hochdorf inside issue 02 winter/spring 2015

HocHdorf Group Newsletter

ISSUE 2 | Winter / Spring 2015

hochdorf.com

HocHdorf makes chocolate history

Allergy prevention starts in infancy

Heavenly bakery products thanks to

VIoGErM®

Vitamin E:well-being for body

and soul

Wheat germ – highly effective

source of folic acid

MILK PoWdEr HA INfANT forMULA SUccESS STorY VITAMIN dEfIcIENcY

Baby care cereals & Ingredients Nutrition

Exclusively at HocHdorf online

Page 2 to 3 Page 4 to 5 Page 6 to 7 Page 8

Page 8

felice fauxpas in the land of plenty

HUNGrY for TrAVEL

STrATEGY IN TIMES of cHANcE

The HocHdorf Group works with great products that have a wide range of applications.

dairy Ingredients

We are motivated by change. It spurs us on to develop outstanding products, conduct research and seize new oppor

tunities. In this issue of HOCHDORF Inside we want to introduce you to products that are continuing to make history, thanks to their truly outstanding features. These are products that are opening up new horizons, not just for us but for our customers as well. Welcome to our exciting world.

Nothing stands stillWe live in dynamic times. The environment in which the HOCHDORF Group operates is subject to dra-matic change. This makes it all the more important that we never lose sight of our objectives and the direction we are moving in. Both are essential to any company that seeks long-term success in an international market.

Change as a sign of developmentWe have done our homework and are pursuing a clear strategy. At the end of last year we defined specific benchmarks as the focus of our attention: in the coming years we aim to achieve profitable growth as an international SME. But even in Janu - ary we found ourselves having to react quickly to completely new circumstances with the sudden free floating of the Swiss franc against all foreign currencies – particularly in relation to the euro.

The success of our approach will become clear over the coming months. As an SME we are flex-ible enough to be able to adapt quickly to changed circumstances.

Yet, in spite of the dynamic environment and our flexibility, we should still take the time now and then to consider certain, unchanged core values. This is something we wish to address from time to time in our Insider magazine. The bottom line is that any company is only as successful as its products. Out-standing products have outstanding features and it is up to us to improve them on an ongoing basis. We are therefore delighted to introduce you to some of these features in this second edition of our Insider magazine. n

Dr. Thomas EisenringCEO HOCHDORF Group

[email protected]

Issue 2 | Winter / Spring 2015 2

dairy Ingredients

Swiss milk chocolate is renowned throughout the world for its unique taste. It contains the finest ingredients such as cocoa,

cocoa butter and lots of milk. This is not fresh milk, as many believe, but the finest rollerdried whole milk powder. Swiss chocolate would only be half as good as it is without this special milk powder. But why?

Virtually no other milk chocolate has such a delightful aroma as Swiss milk chocolate. This is not only due to the know-how of our chocolatiers and the fine ingredients: it is also thanks to a very special milk powder – our roller-dried whole milk powder.

We hold a market share of around 70 per cent in Switzerland, making us the Swiss chocolate industry’s number one supplier of roller-dried whole milk powder. We therefore make an indirect but important contri-bution towards maintaining the excellent reputation of Swiss chocolate across the globe. It’s something we can be proud of. But what is the secret of roller-dried whole milk powder?

Milk powder with caramel aromaTwo factors make roller-dried full cream milk powder such an important ingredient for fine milk chocolate that has a unique taste and melts in the mouth: the caramel aroma and the specific surface structure of the milk powder particles. Both proper-ties are the result of roller drying. In this process the milk concentrate is deposited onto rotating roll-

ers that are steam heated to between 120 and 160 °C.

The milk concentrate is completely dried after one short revolution. A wafer-thin film of milk remains that is separated from the roller with a knife. This compact, but fragile “sheet of milk” is reduced and sieved into the final particle size required by the customer.

The relatively strong thermal treatment caramelises the lactose in one revolution of the roller. This “sugar”

present in the milk accounts for the pleasantly subtle caramel taste of the roller-dried whole milk powder.

