Omega 3-rich krill oil and stevia sweeteners among the latest proposed revisions to Food Chemicals Codex

ROCKVILLE, Md. — To help ensure the quality of popular food ingredients increasingly being incorporated into products sold in the United States and worldwide, standards for omega 3-rich krill oil and natural, low-calorie stevia sweeteners are among the latest proposed revisions to the Food Chemicals Codex, the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention that publishes the codex announced Wednesday.  

“Ensuring the quality of the food ingredients that make up so much of our global food supply is not only part of responsible business practice, but is critical to the health of consumers,“ stated Srini Srinivasan, EVP global science and standards at USP. “Public standards defining the identity, quality and purity of ingredients incorporated into finished products can be an important resource for manufacturers as they source ingredients from suppliers around the world, offering some assurance that they are receiving the ingredients they expect by providing public specifications to which they can be compared."

The proposals are contained in the most recent FCC Forum. The proposed standards are available for public review for a 90-day comment period, which closes March 31, 2013.