DeltaGold Awarded GRAS Status

HADLEY, Mass.—American River Nutrition received a letter of no objection from USDA for its DeltaGold® vitamin E tocotrienol ingredient.

Derived from annatto, DeltaGold now has generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status, lending further support to the ingredient’s safety. DeltaGold has been self-determined as GRAS since 2010 after a comprehensive review of safety and toxicology data, which was conducted by an independent expert panel chaired by a former FDA and EPA toxicologist. The FDA GRAS status allows manufacturers to add DeltaGold to a variety of foods and beverages, including baked goods, cereals, milk products, nutritional bars, nuts, fats and oils.

Vitamin E is a family of eight separate but related molecules: four tocopherols (alpha, beta, gamma, delta) and four tocotrienols (alpha, beta, gamma, delta). While alpha-tocopherol is found in most multivitamins and supplemented through foods, a growing base of evidence suggests that it interferes with the uptake and function of tocotrienols.

DeltaGold is the only tocopherol-free source of tocotrienol, and it contains the highest amount of delta- and gamma-tocotrienols that is commercially available. The product is all-natural and the only tocotrienol manufactured in the United Sates under a patent-protected process.

“This is the first time a tocopherol-free tocotrienol product has received FDA GRAS status," said Barrie Tan, founder and president of American River Nutrition. “With GRAS status, DeltaGold can branch into new product categories, allowing use levels that are higher than comparable ingredients on the market."