Disk shape is importantUnlike spray-dried milk, which is atomised in hot air to make spherical milk powder pieces, the roller drying process results in disk-shaped particles. The

disk-shaped particles of roller dried milk powder have a larger, more porous surface resulting in a higher proportion of milk fat in free shape. The disk-shaped milk powder therefore reacts differently with the other components of the chocolate compared to the spray-dried, spherical milk powder. The disks play an important role in the delicate melting properties of the milk chocolate.

Roller-dried full cream milk powder not only influences the consistency of the chocolate, but also the sound that you hear when you break off a piece of milk chocolate – all important elements in making high-quality Swiss milk chocolate. After all, Swiss chocolate is meant to be enjoyed by all the senses. Even our ears enjoy the experience.

Milk powder – an important part of the formulationThe milk powder used by the chocolatier plays a decisive role in the taste, the melting properties, the texture, consistency and in the snapping sound you get from breaking off a piece of the chocolate. But the milk powder also influences the production process: the fat content and the size and shape of the milk powder particles play a significant role in

roLLEr WHoLE MILK PoWdEr

HocHdorf – making chocolate history

Roller-dried whole milk powder production is regularly monitored to ensure that the customer gets the right product.

Did you know…

…that the Swiss chocolate industry processed around 19,000 tonnes of whole milk powder into choco late in 2013? This means that the Swiss chocolate industry processes around 150 million kg of milk into chocolate.

…that 100 grammes of milk chocolate contains an amount of milk powder that equates to 100 to 200 grammes of milk. We indirectly consume a large amount of Swiss milk by eating a piece of Swiss milk chocolate.

The milk powder used by the chocolatier plays a decisive role in the taste, the melting properties, the texture, consistency and in the snapping sound you get from breaking off a piece of the chocolate.

HocHdorf Group Newsletter | 32

MILK PoWdEr

production. The use of roller-dried whole milk powder in the formulation results in a completely different kind of chocolate compared to the type made with spray-dried low fat milk powder and vegetable fats. Roller-dried whole milk powder is almost always used in the making of typical, finest Swiss milk chocolate.

In some cases our roller-dried full cream milk powder is even fine-tuned to match the customer’s specific production processes. This can be very important for chocolate production. It helps the chocolatier to produce chocolate that retains its high quality. In these cases our product developers work closely with our cus tomers’ product developers and market-ing specialists. We support product development or future development in assessments and test produc-tions until the desired result is achieved. Our final task is then to supply sufficient amounts of the roller-dried full cream milk powder while maintaining the same high quality.

Milk powder is our key business –from development to customer consultingWe at HOCHDORF have more than 100 years of expe-rience in producing the most varied roller and spray dried milk powders.

The milk drying process is our key business and our two plants in Hochdorf and Sulgen enable us to guarantee high reliability with regard to supply. Two reasons why the HOCHDORF Group has gained the confidence of Swiss chocolate producers. Another reason is our role as a competence centre for milk powder. Our developers have a wealth of experience in the use of various milk powders. Customer consult-ing and the development of customer-specific milk powders such as products without lactose are very important aspects of our daily business and distin-guish our BEST PARTNER status.

But we also forge links between development, research, production and plant manufacturing. In conjunction with them we create innovative milk powders and pro-cess techniques, enabling us to produce new powder types – and keeping us at the cutting edge of future development.

As the most important roller-dried whole milk pow-der producer in Switzerland, we have the facilities to match. At the two sites there are a total of five facili-ties where we produce roller-dried powder. We have enough rollers to guarantee 100 per cent delivery reli-ability: even at the busiest times during the Easter and Christmas periods. Our rollers enable us to react with great flexibility to unexpected events, which is some-thing that our customers greatly appreciate.

Looking to the European marketsThe Swiss chocolate industry currently gets its roller-dried whole milk powder mostly from us. Our share in the milk producer Uckermärker Milch GmbH and in Ostmilch Handels GmbH, both companies based in Germany, provide us with easy access to the internal European market – either from Switzerland or through our plant in Prenzlau. A lot of people are unaware that

Ostmilch Handels GmbH is one of the largest traders in roller-dried whole milk powder in Germany.

