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Hexagon Nutrition

Since 1991, Hexagon Nutrition has been a pioneer in the field of nutrition offering innovative solutions for combating malnutrition and enhancing the nutritional values of everyday foods. The company is a research-oriented organisation with diverse capabilities and a large portfolio of tested products. Micronutrient fortification plays a key role in the food industry and it is currently vital given the implications of the pandemic.
Hexagon Nutrition’s product line focuses on the needs of governments, multinational food manufacturers, and international NGOs. The company offers three major products to help combat malnutrition.
Micronutrient Premix Blends: These are customised blends of vitamins and minerals that can be added to staple food products such as flour, oil, noodles, beverages, and rice – to name a few.
Micronutrient Powders (MNPs): These are small, often one-gram, sachets of a predetermined blend of vitamins and minerals.
Ready-to-Eat Therapeutic Food (RUTF): These are packaged, readymade pastes, often produced with a peanut base and essential micronutrients.

CERTIFICATIONS

Hexagon Nutrition is equipped with all the certifications that substantiate its credibility in both domestic and international business. Their policies and procedures ensure quality by design. Hexagon carefully oversees quality at every step, including good manufacturing practices, good hygiene practices, food safety management systems, and other policies. Its manufacturing plants have received the following certifications:
• ISO 17025:2005 (NABL)
• FSSC 22000:2013
• ISO 9001:2015
• GMP
• Halal Certification
• FSSAI
• Kosher Certification

PRODUCTS

Processed foods such as flour, dairy products, and edible oils often lose their innate micronutrients due to harsh processing conditions such as milling, mechanical agitation, high temperatures, and pressure during the manufacturing process. It is imperative that the nutrients are returned to the source. As defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), fortification refers to “the practice of deliberately increasing the content of an essential micronutrient, i.e., vitamins and minerals (including trace elements) in a food, to improve the nutritional quality of the food supply and to provide a public health benefit with minimal risk to health.” Fortification of staples and other FMCG products aims to solve this challenge. Micronutrient premixes find their use in several applications:

Flour fortification

Flour Fortification

Fortification of staples like wheat and maize flour offers a great deal to consumers, satisfying caloric requirements as well as alleviating the problem of hidden hunger. Fortification of wheat flour is a cost-effective tool to reduce micronutrient deficiencies and prevent birth defects such as Neural Tube Defects due to folic acid deficiency. It can also potentially reduce iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia is a dangerous condition for children and pregnant women. Derivatives of flour such as bakery items – cakes, biscuits, cookies, pasta, and noodles are commonly fortified.
Standard Micronutrient Premix For Flour Fortification 
• FORTIVIT-FF-245 (bread, biscuits, cakes, pasta, noodles)
• Customised Premix (We can offer customised premixes to suit your requirements)

Dairy Products fortification

Dairy Fortification

Milk is naturally rich in vitamins A and D but loses these micronutrients due to severe processing techniques such as pasteurisation, homogenisation, and toning. The micronutrient blends (premix) can be directly added to the liquid milk and homogenised thoroughly to ensure proper dispersion. Milk powders can also be mixed with micronutrient blends. Milk, along with Value Added Dairy Products (VADPs) such as flavoured milk, yoghurts, ice-creams, butter, and cheese and can be fortified with various micronutrients.
Standard Micronutrient Premix For Dairy Fortification 
• FORTIVIT-DAI-266 (Yoghurt)
• Customized Premix (We can offer customized premixes to suit your requirements)

Oil fortification

Oil Fortification

Edible oil is one of the most consumed staples across the globe. Crude oils naturally contain certain antioxidants and nutrients such as vitamin A and E. Almost all crude oils undergo a processing stage to eliminate the foetid smell and raw taste of the oil. However, most nutrients are lost at the time of refining and processing oils. It is therefore imperative that they be returned to the source. Fortifying oil with Vitamins A, D, E and K (fat-soluble vitamins) is an excellent strategy to combat deficiencies and their aftereffects. Other products such as margarine and shortenings could also be fortified with fat-soluble vitamins.
Standard Micronutrient Premix For Oil Fortification 
• FORTIVIT-OIF-112 (Edible Oil Fortification)
• Customised Premix (We can offer customised premixes to suit your requirements)

rice flower hexagon

Rice Fortification

Fortified Rice Kernels (FRKs) are normally added to rice in a ratio of 1:99 to make fortified rice. The rice can be fortified by the extrusion process, which involves combining the rice flour, micronutrient premixes, and water. Then the product is extruded in the form of rice kernels.
Standard Micronutrient Premix For Rice Fortification 
• FORTIVIT-RIC-094 (Rice)
• Customised Premix (We can offer customised premixes to suit your requirements)

Beverages fortification scaled

Beverage Fortification

Beverages are one of the most desirable mediums that can carry micronutrients and counteract vitamin deficiencies. There are an array of beverage categories that could be fortified – fruit juices, fruit nectars, vegetable juices, enhanced water, aerated drinks, energy drinks, and sports drinks – to name a few. Beverages are being fortified to target specific conditions such as bone and joint health, brain development and cardiac health by enriching the product with nutrients that are proven to address specific conditions. Non-dairy applications such as almond and oat milk, vitamin water, and energy drinks are sectors that have witnessed an upsurge in demand in the beverage domain.
Standard Micronutrient Premix For Beverage Fortification 
• FORTIVIT-BEV-426 (Sports Drink)
• FORTIVIT-BEV-428 (Almond/Oat Milk)
• Customised Premix (We can offer customised premixes to suit your requirements)

Infant Food fortification scaled

Infant Food Fortification

The infant food industry is growing at a fast rate with a wide range of products that are targeted to fulfil the requirement of new-born and infants aged 6-24 months. There are ready-made premix solutions to address the specific needs of an infant to enhance cognitive health, growth, and immunity with compatible combinations of micronutrients in infant formula. The premixes adhere to stringent compliances when it comes to the presence of contaminants such as microbes and heavy metals in the product.
Standard Micronutrient Premix For Infant Food Fortification 
• FORTIVIT-INF-091(Infant Formula)
• Customised Premix (We can offer customised premixes to suit your requirements)

Confectionery fortification

Confectionery Fortification

Confectioneries such as sweets, jellies, and gummy bears are fortified with vitamins and minerals to combat micronutrient deficiencies, especially among toddlers and adolescents. The appeal of such confectioneries has gained traction among consumers as it offers similar benefits as that of dietary supplements but they are perceived as a tastier alternative. Fortified jellies and gummy bears target consumers with deficiencies that are associated with bone and joint-related disorders, immune health, and beauty.
Standard Micronutrient Premix For Confectionery Fortification 
• FORTIVIT-CNF-131 (Gummy bear)
• Customised Premix (We can offer customised premixes to suit your requirements)

Enzyme scaled

Enzymes/ Flour Improvers and Correctors

Flour enzymes are a blend (KNEADZYME) of enzymes and individual enzymes that are used to regulate the flour, which is in turn used in the production of different baked products like bread, biscuits, etc. They are used to enhance the functional profile of flours that are optimized based on the application of the end-user. The physicochemical characteristic of flour plays an essential role in a wide range of applications in the baking industry. High-quality flours provide good strength, extensibility, gluten network, flexibility, elasticity and proper hydration process which is attained with the help of flour enzymes. The resulting flour gives good results in the finished product which includes volume, good crust, crumb formation, and a good sensory profile.
Standard Enzyme Blend for Flour Correctors & Flour Improvers 
• KNEADZYME-SD (Sourdough)
• KNEADZYME-FB (French Baguette)
• Customized Premix (We can offer customized premixes to suit your requirements)

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