Papaya’sSecret

B.S.C. nvZwaarveld 41B-9220 HammeBelgium

Tel +32 (0) 52 470 536Fax +32 (0) 52 472 664info@bscbio.bewww.bscBio.be

Historical facts

Their fast rate of growth and their abundant fruit encouraged further cultivation in warm tropi-cal regions from Central and South America to Africa, India and Asia. Later on it became apparent that the very specific microclimatic conditions prevailing at the western foot of the Ruwenzori Mountain in North Eastern Congo were a contributing factor to a better growth of papaya trees.

Subsequent studies during the 19th century expeditions indicated that the local African population was aware of some beneficial aspects of the papaya plant. The fruit, tree and leaves all delivered a milky juice when scratched.

They recognized the tenderizing effect of papaya latex on meat but also its capacity to heal wounds and cure gastrointestinal infections.

Most parts of the plant deliver a milky juice with high levels of an enzyme called “papain”. Papain has the ability to break down proteins which classifies it as a protease or proteolytic enzyme.

Ruwenzori Mountain

Hundreds of years ago the globe began to un-veil its secrets to many explorative missions of Spanish and Portuguese explorers. One of the many new plant species that were discovered was the Carica Papaya. The papaya trees, it is believed, were originally native to Mexico and Central America.

The development of products

As research revealed new knowledge about papaya protease, many other applications in the food, feed and pharmaceutical industry were developed.

The development of biochemistry together with enzyme knowledge during the 20th century opened up new horizons for possible applications of “papain”, the active component of the latex.

Initially two major products were developed:

- a reliable low-cost chill proofi ng agent for the beer industry, which became extremely popular. Papain cuts the beer proteins which cause a haze in the beer when it is cooled.

- an effi cient meat tenderizer, which became soon a best seller in North America. Papain cuts up the collagen structure of the meat.

As research revealed new knowledge about papaya protease, many other applications in the baking, food, feed and pharmaceutical industry were developed.

Only sun or oven dried latex was imported either by traders in tropical products or directly by specialist enzyme companies interested in refi ning and formulating commercial liquids and powders.The extreme variability in the quality of in-coming latex, the result of climatic changes and bad preservation, made raw material stability and cost control unpredictable.

Extensive research backed by “trial and error” experiments gave birth to a patented in situ refi ning process at the foot of the Ruwenzori Mountains.A highly active, pure and stable papain powder was born.

A state of the art refi ning plant included modern fi ltration, concentration and spray drying tech-niques. A small innovative industry with con-siderable social impact was born.

About BSC

B.S.C. nv originally known as Blue Star Chemicals, was founded by reputed Belgian university researchers who had successfully developed chill proofing aids as well as beer-friendly foam stabilizers for the brewing indus-try at the Hamme (Belgium) plant.

A new management team, with a strong focus on worldwide marketing of the existing product range such as Cristalase, Cristalfoam and Refined Papain, took over at the end of 2002

New improved papaya enzyme formulations with high protein concentration were developed.High performance, highly active liquids with outstanding stability were then introduced for the food ingredient market .

Unique long standing knowledge

The B.S.C. team has acquired unique and unpre-cedented knowledge on papaya culture, on latex collection as well as on full processing techniques. This expertise was accumulated since the early 70’s through pioneering revolutionary in situ refining and through long-standing protease experience.

Continuous collaboration and research by univer-sity-level specialists including ongoing in-house development programs are the prerequisites for delivering total service capability to the multiple application area of our products.Extensive experience with papaya plantations and full support to local technical development through collaborative studies and constant direct informa-tion exchange, allow B.S.C. to maintain its lead in this sector.

Precise calibration of protease activity in accor-dance with internationally recognized laboratory protocols are performed daily on reliable synthetic or natural substrates. Accurate information on the correlation factors between several internation-ally recognized test methods, including those de-veloped by customer laboratories, is an important asset which facilitates worldwide communication. Specific projects may include in-depth exchange of proprietary information with customers. We guarantee confidential content.

Full traceability has been worked out for the complete range of products.The B.S.C. food safety programme includes management of allergens in their products.B.S.C is committed to the use of stricktly non-GMO raw materials in their production.

B.S.C. provides papain products which are certi-fied Kosher by the Orthodox Union in New York.Halal-certification is possible on demand.

Analyses on microbiology and protease activity are constantly performed on a batch to batch basis.Working closely with the world of food and beverage, some specific determinations on PCB’s, heavy metals and pesticides are regularly outsourced and communicated to users.

FOCUS ON PRODUCT AND SYSTEM QUALITY

B.S.C. is an ISO 9001-2008 certified company which aims to provide products and services of the highest level of quality.

HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) has been fully implemented and is under permanent review through regular reporting and external auditing by accredited professionals.

This very short cycle permits a quick response to new market conditions when novel applications come up. The B.S.C. proteases of papaya latex have helped to improve process effi ciency by reducing temperatures and reaction time. They are also valuable alternatives for acids and oth-er various aggressive chemicals in existing and new hydrolytic systems.

Reducing toxicity risks in the food, feed, beverage and pharmaceutical industries is another tremendous advantage which will most probably be the leading factor for substantial future growth for papaya enzyme applications.

B.S.C.’s formulations are totally biode-gradable and therefore have no impact on the environment.

