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EFSA’s POSITIVE OPINION ON REDUCHOL®
Cholesterol – lowering effect and reducing the risk of heart disease
Press Release
Slovenian functional ingredients producer VALENS Int. gains EFSA's positive opinion regarding the cholesterol-lowering effect of its barley beta-glucan ingredient Reduchol® and reducing the risk of heart disease
Following an application by Slovenian functional ingredients producer VALENS Int. submitted pursuant to Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006, yesterday the EFSA delivered an opinion on the scientific substantiation of a health claim related to barley beta-glucans and the lowering of blood cholesterol and reduced risk of heart disease, referring to disease risk reduction and including a request for the protection of proprietary data.
A cause-and-effect relationship has been established between the consumption of barley beta-glucans and the lowering of blood LDL-cholesterol concentrations. Several pertinent studies were provided in the health claim application showing that at doses of at least 3 g/day the ingredient produce a decrease in total and LDL-cholesterol concentrations in both normo- and hypercholesterolaemic subjects, and that there is evidence supporting the biological plausibility of the mechanism of the effect. Based on this scientific data, at least 3 g of barley beta-glucans should be consumed per day in order to obtain the claimed effect. In practice, this could be divided into smaller portions per day.
After a huge investment VALES Int. sees this as an important success which will enable even stronger health claims for producers using Reduchol® in a wide range of food products. Further, this opinion gives VALENS Int. a competitive advantage when it comes to marketing its product. The health claim application was submitted in May 2011 and the prompt and supportive communication with the EFSA must be noted. During the evaluation process, EFSA made it clear which additional information was required to perform the evaluation and VALENS Int. delivered all the requisite data on time. No stop-the-clock procedures were called for and Valens believes this is due to the high quality of the health claim application which was prepared with scientific support from the Nutrition Institute (Ljubljana, Slovenia).
About Reduchol® and barley beta-glucan
Reduchol® is a concentrated source of natural water-soluble dietary fibre produced from barley grains. A superior source of barley beta-glucan is produced using innovative and patented technology to improve human nutrition and deliver health benefits. The excellent biological activity of Reduchol® is achieved with a state-of-the art production process that does not involve the use of any chemicals or enzymes. The cholesterol-lowering effect of Reduchol® relates to its ability to achieve improved viscosity of a food bolus in the small intestine and to thus delay the absorption of cholesterol.
About VALENS Int.
Valens Int. is a producer of innovative food ingredients designed to meet the challenges of demanding markets. Through our many creative solutions we support global companies with innovative ingredients and services to bring new products onto the market. The company is best known for its patented water-soluble Coenzyme Q10 with improved bioavailability which is today used in various functional foods by many different global food producers.
For further information:
- http://valens.biz/innovative_food_ingredients/Reduchol
- http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/2471.htm
Jure Pavlic, General Manager