But in the meantime we can all continue to enjoy the subtle melting sensation of a fine Swiss milk chocolate with HOCHDORF roller-dried full cream milk powder. n

Werner SchweizerManaging Director Dairy Ingredients

HOCHDORF Swiss Nutrition [email protected]

Chocolate production in brief

Under the microscope you can clearly see what is barely visible to the naked eye. The structure of the roller-dried milk powder shown left is significantly different to the spray-dried powder.

In spite of industrialisation, chocolate production remains very challenging. First the cocoa beans are checked, cleaned and broken. Then they are

roasted and ground into a cocoa mass. Additional ingredients such as sugar and cocoa butter are

then mixed into the cocoa mass, which results in the classic dark chocolate. Milk chocolate is made

by adding milk powder or condensed milk to this base mass. With white chocolate, the brown cocoa

mass is left out.

This is followed by conching. The base mass is warmed to between 50 and 90 °C and stirred for

12 to 48 hours. This reduces the water in the chocolate as well as unwanted olfactory, bitter and aromatic components. How length of the conching process is a secret the chocolatiers

prefer to keep to themselves because this step has a great influence on the taste and consist-

ency of the chocolate. It’s the conching that sets a chocolate apart and distinguishes it from other chocolates. Then the mass is cooled down. This

process is crucial for the shininess – and the sensual “snap” when the chocolate is broken.

Next, depending on the type of chocolate, extra ingredients such as hazelnuts and almonds are

added to the cooled mass, or more exotic ingre-dients such as chilli. The mass is now shaped into

delicate pralines or solid bars of chocolate.

At the two sites there are a total of five facilities where we produce roller-dried powder.

Baby care


More and more people develop their first allergy during infancy. The catalyst is often a harmless vegetable or animal

protein yet those affected may suffer from allergies throughout their whole lives. This cycle might be broken by breastfeeding or using hypoallergenic (HA) infant formula.

As a baby, Lena* suffered from stomach ache and wind. The little girl cried frequently and for long peri-ods. Her helpless parents would spend hours lov-ingly rocking their child to sleep. After a few months the wind was gone. But it was replaced by an itchy rash all over her body, otherwise known as neuro-dermatitis. Lena’s immune system seemed to be out of balance and the root of the problem appeared to be a cow milk protein. Lena suffered from chronic neuroder matitis for ten years – with varying levels of severity. At the age of 14, the young girl had a reaction to birch and hazel pollen. Two years later the pollen allergy developed into a food allergy with hives.

Lena’s experience is shared by many children. An international study shows that 17 per cent of all one to two year olds suffer from neurodermatitis, which often develops into a succession of allergies, known as an“allergic march”. Symptomatic of this phenomenon is the child’s first development of neurodermatitis, frequently brought on by animal or vegetable pro-teins such as cow’s milk, hen’s eggs and wheat. This might be because these proteins are the first foreign antigens that an infant or small child ingests. This is frequently followed in puberty by allergic asthma or hay fever and then later, in adult life, by an insect venom allergy. However, scientific studies show that this sequence of illnesses only occurs in 50 per cent of cases. It did not apply to Lena. She was lucky and did not suffer from insect venom allergies.

Lena is currently free of all symptoms and her own daughter has been healthy for a number of years. This might be because Lena consciously opted for preventive measures. She breastfed her child for six months and then moved on to hypoallergenic formula on her doctor’s advice. Lena was also cautious when starting with solids. She introduced new foods at three to four day intervals to monitor any reactions. It’s possible that these precautions helped Lena to break her daughter’s own allergic cycle.

