Indena's Grape Seed Extracts Receive Kosher Certification

The kosher certification for Indena's grape seed extracts required extensive site inspections by Rabbi Akiva Padwa, Director of Certification, reviewing the entire process from harvest, through preparation of the seeds to the extraction of the polyphenols.

Nov 3 2011 --- Indena has received kosher certification from KLBD (also known as the Kashrut Division of the London Beth Din) for its Leucoselect and Enovita grape seed extract ingredients. Headquartered in Milan, Indena has worked extensively with KLBD in London for a number of years and has certified a number of its ingredients. The kosher certification for Indena's grape seed extracts required extensive site inspections by Rabbi Akiva Padwa, Director of Certification, reviewing the entire process from harvest, through preparation of the seeds to the extraction of the polyphenols.

Supplements containing grape seed extracts have long been available in the market and functional foods have been introduced in recent years. Grape seed extracts are a rich source of a complex mixture of polyphenols, containing a characteristic signature of catechins, procyanidins and proanthocyanidins. Indena’s grape seed extracts have been shown to provide more antioxidant power than vitamin C and E and proved, among others activities, to be effective in improving antioxidant defences and counteracting the oxidative stress.

Russell Brown, KLBD Commercial Consultant, commented: “KLBD, as the largest kosher agency in Europe, is very pleased to have kosher certified Indena’s grape seed extracts. This is a culmination of several years’ hard work; a team effort between their production people and our rabbinical experts.”

Christian Artaria, Marketing Director & Head of Functional Food Development for Indena said: “We were delighted to go through the auditing process because KLBD is recognised by our customers as an international kosher agency. Certification is opening up markets and helping to make business easier.”

Indena has been working on grape seed extract since the early seventies. Along the years our company has strived for quality and today its standardized extracts are considered the reference for the market. Leucoselect and Enovita are well-defined grape seed extracts thoroughly characterized by HPLC-UV, GPC and HPLC-TSP-MS.

Leucoselect is enriched in lower procyanidin oligomers (OPCs), the only bioavailable procyanidins, and is one of the most widely investigated grape seed extracts worldwide, capitalizing on Indena's 40 years experience in grape seed extract production. Enovita is a food-grade grape seed procyanidin extract less rich in lower procyanidin oligomers compared to Leucoselect, and specifically designed for the food market.