News about GRAS
The other day (a long time ago), I introduced an article on GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) by the Japan Cellular Agriculture Association, which I thought was very easy to understand,
Summary of food tech laws and regulations
A while back, there was an article about a company just developing a next-generation stevia sweetener that has received its GRAS certification, so I would like to share a little bit about that today.
Sweegen, an American company developing next-generation stevia sweeteners, has secured FEMA GRAS (Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association General Recognized as Safe) certification for its super-sweetening protein Brazzein, produced through precision fermentation.
Sweegen claims that this is a milestone that paves the way for wider industry adoption in sugar reduction projects, according to the company.
Brazzein is 500 to 2,000 times sweeter than sugar and thus has an attractive flavor modifying effect. The raw material is a very sweet protein found in trace amounts in the fruit of a vine shrub called oubli, which is very expensive to extract, so companies are competing to produce it more efficiently through fermentation technology from genetically engineered microorganisms.
I myself have quite a sweet tooth, so it is not too convenient for me to think about it, but if the day comes when I can enjoy sweet foods without worrying about blood sugar levels, I would like to support the development of this kind of technology a little.
