USP Proposes New Milk Standards, Probiotic Monograph

ROCKVILLE, Md.The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) is proposing new monographs and introducing a new standard for authenticating skim milk powder to be included in its Food Chemicals Codex (FCC), First Supplement to the Ninth Edition.

The food ingredients industry is constantly evolving. USP proposes new ingredient monographs and methods in an effort to provide valuable resources to our stakeholders," said Gabriel Giancaspro, vice president for food ingredients, dietary supplements and herbal medicines at USP.

Manufacturers and other parties are encouraged to comment on proposed monographs, which are posted in the most recent FCC Forum. The proposed standards are available for public review for a 90-day comment period, ending March 31.Our ultimate goal is to offer consumers products they can trust, and manufacturers and regulators are an integral part of that process," Giancaspro said.

Highlights of the FCC Forum include:

Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086This is the first proposed FCC monograph for a probiotic type of microbial food culture. Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086 is a Gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium, classified as a probiotic for its purported support to good digestive and immune health. It can be used in a variety of foods, including baked goods and baking mixes, breakfast cereals, coffee and tea, dairy products, grain products and pastas, among others.

Because of the unique characteristics of food ingredients comprised of live microorganisms, the proposed monograph is specific to the strain level and represents only food ingredients that are labeled as this specific strain of Bacillus coagulans.

Non-Protein Nitrogen Determination for Skim Milk PowderThis new proposed standard is a simple identification tool that selectively measures and tightly defines the amount of non-protein nitrogen that authentic skim milk powders should contain, thereby excluding materials that are intentionally adulterated with nitrogen-rich chemicals like melamine.

The method is supported by new USP Reference Standards in development including, USP Skim Milk Powder and USP Skim Milk Powder with Melamine Level D. These USP reference standards will be employed as a system suitability reference standard to verify that the method is performing correctly.

Chromium Picolinate and Chromic Chloride monographs modernizationChromium is a metal that humans require in trace amounts to process certain sugars, proteins and fats. Chromiums most common forms are Chromium (III) and Chromium (VI). Chromium (III) Picolinate and Chromium (III) Chloride are commonly used in foods as nutritional supplements and can be found in a large amount of food products, including infant formulas and nutritional beverages.

Concerning to human health is the possible contamination of these foods ingredients with Chromium (VI), which is classified as a carcinogen for humans. Due to the production processes, Chromium (VI) can occur as an impurity in all Chromium (III)-containing substances.

This public health risk associated with a contamination of Chromium (III)-containing food ingredients with Chromium (VI) prompted USP to introduce a limit test for Chromium (VI) in Chromium Picolinate and Chromic Chloride.