Hereditary factors and changed environmental conditions influence the immune systemScientists are still unsure why the immune system some times has a strong reaction to harmless allergens, defending itself against them. Experts suspect that hereditary factors play a role in the disposition towards allergies as the risk of suffering from an allergy is very unevenly distributed. If both parents are healthy the risk is five to fifteen per cent. If both parents are prone to allergies the risk rises to 80 per cent. Over the past 20 years, a growing pattern has emerged where children, particularly those from the industri-al ised nations, show greater sensitivity to allergy, even where there is no family history of the problem.

A quarter of the Swiss population now suffers from allergies – and it is a growing trend. Nutritional spe-cialists now suspect that improvements in hygiene are having a negative effect on our resistance to allergy. If certain bacteria are absent in an environment that is too clean, our immune system may feel underused due to a lack of “natural enemies”. It attacks harm-less environmental allergens for no apparent reason. Scientists are now trying to establish which bacteria cause a reaction in the immune system.

Infants more susceptible to allergens than adults A child’s immune and digestive system plays a sig-nificant role in food allergies. The immune system is still immature at birth. It has to develop and learn to distinguish between harmless and life-threatening substances. Maternal allergens help in this process. The infant absorbs a minimum amount of allergens via breast milk. This helps the digestive system to develop tolerance for harmless substances. A child’s

intestinal wall is also vulnerable to allergens. It is more porous in the first 24 months than in later life. Up to this point, infants and small children also ingest larger protein molecules that have not yet been broken down through the intestinal mucosa. This results in an in-creased risk of allergy from protein-rich foods such as cow’s milk, hen’s eggs or wheat, which is why breast-feeding is the best form of allergy protection, at least in the first six months of life.

HA infant formula helps reduce allergy riskBut what is the solution if the infant has a family history of allergic reaction and the mother is either unable or unwilling to continue breastfeeding? Or if the infant is one of the two to three per cent of children who have a negative reaction to cow’s milk?

HA infant and follow-on formula can have a preventive effect with regard to food allergies. They consist of

ALLErGY PrEVENTIoN STArTS IN INfANcY

Hypoallergenic infant formula

Breastfeeding or hypoallergenic infant formula might break the cycle of the “allergic march” to some extent.

HA infant formula can strengthen an infant’s immune system and so help to reduce the risk of allergy.

HA INfANT forMULA


split, easily-digestible larger and smaller milk protein components, in contrast to the conventional infant and follow-on formulas, which contain whole milk proteins.The split milk protein components contained in the HA infant formula trick the infant’s immune system. It no longer identifies the individual components as a potential threat. This makes it possible for children to avoid the typical allergy progression as they grow up, allowing their immune systems to develop without inter ference. HA milk produced by HOCHDORF Swiss Nutrition also contain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids as well as prebiotics and nucleotides: all sub-stances that are important for the ideal development of the immune and digestive system.

Producing good HA infant formula is difficultIt is hard to produce an HA formula that tastes good and has the ideal consistency. It requires expertise, medical know-how and an experienced touch. The infant formula can become bitter if the milk proteins are split inappropriately, for instance. The milk proteins that are split into particles can be poorly distributed in the formula due to their uneven molecular weight, which negatively impacts the taste. HOCHDORF’s HA formuladoes not have this problem. The constituents are ideally

distributed; the HA infant formula is therefore just as creamy as conventional infant formula. Regular blind tastings confirm: HOCHDORF’s HA infant formula is popular with children!

So you can give any infant HA formula without a sec ond thought. To ensure the best possible allergy therapy and prevent the allergic march, as in the case of Lena’s daughter however, it is still advisable to consult a doctor or allergist first. n

Janny VedderNutrition Marketing Manager Baby Care


Sources:Selene K. Bantz, Zhou Zhu, Tao Zheng (2014): Progression from Atopic Dermatitis to Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma.M. V. Kopp, H. Ott (2014): Genetik, Epidemiologie und Prävention (Genetics, Epidemiology and Prevention)Deutsche Haut- und Allergiehilfe e.V. (German Skin and Allergy Support), www.dha-allergien.de. Stiftung aha! Allergiezentrum Schweiz (Swiss Allergy Centre), www.aha.ch.

