PurisPea pea protein receives GRAS confirmation from FDA

12-Apr-2016 - Last updated on 13-Apr-2016 at 16:23 GMT

The Food and Drug Administration has no objection to the Generally Recognized as Safe status of World Food Processing’s ingredient PurisPea. Will its application in food and beverage grow from here?

It doesn’t seem like the protein craze will wane anytime soon among health and fitness enthusiasts. Simultaneously, more of these Americans are leaning towards a plant-based diet. Pea protein started to boom in food and beverage applications only in the last few years.

Riding on this momentum, Iowa-based World Food Processing, an ingredient manufacturer, recently received a letter of no objection from the FDA for its PurisPea ingredient, adding to the product’s safety credibility. Grown locally in the US in Oskaloosa, Iowa, the ingredient is also marketed for its organic and non-GMO properties.

“Achieving GRAS status adds yet another layer of confidence and another advantage for manufacturers who want to create foods and beverages with mass-market appeal,” said Tyler Lorenzen, president of World Food Processing’s proteins and ingredient subsidiary.

World Food Processing President Tyler Lorenzen

The new whey

A study published last year in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that pea protein may produce the same bicep muscle thickness improvements as whey protein.

“It’s [also] absorbed at a comfortable rate supporting satiety,” Lorenzen told NutraIngredients-USA. “Containing all essential amino acids, pea protein has a [protein digestibility corrected amino acid score] of .82.”

Lorenzen also contended that the ingredient is comparable to or better than whey protein in its amount of branched chain amino acids.

Interviewed at Supply Side West last fall, Lorenzen said that he thinks pea protein can be the new whey. “People want protein, they want different delivery methods, but they also want different combinations,” he said. “From amino acid content to clean label claims to sustainability and cost of goods, we think PurisPea can be very good for sports nutrition.”

Food and beverage applications

In addition to bars, dry shake mixes, and other formats popular in the sports and fitness sector, World Food Processing said that PurisPea is also safe for use as a protein source in foods such as bakery products, snack foods, cereals, and imitation dairy products that were designed to cater to consumers with an active lifestyle.

For example, the Colorado-based baking mix company FlapJacked uses a blend of PurisPea’s pea protein and whey protein isolate to pack 20 g of protein in each serving.

“PurisPea checks all the boxes in terms of today’s food trends,” Lorenzen said. “It’s clean, non-GMO, devoid of the eight common allergens and it’s lightly processed with no harsh chemicals, all while being the only non-GMO pea protein grown and manufactured in the U.S.”