Baobab
takes a step closer to EU market
The
Novel Foods Committee of the Foods Standards Agency has issued a
publication that could move baobab a step closer to approval as
a food ingredient in the European Union.
Baobab is a
large green or brown fruit of the Adansonia digitata
tree. It can be used in a range of food products including
smoothies and cereal bars, as well as a de-pectinised pulp for
use in biscuits, confectionery, and other related food products.
BioTrade
partner,
PhytoTrade Africa - the
Southern African Natural Products Trade Association - had
submitted its application to the UK Food Standards Agency to
approve
baobab fruit pulp as a novel
food ingredient.
In its draft
opinion published on 11 June 2007, the Advisory Committee on
Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) said it was satisfied that the
evidence to support the use of baobab dried fruit pulp was
acceptable, subject to certain specifications and parameters.
This draft
opinion has placed baobab one step closer to being admitted as a
novel food to the EU market; and with the increase in demand for
exotic fruits from European consumers, baobab's potential for
the natural ingredients sector is being compared with that of
other nutritional fruits, like açaí, that have taken the health
industry by storm.
To read the
article from Food Navigator on this new development, click
here.
For more
information on the submission of boabab fruit pulp to ACNFP,
click
here.
Photo: PhytoTrade Africa
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