GRAS Status for Sabinsa’s Curcumin
Curcumin C3 Complex is reportedly the first curcumin ingredient with FDA GRAS status.
Sabinsa Corp. (East Windsor, NJ) has secured GRAS status for its specialty curcumin ingredient, Curcumin C3 Complex. The company says its ingredient is now the only curcumin with GRAS approval in the United States.
Curcumin is an active ingredient from the spice turmeric. While ingredient supplier’s sometimes piggyback off of individual GRAS approvals, Sabinsa says its patent protection on Curcumin C3 Complex means the GRAS status is theirs only. “This letter apples to only Sabinsa’s product, the way it is manufactured, and for its specifications, and others cannot copy it,” says Sabinsa vice president of science and technology Reza Kamarei, PhD. “If others need to claim their product is FDA-affirmed GRAS, then they will need to submit GRAS notification to FDA.”
FDA’s “No Comment” response now paves the way for food and beverage use with the curcumin ingredient. Sabinsa suggests snack foods, soups, seasonings, and imitation dairy products as potential new applications.
