OmniActive Health Technologies has received generally recognised as safe (GRAS) status for its high-potency ginger extract, Gingever.
The extract is designed to help support digestive and immune health at a low dose. Obtaining GRAS status allows the ingredient to be used in food and beverage product applications.
“For an ingredient to be considered GRAS, scientific data and information about the intended use of the substance must be widely known, and there must be a consensus among scientific experts that the data and information established is safe under the conditions of its intended use,” said Dr Deshanie Rai, VP, Global Scientific & Regulatory Affairs for OmniActive. “This includes toxicology studies as well as human safety data. Moreover, the extraction and processing of the substance is also critically reviewed as part of the rigorous GRAS evaluation process.”
The GRAS panel is made up of a group of subject matter experts qualified by training and experience to evaluate the safety of food ingredients.
“Given the rigor of the review and the necessary documentation required for compiling a dossier, achieving GRAS status is a lengthy and resource-intensive process,” Dr. Rai explained. “Although ginger has a long history of safe use as part of our food supply, we went the extra mile to have the safety of our Gingever product, which is formulated using a supercritical CO2extraction method, verified by independent expert scientists.”
Gingever uses supercritical CO2 extraction technology to concentrate the active compounds found in ginger without the use of harsh solvents, the company says. This extraction process reportedly also provides a rich source of ginger’s polyphenols in a composition similar to the one found naturally in ginger root. Doses of 20 mg to 250 mg of the extract deliver a clinically relevant dose of the active compounds in ginger.