Manitoba Starch Products has secured a Master File acceptance for its resistant potato starch, Solnul.
The functional food can now be considered a prebiotic ingredient.
Health Canada's decision comes off the back of a clinical trial run by the company, finding that a 3.5g dose of Solnul can produce a prebiotic effect.
According to Manitoba Starch Products, Solnul is the first low-dose resistant starch with a prebiotic function on the market.
The approval from Health Canada will allow the company to roll out a single formulation across multiple countries with similar claims.
Manitoba Starch Products are now legally allowed to claim that the functional food can "stimulate the growth of health bacteria in the intestine/gut", so this claim can be used in any future marketing schemes in the region.
Manitoba Starch Products' Chief Growth Officer, Jason Leibert, commented: "This is a big win for resistant starch and for Canada. Getting Health Canada's approval is not just a great business achievement; it's also really meaningful to us. We can now directly support the health and wellbeing of Canadians while working toward our goal of bringing resistant starch back into modern diets,"
"We're really excited for Canada to tap into the momentum that's been growing around Solnul over the past few years in places like Australia and the US"
The company hopes that Health Canada's acknowledgement of Solnul's prebiotic potential will allow for the expansion of the functional food, solidifying its presence in the global market.
