Wednesday 8 February 2012
A Japanese company has applied to the Food Standards Agency for approval to market a strain of the bacterium Clostridium butyricum as a novel food ingredient for use in food supplements. Views are wanted on this application.
The company, Miyarisan Pharmaceutical Co., plans to market Clostridium butyricum (strain CBM 588) as a probiotic food supplement to support, maintain or restore healthy gut flora physiology and/or function. The bacterium would be produced as spores in tablet form.
These types of bacteria are found in human and animal gut as part of the normal microflora.
The applicant has marketed preparations of this strain for use as a probiotic in Japan and other Asian countries for several decades and is now intending to market these supplements in the European Union (EU). The strain has also received EU approval as a microbial feed additive for chickens and piglets.
About novel food
A novel food is a food or food ingredient that does not have a significant history of consumption within the European Union before 15 May 1997.
Before any new food product can be introduced on the European market, it must be assessed rigorously for safety. In the UK, the assessment of novel food is carried out by the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP).
Deadline for comments
Any comments on this application should be sent to the ACNFP Secretariat at by Wednesday 29 February 2012. The comments will be considered by the committee during its assessment of this novel food ingredient.