DSM Makes Novel Food Application for Microlalgae Oil for Infant Formula

1 Oct 2013 --- A company has applied to the Food Standards Agency to widen the use of algal oil under the Novel Food Regulation (EC) No. 258/97. Views are wanted on the company’s application. The deadline for sending comments is Sunday 20 October 2013.

This is the sixth full application the FSA has received for oils rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids extracted from the microalgae Schizochytrium sp.

This oil, which is rich in the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), is extracted from a newly isolated strain of the microalgae, and the company, DSM Nutritional Products, proposes to use the oil primarily as a source of DHA in infant and follow on formula.

The DHA that is currently used in infant formula is typically extracted from tuna fish oil or from a microalgae, Crypthecodinium cohnii.

The FSA also reported that a UK company has applied to the Food Standards Agency to market D-beta-hydroxybutyrate ester as a novel food ingredient. Views are wanted on the company's application. The deadline for sending comments is Sunday 20 October 2013.

D-β-Hydroxybutyrate is a 'ketone body'. This is a molecule produced by the human body when a limited amount of glucose is available, such as during intense and prolonged physical exertion.

The company, TDeltaS, suggests that consumption of D-β-hydroxybutyrate ester during periods of intense exercise will maintain physical and cognitive performance and is proposing its use in food supplements that will be used exclusively by high performance athletes.

A novel food is a food or food ingredient that does not have a significant history of consumption within the European Union before 15 May 1997.

Before any new food product can be introduced on the European market, it must be rigorously assessed for safety. In the UK, the assessment of novel foods is carried out by an independent committee of scientists appointed by the Food Standards Agency, the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP).