ChitoClear achieves GRAS status; Primex poised to enter American food market
Speaking at 'Supply Side East,' the largest exhibition of ingredients and services which opened today in Secaucus, N.J., Primex Sales Manager Thore Ivar Thorsen said, ``Achieving GRAS status for ChitoClear distinguishes Primex from the rest of the chitosan industry, and is based specifically on Primex's use of North Atlantic (Pandalus borealis) shrimp shells and a unique processing technology which produces a product with purity specifications that are unmatched in the market today. It took us two years to compile the necessary scientific documentation and safety studies before an international panel of experts concluded to the FDA that ChitoClear was GRAS. We are very proud of this distinction.''
Thorsen said chitosan has numerous scientifically backed benefits as both a food ingredient and a dietary supplement, including blood pressure, cholesterol, and calorie-reducing abilities. ``U.S. manufacturers, especially those in the cereal and snack food industries, have shown great interest in including ChitoClear in products such as potato chips, biscuits, noodles, energy bars and breakfast foods.''
Primex chose to pursue the rigorous GRAS undertaking to supply both manufacturers and consumers with the highest quality assurances. ``Our company has prided itself on producing the purest form of chitosan in the world. When we noticed how many other chitosan manufacturers were falling far short on purity standards, we knew we had to differentiate ourselves from the rest of the industry,'' Thorsen said.
``The confirmed purity status of our ChitoClear allows us to offer manufacturers a 'ChitoClear Inside' label on their packaging as a way of notifying their customers that only the highest quality chitosan is being used in what they are consuming,'' he added.
``Chitosan is a natural product that will truly have a positive impact on the health of the American consumer, and we are pleased that ChitoClear is being heralded as the purest form of this ingredient,'' Thorsen concluded.
In other countries, chitosan's importance is also taking it beyond the dietary supplement field and into the snack food industry, with the Japanese market successfully including chitosan in products such as potato chips to reduce the amount of calories consumed.
Other applications for chitosan in the food industry include its use as a natural preservative in items such as raw fish and meats; as a clarifying solution and odor remover in drinking liquids such as cola, apple juice and beer; and as a protective film for fruits and vegetables.
The entire production process for ChitoClear is conducted according to Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point requirement standards. A tracking and recall program enables the firm to trace every product down to the specific time and vessel that it originated from. Primex, the world's leading producer of premium food grade chitosan since 1996, is exhibiting ChitoClear at the Supply Side East show with their distributor Orcas International, May 7-9 in Secaucus, N.J., and is located at booth numbers 1742 and 1744.
Source: Primex Ingredients ASA