FSA News, 7 August 2002
The Food Standards Agency is considering a 'novel food' application by a food manufacturer to market 'milk and yogurt type' products with an ingredient that lowers cholesterol. The ingredient has already been cleared for use in Flora Pro-Active spreads and the application comes from the same manufacturer, Unilever.
Under the Agency's openness policy the novel food application dossier is made available for public comment. These comments are then considered by the independent expert Advisory Committee for Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) at its next meeting on 12 September 2002.
The 'milk type' products under consideration include skimmed, semi-skimmed and vegetable-based milk variants. The 'yogurt type' products include a range of natural and fruit-flavoured yogurts. Both would include phytosterol-esters. The cholesterol-lowering effect of phytoesterols has been demonstrated and is similar to that seen in 'Yellow Fat Spreads' containing this ingredient.
In line with the Agency's openness policy, all novel food applications are placed on the website for public comment. The first one appeared in June 2000, shortly after the Agency was set up.