* Names have been changed

Familyrelated allergy risk

The risk of suffering from an allergy is very unevenly distributed. Family history of allergies

plays a very important role.

How it works

HOCHDORF HA infant formula

The milk proteins are split into constituent parts. The body now no longer recognises the split

proteins as a potential threat and mostly sees them as harmless.

Interview with Christine Geiser, Mother and Father Advisory Service Seetal

How long have you worked with the Mother and Father Advisory Service in Hochdorf?Christine Geiser: I have worked here for 20 years and am responsible for the entire Hochdorf region for pre-school children. We offer advice to an average of 1,500 people each year in person or by telephone or e-mail.

According to the experts, there has been a dramatic increase in allergic diseases over the past 20 years. Have you observed this?Christine Geiser: I have not personally found any increase. I would estimate that around five per cent of all the children we care for will suffer from allergies.

How can you predict if a child is likely to suffer from allergies?Christine Geiser: We are the only people involved with three quarters of all the children until they reach the age of one so we often see the initial signs of pos-sible allergies. Typical signs are red cheeks or a rash in the back of the knee or the crook of the arm.

What happens with typical allergy symptoms? Christine Geiser: The symptoms will remain for a third of children. They disappear permanently for another third and reoccur later for the remainder. However, I don’t have any official figures for this.

Is allergy prevention a reasonable precaution when it comes to infants?Christine Geiser: If the closest relatives – mother, father, or siblings – suffer from atopic allergies, then prevention makes sense.

What do you advise these parents?Christine Geiser: In cases like this, I advise breast-feeding exclusively. If breastfeeding is not possible I recommend using HA infant formula for the first four to six months. The parents can then move on to normal formula although many parents decide to stick with an HA follow-on formula.

What is your experience with HA formula?Christine Geiser: We have had very good results with HA infant formula. The infants tolerate HA formula very well and accept it easily.

There are several HA infant formula products on the market. Which do you recommend?Christine Geiser: As a neutral specialist department we don’t recommend any particular brand. However, many parents ask about Swiss products and we would then recommend relevant brands.

Christine Geiser, thank you for the interesting interview.

Christine Geiser Christine Geiser is a qualified paediatric nurse. She completed her train - ing at Lucerne Children’s Hospital in 1989 and later worked for several years at the Aarau Children’s Hospital and in the post - natal department at Muri District Hospital. She has worked in the advisory service for mothers in Seetal since 1994 and completed post-graduate studies in this area in 2010.

Intact whey protein used in conventional infant formula.

With HOCHDORF’s HA infant formula, the whey proteins are split into small and medium-sized components.

Sources: Vandenplas Y., et al. Arch Dis Child 2007;92:902-908. Exl B-M., et al. ACI International 2000;12:68-76.Exl B-M., et al. Nutr Res 2001;21:355-379.Berg von A., et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2003;111:533-540.

Low (5–15%)

Medium (20–40%)

High (40–60%)

Very High (60–80%)

No previous family history

1 brother or sister with allergies

1 parent and brother or sister with allergies

Both parents with allergies

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cereals & Ingredients

Pfaffenhüte are a traditional hazelnut pastry. For the past year Andreas Balsiger, owner of the large bakery Berger AG, has

been replacing some of the hazelnuts in his Pfaffenhütchen and other bakery products with VIOGERM® wheat germ. And with considerable success.

The production hall at Berger AG Backwaren is full of the delicious aroma of sweet shortcrust pastry, roast-ed hazelnuts and, in the past year, our VIOGERM® wheat germ. “Baking without VIOGERM®?,” Andreas Balsiger, owner and CEO of Berger AG Backwaren can hardly imagine it. “Since replacing some of the hazelnuts with VIOGERM® our bakery products stay fresh for longer, the hazelnut fillings are more stable and the dough is more pliable,” says Balsiger in sum-mary. The boss is doing his daily rounds of the factory and is standing right next to the baking line. The line rattles along in one-second cycles. Not the best time for long-winded explanations.

