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Byline: Somporn Thapanachai
Dec. 2--Chicory has been used widely as a coffee substitute in western countries for decades, especially in times of war and by campers, but its various properties are comparatively unknown in Thailand.
DPO (Thailand) hopes to change that by promoting the root locally as a source of dietary fibre.
The company successfully introduced "inulin", a food ingredient with fibre, in Thailand five years ago. The extract is imported from Belgium.
Some international companies were now using inulin in their products and advertising the enhanced nutritional properties derived from the root, said Wanpen Silavanichayakul, DPO's country manager.
Inulin is composed of fructose chains produced by the Orafti Group, a company under the Sudzucker Group based in Belgium. The group's annual turnover is about 4.7 billion euros (200 billion baht).
Orafti was established in 1986 to carry out research and development on uses for chicory roots in addition to making coffee substitute, said Christine Nicolay, Orafti's sales and marketing services manager.