Health Canada Grants Fruit d’Or Cranberry Seed Oils Natural Product Number

Photo © iStockphoto.com/Anna Khomulo

Health Canada has granted Fruit d’Or Nutraceuticals’ (Villeroy, QC, Canada) Cran Naturelle and Cran d’Or cranberry seed oils a Natural Product Number (NPN) along with the following claims: “A source of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids for the maintenance of good health. Source of antioxidants. Source of oleic acid.” The NPN enables Fruit d’Or’s cranberry seed oils to be used in a wide variety of products, including dressings and oil blends, chocolate blends, and cosmeceuticals, among other formulations.

The cranberry seed oils, which are said to be rich in antioxidants thanks to a high level of vitamin E tocopherols, have a three-year shelf life, making them ideal for use in a wide range of formulations. The company says the fact that its cranberry seed oils are farm-to-table and cold-pressed-extracted without chemicals also makes them a good fit for artisanal and cosmeceutical products, specifically.

The company notes that demand for Fruit d’Or cranberry seed oil in skincare and anti-aging products is on the rise, due to its unsaturated fats and moisturizing properties. “Essential fatty acids are nourishing, protective, aid in the formation and maintenance of cellular membranes, and are essential to the formation of prostaglandins to reduce inflammation,” says Stephen Lukawski, director of global sales and product development, Fruit d’Or. Cranberry seed oils bring “stabilizing, emulsifying, and penetrating actions to enhance the fatty acids and other components within its health product composition.” The oils are also rich in unsaturated oils and have high oxidative stability, with a pleasant odor and texture. The omega-3 and omega-6 ratio is “ideal,” the company says, and “may protect reestablish the protective lipid barrier of the skin” in moisturizing products.

“By using a cold-pressed extraction method with no excipients, the multitude of beneficial compounds and biological activities housed within Fruit d’Or cranberry seed oil are retained,” Lukawski says. “The bioavailability of these ingredients in skincare applications may enhance the regeneration, healing, protection, and ultimately the beautification of the skin.”

The Canada NPN also opens the door for new supplement formulations, the firm says, and the cranberry seed oils can be combined with vitamins, chia, and other ingredients. Each tablespoon of Fruit d’Or’s cranberry seed oil contains 34.8% ALA, 36.6% LA and 19.9% oleic acid.

Of the new NPN, Lukawski says: “This is a major breakthrough for culinary applications. Fruit d’Or is the first to extract the oil from the cranberry seed and earn this health claim of taking one tablespoon daily, or as directed by a healthcare practitioner, for the maintenance of good health. And because Health Canada has recognized that our cranberry seed oil is safe for consumption, it does not have to be GRAS-approved.”

Lukawski adds that Fruit d’Or is currently working with cosmetic companies to combine the oils with vitamins, chia, and other “trending ingredients.” “We are welcoming all researchers and formulators to embrace cranberry seed oil by putting this superstar ingredient into their dietary supplements, blending it with vitamin D and other fatty oils such as CoQ10, selling it on its own, using it for skincare products, or to complement other dietary oils such as those found in fish oil,” he says.

Fruit d’Or says it is also working to explore any potential prostate-health benefits of cranberry seed oil’s beta-sitosterol constituent. Beta-sitosterol has previously been linked to prostate health, it says.&

The NPN is 80079040.

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