InterHealth's UC-II Receives GRAS Status

GRAS status for food and beverages opens the door for UC-II to be included in a wide array of products, such as ready-to-drink beverages, dairy products, cereals and snacks.

5 Nov 2009 --- UC-II, InterHealth’s natural collagen concentrate containing undenatured type II collagen for joint health, has been determined GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) for use in both food and beverages.

Extensive research has shown UC-II to be both safe and effective in supporting joint health. Researchers from UC Davis School of Medicine, University of Houston College of Pharmacy and University of Connecticut have shown that people who use UC-II experience significant decrease in joint pain, stiffness and immobility more than twice as much as people who use glucosamine + chondroitin.
 
Documentation for a UC-II GRAS determination was assembled by the Burdock Group, the nation’s leading safety and regulatory compliance consulting specialists who evaluate the safety of food and beverage ingredients. “The safety information on UC-II was persuasive,” stated Dr. George Burdock, president of the Burdock Group. “This information, along with other data reviewed, provided the substantiation needed to confidently make the GRAS determination.” The process involved an intensive review of all safety and toxicology data by a panel of renowned United States scientific experts.
 
This assessment was focused on UC-II’s unique undenatured type II collagen complex and would be difficult to apply to denatured or hydrolyzed type II collagen ingredients. In addition to its GRAS status, UC-II’s extensive safety profile was recently presented at both the 2009 American College of Nutrition and the International Society for Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods annual conferences.
 
GRAS status for food and beverages opens the door for UC-II to be included in a wide array of products, such as ready-to-drink beverages, dairy products, cereals and snacks. “Spurred by functional food and beverage category growth, InterHealth started developing a food and beverage friendly form of UC-II. In early 2009, a fine powder form of UC-II was developed for use in food and beverages that would have no or insignificant impact on the sensory or organoleptics of a finished product,” stated InterHealth CEO Paul Dijkstra. “Further, short-term and post-processing tests demonstrate UC-II’s stability during various pasteurization and aseptic processing conditions.” Given that the recommended daily amount is 40 mg a day, manufacturers and consumers can be assured that an effective amount of UC-II can be included in food and beverage products to assure efficacy.
 
“Joint health continues to be an important category for consumers looking for new ingredients that are more effective than existing products,” added Dijkstra. “Joint-care ingredients that are backed by research should be extremely successful as consumers are increasingly concerned about efficacy and safety of the ingredients in their food, beverages and dietary supplements.”
 
UC-II is a value-added dietary ingredient available to manufacturers for inclusion in a full array of functional food and beverage products and dietary supplements. “UC-II has been included in a number of finished joint-health supplement products, including many in the United States, Europe and Asia. The door is now open for United States and international food and beverage companies to begin formulating with UC-II and bring safe and effective joint health products to market,” stated Dijkstra.