06.01.04
The European Food Commission recently published regulations concerning the labeling of foods and food ingredients with added phytosterols, phytostanols and their respective esters. This will expand the range of phytosterol products currently available to consumers. A major player in these developments was Forbes Medi-Tech, Vancouver, BC, Canada, whose cholesterol-lowering ingredient, Reducol™, was accepted in December for use in foodstuffs, provided total phytosterol intakes not exceed 3 grams per day. This was the first step in a three-step approval process. The second step is the publication of labeling regulations, with the third and final step being the approval of Reducol in specific food matrices.