[3] Mège started to publish original contributions in applied chemistry, such as a form of the syphilis medicine Copahin refined with nitric acid that eliminated side-effects.

[3][1] He also obtained patents for effervescent tablets, for techniques in paper making and sugar refining, and for the tanning of leather using egg yolks.

A British patent application describes the process as follows:[3][15] A fatty body identical in chemical composition with butter is obtained from fresh suet by crushing it between rollers under a stream of water, further washing it and then digesting it with agricultural gastric juice.

The fat is extracted, melted, passed through a sieve and poured into boxes to set, after which it is cut into pieces, which are wrapped in cloths and pressed between hot plates.

A fatty body is expressed and may be agitated in a closed vessel, cooled, cut up, bleached with acid and washed with water.

This purified fat is mixed at animal heat (104°F) with water containing small quantities of bicarbonate of soda, casein of cold milk and mammary tissues along with yellow coloring matter.

[15] His process resulted in a cheap but qualitatively good substitute for butter for the working class and, incidentally, the French Navy.

Mège-Mouriès received a prize in 1870 from the French government, formally led by Emperor Louis Napoleon III.

In 1883, the Paris Convention attempted to regularize the rights of all signatory countries, but the Dutch did not pass a new patent act until 1910.

Alternatively he may have understood the difficulty of maintaining control of his invention given the lack of a Dutch patent law, and decided to accept a compensatory fee for sharing his knowledge.

[25][17][12] Untroubled by patent restrictions, Jurgens developed Mège-Mouriès's ideas further and began to manufacture and sell margarine, as did another Dutch company under Simon van den Bergh.

Jurgens and van den Bergh created a substantial export industry, selling margarine to England and other countries, as did a number of smaller competitors.