GLG Life Tech Gains GRAS Status for Two More Stevia Extracts

The three letters from the FDA makes GLG the first and only company in the world which can produce high purity of RA, STV and BlendSure, and has received all of the corresponding Letters of No Objection from the FDA for these products.

Jul 19 2011 --- GLG Life Tech Corporation has announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) Letter of No Objection & GRN000349) for GLG’s high purity stevia extracts: PureSTV (Filing No. GRN000348) and BlendSure (Filing No. GRN000349).  These high purity extracts both contain greater than 95% steviol glycosides.

The GRAS process is a legal and FDA-approved process that allows companies to conduct their own GRAS determinations by consulting with an independent panel of scientists to determine if an ingredient meets the FDA’s criteria for safety. To ensure even further confidence in its products, GLG has submitted its two dossiers to the FDA for review which has resulted in these Letters of No Objection.  In addition, GLG has also recently filed a notice with the FDA following self affirmation for its RA 95 high purity stevia extract (Filing No. GRN 380).

Dr. Luke Zhang, Chairman and CEO of GLG stated, “We have received the first Letter of No Objection of RA 97 in 2010 and this milestone marks the second and third Letters of No Objection that GLG has received from the FDA and it affirms our long-term commitment to provide our customers with the highest quality standards of stevia extracts in the United States and around the world.  RA (rebaudioside A) and STV (stevioside) are the two major components from the stevia plant and the GLG R&D and production teams have been working on know how technologies and patents to produce both high purity RA and STV stevia extracts since 2001. We have also found that the combination of high purity RA and STV together tastes better than either high purity RA or high purity STV on their own in many beverage and food applications.  GLG developed a unique product named BlendSure made by the combination of high purity RA stevia extract and high purity STV extract. The three letters from the FDA makes GLG the first and only company in the world which can produce high purity of RA, STV and BlendSure, and has received all of the corresponding Letters of No Objection from the FDA for these products. I am very pleased that the three letters will allow our RA, STV and BlendSure to be utilized in many of our AN0C beverage and foods. We have found that the FDA GRAS standard is respected in many of our key international markets including China and we will therefore be able to further leverage this major achievement in our international markets.”

Meanwhile the UK Food Standards Agency has publsihed an update on the sweeteners steviol glycosides. The European Union is currently examining whether the sweeteners should be authorised for use in food. Earlier this month, member states voted in favour of a European Commission proposal to authorise steviol glycosides in a range of foods.

The proposal will now be scrutinised by the European Council and the European Parliament over the next three months and, if they are content, steviol glycosides will be permitted across the EU by the end of the year.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) confirmed the safety of steviol glycosides in 2010. However, there had been concerns about the possible exceedance of the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI). Subsequent discussions in Brussels have focused on the permitted uses of steviol glycosides to ensure that the ADI will not be exceeded.

Following these discussions, the UK is content that the levels proposed for the food categories, in particular the level for soft drinks, would not lead to exposure problems for UK consumers, and support the Commission’s proposal.