Meredian's PHA Ready for Commercial Scale Production After Piloting with Tate & Lyle

BAINBRIDGE, GA- Meredian, Inc., a privately held biopolymer manufacturer, and Tate & Lyle, a leading global provider of specialty food ingredients and solutions, have confirmed successful pilot production of Meredian’s PHA formulation process. The patented Meredian process is FDA approved for food contact. This pilot scale confirmation opens the door for mass production of completely biodegradable plastics on a commercial scale.

The joint development utilizing Meredian’s PHA process and Tate & Lyle’s fermentation experience achieved production rates and titers that more than meet the metrics needed for commercial production.

“Meredian, Inc. is thrilled to confirm that our patented PHA process has hit another milestone in our effort to make biodegradable, food contact approved plastics on a commercial scale,” said Paul Pereira, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. “This confirmation positions Meredian to have an unparalleled positive impact on the sustainability of plastics and to further expand our efforts.”

“Tate & Lyle is excited to have combined our fermentation expertise and scale-up capabilities with the Meredian process to achieve these outstanding results. Successes like this demonstrate that sustainability can and does benefit both the environment and the economy,” said Greg Wenndt, Vice President, Business Development.

About Meredian, Inc.:

Meredian, Inc. is a privately-held Georgia corporation which manufactures PHA biopolymers using renewable resources, further reducing the global dependence on petroleum historically used in production of plastics. Meredian, Inc. was formed by the principles following the success of its sister company, DaniMer Scientific, LLC. DaniMer Scientific was formed in 2004 to bring innovative solutions to the world by way of the use of biopolymer materials in traditional plastic applications. These companies are supported by a world class group of dedicated, highly skilled team members. With the addition of Meredian PHA biopolymers, the two companies offer a comprehensive selection of biopolymers that supports their core values of utilizing sustainably produced, renewable resource based polymers to improve people’s lives at work.

About Tate & Lyle:

Tate & Lyle is a global provider of ingredients and solutions to the food, beverage and other industries, operating from over 30 production facilities around the world.

Tate & Lyle operates through two global business units, Specialty Food Ingredients and Bulk Ingredients, supported by the Innovation and Commercial Development group. The Group’s strategy is to become the leading global provider of Specialty Food Ingredients through a disciplined focus on growth, and by driving Bulk Ingredients for sustained cash generation to fuel this growth.

Specialty Food Ingredients consists of three platforms: Texturants, which includes specialty starches and stabilisers; Sweeteners, which comprises nutritive sweeteners and our range of no-calorie sweeteners including SPLENDA® Sucralose; and our Health and Wellness portfolio which includes specialty fibers and our salt-reduction offering. Additionally, our food systems business provides a wide variety of blended ingredient solutions.

Tate & Lyle Bulk Ingredients includes bulk sweeteners, industrial starches and fermentation products (primarily acidulants). Corn co-products from both divisions are primarily sold as animal feed.

Tate & Lyle is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol TATE.L. American Depositary Receipts trade under TATYY. In the year to 31 March 2013, Tate & Lyle sales totaled £3.3 billion.