Sweegen has cleared a major regulatory milestone for its newest sweet protein.

The California-based sweetener innovator announced that its Ultratia Brazzein has received the GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) No Questions Letter from the US Food and Drug Administration, clearing the way for broader use in food and beverage products. The announcement was dated 25 June 2026.

A rare protein, made scalable

Brazzein is a rare, sweet protein originally derived from the fruit of the West African climbing plant, oubli, prized for its high sweetness intensity, clean taste profile, and potential to support sugar reduction.

The catch has always been supply: commercial-scale production has historically presented significant challenges. Sweegen says it’s solved that bottleneck by producing Ultratia Brazzein through a proprietary precision fermentation process designed to deliver a sustainable, scalable, clean, and high-purity sweet protein ingredient.

Playing well with others

Early customer response has centered on how the ingredient behaves in formulation. Chief commercial officer Shari Mahon noted that Sweegen’s product development teams have discovered remarkable synergies between Ultratia Brazzein and the company’s Signature Stevia systems.

That pairing potential comes down to biology: sweet proteins like Brazzein have an affinity for different taste receptors on the tongue, especially the receptor known as T1R3, which is associated with both umami and sweetness perception. Sweegen says Ultratia Brazzein enables product developers to reduce sugar while preserving the sweetness quality, flavor character, and overall taste experience consumers expect.

Building on precedent

This isn’t Sweegen’s first GRAS clearance. The FDA has previously granted Sweegen GRAS status for its other nature-based sweeteners, including Reb M and Reb D. Hadi Omrani, VP of technical and regulatory affairs, framed the Brazzein clearance as validation of the company’s broader sweet-protein strategy, calling the FDA GRAS No Questions status a testament to the safety of Brazzein as a high-intensity sweetener that customers can use to explore new low- and no-calorie sweetener systems.

With Brazzein added to a lineup that already includes Bestevia Rebs B, D, E, I, M, and N, and sweet protein thaumatin, Sweegen is positioning itself as a one-stop shop for formulators chasing sugar reduction without the flavour trade-offs that have dogged earlier-generation alternatives. Expect to see Brazzein-stevia blends surface in reformulation pitches soon.