Chr. Hansen Sponsors New Research Prize

In May 2007 the global dairy industry paid tribute to the Russian Nobel Prize winner Elie Metchnikoff by presenting a Prize in his honor to the scientists behind groundbreaking research within fermented dairy products. Chr. Hansen was among the sponsors.

The fact that yogurt and other fermented milk products are beneficial to human health has been known for a long time. This year it is precisely 100 years ago that the Russian microbiologist and Nobel Prize winner Elie Metchnikoff released his controversial book titled The Prolongation of Life. In this book he suggested, among other things, that the seemingly unusual longevity of certain ethnic groups was related to their consumption of fermented milk products, and that these products helped to establish and maintain a good balance of human intestinal microbiota.

The Elie Metchnikoff 2007 Prize was presented in three categories: Microbiology, Biotechnology, and Health and Nutrition. The Prize was sponsored by a number of the most significant global companies in the field including Danone, Nestlé and Chr. Hansen.

Important to participate

”It is of the utmost importance that we participate in events like this. In this way we pay tribute to research within the areas of fermented milks and probiotics, which are our key business areas and which contribute to the improvement of global health and nutrition,” says Anne Skriver, Head of Department, Fermented Milks, Chr. Hansen.

Anne Skriver, who was invited to speak at the award ceremony, explains further:

”Chr. Hansen should be actively participating in events promoting interest in probiotic cultures. Currently, the dairy industry is experiencing high rates of growth in the field of fermented products. This is mainly due to the vast amount of advancements made in the field of probiotics, which for sure will be one of the most important areas of development in the future.”