The metallic green fine pastry machine endlessly punches out round pieces of pastry and places a hazelnut-VIOGERM® filling on each of the rounds. To the right and left of the baking line four workers fold the dough pieces into perfectly-shaped Pfaffenhüte. “No machine can shape lovely biscuits as well as my workers,” says Balsiger in a broad Bern dialect. Up to 2,000 Pfaffenhüte pass through the skilled hands of the four women each hour before disappearing into the 18-metre oven. At the other end the hazelnut

pastry emerges golden-brown from the oven where it is then hygienically shrink-wrapped and carefully prepared for transport.

Fiercely competitive marketBerger AG Backwaren specialises in producing pastries and long-life bakery products. They produce around 500 tonnes per year. Distribution is handled exclusively by the Zweifel Pomy-Chips AG fresh food service. The pastries can be purchased in food outlets, kiosks, retailers, wholesalers and at vending machines. Balsiger is not keen to reveal exact figures or formulation details – it is a fiercely competitive mar-ket. “If you want to survive, you have to be efficient and offer products that stand out from those of your competitors,” explains the boss.

To keep the products distinctive, Balsiger and his development team regularly monitor the entire bak-ery product range. Meticulous adjustments are made to a cake recipe or a product detail until they boast impeccable quality. “If you look closely enough you will always find room for improvement,” says Balsiger. “Last year, for instance, we redesigned the packaging to make it look more ‘foody’ and we also switched to new foil materials.” This keeps the bakery products fresh for over three months; they do not dry out and they are kept in a perfect hygienic condition. However the longer shelf life reaps no rewards on the market if the pastry loses its taste or dries out before its use-by

date so all the Berger specialities are subject to the same strict freshness rule: the longest possible shelf life at the best quality. “We have to be sure that our products taste good in the new packaging from the

very first to the very last day,” explains Balsiger. The latest changes resulted in a 16-week test phase with regular tastings.

Constant room for improvementThe tasting team had the feeling that some of the bakery products were a little dry towards the end of the test phase. This mainly applied to those pas-tries with a high hazelnut content. “I was just sitting in the office, pondering possible solutions when the telephone rang,” says Balsiger. Roland Werme-linger, Head of Sales in Cereals & Ingredients at the

HOCHDORF Group and an expert in VIOGERM® wheat germ was on the other end of the line. Werme-linger had the latest test results for VIOGERM® wheat germ as a hazelnut replacement in front of him: it

WHEAT GErM AS A HAzELNUT rEPLAcEMENT

VIoGErM® makes Berger’s Pfaffenhüte even more delicious

Oven-ready and baked golden brown – Berger’s Pfaffenhüte with their nutty, sweet hazelnut-VIOGERM® filling. By adding VIOGERM® wheat germ, the bakery products stay fresh for longer and the fillings have more volume.

At a glance

The benefits of VIOGERM® as ahazelnut replacement

- Better nutritional profile- Significant fat reduction for some applications- Texture and taste identical to hazelnuts - Not subject to price fluctuations- Improves the dough structure- Easier processing by hand or machine- Lower cost than hazelnuts- Better water retention qualities

All Berger specialities are subject to the same fresh ness rule: the longest possible shelf life at the best quality.


BErGEr BAcKWArEN SUccESS STorY

tastes like hazelnuts in bakery products, but contains around 30 per cent less fat. So it is easier to process and has better water retention qualities.

“If wheat germ has better water retention than hazel-nuts ... that’s it!” thinks Balsiger. “If I replace some of the hazelnuts with wheat germ, my bakery products stay moist for longer.” After that things move rapidly. Wermelinger and Balsiger meet up in the same week to clarify the technical production details for VIOGERM®

wheat germ. Just one day after their meeting Balsi-ger orders his first VIOGERM® wheat germ for test purposes. After just a few weeks of tests he and his team know how many hazelnuts can be replaced by VIOGERM® wheat germ to make the best dough and fillings. “The precise procedure and formulation is our company secret. After all, innovation is our livelihood,” explains the friendly boss with a hint of mischief.

