1. 1986 : Once upon a time...

The company, Prodex, was established in 1986. Prodex means Extruded Products. Its project was the processing of oilseeds to supply cattle feed manufacturers in the West of France. Very quickly Prodex developed a product designed for dairy cows at the start of lactation called « Debucake (document .pdf à télécharger) ». The originality of this product is due to its high fat content. Its development was based on an already well supported bibliography concerning the effects of some fatty acids on the performance of cows and milk composition.
Prodex then took an interest in the high quality of dairy products and expanded by incorporating milk quality as a factor to be taken into account in the development of dairy cow feeds. (1)

2. 1990 : «Spring grass concentrate»

At the start in 1990 the idea of working on the "spring grass" model was born. Happiness is in the pasture and good ideas too! One fine summer afternoon, Pierre Weill, Technical Manager at Prodex, and Jean Pierre Pasquet, dairy farmer, were chatting about the effects of grass (the grass in the fields, not the grass you smoke!). "Why not go and see what happens under the cows' hooves in spring" suggested Jean Pierre to Pierre.
No sooner said than done. The grass rapidly revealed its secrets when subjected to gas phase chromatography. Bibliographical searches and the analyses suggested the possible role played by the high content of unsaturated fatty acid, "linolenic acid", found in grass in the effects observed in spring on milk production, health of the cows and the fat content of the milk (which goes down in spring).
The company then developed the use of oilseeds, rich in unsaturated fatty acids: soya seeds, rapeseed and linseed (linolenic comes from the German "Leinöl": Flax oil). The development was firstly technological and then zootechnical. The first trials for use were performed with a group of 5 farmers called "the Prodex research station" (2) !

3. 1993 : VALOREX ®

In 1993 the company changed its name and its project. PRODEX (extruded products) meant a project for the Production of Extruded products, VALOREX® means a project of VALOrisation by EXtrusion. The project became established and the company wished to develop the VALORISATION process for seeds which were, in the past, very much part of animal feed, but because prior cooking was necessary, the use of these seeds had become difficult. VALOREX® was taking an interest in making the best use of the seeds from Flax, Lupine, Field Beans, Rape, Peas, etc. So they told themselves!!!!

VALOREX® was to develop a special expertise where two professions cross over: technology and nutrition… again so they told themselves.

4. 1994 : Dextroyer®

At the time the company was better at nutrition than marketing. The extruded linseed was marketed under the fetching name of DEXTROYER®, because the alpha-linolenic acid rich linseed was used to reduce (destroy ?) the milk fat (3). The observant reader will note the evidence of an early tendency towards internationalisation. (We didn't call it by the French "Destructeur" - "Destroyer" in English). The product was offered to farmers in 1993. In 1994 contacts were made with the Institut de l'Elevage (Farming Institute) and the Chamber of Agriculture for Maine et Loire to test "Dextroyer®" on an experimental farm. The trial was co-financed by Anvar (French Agency for Innovation) and the region of Brittany. The results published in 1995 (4) confirmed the zootechnical interest of the product, VALOREX® therefore had an undeniable commercial success with Dextroyer®. Its more romantic name, "spring grass concentrate", (5) referred to the origin of the product formulation. Collaboration with the Institut de l'Elevage gave rise to two other trials in 1995 and 1996. Their results were also published (6). These trials were the basis of a first step in patent rights: the 1995 patent claiming the use of extruded linseed to reduce the fat content of milk.

5. 1996 : The Omega 3s take the stage ...

During these trials, the aim of which was the search for a reduction in the synthesis of milk fat, other facts were demonstrated, such as better milk persistence and also an improvement in the fertility of the cows. The latter data was confirmed in a study conducted on about ten farms in Ille et Vilaine and Maine et Loire with the Institut de l'Elevage. The trainee monitoring the farms suggested an explanatory route, quoting the role of Omega 3 fatty acids in the synthesis of prostaglandins. In fact, the alpha-linolenic acid we identified in grass and then in flax as the main agent in modifying the synthesis of milk fat is the precursor of all fatty acids in the Omega 3 family. So VALOREX® hastened new interest in the product, "Extruded linseed". If the Omega 3 fatty acids pass from the animal to humans this is of interest for the health and fertility of the animals, and also of interest for human health. We then had two new ANVAR files: VALOMEGA® for meat and VIVOMEGA® for eggs. The trials performed showed the feasibility of enriching meat and eggs with Omega 3 and resulted in two new patents (2000) claiming the use of extruded linseed to produce eggs and meat that were richer in Omega 3. At the same time VALOREX® continued to investigate the effect of the Omega 3s in extruded linseed on the performance of dairy cows. Trials showed the advantage of using extruded linseed on fertility and immunity, and feed digestibility for dairy cows (6). We were also interested in the use of fatty acids from flax in the rumen. (6)

