Producer
Rousselot (Darling Ingredients subsidiary)
Dutch specialty gelatin company (HQ Ghent Belgium / Arnhem Netherlands; subsidiary of Darling Ingredients, NYSE: DAR, HQ Irving TX); world's largest pharmaceutical gelatin producer, supplying the porcine and bovine gelatin used in hard-shell pharmaceutical capsules (including those made by Lonza Capsugel, ACG, and Qualicaps). Rousselot was founded in 1891 in Paris as a gelatin extractor from abattoir byproducts. The same collagen protein extracted from pig and cow hides/bones that becomes Rousselot pharmaceutical-grade gelatin also becomes food gelatin (Jello, gummy bears, marshmallows) and cosmetic collagen (face creams). The pharmaceutical capsule shell enclosing an APAP or ibuprofen tablet is made from the same material as a gummy bear — both from Rousselot's porcine or bovine hide hydrolysis. Darling Ingredients (Irving TX; formerly Darling International) processes animal byproducts globally — its Rousselot division captures the gelatin value from the same carcasses that its other divisions process for grease and protein meal.
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Pharmaceutical Gelatin
35%Food Gelatin
30%Nutraceutical Collagen (Peptan)
25%Technical & Industrial Gelatin
10%
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Did you know2023
Rousselot (subsidiary of Darling Ingredients, Irving TX) produces pharmaceutical-grade gelatin — the primary raw material in hard-shell drug capsules enclosing millions of OTC and prescription medications. The identical collagen hydrolysis process and base protein material used for pharmaceutical gelatin (Rousselot Pharmaceutical) is also used to produce: food gelatin (appearing in Jell-O, gummy bears, Haribo candy, marshmallows, yogurt stabilizers, wine and beer fining agents), photographic gelatin (formerly used in silver halide film), and cosmetic collagen (face creams). Darling Ingredients (the parent) is an industrial rendering company that processes meat industry byproducts — the hides, bones, and offal from slaughterhouses — into grease, protein meal, and gelatin. The pharmaceutical capsule shell around an OTC pain reliever and the gummy bear your child eats both originate from the same abattoir byproduct supply chain, processed by the same Darling Ingredients/Rousselot facilities. The capsule that carries your medicine to your stomach is materially identical to a Haribo gummy bear.
Rousselot / Darling Ingredients ↗Origin2023
Rousselot was founded in 1891 in Paris by Eduard Rousselot — extracting gelatin from abattoir byproducts (pig and cow bones, hides) at a time when gelatin was primarily used in photography (silver gelatin photographic plates) and confectionery. The 1890s-1900s gelatin market was driven by photography: silver halide crystals suspended in gelatin emulsion on glass or cellulose created the photographic film and plates of the era. As synthetic polymer films replaced gelatin in photography in the late 20th century, Rousselot's business shifted toward food and pharmaceutical gelatin. Darling Ingredients (formerly Darling International, originally a US animal byproduct renderer) acquired Rousselot in 2015 for approximately $1.1B, integrating the world's largest pharma gelatin producer into its global rendering and animal byproduct processing system. The Darling/Rousselot combination means the supply chain for pharmaceutical capsules is now managed by the same company that renders the animal byproducts from North American and European slaughterhouses.
Rousselot (Darling Ingredients) ↗