The draft Novel Foods approval acknowledged that much of the science was already in place to back the safety and efficacy of the ingredient, as the DHA-EPA version was derived from the same Schizochytrium algae species as Martek's DHA version that is already approved in the EU.
“The applicant concludes that these studies demonstrate that the intake of DHA-O arising from consumption in the proposed food categories does not give rise to any safety concerns noting that their NOAEL value equates to consumption of approximately 200g of DHA-O per day for a 60kg adult,” the FSA Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) said.
It added: “The Committee highlighted that current policy in the UK is to encourage the intake of long chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and that this product may help consumers with low intakes to increase their consumption of n-3 fatty acids.”
A public consultation period on the draft opinion closes on November 7, 2011.
The opinion can be found here.