Food Science Insights: Conversation With R&D Manager, Zhuo Tang 99
As part of the research division at Louis Dreyfus Company’s (LDC) cutting-edge laboratories in Shanghai, R&D Manager, Zhuo Tang, is working to shape the future of animal nutrition. A sharp mind, a collaborative spirit and a relentless drive for innovation: Zhuo embodies a new generation of food scientists tackling the industry’s challenge to combine sustainability, efficiency and nutritional value.
Zhuo’s current mission at LDC revolves around a new specialty feed ingredient: enzymatically treated lecithin. Used in both food and feed applications, this ingredient holds the potential to improve nutrient absorption, promote animal health and enhance functional foods. Yet, producing it efficiently has long been a challenge. That is, until Zhuo stepped in!
By combining continuous reaction technology with enzymatic hydrolysis, Zhuo reduced enzymatically treated lecithin production time from over six hours to just 30 minutes – a technical breakthrough that is nothing short of a game changer!
The new process slashes costs but also reduces emissions, enhancing the sustainability profile of a product that will soon become LDC’s first offering in the specialty animal nutrition sector.
“This isn’t just about producing faster,” Zhuo explains from his desk, surrounded by notes and prototypes. “It’s about setting a new benchmark for efficiency and sustainability in the industry.”
LDC’s enzymatically treated lecithin production line in Tianjin, inaugurated this month, is part of a broader goal that Zhuo is helping to realize: to maximize use of agricultural resources in our work to help nourish both people and animals for the long term.
Enzymatically treated lecithin enhances oil and fat-soluble nutrient absorption in animal feeds,
contributing to higher feed efficiency and reduced animal husbandry costs.
Contributing to a More Sustainable Future
Trained as a polymer chemist, Zhuo’s early research focused on biomedical materials like hydrogels for drug delivery and tissue engineering. It was then that he first saw the parallels between delivering life-saving medication and delivering nutrients for improved ingredient efficiency and nutritional value.
That insight eventually drew him to food and feed science, a field he describes as “a natural intersection of disciplines – chemistry, biology, nutrition and engineering – all working toward a better future.”
At LDC, Zhuo expanded his focus to include alternative protein sources, like fermented soybean meal and insect protein, as innovative feed solutions that could reduce overreliance on traditional crops, this helping tackle resource scarcity and environmental impact challenges. “We’re not just supporting farmers in feeding animals,” says Zhuo. “We’re helping create a system that can help ensure food security in a sustainable way.”
Collaboration & Technology for Transformation
Innovation doesn’t happen in isolation, for Zhuo, who credits much of his success to the collaborative culture at LDC, where cross-functional teams work together to solve complex problems.
“In the enzymatically-treated lecithin project, we had R&D, business development, industry and quality assurance experts all contributing their insights,” he recalls. “That teamwork – a scientific collaboration – was essential to overcome technical hurdles and bring the project to life. That approach is critical to navigate the complexities of modern food and feed science.”
As he looks to the future, Zhuo is also enthusiastic about the transformative potential of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and synthetic biology, which he sees as vital to advance personalized nutrition, intelligent processing systems and increasingly sustainable production methods.
“The most fulfilling part of my work is seeing ideas move from the lab to real-world applications,” Zhuo says. “And at LDC, we’re not just solving today’s challenges – we’re leveraging shared expertise and technological developments to lay foundations for a sustainable future of food and feed.”
Zhuo’s future-facing mindset and work reflect the aim that guides Team LDC around the world: meeting today’s needs while ensuring that essential food, feed, fibers and ingredients are sourced and produced for a sustainable tomorrow.