Canandaigua subsidiary Polyphenolics has expanded the GRAS affirmation for its MegaNatural Gold grape seed extract and MegaNatural Gold pomace extract to include food items, significantly expanding its use in functional foods.
The extracts previously had GRAS status (generally recognised as safe) for use in fruit juices, fruit flavored beverages, fruit flavored beverage mixes, and carbonated fruit flavored beverages. They can now be added to food items such as hot and cold ready-to-eat breakfast cereal, meal replacement, snack bars, yogurt, and frozen dairy desserts and mixes.
"This is a giant step toward expanding the availability of these two products beyond the realm of nutraceuticals and beverages to now include functional food application," said Anil Shrikhande, president of Polyphenolics.
Polyphenolics' extracts are produced from unfermented grapes, using a patented, solvent-free, water extraction process. The MegaNatural range was the first grape seed extract to gain GRAS from the FDA. GRAS allows an ingredient access to the rapidly expanding functional food market, rather than being limited to use in supplements.