EU Committee Approves New Food Applications for Martek's life'sDHA

This additional novel food approval will allow Martek to work in even more food and beverage categories and offer European consumers the important benefits of DHA in healthy and convenient products with life'sDHA for brain, eye and heart health.

17/07/09 DHA omega-3 innovator and maker of the life'sDHA brand of DHA, Martek Biosciences, announced that it has received a unanimous positive vote from the Standing Committee On The Food Chain and Animal Health (SCFCAH) of the European Union for additional novel food approval of life'sDHA in Europe.

This is a significant action that will provide for new uses of Martek's DHA-rich algal oil in bakery products, cereal bars, and beverages, including milk-based and milk analogue drinks, throughout the 27 Member States of the European Union. This expands the current categories approved in 2003 which include breakfast cereals, spreadable fat and dressings, dairy products (excluding milk-based and milk analogue drinks) and food supplements.

There are currently more than 30 food, beverage and supplement products that include life'sDHA available in the EU.

"This additional novel food approval will allow Martek to work in even more food and beverage categories and offer European consumers the important benefits of DHA in healthy and convenient products with life'sDHA for brain, eye and heart health," said Rob Winwood, PhD, Martek's director of scientific affairs in Europe.

The July 15, 2009 draft Commission decision will now pass into the formal procedure before anticipated publication in the Official Journal of the European Union in the coming months.

DHA omega-3 is a long-chain omega-3 fatty acid that serves as a primary building block for the brain and the eyes and supports brain, eye and cardiovascular health throughout life. There is a large and growing body of scientific evidence demonstrating that people of all ages benefit from an adequate supply of DHA omega-3 in their diets. Scientific reviews highlight the importance of DHA omega-3 in proper brain and eye development and function, as well as its importance in cardiovascular health. Leading experts around the world have noted that DHA is an important nutrient for health throughout the life cycle. Yet despite its importance, most consumers do not get enough DHA in their diets.

Fish are often incorrectly thought to be the only source of DHA omega-3. However, life'sDHA offers a trusted, vegetarian form of DHA that contains no oceanic pollutants or toxins. Fish are sources of DHA because of the DHA-rich microalgae in their food chain; life'sDHA is derived directly from microalgae, a renewable, sustainable source of DHA that does not deplete ocean resources, and is produced entirely in the U.S. in an FDA-inspected facility. Today, life'sDHA is found in numerous foods, beverages and supplements for people of all ages. It is also the only source of DHA used in U.S. infant formula and is included in more than 99 percent of all formulas on the U.S. market, as well as in more than 200 brands of infant formula, nutritional supplements and functional foods sold in over 75 countries worldwide.