Parabel USA has received a GRAS (generally recognised as safe) no objections letter from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its water lentil-based Lentein plant protein.
The Florida-based firm said that its protein-rich Lentein “solves supply issues for the food industry looking for healthy and sustainable alternatives to conventional ingredients”.
The high yielding water lentil, which is also known as duckweed, doubles its biomass in 24-36 hours and can be harvested every day.
The FDA also noted that Lentein could be considered as a colour additive in future applications, which requires Parabel to file a petition.
“Getting a no objections letter goes beyond our strict compliance to industry standards and reaffirms our company’s values of transparency and safety,” said Anthony Tiarks, Parabel CEO.
“Lentein imparts a vibrant green colour to the application and keeps its colour through different temperatures. Parabel wants to make sure that we are offering not just a highly nutritional product but also an ingredient that solves problems for our customers.”
Parabel’s existing facility produces 300 tons of Lentein per year and a second farm, due to open early 2019, will produce up to 3,000 additional tons when completed, to meet expanding global demand for plant protein.
Tiarks added: “Parabel has a global intellectual property portfolio of over 70 granted and pending patents, covering all aspects of production, from crop growth to end products.
“This focus on our IP, since 2011, has been to ensure that Parabel has global protection in the multiple sectors of our business. A new food ingredient is not only unusual and valuable, but it is a highly disruptive event in the food chain for the world.”
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