DSM’s PreventASe Receives Approval in Switzerland

With German biscuit manufacturers as the frontrunners PreventASe is now increasingly being used by biscuit manufacturers all over the EU and equally in the US and, thus, available for consumers.

18/06/08 Following authorisation by the French and Danish authorities in 2007, DSM Food Specialties is proud to announce that it has received approval from the Federal Office of Public Health in Switzerland for the use of PreventASe as a processing aid. After in-depth examination the Swiss authorities concluded that DSM’s asparaginase enzyme preparation will be allowed in the Swiss market. The production strain is classified as not genetically modified according to Swiss law. Consequently, PreventASe can now not only be used for acrylamide mitigation in all EU member states but equally in Switzerland which is part of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). DSM Food Specialties is currently in the process of obtaining approval on a global level. The receipt of a letter of non-objection to the GRAS status of PreventASe by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2007 is expected to be followed by further timely approvals by the Australian and Canadian authorities. The latter already gave DSM’s application priority status.

With German biscuit manufacturers as the frontrunners PreventASe is now increasingly being used by biscuit manufacturers all over the EU and equally in the US and, thus, available for consumers. The large scale application of PreventASe in these countries demonstrates its commercial viability. DSM Food Specialties would be happy to assist more companies in implementing its acrylamide mitigation technology which is available for dough-based products such as bread, biscuits, crackers, formed potato products and cereals.

Alexander Wessels, Business Group Director of DSM Food Specialties, stated: “The approval of the Swiss authorities is another stepping stone towards industry wide application of PreventASe. This will assist the food industry to fight dietary acrylamide which is of increasing concern to consumers, politicians and regulators alike.” Judith Heikoop of DSM Food Specialties added: “We are looking forward to continue to work with food businesses all over the world in order to minimise the overall exposure of consumers to dietary acrylamide.”

PreventASe is proven to be able to mitigate the formation of acrylamide in certain foods by as much as 90%. The PreventASe enzyme is a so-called “asparaginase enzyme preparation” from the Aspergillus niger micro-organism (A. niger). The enzyme basically converts one of the precursors of acrylamide, asparagine, into another naturally occurring amino acid, aspartate. As a result, asparagine is not available anymore for the chemical reaction that forms acrylamide when carbohydrate-containing foods, such as bread, biscuits, crackers, formed potato products and cereals are being heated. Various authorities require the mitigation of its presence in food. Applying asparaginase in food in order to reduce acrylamide has been identified as one of the solutions by both industry associations and Governmental institutions.