VIOGERM® – an integral ingredient in hazelnut formulationsVIOGERM® wheat germ is now incorporated into the dough products at Berger AG Backwaren on an almost daily basis. Sturdy VIOGERM® bags stand at

the ready near the dough mixer. “The dough and fill-ings are still mixed by hand because this work needs an experienced touch and expertise,” explains Bal-siger with a glance at the dough mixers. You get the impression that he thinks a lot of his employees. He shares a word with them here and there as he does the rounds of the production plant, enjoys the success of his trainees and apprentices and takes an interest if they are under pressure. Balsiger speaks about his

unreservedly positive experience with VIOGERM® as he leads us into the bright, quiet offices on the next floor. And then he lists the benefits: the nut fillings have greater volume, the structure of the pastry is better, the dough loses less moisture and yet the taste is as good as ever! “And that’s as much as I am revealing – the rest is for our competitors to find out,” laughs the innovative entrepreneur as we go our separate ways. n

Michel BurlaManaging Director Cereals & Ingredients


Profile of Berger AG Backwaren

Berger AG Backwaren, located in Münsingen near Bern, is a modern family business. Andreas

Balsiger is the owner and the CEO. He and his 32 employees produce 500 tonnes of bakery prod-

ucts each year. These include in the main pas-try specialities such as Vogelnestli, Spitzbuben, individual apricot and Linzer tortes, Pfaffenhüte and Engadine nut tortes to name but a few. The pastries are sold to trade and the gastronomy industry under the “Berger” label through the

Zweifel Pomy-Chips fresh food service.

Berger AG Backwaren grew out of the Berger Bakery founded in 1895. In 1994, after the unex-

pected death of the owner Erhard Berger, the then operations manager Andreas Balsiger took over

responsibility for all bakery products and founded Berger AG Backwaren. Andreas Balsiger has

turned Berger AG Backwaren into a successful and innovative company.

Find out more at www.bergerbackwaren.ch

If I replace some of my hazelnuts with wheat germ my bakery products stay moist for longer.

VIOGERM® is the registered brand name for our gently stabilised wheat germ. Wheat germ quickly becomes inedible in its unprocessed state due to its high unsaturated fat content so it is still usually extracted during flour pro-duction. However, HOCHDORF developed a gentle production process around 70 years ago to improve the shelf life of wheat germ. This partially nullifies its enzymes and carefully squeezes out the unsaturated fatty acids to the surface, allowing the wheat germ to retain its valuable ingredients and its sweet, nutty aroma.

What is VIOGERM® wheat germ?

Try our recipeHazelnut macaroons – now with a significant fat reduction

260.0 g sugar 87.5 g ground hazelnuts 37.5 g VIOGERM® wheat germ 75.0 g egg white

VIOGERM® wheat germ is available in Switzerland under the Actilife brand in Migros branches and under the Coop Qualité & Prix own label.

Dough with added VIOGERM® is more pliable and easier to process.

Andreas Balsiger,

CEO and owner of Berger AG.

HocHdorf Group Newsletter

Issue no. 2 – March 2015

Volume 2

Circulation:

1,300 (German)

300 (English)

EDITORIAL

Michel Burla, Thomas Eisen-

ring, Christoph Hug, Monique

Inderbitzin, Werner Schweizer,

Janny Vedder

COPYEDITING

LAYOUT/PRINTING

SWS Medien AG Print, Sursee

PHOTOGRAPHS

Berger AG Backwaren,

HOCHDORF Group,

stock images

DESIGN/CONCEPT

W4 Marketing AG, Zurich

Illustrations: Marian Schönfeld

CHIEF EDITOR

Dr. Christoph Hug, Head of

Corporate Communications

Siedereistrasse 9, Postfach 691

6281 Hochdorf

Switzerland

Tel. +41 41 914 65 62

Fax +41 41 914 66 66

[email protected]

©HOCHDORF Holding Ltd

Any extracts or copies are only

permitted with the agreement

of the Chief Editor.

