Carbohydrate Competence Center

Carbohydrate Competence Center is a demand driven public-private knowledge center in the field of Carbohydrates.

The Carbohydrate Competence Center (CCC) is an international public/private partnership in the field of carbohydrate research and founded in the Netherlands. Currently, 19 private companies and six knowledge institutes participate in research projects on this topic. Together, they develop the multidisciplinary toolbox required to create new carbohydrate-based products and processes for improved human and animal health, and for a more sustainable society. CCC is rather unique in this approach, and its success is evident from its multiple patent applications and publications in international journals in recent years. CCC is open to new partners and welcomes new project initiatives.

More than 100 researchers are involved in 22 demand-driven research projects that can be clustered in two focus areas. The first, "Carbohydrate Conversion and Processing," involves the exploration of methods to produce green platform chemicals from biomass-containing production side-streams. Applications are mainly non-food, such as biopolymers. The second, "Carbohydrates for nutrition and health," deals with the development of new methods to determine the effects of different carbohydrate products on human and animal health. Carbohydrates are used in many food, feed, cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications, as well as in many other industrial applications.

Many carbohydrates are expected to have a beneficial effect on health. Extensive multidisciplinary research is needed to predict and demonstrate the health effects of these products and to comply with regulations set by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) before introduction to the market.