Alpro, the soy food business owned by US dairy giant Dean Foods, today (22 January) confirmed the closure of an R&D site in Belgium.
The site in Oostkamp produced a soy alternative to spreadable cheese under the brands SoyaGarden, Provamel and under private labels for organic food stores and supermarkets.
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A spokesperson for Alpro, which was bought by Dean Foods from Belgian food group Vandermoortele, in June for EUR325m (US$459m), insisted the closure was not due to the change in ownership at the business.
The spokesperson said there had been a decrease in demand for soy alternatives to spreadable cheese and, obliquely, that the products made at the site did not reflecting the company’s “strict quality standards”.
She added: “These products did not meet our standards and this on taste level, we strongly believe in having healthy and nutritious products but they need to meet with our very high standards, also on taste. This was not the case, contrary to all our other products.”
The spokesperson declined to comment further.
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