ClonBio Foods To Build Commercial-Scale FibAX Production Facility In Hungary
ClonBio Foods is set to build a new commercial-scale production facility for FibAX, which is a native corn arabinoxylan fiber. The facility’s site is in Dunaföldvár, Hungary, and is expected to be operational by the second quarter of 2027.
This facility will be dedicated to producing fibers from grains, FibAX representing its first product. Dunaföldvár is also where ClonBio Foods’ ingredient production campus resides, and the campus is home to the company’s PurusPro barley protein operation. ClonBio is currently making the fiber at pilot scale, and this new facility will allow them to produce it at commercial volumes for the first time.
FibAX is a high-molecular-weight corn arabinoxylan, a prebiotic dietary fiber made up of arabinose and xylose molecules. ClonBio Foods isolates the fiber intact from the cell wall of the grain, preserving its natural length and native branched structure, which is why the company describes FibAX as a native fiber. This unique structure determines how FibAX is fermented by the gut microbiota and helps explain its slow, sustained activity in the gut.
Research shows FibAX produces around three times more short-chain fatty acids than inulin over a 24-hour period, and it sustains that production for longer as it ferments further along the colon. Short-chain fatty acids support gut integrity and wider metabolic health, and FibAX has also been shown to encourage the growth of beneficial gut bacteria without reducing overall microbial diversity.
The fibre has also shown promise for sugar reduction. In a controlled study of 53 participants, a cake reformulated with 1.5 per cent FibAX achieved a 30 per cent reduction in sugar while producing a lower post-meal glucose response than standard and resistant maltodextrin versions.
ClonBio Foods is a family-owned Irish enterprise, founded by Mark Turley, that specializes in producing food that supports rural communities with the goal of health in mind. The company creates plant-based proteins and fibers.