BREAKTHROUGH SUSTAINABILITY

It has been widely recognized that enzymes in general contribute largely towards sustainable growth through minimal environmental impact.Their catalytic action allows for more effi cient processing, better products, better pres-ervation, improved production yields and lower energy consumption for many an industry.This is certainly true with B.S.C.‘s vegetable papaya proteases.Papaya trees are growing fast. When planted in the ideal microclimatic conditions, a seed will give birth to an adult tree bearing fruits ready for the fi rst latex bleeding, in less than 12 months.

social impact

UNPRECEDENTED SOCIAL IMPACT

The plantation maintenance work and the labour intensive papaya bleeding, involve thou-sands of indigenous farmers on the fi elds. This provides a basic income to many families in Central Africa.In situ refi ning of papaya latex leads to extensive on-the-job skill development and provides the local population with considerable knowledge on process techniques such as in-

dustrial refrigeration, fi ltration, pumping, spray drying, quality control and hygiene.The educational impact of this remote acti-vity has been evoked on many occasions as a unique example of high added value de-velopment project in that part of the World.

B.S.C.’s papain in action

A tremendous volume of applications have been developed since ancestral observations of African papaya knowledge. They fall under the following headings :

Baking Papaya proteases improve the dough proper-ties and the caractistics of baked biscuits and crackers.

Protein digests and hydrolysates Papaya proteases allow for efficient vegetal and animal protein breakdown and reduce the use of chemicals and energy while improving total peptide recuperation. The hydrolytic action of papain on slaughter of-fal, fish waste and bones allows for valuable ex-traction of essential components with food/feed and pharmaceutical industry end users.

Pharmaceuticals Oral enzyme formulations have been proven to stimulate gastric transfer and digestion in gen-eral. Cocktails of enzymes involving papain activi-ties have been recognized for their anti-inflam-matory action providing pain relief for joint/ar-thritis related deficiencies. Papain enzyme in combination with other pro-teases have been recognized for their additional beneficial properties in restoring immune sys-tems during cancer treatment (oncology). Contact lens care products include papain pro-tease for protein clearing properties. Popular ointment products based on papain improve healing through defibrinating wounds

Peptone manufacturing Oral enzyme formulations have been Peptones from vegetal and animal origin are common-place in microbiology where they serve as growth media for bacterial analysis.

Pet food B.S.C.’s papain formulations reduce viscosity of protein mass allowing for easy spray on dry type of pet food.At the same time they offer improved pala-tability and acceptability of pet food to cats and dogs improving their nutritional well-being.

Cosmetics Common skin care specialists include papaya enzyme dilutions in skin peeling treatments.

BrewingThe enzyme breaks down the highly reac-tive proteins which prevent them to bind with polyphenols.This results in a perfect crystal clear glass of beer without affecting organoleptic properties.This is called “chill proofing”.

Promising future The vegetal origin of the papaya enzyme helps drive continued strong interest for new safe food applications. At B.S.C. a considerable amount of R&D work is ongoing. B.S.C. endeavours to provide valu-able support to its market partners through the efficient communication of acquired know-how.At B.S.C. we are very confident that this will lead to new contributions to the protein indus-try resulting in healthier and more exciting new food and feed products.

A tremendous volume of applications have been developed since the ancestral observations of African papaya knowledge were first revealed.

Full Papain enzyme range B.S.C.’s product range

B.S.C. has the expertise and capability to produce a wide range of powder and liquid standardized papain formulations.

Powders would typically be delivered diluted from a few TU/mg up to a very high undiluted 700/800 TU/mg protease activity.

Common USP compliant activities are delivered from 6.000 USP/mg units over 30.000 USP/mg up to 48.000 USP/mg and higher.FIP (Federation of International Pharmacopeia) conform activities would reach up to 5 FIP U/mg for undiluted powders.

Liquids are formulated from a few TU/mg up to a maximum activity of 200 TU/mg.

Any papain formulation can be supplied under private labels following customer-developed recipes and packaging. Products are delivered with a certifi cate of analysis.

CRISTALASE

Is a liquid preparation of purifi ed papain stabilized with sorbitol (or glycerol).It is available in following standard proteolytic activities :

3.600 USP U/mg (60 TU/mg)4.800 USP U/mg (80 TU/mg)5.600 USP U/mg (94 TU/mg)6.000 USP U/mg (100 TU/mg)12.000 USP U/mg (200 TU/mg)

Other activities can be supplied on demand. Technical Data Sheets (TDS) and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are available on request.

Packaging: 6 kg jerry cans + 25 kg jerry cans + 250 kg HDPE drums + 1.200 kgs Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBC’s).

Refined Papain

..... is a powder product based on spray dried papain.It is available at a range of activities from less than 6.000 USP/mg (100 TU/mg) over 10.000, 30.000 up to 75.000 USP/mg (+/- 1.200 TU/mg).

TDS and SDS are available on request.

Packaging : 10 kg cardboard box + 25/30/35/50kg fi bre drums.Other packaging is available on request.

Customer first

B.S.C.’s total quality concept includes the pri-mary objective of getting as close as possible to absolute customer satisfaction.With sales being geared to nearly 95 % export to all continents, very specifi c personal care to each individual customer is required.

B.S.C.’s staff feels at ease in a multicultural environment and this contributes greatly to a fast and accurate understanding of the user requirements.The tremendous differences that sometimes exist in mentality between industries, genera-tions, cultures etc. have never led us to compro-mise on service.

Proactive thinking is an attitude that stretches from sales through to the production fl oor.Customer satisfaction ratios, calculated according to several basic performance crite-ria, are part of our quality system. They have recently increased from a general score of 8,5/10 to 9/10.

Contact

B.S.C. nvZwaarveld 41B-9220 HammeBelgium

Tel +32 (0) 52 470 536Fax +32 (0) 52 472 664info@bscbio.bewww.bscbio.be

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