The company said yesterday it is tapping into growing consumer demand for organic certifications, which guarantees the quality of a product. Furfural Español sells its products under the trade name Nutrafur and specialises mainly in extracts of the Mediterranean area, such as rosemary, olive and citrus products. A spokesman said: "These natural products have a growing demand year by year since this extract substitutes the synthetic products which have an uncertain toxicological profile. "The growing demand for organic certified products, that have a guarantee in the manufacturing process from its origin and permit traceability from the raw material to the final product, has an increase demand each day. This ensures the consumer that these products are free from pesticides, heavy metals and unwanted solvents," he added. Market driver Furfural Español expects to have a larger presence in the food industry due to the growing demand for organic certified products, and expects organic certifications to help boost turnover to €10m by 2009 from its present €7m position. The world market for organic certified products in the food industry is growing and will be at around $40bn this year, representing approximately 2.5 per cent of the total food industry, the company said. The largest market for organic products are the US, Europe and Japan, it added. Rosemary extracts are traditionally used as an antioxidant and food preservative. The firm has developed two rosemary extracts. One is for oil solubles, rich in carnosic acid, and the second is for water solubles, rich in rosmarinic acid. Both of these are available in a wide range of concentration and both in liquid or in powder form. The company's manufacturing plant is based in Murcia, Spain, producing over 50 natural extracts. The market for rosemary extracts is already healthy. Suspicion over chemical-derived synthetic preservatives has pushed food makers to source natural preservatives such as rosemary extract instead, and market analysts Global Information pitch the global food preservative market at €422.7bn, reaching €522bn by 2008.
