A plant for progress

For several centuries, scientists have tried to separate protein fractions from green plants. This work took on added importance at the end of the 20th century, resulting in patent applications in Europe and North America. In France, our group of producers has developed the ideal process for producing a concentrated protein extract from alfalfa, with a high pigment content. Progress in production methods and controls have enabled us to further improve the quality of this product.

The origins

Alfalfa had already been used as animal fodder in the Near East and Central Asia several centuries before the modern era. It appeared in Southern Europe in the first century AD, and was introduced in France in the 15th century and in America in the 16th century.

1954
Start of the dehydration industry in France.

1972
Creation of an extraction pilot plant: alfalfa proteins and pigments could be concentrated and produced as extracts.

1976
Zootechnical studies showed the value of the product in the pigmentation of egg yolks and broilers. Commercialization of the first CAE guaranteeing 1,000 ppm of Total Xanthophylls on dry weight.

1977-1980
A storage site under inert gas was dedicated to CAE, to assist in the development of production.

1994-1999
Control of the process and storage enabled higher xanthophyll concentrations to be offered.

2002 
Installation of pigment analysis by HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) making it possible to identify the various pigments in CAE.

2003
After two years of studies, the first positive cold storage site was created to improve the preservation of xanthophylls in packaged products.

2004
The perfect control of analysis methods and the understanding of qualitative changes of products now enables us to propose a lutein + zeaxanthin guarantee, replacing the guarantee of Total Xanthophylls. Our offerings have been broadened by diversifying the forms of supply of CAE, in response to the specific needs of emerging markets.