Polyphenolic ingredient get GRAS for more foods
US, has expanded the self-affirmed Generally Recognized As Safe
(GRAS) status of two extracts to include a wide range of foods.
MegaNatural Gold grape seed extract and MegaNatural GSKE grape pomace extract can henceforth be used as antioxidants in a variety of foods, including frozen dairy desserts and mixes, grains and pasta products, milk products, bakery items and bakery mixes, cheeses, chewing gum, condiments and relishes, confections and frostings, jams and jellies, dessert mixes, meal replacement mixes, gravies and sauces, hard and soft candies, sweet sauces, toppings and syrups.
Both extracts were first determined GRAS for use in fruit juices and fruit flavored beverages and then for use in cereals, food bars, yogurt and yogurt desserts. This third expansion means a much wider variety of foods can include them at concentrations of up to 100 mg per serving, depending on the food.
"This provides tremendous opportunity for the consumer food industry to incorporate beneficial polyphenolic compounds into a diverse array of products," said Anil Shrikhande, president of Polyphenolics.
The products were first awarded GRAS in August 2003, leading the way for them to be used in fruit flavored beverage mixes and carbonated fruit flavored beverages at a concentration of up to 210 PPM (alone or in combination). This enabled Polyphenolics to start moving from the more niche nutraceuticals and dietary supplements domaine into the wider mass market.
The extracts from Polyphenolics are produced in Canandaigua Wine Company's California wineries from unfermented grapes, using a solvent-free, water extraction process.
Polyphenols are flavonoid compounds and they have antioxidant activity which may help the body's cells resist damage by free radicals, believed to play a role in reducing the risk of various chronic illnesses afflicting world populations such as heart disease and cancer.
Numerous experiments have shown that certain polyphenols, mainly flavonoids, can protect against heart disease and have anticancer, antiviral and antiallergic properties.