Hochdorf Holding LtdSiedereistrasse 9

Postfach 6916281 Hochdorf

Switzerland

Tel. +41 41 914 65 65Fax +41 41 914 66 66

Imprint

HUNGrY for TrAVEL

A land of colour and plenty

VITAMIN E

Physical well-being

Two days ago I found myself in Jakarta, the largest city in South East Asia. I spent a delightful evening with two Indonesian

business partners savouring a variety of spices, sauces and curries. Welcome to a culinary paradise!

My final evening in Jakarta. “To bid you farewell we are going out for a typically Indonesian meal,” my two business partners beam. And our taxi comes to a halt in front of a little restaurant off the main road. “Is this where you get typical Indonesian food?” I ask, a little confused, as we enter the restaurant and sit down at a long table. The family owners greet me in Bahasa Indonesia and Dutch; the cook bows formally and the walls are adorned with silk paintings of Chinese dragons. “This is Indonesia, where many eastern and western cultures and religions meet,” says one of my hosts with a smile. Indonesians do a lot of smiling. I have never before encountered so much laughter in one place. My business partners order an Indonesian rice dish called “Rijstafel”. Isn’t that Dutch? I have guessed right. Indonesia was part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands up to 1949. They tell me this is why Indonesian dishes are often milder than in other Asian countries.

I am looking forward to this “table of rice”. The kitchen door swings open. I get quite a shock. The kitchen staff place one bowl after another on our table. 25 bowls and plates! Isn’t it boring with all that rice? A quick look and a sigh of relief! Only one bowl contains rice. A cornucopia of foods and sauces is placed before me. Beside me there are peanut-coloured sa-tay sticks, over there is a red chicken curry with pink prawn crackers and green vegetables – and sauces everywhere. Green sauces, yellow sauces, orange sauces, chilli sauces, coconut sauces.

I take a little of everything and focus on trying it all. I feel like I’m in paradise. Well, almost. My business partners have suddenly stopped smiling. The owner of the restaurant is not smiling either. Nobody is smiling! Oh no! My culinary reverie is suddenly shattered. I had forgotten to smack my lips. It is considered good manners in Indonesia as a way of showing that you are enjoying the food. I give it my best effort and start smacking my lips as if my life depends on it. As loud as I can. We all smile again and nod at each other in appreciation. n

Yours,

Vitamin E is currently creating a lot of interest. And rightly so, as it is essential to our health. Vita-min E is known primarily for its role as an effective antioxidant.

Antioxidants bind the free radicals in our body, which are molecules that have a tendency to attack our cell walls. Our body can cope with a few of these attacks without problems. But signifi-cant membrane damage is caused over a number of years. Cells stop working properly or die. And as a consequence ... we grow old. An unmistake-able sign of the aging process is the loss of skin elasticity, for instance, which is why many skin-care products contain vitamin E. Creams enriched with vitamin E visibly arrest the aging process of skin.

Yet vitamin E not only makes us look radiant – it also makes our bodies fitter. The damaging effect of free radicals on cell membranes can lead to heart disease, cancer and inflammation. Recent studies show that vitamin E reduces the risk of hardening of the arteries or Alzheimer’s disease and stabilises our levels of cholesterol. Vitamin E also protects the immune system and combats flu infections or diseases of the upper respiratory tract. So it is worth tackling free radicals. Yet, despite the positive benefits of vitamin E to our quality of life, around 50 per cent of people in Germany, Austria and Switzerland have too little in their diet.

Natural sources of vitamin EVitamin E is mainly found in plant oils and seeds. High-quality plant oils such as our VIOGERM® wheat germ oil provide particularly rich sources of vitamin E. Our acquisition of the Marbacher Ölmühle company means we can now produce additional oils containing vitamin E, including sunflower, rapeseed and safflower oil. All our oils are of the highest quality because we extract them using a very gentle process. This helps to retain the vitamins, nutrients and their typical unique taste. These rich oils are suited to both cold and warm dishes as well as for use in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. n

Karin BucherMarketing Manager Cerals & Ingredients


hochdorf inside issue 02 winter/spring 2015

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