FrieslandCampina Ingredients announces Chinese MARA approval and self-affirmation of GRAS for LNT ingredient

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FrieslandCampina Ingredients has announced that its product strain of Lacto-N-Tetraose (LNT) has received approval from the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA). According to the company’s press release, the ingredient will now move to the final stage of the approval process, opening the door for its human milk oligosaccharide (HMO) ingredients to enter the Chinese market. Prior to this, FrieslandCampina’s Aequival 2’-fucosyllactose (2’-FL) ingredient received MARA approval in October of 2023. Once these ingredients receive “final nutrition fortifier” approval, FrieslandCampina says it will be the only company to provide both HMO and galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) in China.

The company has also announced the self-affirmed GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status of its Aequival LNT in the United States. “This news marks a significant milestone for us as a company and for the early life nutrition sector in China and the US,” says Cindy Zhao, general manager of FrieslandCampina Ingredients China, in a press release. “Both the MARA and self-affirmed GRAS approvals of the production strain of our LNT brings us one step closer to meeting consumers’ increasing demand for premium, gut-supporting infant milk formulas that provide benefits for babies when breastfeeding isn’t an option.”