ROCKVILLE, Md.—The U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) is seeking comments on a number of proposed Food Chemicals Codex (FCC) standards before they go into effect. Industry and public comments are due March 31, 2012.
The draft standards, which will be included in the Food Chemicals Codex (FCC), offer comprehensive information that is essential when utilizing probiotics as food ingredients, including testing to confirm the identity upon which probiotic product safety and health claims are based. Future standards development work at USP will potentially include individual monograph (written) standards for specific probiotic strains, combined with more prescriptive details for identification and enumeration of the microorganisms of interest.
“Testing for identity is difficult with probiotics, and this is a key area where public standards provided in the Food Chemicals Codex can be of significant value across the food, nutritional and consumer products industries," said Praveen Tyle, Ph.D., USP’s chief science officer. “These are standards that all parties can use. With more manufacturers incorporating probiotics in products beyond yogurts based on rising consumer interest, scrutiny of health claims will grow, as will global sourcing of ingredients. We believe additional measures for determining identity and overall quality will be useful in protecting consumers and manufacturers alike."
Other proposed standards include a new Steviol Glycosides monograph that covers a broader range of stevia-derived ingredients, including mixtures of different steviol glycosides; modernized standards for three benzoates; and the development of monographs for infant formula flavoring ingredients.
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