It’s B-CAN oat beta-glucan food additive can be used in breads, breakfast cereals, cookies, muffins and tortillas as well as beverages, soups and salad dressings.
The GRAS approval adds to its Kosher and Halal certifications.
Intended food use conditions outlined in the GRAS dossier and by the firm include the addition of the ingredients at levels that yield 0.75g to 3g of beta-glucan per serving.
It can also be used in medical foods but consumption levels must not exceed 3g per person, per day.
“We are very pleased with this GRAS status and feel that this move will enable food and beverage manufacturers in the US and internationally, to offer healthier consumer products formulated with B-CAN,” Roger Matkin, president and CEO of Garuda International, said.
Heart, cholesterol health
The US cardiovascular health foods retail market is set to hit $7.08bn by 2014, according to Datamonitor.
For manufacturers attempting to tap into this lucrative sector, use of oat beta-glucan in foodstuff is widespread.
Inclusion of oat beta-glucan in products on the US market can currently boast a claim from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) linking the ingredient to reduced risk of heart disease. This claim has also been given the thumbs up from Health Canada.
More recently, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) passed a positive health claim opinion under Article 14 in January 2012, linking oat beta-glucan with improved cholesterol levels.
Speaking on the EFSA opinion, Garuda International’s director of sales and marketing, Bassam Faress, said: “This EFSA positive development now paves the way for even more familiarity with the benefits of oat beta-glucan. European food manufacturers can legally make the much deserved health claims at the applicable minimal doses identified by EFSA for food and beverages.”