8-K

 
                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                            Washington, D.C. 20549



                                   FORM 8-K



                                CURRENT REPORT
    Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934


        Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):  MAY 16, 1996
                                                           ------------



                          OPTA FOOD INGREDIENTS, INC.
                          ---------------------------
            (Exact name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)



               Delaware                   0-19811             04-3117634
   -------------------------------      ------------      -------------------
   (State or other jurisdiction of      (Commission       (I.R.S. Employer
   incorporation or organization)       File Number)      Identification No.)



                25 Wiggins Avenue, Bedford, Massachusetts  01730
                ------------------------------------------------
              (Address of principal executive offices)  (Zip Code)


       Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (617) 276-5100
                                                           --------------

 
ITEM 5.  OTHER EVENTS.
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     On May 16, 1996, the Registrant publicly disseminated a press release
announcing that the Registrant had purchased a 35,000 square foot multi-purpose
manufacturing facility in Galesburg, Illinois from A.E. Staley Manufacturing
Company for an undisclosed amount.  The information contained in the press
release is incorporated herein by reference and filed as Exhibit 99.1 hereto.



ITEM 7.  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS.
- -------  ----------------------------------

(c)  Exhibits.

     99.1  The Registrant's press release dated May 16, 1996

 
                                   SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Company has duly caused this report to be
signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

                                   OPTA FOOD INGREDIENTS, INC.


Date: May 21, 1996                 By: /s/ Thomas J. Trometer
                                       ------------------------------------
                                       Thomas J. Trometer
                                       Vice President Finance and Treasurer

EX-99.1

 
EXHIBIT 99.1
 
                                       Contact:
                                       Lewis C. Paine, III
                                       Chairman and CEO
                                       Opta Food Ingredients, Inc.
                                       (617) 276-5100

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                        OPTA FOOD INGREDIENTS PURCHASES
                             MANUFACTURING FACILITY

          ---- Significantly Increases Capacity For Fat Replacers ----

BEDFORD, MA, May 16, 1996 -- Opta Food Ingredients, Inc. (Nasdaq:OPTS) announced
today that it purchased a 35,000 square foot multi-purpose manufacturing
facility in Galesburg, Illinois from A.E. Staley Manufacturing Company for an
undisclosed amount.

The facility will be renovated and it is anticipated that it will be operational
in 1997. When fully operative the plant is expected to significantly increase
the Company's production capacity for its current starch-based food ingredients,
including OptaGrade, a texturizing agent used to replace up to 100% of the fat
in a variety of foods. The plant will also be used to scale up commercial
quantities of ingredients from new and licensed technologies.

Opta Food Ingredients, Inc. is a fully integrated developer, manufacturer and
marketer of proprietary food ingredients. Its products are used by consumer food
companies and food service companies to improve the nutritional content,
healthfulness and taste of their food products. Opta's proprietary and patented
products include OptaGrade; Opta Oat Fibers, a line of functional texturizing
agents that can also be used to increase dietary fiber in baked goods; and
CrystaLean, a starch-based bulking agent designed to enhance crispness and
increase fiber in baked goods and extruded products.  In addition, the Company
has a portfolio of products and technologies that are currently under
development. Opta's food ingredients are used in applications by leading food
companies, including 5 of the 10 largest U.S. consumer packaged food companies
and the world's largest food service company.  The Company was recently sited by
Inc. magazine as one of America's fastest growing small public companies.
- ---

 
                                     (more)

Opta Purchases Manufacturing Facility/2

NOTE:  This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current
management expectations. Factors which could cause actual results to differ from
these expectations include the size and timing of significant orders, as well as
deferral of orders, over which the Company has no control; the extended product
testing cycles of the Company's potential customers; the variation of the
Company's sales cycles from customer to customer; increased competition posed by
food ingredient manufacturers; changes in pricing policies by the Company and
its competitors; possible delays in securing production equipment and
retrofitting the production facilities; the Company's success in expanding its
sales and marketing programs and its ability to gain increased market acceptance
for its existing product lines; the Company's ability to timely develop and
introduce new products in its pipeline at acceptable costs; the potential for
significant quarterly variations in the mix of sales among the Company's
products; and general economic conditions.

                    (All trademarked items are in italics.)