Kalsec: shared research facilities enable innovation and optimisation

Kalsec uses the IQ-X mass spectrometer at the Laboratory of Food Chemistry at Wageningen University & Research (WUR). The mass spectrometer is funded by a subsidy for shared research facilities provided by the RegioDeal Foodvalley. An interview with James Redwine, lead scientist at Kalsec.

SPICE Lab at Wageningen Campus

Kalsec supplies a wide range of innovative ingredients - including natural flavourings, colourings, hop products and solutions for extending food shelf life - to customers around the world. The company recently opened the Savoury Product Innovation Centre of Excellence (SPICE Lab) at Wageningen Campus to better support customers in the European market. This SPICE Lab focuses on savoury applications such as sauces, dressings and condiments and draws on the agrifood knowledge and experience of Wageningen University & Research and other organisations that are part of the Wageningen Campus ecosystem. The lab is an important part of the company's global strategy.

Identifying plant metabolites

'We are constantly developing new ingredient solutions and making existing ones even better,' says Redwine. 'There are plenty of opportunities for this as far as we are concerned. It is estimated that more than two hundred thousand plant metabolites exist, of which only fifty thousand have been identified.'

Through a framework agreement put together by WUR's Shared Research Facilities team, Kalsec now has easy access to a series of advanced devices. "We have addressed liability, confidentiality and intellectual property in one fell swoop. This leaves more time for doing research.

Special model

'The IQ-X mass spectrometer is a high-quality research device that you don't find everywhere; we can identify small molecules with it,' the researcher illustrates. 'A big plus is that we pay according to usage, with no investment costs

Redwine is impressed with the training he received before starting work with the IQ-X. 'The training was of a high standard and went beyond what was required for safe use. Yet it only took us a day and a half.'

Proof-of-concept

With the IQ-X, Kalsec quickly developed a proof-of-concept for non-specific analysis of plant molecules. 'I found it valuable to be in conversation with WUR's food chemistry experts. I knew I could count on them should I run into challenges during the experiments,' says Redwine. 'And we gained a lot of ideas for future collaborations and projects.'

For Redwine, access to shared research facilities with funding from the Regiodeal and coordination and support from WUR's Shared Research Facilities team is a godsend: a wide range of top-level equipment, available at reasonable cost and with excellent support. 'US universities also offer laboratory facilities to external partners, but the threshold to use them is a lot higher,' he says. In the US, users are required to undergo intensive, costly training. 'And if your experiments don't yield the information you need, you have to hire external experts to do them for you.'

Reliable resource

According to Redwine, Kalsec will definitely extend the collaboration around the shared research facilities. 'The principle around sharing research facilities offers us so much that we see WUR as an important partner.' Kalsec rents office and lab space in the Plus Ultra II building on Wageningen Campus and is also a committed user of a shared application kitchen that is expected to be realised by the end of 2024 and will also be opened for use through Shared Research Facilities.