Chicago-based Blommer Chocolate Co. has announced its purchase of an 85,000-square-foot chocolate manufacturing facility in Campbellford, Ontario, from World’s Finest Chocolate. In November 2005, World’s Finest Chocolate announced it was closing the plant. With Blommer’s acquisition, operations will continue with many of the same employees.

David Michael & Co. received the first Supplier’s Innovation Excellence Award from Wells’ Dairy Inc., Le Mars, Iowa. President and chief operating officer Skip Rosskam, senior account manager Jennifer Hidgon and vice president/chief flavor chemist George Ennis were on hand from the Philadelphia-based manufacturer of flavors, stabilizers and colors to receive the award. Chosen for a variety of criteria, David Michael’s commitment to innovation, product development work, trend presentations and its annual Innovation Roadshow were highlighted as exceptional. Family-owned and operated since 1896, David Michael & Co. has facilities in Northbrook, Ill.; San Bernardino, Calif.; Mexico City; Valence, France; and Beijing.

Markan Global Enterprises, Port Murray, N.J., has been named by Brazil-based Laboratorio Catarinense S.A. to represent the company’s line of natural herbal extracts in North America. Markan, a nutritional ingredient supplier, will offer product development assistance and nutritional information for the product line, which includes superberry acai, guarana, camu camu, devil’s claw, watercress and other high-purity extracts.

Cargill’s acquisition of Degussa’s food ingredients operations has been approved by the European Commission, marking the last regulatory step before the deal is final. Dusseldorf, Germany-based Degussa is selling its texturant systems and flavors business lines to the Minneapolis-based company.

Sargento Food Ingredients Division brings a new taste to its Web site with tips from its corporate chef, cheese market data, block and barrel prices and historical information. The Plymouth, Wis.-based cheesemaker also includes product information sheets and a cheese quiz.

Maxx Performance recently formed a scientific advisory board to provide assistance throughout R&D formulation, product development, processing and product marketing. Drawing from both academia and industry, board members include Dr. Patricia RayasDuarte, Oklahoma State University; Dr. Fred Owens, Pioneer HiBred Corp.; Dr. L. Wayne Greene, Auburn University; and Dr. Giles Paquette, Canacure Corp. The maker of microencapsulated ingredients is based in Chester, N.Y.

Milwaukee-based Chr. Hansen has been awarded a patent on its purification process for improving total yield of curcuminoid coloring agent. The patent pertains the total yield of curcuminoids from turmeric and other curcuminoid-containing materials by 30 to 40 percent. In other news, Chr. Hansen’s Dr. Mirjana Curic-Bawden discussed emerging opportunities for probiotics at the Cultured Dairy Products Conference in Minneapolis. The company showcased probiotic cultures of BB-12® Bifidobacterium, LA-5® Lactobacillus acidophilus and L. casei 431®, as well as fermented milk cultures, and natural colors and flavors.

Virginia Dare has completed its expansion of new product development laboratories at the company’s Brooklyn, N.Y., headquarters. The 5,000-square-foot addition includes new labs dedicated to sweet goods and beverage applications and a beverage pilot plant with a state-of-the-art UHT beverage processing installation.