New supplier of non-GMO natural vitamin E, sterols
non-GMO certification for a range of soy-based products that will
meet demand for non-GM health ingredients in Europe, writes
Dominique Patton.
European regulations that require genetically modified ingredients to be labelled have had a significant impact on the health foods industry that sources a large number of its raw materials from soya.
Traditional sources of the crop are increasingly difficult to procure, yet many European retailers, particularly in markets like the UK, refuse to stock GM-labelled products.
New supplies of non-GM certified vitamin E and phytosterols, both ingredients seeing good growth in the supplement and functional foods market, will see strong interest from European companies.
SourceOne's products have been produced by the Beijing Gingko Group, a leading prdoucer of plant-based ingredients and top natural medicine manufacturer in China, in a new facility designed to meet GMP standards. The range has been certified non-GMO by the GeneScan identity preservation programme.
Jesse Lopez, president and CEO of SourceOne, said it has had ongoing discussions with European partners including Capsugel, Cardinal Health, Solgar and Holland & Barrett to supply the market with non-GM products.
It expects the products to reach Europe in the coming months, under its first contracts for the region.
"We are confident that we will be a leading supplier of non-GM ingredients. We are one of the few suppliers of non-GM soy-based sterols," he told NutraIngredients.com.
"Our prices are competitive with other suppliers of non-GMO vitamin E [between €40-50 per kg] but we have a larger number of products," he added.
ADM, the leading supplier of natural vitamin E, said last year that it would introduce a new supply of non-GM vitamin onto the market in the first half of 2005. Spanish company BTSA Biotecnologias Aplicados is also supplying non-GM certified natural vitamin E.
But SourceOne says it can offer different types of vitamin E for supplement makers looking at providing a complete vitamin E product.
Marketed under the Ginnovay brand, its range includes SterolSource 95 per cent phytosterols, GammaSource 70 per cent mixed tocopherols, TocoSource 70 per cent palm tocotrienol oil, TocoSource 30 per cent palm tocotrienol powder, TocoSource 70 per cent rice tocotrienol oil and TocoSource 30 per cent rice tocotrienol powder.
"Other suppliers have focused on alpha-tocopherol but we're also able to provide palm tocotrienol, rice tocotrienol, aand gamma tocopherols," said Lopez.
"In the US we've seen decreasing demand for a straight alpha-tocopherol product and rising interest in a combination product. There will be growing demand for a more complete product in the European market too," he predicted.
