchased a food processing plant north of Beijing and converted it into a new cutting-edge probiotic blending and packaging site to serve dietary supplement and food and beverage customers globally and more specifically China and the Asia Pacific region.  The investment is part of a global multi-year capacity expansion program for cultures and probiotics in the United States, Europe and now in China.

“Probiotics is a fast-growing segment of our business and the industry is experiencing double-digit growth rates annually around the world and in China,” said Fabienne Saadane-Oaks, vice president Health and Protection, DuPont Nutrition & Health.  “As we continue to support the world’s growing population, this expansion allows us to custom blend and package high-quality probiotic products for our customers in the fast-growing dietary supplement and food and beverage industries close to our customers, where we want to be.”

The new facility will allow customers to source ready-to-market probiotic formulations consisting of Danisco® HOWARU® premium and FloraFIT® custom probiotic brands.  And, by DuPont managing the process throughout, customers will be assured of the highest standard of food safety and quality. 

“This expansion is a further reinforcement of the DuPont long-standing commitment to China, our customers and consumers.  We are in action to help address some major challenges facing the world, among those is the need for nutritious and quality food, resulted from population growth and urbanization,” added Tony Su, president, DuPont Greater China.

The probiotic formulations offer unique improvements for digestive and immune health and other well-being benefits for the dietary supplement, dairy and beverage markets.  Probiotic cultures will be sourced from the company’s North American and European sites.  The new facility in China will be able to custom blend the ingredients to meet the requirements of local customers.  China is already a significant market for the YO-MIX® dairy cultures from the DuPont™ Danisco® range. 

According to industry estimates, in 2012 the market for probiotics globally totaled more than $32 billion.  That total is expected to increase to $45 billion by 2018.  More than 90 percent of the total is attributed to food, beverage and dietary supplements. 

DuPont has eight sites in China that provide a range of food ingredients, from emulsifiers, hydrocolloids (blended ingredients), enzymes and sweetener ingredients to food protection ingredients, soy protein, lecithin and fiber, and molecular diagnostic solutions.

DuPont Nutrition & Health addresses the world’s challenges in food by offering a wide range of sustainable, bio-based ingredients and advanced molecular diagnostic solutions to provide safer, healthier and more nutritious food.  Through close collaboration with customers, DuPont combines knowledge and experience with a passion for innovation to deliver unparalleled customer value to the marketplace.

DuPont (NYSE: DD) has been bringing world-class science and engineering to the global marketplace in the form of innovative products, materials, and services since 1802. The company believes that by collaborating with customers, governments, non-governmental organizations, and thought leaders we can help find solutions to such global challenges as providing enough healthy food for people everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting life and the environment. For additional information about DuPont and its commitment to inclusive innovation, please visit www.dupont.com.

Forward-Looking Statements:  This news release contains forward-looking statements based on management's current expectations, estimates and projections.  All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about the company's strategy for growth, product development, market position, expected expenditures and financial results are forward-looking statements.  Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "intends," "projects," "indicates," and similar expressions.  These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions.  Many factors, including those discussed more fully elsewhere in this release and in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by DuPont, particularly its latest annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q, as well as others, could cause results to differ materially from those stated.  These factors include, but are not limited to changes in the laws, regulations, policies and economic conditions, including inflation, interest and foreign currency exchange rates, of countries in which the company does business; competitive pressures; successful integration of structural changes, including restructuring plans, acquisitions, divestitures and alliances; cost of raw materials, research and development of new products, including regulatory approval and market acceptance; seasonality of sales of agricultural products; and severe weather events that cause business interruptions, including plant and power outages, or disruptions in supplier and customer operations. The company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements as a result of future developments or new information.

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7/15/13

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