The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (U.S.P.), Rockville, Md., recently proposed new monographs to be included in its Food Chemicals Codex (F.C.C.), First Supplement to the Ninth Edition.

“The food ingredients industry is constantly evolving,” said Gabriel Giancaspro, vice-president for food ingredients, dietary supplements and herbal medicines at U.S.P. “U.S.P. proposes new ingredient monographs and methods in an effort to provide valuable resources to our stakeholders. U.S.P. is seeking comments on these proposals from all stakeholders in the food supply chain. The comments we receive to proposed standards in F.C.C. Forum are invaluable to guide our work for the F.C.C. Our ultimate goal is to offer consumers products they can trust, and manufacturers and regulators are an integral part of that process.”

GanedenBC30 (Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086), from Ganeden Biotech, Mayfield Heights, Ohio, became the first probiotic to receive an F.C.C. monograph for a probiotic type of microbial food culture. It is a Gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium, classified as probiotic for its purported support to good digestive and immune health. It may be used in a variety of foods, including baked foods and baking mixes, breakfast cereals, coffee and tea, dairy products, grain products and pastas, among others. Because of the characteristics of food ingredients comprised of live microorganisms, the proposed monograph is specific to the strain level and represents only food ingredients that are labeled as this specific strain of Bacillus coagulans.

For more information, visit www.ganedenbiotech.com.