China FDA Grants TSI Group Exclusive Approval to Manufacture Sports Ingredient HMB

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China’s Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) has granted ingredient supplier TSI Group (Missoula, MT) an exclusive license to produce the ingredient beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) for use in food products in China. The company says it is the first and only one to have this approval for HMB in China. In addition, China’s FDA also recently granted TSI Group expanded Novel Foods approval in categories including beverages, candies, and baked goods, adding to existing approvals for sports nutrition and foods for special medical purposes (medical food) markets.

The company says that the approvals make it the market leader as well as “the only HMB manufacturer in China authorized to both produce and sell HMB ingredients domestically to the Chinese food and functional foods markets.” In the press release, the company also noted that China “is a key market for TSI’s global muscle health growth strategy where TSI’s mission is to deliver muscle health benefits that enhance and maintain consumers’ healthy and active lifestyles.”

Larry Kolb, president, TSI Group, said of the approval: “These recent regulatory approvals are significant milestones for all of us at TSI. The door is now wide open for us to deliver TSI’s world-class HMB products to one of the fastest growing markets in the world-China. We know HMB can make a difference in people’s daily lives and are excited for the opportunity to positively impact muscle health for millions of Chinese consumers-from athletes of all kinds to aging adults.”

TSI says that its HMB is used widely in sports nutrition supplements across the globe. The purported benefits of HMB supplementation include increases in muscle strength, lean body mass, and recovery, and reductions in muscle damage association with exercise. In addition, it says, HMB is a growing ingredient in nutritional foods aimed at adult nutrition, with potential benefits for age-related muscle loss.