BASF has declared a casualty on deliveries of selected vitamin A, vitamin E, and carotenoid products such as beta-carotene, as well as selected aroma ingredients, with immediate effect and until further notice, the company announced on August 7th.
This follows the suspension of deliveries of vitamin A and vitamin E products from the company’s Ludwigshafen site in Germany one week ago after an explosion and fire at the site.
The explosion occurred at the southern part of the Ludwigshafen site at around noon on July 29th.
“The fire occurred in a BASF plant that manufactures aroma ingredients and precursors for vitamin A, vitamin E, and carotenoid production”, the company explained in its latest statement.
“The incident has unfortunately caused damage to the plant, which led to a shut-down and a supply disruption of the products. Cleaning, inspection and repair work of the plant has started.” A company representative told Feedinfo, “We are doing our utmost to re-establish smooth production as soon as possible.”
The Ludwigshafen site manufactures feed-grade vitamin A 1000 and vitamin E oil, as well as various human nutrition, animal nutrition, and cosmetic ingredients.
According to Expana’s Feed Additives Supply & Demand Pro service, BASF’s production capacity for feed-grade vitamin A 1000 in Ludwigshafen is approximately 5,600 tonnes/year. The site also has a nameplate capacity of 15,000 tonnes/year of feed-grade vitamin E oil. Expana understands that roughly 80% of BASF’s total vitamin production is destined for the animal feed market, with the rest going into human applications.
In human applications, vitamin A is perhaps best known for its use in food fortification, while vitamin E is widely used as an antioxidant to help improve the shelf life of items such as vegetable oils or bakery products. Carotenoids are generally used for pigmentation, although they can have nutritional roles as well. Both vitamins and carotenoids are routinely used in animal diets.
In late 2017, a fire at BASF Ludwigshafen’s citral plant caused a months-long force majeure declaration for vitamins A and E, an event which resulted in customers on both the animal and human nutrition side experiencing record-high prices and tight availability.
The same spokesperson BASF spokesperson noted that “The incident in 2017 took place in our Citral plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany. On July 29, 2024, the fire took place in a different plant in Ludwigshafen that produces aroma ingredients and precursors for vitamin A, vitamin E, and carotenoid production. The two incidents are non-related occurrences beyond our control.”
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