Products from Mineral Resources International, Inc. Achieve GRAS Status

22/02/08 Mineral Resources International, Inc. (MRI), a dietary supplement manufacturer and ingredient supplier, announced that it has received the valued GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) designation for the full range of products MRI manufactures from the Great Salt Lake with final evaluation issued by a panel of highly qualified toxicologists who reviewed MRI’s documentation. MRI is the only company to achieve GRAS status for naturally harvested mineral products originating from the Great Salt Lake in Utah. This designation applies to a broad range of both finished products and mineral ingredients manufactured and sold by Mineral Resources International, Inc.

In determining MRI’s request, a panel of scientific experts convened to review scientific, safety, and product-specific data relating to MRI’s natural mineral concentrates naturally concentrated and harvested from the northwest arm of the Great Salt Lake. The panel unanimously confirmed that MRI’s products could be self-affirmed as GRAS. Part of achieving and maintaining GRAS status includes setting and complying with specific high standards of quality.

“By obtaining GRAS status, not only does the assessment demonstrate the safety of our products, but it also opens other doors for our company,” said Bruce Anderson, president/CEO of MRI, Inc. “Dietary intake studies continue to show that many consumers don’t receive adequate amounts of essential minerals. With this new designation, food companies can easily fortify the nutritional content of their functional foods and beverages with the essential minerals consumers want to support cardiovascular health, brain function, bone health, and a number of other personal health and wellness concerns. Furthermore, by choosing MRI, these innovative companies are providing added quality and value for consumers using minerals that are all-natural, made without the use of chemical or synthetic additives, and are rigorously tested.”

GRAS is an assessment and designation set forth by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that applies to food ingredients and products making it legal for those materials to then be used in foods and beverages. The FDA has set very specific procedures for when, where, and how products and ingredients may be recognized as GRAS.

MRI’s natural mineral concentrates—harvested from the northwest arm of the Great Salt Lake by Northshore Ltd.; manufactured by MRI, Inc.—are GRAS with no limitations as to how they can be used in foods and beverages other than Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs).

MRI’s ionic mineral ingredients can be used to fortify foods and beverages, enhance the nutritional profile of foods and beverages, and act as flavor enhancers in foods and beverages.