Pressured by the demand to find new ways to produce more at lower costs, the food industry is constantly plagued by the threat of adulterated food products fraudulently sold for the sake of economic gain, according to Dr. Markus Lipp, director, food standards, U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP), and publisher of the Food Chemicals Codex (FCC). There has also been an increased demand from manufacturers for ingredients derived from natural (e.g., plant or animal) sources instead of synthetic sources.
 
To that end, the USP has issued a call for input regarding a new method for determining the bio-based content of food ingredients. The method, which also has application in counterfeit detection, was included as an appendix in the FCC and is currently published in the latest edition of the FCC Forum, a free-access vehicle through which the USP accepts comments on proposed standards.
 
The new FCC method for bio-based contents is a way to determine the amount of a food ingredient that is derived from renewable carbon sources, such as plant- or animal-based, versus other raw materials commonly used to produce food additives, such as petroleum wax and mineral oil. The method uses carbon isotope signatures, which is the most accurate way to make such quantitative determinations.
 
Results obtained from this new FCC method would allow stakeholders to verify the labeled percentage of a food ingredient that is bio-based—something not commonly done currently, but useful to companies seeking to instill confidence in consumers that may be skeptical of such claims.
 
In addition to the aforementioned application, the technique can also be used for counterfeit detection. For example, the new FCC method would be able to detect the addition of even small amounts of synthetically produced vanilla to natural vanilla extract—something that other anti-counterfeiting methods are not sensitive enough to do.
 
Dr. Lipp said USP intends to expand the FCC appendix on authenticity methods in the future to include additional procedures for detecting counterfeit food ingredients and is encouraging industry to submit useful methods for consideration. 
 
“Today’s informed consumer wants a food product with health-promoting effects without damage to her wallet, while also making sure that the environmental impact associated with that product is minimized (i.e., that it is sustainable),” Dr. Lipp told Nutraceuticals World. “Further, there is a growing perception that safety and efficacy are tied to the origin of an ingredient. That is, the consumer is interested in knowing if a product is ‘synthetic’ or ‘natural’—with the latter deemed as ‘better.’”
 
He went on to say that the newly proposed method for determining biologically-based (natural) content provides buyers and sellers with a new resource previously unavailable in FCC. “The method is useful in substantiating a claim that a material is bio-based, a claim that is otherwise difficult for buyers to verify or for sellers to demonstrate,” he said. “The proposed method fits the overall model of FCC by providing quality standards for authenticity, quality and purity. It also gives all parties in the supply chain a suitable method to verify the quality of an ingredient as well as reference materials to demonstrate that appropriate methods have been applied to test a food ingredient. USP believes that adding new methods to FCC such as the one proposed is another step towards making food and dietary supplements safer.”
 
USP has invited all food manufacturers and other interested parties are encouraged to provide feedback on the latest proposed standards available on the FCC Forum website before they become effective during a 90-day comment period, which closes March 31, 2011.
 
New Ingredient Standards
 
In addition to the new FCC method, another highlight of the latest FCC Forum included proposed standards for a variety of ingredients.
 
First up is arachidonic acid (ARA), an infant formula component. Derived from fungal (Mortierella alpina) oil, ARA is a source of omega 6 fatty acids, and is an ingredient approved for use in infant formulas. In the same infant formula vein, there was a standard proposed for Ferrous Ammonium Phosphate, a source of iron used in infant formulas and other foods.
 
The second proposed standard focused on monk fruit. Though it might not be found in the average American fruit bowl, monk fruit extract is a plant-based natural sweetener widely used in China and more recently in the U.S. as a flavor enhancer in a variety of food products as well as a table-top sweetener. USP maintains that monk fruit extract is an ingredient of growing industry interest, especially in the “health food” category.  
 
A third proposed standard is for krill oil. Used in products including beverages, cereals, cheeses, fruit juices and milk products, krill oil is a source of omega 3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) and has become a popular alternative to fish oil because it purportedly contains fewer heavy metals and it lacks a fishy aftertaste. USP said krill oil is considered a functional as well as a sustainable food ingredient, and also contains astaxanthin, an antioxidant.
 
The International Ingredient category included proposed standards for two cyclamates (non-caloric sweeteners) approved for use in foods and beverages around the world, but not in the U.S.
 
Other proposed new standards in FCC Forum included yeast beta-glucan, an ingredient with prebiotic properties, and L-theanine, used as a dietary supplement and food ingredient in fruit juices, sports drinks, teas and other beverages and foods—both of which are marketed as enhancing human health ingredients and considered functional foods in the U.S.
 
“Following its mission of protecting public health, USP aims to provide quality standards through FCC for food ingredients of interest to consumers,” concluded Dr. Lipp. “As people continue to be inundated with more and more information about the foods they eat, USP believes that providing standards such as those proposed in FCC increases the consumer’s ability to make educated choices about food ingredients while also boosting consumer confidence. Additionally, by proposing quality standards for food ingredients that are of interest to consumers, FCC continues to expand its offerings of methods and tools to help the food industry deliver products being demanded by consumers.”