Bright science…the foundation for a better future
DSM firmly believes that Health and Wellness is one of the biggest and most important areas in which we can improve people’s lives – both now and in the decades to come. By combining our expertise in Life Sciences and Materials Sciences, we are creating a brighter future in all kinds of ways.
A moral and business imperative
Health and Wellness is all about improving quality of life. With our expertise in health, nutrition and materials we are uniquely placed to meet many of the biggest challenges facing the world today. For instance, we are actively working to improve nutrition and reduce hunger among the world’s poor. At the same time, we’re helping people in the developed world to stay active and healthy, and live longer.
We see this as a moral and business imperative – we have an obligation to use our knowledge and expertise to address society’s Health and Wellness needs.
Combating iron deficiency
Take what we did with the World Food Programme (WFP) to combat ‘hidden hunger’ – in this case the widespread iron deficiency stunting the growth of many African children. The cereal-based foods that are common in Africa contain phytic acid, which inhibits iron absorption by the body. The most obvious way to solve this problem would be to fortify local foods with iron. But this is dangerous in malaria regions because the malaria parasite thrives on iron.
Working together, DSM and the WFP developed an enzyme that breaks down the phytic acid in African cereal foods so that the body can absorb iron from these foods. This result is a smart and much safer approach that overcomes one of the biggest challenges in the fight against malnutrition in Africa and so makes it possible to really tackle ‘hidden hunger’ on this continent.
