We in Dortmund

The Sweet Osmanthus Ear was actually only a rather little noticed tropical mushroom. Then our team from IMD Natural Solutions in Dortmund, Germany, came along and brought it unexpected attention.

High time for us to take a closer look at the team in Dortmund.

Mr. Bitzer, what is IMD Natural Solutions GmbH?

Jens Bitzer: IMD Natural Solutions is a biotechnology start-up founded in 2012. The team researches natural active ingredients for the preservation of food and other products. The company has been part of the LANXESS Group since 2017. More specifically, to the Beverage Technology business unit.

What are you working on in your Dortmund lab?

Jens Bitzer: We have developed Nagardo^® in our laboratory. Nagardo^® is an all-natural preservative for beverages. The active ingredient is obtained fermentatively from the culture of an edible fungus. This fungus, the sweet osmanthus ear, is stored here in our Dortmund laboratory. But don't think that we have a tropical mushroom plantation here. The fungus is stored quite unspectacularly as a yellowish-milky cell suspension in a tank filled with liquid nitrogen. The so-called "master cell bank". In other words, the "original mushroom" from which new batches for the production of Nagardo^® are repeatedly taken and further processed.

How can a single mushroom ensure a sufficient quantity of active ingredient for such a wide variety and variety of beverages?

Jens Bitzer: Nagardo^® is produced by fermentation. For this purpose, we cultivate the fungus in large bioreactors. It is used in a similar way to yeast in beer brewing. The fungus consists of microscopic organisms that depend on sugar as "food". However, the fungal culture does not convert the added sugar into alcohol, as in beer, but into special glycolipids. These glycolipids are the active ingredients of Nagardo^®. Further processing steps follow, such as purification and drying, until we finally obtain a powder.

This biotechnological process, which is completely based on renewable raw materials, allows us to scale the product quantity very easily. In doing so we can serve the global market, even with steadily increasing demand.

The question remains: How does the powder get into the beverage?

Malte Aplienz: The powder is pre-dissolved and can be added to the beverage at different points in the production process. This is also the big advantage. For example, Nagardo^® can be added in the tank, during filling, or only in the can. However, the exact dosage varies from beverage to beverage. This is also the reason why we receive beverage samples from all over the world every day in our application technology laboratory. We adjust the dosage to each beverage formulation individually. More than 1,000 beverages have already undergone these analyses in the Dortmund laboratory.

Are there any special challenges?

Malte Aplienz: Some beverages are much more difficult to preserve than others. For example, Asian iced teas are very difficult because they have a particularly high pH value and provide an ideal growth environment for harmful organisms. 

What were the most unusual beverages you received?

Malte Aplienz: We have received many unusual drinks, such as Peruvian soft drinks made from purple corn, non-alcoholic tequila or soft drinks based on birch sap.

Currently, Nagardo^® is used exclusively in beverages. Are you also researching other possible applications in Dortmund? And if so, which ones?

Jens Bitzer: We are also working closely with Business Development in Cologne on other possible applications for Nagardo^®. The food sector is particularly exciting for us. So there will certainly be more news from the Dortmund area soon.