Vegan vitamin D coming to vegetable snacks, soups in US

15 Jul 2020 --- PLT Health Solutions’ vitamin D can be incorporated in more US food and beverage applications following the approval of a Food Additive Petition for Earthlight Whole Food Vitamin D from the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA). The approval covers Earthlight’s use in a broad range of traditionally fortified food and beverage products, such as breakfast cereals and meal replacements, as well as new categories, such as vegetable snacks and fruit smoothies. Earthlight would be the only vitamin D supplement covered in regulations for the new applications, giving it a strong first mover’s advantage on vitamin D-fortified functional food and beverages in the US market.

“Earthlight Whole Food Vitamin D has been on sale for some years in the supplements arena, but now that it has made it through the Food Additive Petition process, it’s covered in 18 different F&B categories. These include five that have never been covered in any CFR rule on Vitamin D – vegetable snacks, soups, fruit smoothies, vegetable juices and plant-based meats, all of which are great because Earthlight is a plant-based source of vitamin D and has great clean label potential,” Devin Stagg, Chief Operating Officer at PLT Health Solutions tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

The FDA positively assessed the safety of the company’s mushroom-based ingredient for use as a nutrient supplement for food in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 172.382. PLT Health Solutions is highlighting the non-GMO, plant-based, organic and whole food ingredient at the Institute of Food Technologists’ (IFT) online event, SHIFT20. This comes amid an increased interest in vitamin D for its potential to boost immunity, as well as its many other acclaimed benefits from improving mental health to lowering the risk for breast cancer.

Earthlight is now permitted in F&B not traditionally fortified with vitamin D in the US.“The Food Additive Petition process took over three years and a pretty substantial investment. The ingredient has sold well in the supplements area, but we think food and beverages is where the real action will be,” adds Stagg. 

While vitamin D is frequently used to supplement a healthy diet, D3 is often made from non-vegan sources. Vitamin supplementation may be especially relevant for the vegan market, with consumers seeking fortified foods and beverages to fill potential gaps in their nutrition. Reaching the vegan market makes approval for Earthlight in the plant-based, meat alternative space particularly relevant. 

The vegan consumer market and lifestyle are growing trends. New launches with vegan claims have seen a substantial rise and are becoming mainstream. Innova Market Insights notes a 23 percent annual growth of F&B launches tracked with vegan claims (Global, 2015-2019). 

“FDA approval of Earthlight is timely considering rapidly growing interest in Vitamin D supplementation. Adequate levels of vitamin D have always been important, but today, people are more tuned into D than ever,” says Stagg.

Vitamin D has been in the spotlight for its possible links to improving outcomes in COVID-19 patients, especially in the more vulnerable groups, with researchers calling on supplementation of the sunshine vitamin. 

“Earthlight is the right ingredient at the right time for F&B producers in the US. It supports virtually every major industry market trend and can really help product developers differentiate their offerings if they choose to fortify with vitamin D,” he adds.   

Sun-soaked mushrooms
Earthlight is produced from mushrooms via a patented process (US Patent #8,545,915), by exposing these mushrooms to light. Much like the human body, mushrooms produce vitamin D when exposed to UV light. 

As a whole food ingredient that is minimally processed without any extract solvents, Earthlight offers consumer-friendly labeling, such as “mushroom powder” or “mushroom powder vitamin D.” This non-GMO ingredient delivers 1,000 micrograms (40,000 IU) of Vitamin D per gram of ingredient, notes PLT Health Solutions. 

“Earthlight’s high concentration of Vitamin D means low use levels and excellent economics. Low use levels mean that it won’t affect the organoleptics of a food or beverage product,” notes PLT Health’s spokesperson. Earthlight is available in both conventional and organic grades.

According to Dr. Barbara Davis, Head of Clinical & Regulatory Sciences for PLT, FDA approval of Earthlight is the culmination of years of work on the safety of the ingredient. “We’re pleased that the FDA found our safety information acceptable and despite the hard work required, we are fully supportive of the Food Additives Petition process,” she says. 

Last month, FoodIngredientsFirst’s sister platform NutritionInsight spoke with Steven Fink in a video interview about Earthlight.

By Missy Green