Ajinomoto gains UK FSA approval for use of DHC in dietary food supplements and powdered drinks

Ajinomoto has announced that the Food Standards Agency has granted marketing authorisation to dihydrocapsiate (DHC) as a novel food ingredient for use in dietary food supplements and powdered beverages.

This will be recorded officially in the list of the European Commission.

This allows for the expanded use of DHC in the 28 member countries of the European Union (EU), in addition to its use as a food and beverage ingredient, for which it secured authorisation in November 2012.

Regulation (EC) No 258/97, which was introduced in 1997, requires firms to seek authorisation in order to distribute novel food ingredients within the EU.

Novel food ingredients are those which have not been significantly consumed in Europe before May 1997.

Authorisation is granted by the European Commission only after a thorough evaluation and screening for any harmful impact on human health, based on scientific data and safety information by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Found naturally in chili peppers, DHC is a member of the capsinoid family of compounds, and is responsible for the sensation of hotness in chili peppers, even though they do not taste hot. Its heat is only one-thousandth that of capsaicin.

Studies have indicated that DHC can play an important role in tackling obesity.

Ajinomoto has used its enzyme technology for stable production and supply of DHC.

DHC had secured NDI status in 2007, and GRAS status in 2009 in the US. It also secured authorisation from the EU Commission as a novel food ingredient for use in foods and beverages in 2012.

It was approved as a novel food ingredient in Mexico in July 2015.