6. 1999 : If it works for pigs, it really ought to work for humans

At the end of the VALOMEGA® and VIVOMEGA® programmes, we had reliable data demonstrating the value of using linseed in animal nutrition: the importance due to the improvement in the quality of products for all animal products, together with the real zootechnical importance for milk production, beef and veal production and sow nutrition.
Moving from zootechnical significance to nutritional significance is therefore possible.
We did not then feel capable of "carrying the project" as far as the final consumer, as VALOREX® is much too small.
Once again it was a meeting, this time with Dr Bernard Schmitt, nutritionist at the South Brittany Hospital Centre and Director of CERN, that was to give us the desire to go down the food chain route. This hospital practitioner (he is a consultant in nutrition and diabetology) finds it very difficult to change the dietary habits of the patients in his department. Why not change the diet of farm animals to improve their lipids, which largely contribute to the lipid supply in humans (70% of lipids ingested in Brittany are animal lipids)?
No sooner said than done.
The theoretical feasibility of the model was ratified by Professor Philippe Legrand, Director of the "Human Nutrition" laboratory at INRA (French National Institute for Agricultural Research) in Rennes and President of the Commission for "Lipids and Nutrition" for RNIs for AFSSA (French Agency for Food Safety). He helped us to establish the protocol for a large human study. We initiated this human study in partnership with CERN (Teaching and Research Centre for Nutrition) in Lorient and the Biochemistry Department of INRA in Rennes in 1999/2000. The results published in 2001 (6) show the feasibility of improving human nutrition via animal nutrition.

7. 2000 : Bleu Blanc Coeur ®

At the end of this first clinical study, VALOREX® possessed some very promising scientific data. Together with the various partners in the trials, we decided to give this approach the framework of an association. The Bleu-Blanc-Cœur association created in August 2000 concerns the project of an environmentally friendly (cultivation of flax) food chain, which also respects the farm animal (zootechnical data relating to animal well-being) and human nutrition (Omega 3). It combines all the links in this chain, from the flax producer to the consumer. We then patiently constructed the framework for our development, another story began for which we were the inspiration (www.bleu-blanc-coeur.com)

8. 2002 : Export

Not without difficulty, we moved from development between towns to development between counties, and then on to development between regions. In 2002 it was logical for us to move to the following stage. There were no borders for our continuing development. Carried by the French image of "eating well", we exported "feed animals well the Valorex way". In 2002, we exported our technology. From now on Tradi-Lin linseed would be processed on site, first of all in Switzerland (www.Tradilin.ch) and then in Portugal. The VALOREX® project was also present in a small way in Italy, the Benelux countries, Israel, Tunisia, Canada, Malta, etc. We are now established on 4 continents. What are Australasia and the South Sea Islands waiting for ?

9. 2004 : IT3 ®

Bleu-Blanc Coeur continued the VALOREX® Omega 3 project for human nutrition, but Valorex itself, an animal nutrition company, continued its efforts towards zootechnical innovation. In 2004, with the experience of 10 years of research behind it, VALOREX® launched IT3, a new formulation method favouring zootechnical performance for the benefit of animal and human nutrition, brought together by this concept. (7)

10. Conclusion

In general, all good stories have a happy ending.
Ours has not yet been written completely so it doesn't have an ending. However, it does have an aim: that of long-lasting development based on strong scientific validation and a conception of our profession, that of animal nutrition at the service of the men and women in productive farming, and those who eat farm products.
Our story is one of meetings, innovations, sharing, and respect. These are the ingredients for stories made to last.