Zinpro Corp. announced May 31 the launch of the Zinpro Discovery Foundation, a U.S.-tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to discover, research or develop solutions to improve human and animal wellness across the globe.

“Zinpro Corp. pioneered the research and development of Performance Minerals more than 45 years ago,” Zinpro president and chief operating officer William Scrimgeour said. “Over the years, our many nutrition and business solutions have resulted in significant improvements in animal wellness and performance. However, our global leadership in animal mineral nutrition also comes with the responsibility to ensure our research is used to benefit society as much as possible. With this goal in mind, we have collaborated with leaders outside Zinpro to create the Zinpro Discovery Foundation.”

Nutritionists have long known that trace mineral nutrition is essential to health for both people and animals. For example, zinc deficiency negatively affects up to 2 billion people worldwide. For many people across the globe, the difference between being healthy or not lies in only a few milligrams of zinc. The multiple systemic effects from zinc deficiency include growth retardation, weight loss, infertility, hair loss, mental and emotional disorder, impaired immune function and skin lesions.

Zinc is just one essential trace mineral that shows benefits when supplemented in the diet. Other essential trace minerals, such as copper, cobalt, manganese, iron, chromium, selenium and iodine, also play key roles that benefit animal and human health, Zinpro said.

“Since our research in animal nutrition has great potential to pave the way for breakthroughs in human health, we started a nonprofit organization to make that possible, and the Zinpro Discovery Foundation is the culmination of our efforts,” Scrimgeour said.

The Zinpro Discovery Foundation welcomes donations to help raise awareness and knowledge about trace mineral deficiencies and how to improve human and animal wellness. Educational and research grants are allocated by a board of directors. The donation goal for 2017 is $1 million in educational and research grants, the company said.

Grants are available to researchers and organizations through an application process that starts online at zinprodiscoveryfoundation.org. Details of the request include how a researcher or an organization would spend the funds if the grant is received. Requests are evaluated based on the applicant’s stated problem statements and project goals.

To obtain additional information, including regular updates on active grants and recent donations, check online at zinprodiscoveryfoundation.org.