Lallemand Receives EU Marketing Authorization for VitaD Bakers Yeast

3 Jul 2014 --- Lallemand has announced that following EFSA’s earlier positive recommendation, the European Commission has now granted marketing authorization for VitaD baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), which means manufacturers can now add health claims to their packaging when they use this product.

VitaD Baker’s Yeast has no impact on taste or baking activities, according to Lallemand. “It has the same high raising power as always and the same easy and convenient use as normal baker’s yeast usage,” the company’s director of marketing, Cilla Ingman, told FoodIngredientsFirst. “Lallemand VitaD baker’s yeast is the only vitamin D baker’s yeast in the market.”

The major source of vitamin D is exposure to sunlight. But now, more than ever before, world populations are living indoor lifestyles and increasingly uses sunscreens when outside. Therefore, it is becoming more important to acquire vitamin D through dietary sources. But there are only a few natural food sources of vitamin D, which explains why at least one third of the world’s population is deficient in vitamin D.

Bread and other yeast-leavened bakery products can now become new daily sources of vitamin D for European consumers when baked with Lallemand’s VitaD baker’s yeast, a natural and vegetarian source of vitamin D. 

“By using VitD Bakers yeast bakers can add health claims to the packaging,” Ingman explained. “EFSA has approved several health claims for vitamin D: ‘Vitamin D contributes to the maintenance of normal bones and teeth’, ‘it contributes to the normal function of the immune system and healthy inflammatory response’, ‘it contributes to the maintenance of normal muscle function’, ‘it contributes to normal absorption/ utilization of calcium and phosphorus and maintenance of normal blood calcium concentrations', ‘ it contributes to normal cell division’, ‘Calcium and vitamin D are needed for the maintenance of normal bones’. In order to bear the claims a food should at least be a “source of vitamin D”, which means at least the minimum 15% of RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of vitamin D in food is required.”
 
In Europe, EFSA estimates that a large percentage of the population does not meet the recommended daily allowances of 10μg/day. In 2012, the mean percentile intake of vitamin D from foods among young children varied from 1.7 to 5.6 μg/day, and from 1.6 to 4.0 μg/day in adolescents. For adults, estimates of vitamin D mean intake from foods varied from 1.1 to 8.2 μg/day.

EFSA has approved a number of health claims for vitamin D which are only granted to nutrients following a rigorous evaluation process. These health claims are related to the importance of vitamin D to the normal absorption of calcium and to the maintenance of healthy bones and teeth, but also include the recent discovery of the crucial importance of vitamin D to the function of the IMMUNE system.

According to an Angus Reid survey conducted in 2012 for Lallemand in nine countries across Europe, a large proportion of European consumers (84%) believe that vitamin D plays a great role in maintaining or improving their health. This survey also offers an interesting new peek into European consumers’ views on vitamin D:
• The most common health benefits European consumers’ associate with vitamin D are protection against osteoporosis and fracture risk (48%), followed by cardiovascular disease (20%) and influenza (20%).
• Food sources European consumers associated with Vitamin D: Cod liver oil (41%), followed by salmon (38%) and milk (34%).

Gert Steenkamp, President and General Manager of Lallemand Yeast Group (EMEA Division), said: “Since many Europeans are not meeting their needs for vitamin D and new dietary sources are needed, the European Commission’s approval now gives the baking industry a unique opportunity to offer a solution to enhance the healthy attributes of bread, benefiting from the growing consumer awareness of the importance of vitamin D to the maintenance of the immune system and bone health,  as recognized by EFSA”.

Lallemand baker’s yeasts rich in vitamin D is available in North America and South Africa and will soon also be available throughout Europe.