GRAS status for Indena’s olive fruit extract
Indena has announced that its olive fruit extract Opextan has obtained GRAS (Generally Recognised As Safe) status for use as a food ingredient in a number of food categories, including bakery products, beverages and beverage bases, chewing gums, coffee and tea, frozen dairy desserts and mixes, milk products, processed fruits and fruit juices, and processed vegetables and vegetable fruits, at levels up to 1,062 mg per person per day.
Opextan is a non-caloric standardised olive extract from the olive pulp of a specific Italian variety.
“It’s characterised by a bouquet of olive polyphenols and verbascoside, which has been shown to be the most potent antioxidant from the olive tree,” says an Indena spokesman. “Strong evidence in support of the safety of Opextan derives from the long history of safe consumption of olives and olive oil as a human food.”
