NutriLeads has received positive feedback from an independent panel of experts that assessed the safety of its unique carrot-derived fiber that is specifically enriched for the rhamnogalacturonan-I pectin fraction, branded Xtramune™. It is NutriLeads’ first health ingredient planned for commercialization.

The expertpanel concluded that the dossier, which reviews and summarizes all the available scientific evidence on manufacturing, uses and toxicology, clearly demonstrates the safety of the ingredient. They, therefore, supported the intended use in the proposed food categories. This is an important milestone as it enables NutriLeads to market Xtramune™ in the USA.

Richard Lane, Ph.D. from Lane Toxicology Consulting, who prepared the dossier on behalf of NutriLeads, indicates: “NutriLeads made a great effort to substantiate the stability and safety of their first food ingredient. It has been a pleasure to prepare the dossier and to organize the expert panel review for them.”

Earlier this year, NutriLeads submitted a Novel Foods dossier to EFSA in order to prepare for market access in Europe and is awaiting feedback and questions from the agency.

Nutrileads is a partner in the Sweet Crosstalk, a multidisciplinary European Innovative Training Network built to address the challenge at a molecular level how glycans are involved at the human mucosa microbiota interface, and how this correlates with human well-being. In the network the expertise ranges from chemical synthesis, biochemistry, structural biology to microbiology and cell biology.

Early 2020 Krishna Desai started in the PhD-position to unravel the structure-function of pectin derived polysaccharides by studying the interaction of purified and modified variants with the host immune system and their impact on the human gut microbiota. Nutrileads collaborates in this with partners at Utrecht University, University of Helsinki and the Quadram Institute.