August 23/St. Louis, Mo./Company Press Release -- In the context of Regulation (EC) No. 258/97 and after an extensive scientific review, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (DNA) has determined that Stratum Nutrition's chitin-glucan novel food ingredient, branded ARTINIA, is considered safe as a food ingredient at the proposed conditions of use and intake levels. ARTINIA (listed as KiOnutrime-CG in the EFSA's scientific opinion) is a high-purity, natural, fungal ingredient that features the benefits of both soluble and insoluble fibers.  

As reviewed by the Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies, the novel food ingredient is intended to be marketed as a food supplement, in the form of a powder in different formats such as gelatin capsules or tablets, to increase the daily intake of fiber. The intended intake of chitin-glucan is 2-5g/day. At the highest dose administered in a 13-week rat study, i.e. equivalent to 6.6g/kg body weight per day in males, no adverse effects were observed.

ARTINIA is a chitin-glucan fiber, derived from the mycelium of non-genetically-modified strains of Aspergillus niger, a microorganism employed in the food and pharmaceutical industries for the production of citric acid, and contains 80% dietary fiber, primarily insoluble.  A 12-week animal and a 30-day human pilot study have been conducted concluding beneficial findings for arterial and overall hearth health. ARTINA supports clean, healthy arteries, the body's natural antioxidant systems, and has been shown to reduce the level of oxidized LDL. ARTINIA is obtained exclusively from renewable, non-GMO sources and is manufactured in a ISO-9001:2008 certified facility, Kosher and following HACCP method.  ARTINIA is certified Kosher and Halal, hypoallergenic, and is suitable for vegetarian customers.

In early 2010, Stratum Nutrition established a strategic partnership with Belgium-based functional ingredient supplier KitoZyme to further advance the science, global sales and marketing of its KiOnutrime-CG chitin-glucan, now branded as ARTINIA. "We look forward to assisting our European customers in the development of products that utilize ARTINIA, an ingredient with solid intellectual property, strong scientific and clinical research and great potential in products designed to support arterial and overall heart health," stated Michael Faber, Business Manager in Europe and Asia for Stratum Nutrition. Stratum expects to see final approval on this novel food ingredient from the European Commission by October of 2010.

From the August 30, 2010, Prepared Foods E-dition