Sabinsa boosts ingredient transparency with wave of Non-GMO Project Verifications

29 Jul 2020 --- Sabinsa has gained Non-GMO Project Verified status for eleven of its key ingredients. The company sees this added-value move as an extension of its commitment to transparency and natural, environmentally sustainable ingredients. “The credibility the Non-GMO Project Verified seal brings is an important addition to demonstrating Sabinsa’s integrity,” affirms Sabinsa President Shaheen Majeed.

“We are sure that our customers will appreciate this certification, though some may not understand it right away because it’s not a space or topic for their consumers just yet. However, we feel that as a leading supplier of herbal raw materials, we want others, [including] our competitors, to step up in [terms of] supplying better quality materials. We don’t mind fair competition, but our high quality ingredients versus a dirt cheap product? – no thank you,” Majeed tells NutritionInsight.

The ingredients that have received Non-GMO Project Verified certification are:

• BioPerine Black Pepper (Piper nigrum) Extract.

• Boswellin Super Boswellia (Boswellia serrata) Extract.

• Curcumin C3 Complex Turmeric (Curcuma longa) Extract.

• Cococin Coconut (Cocos nucifera) Water Solids.

• DigeZyme proprietary, versatile multi-enzyme complex.

• Livinol Kokum (Garcinia indica) Extract.

• Saberry Amla (Emblica officinalis) Extract.

• Shagandha Root Extract 2.5 Percent USP (Withania somnifera).

• LactoSpore Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856 Probiotic in three grades: 6B, 15B and 100B.

“This was an exercise in analyzing, inspecting, and documenting to precisely answer each and every question the verification program asked of us.”In terms of the latter three ingredients under the LactoSpore brand, Majeed sees the Non-GMO verification as being able to contribute to its safety image alongside the already well-established GRAS affirmed status for consumers. 

Eleven-fold verification application
Receiving approval for verification of the 11 ingredients at once was “an exercise in analyzing, inspecting, and documenting,” continues Majeed. In Sabinsa’s case, it was facilitated given that the company is in complete control of their supply chain, he underscores. 

“Once we started, we knew we could achieve [the verification] for a plethora of different ingredients [from our] portfolio, which include, not only herbal raw materials, but probiotics and enzymes. We didn’t consider it risky because we had good documentation to begin with. We’ve been supplying these ingredients for [more than 25] years.”

Majeed further adds that although the Non-GMO Project Verified program “does not talk about this,” their program can bring out how well built a supply chain is. Upon Sabinsa’s ingredients’ approval, Hans Eisenbeis, Director of Marketing and Communications at the Non-GMO Verification Project commented: “The Non-GMO Project applauds Sabinsa’s commitment to transparency in the marketplace, providing consumers with the Non-GMO choices. With numerous Verified products available, Sabinsa is a valuable part of our Non-GMO future.”

Ultimately, Majeed states his company doesn’t care for “too many certifications, just the proper ones.” 

“[Non-GMO Verification] is certainly one of them. Since regulatory bodies across the world view GMOs in different ways, credentials such as this puts the power back in the consumers' hands,” he concludes.

By Anni Schleicher