MELBOURNE, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Australian company Horizon Science is celebrating another important milestone for its value added food ingredient Benecarb, which has received approval to be marketed in Europe.

The European Food Safety Authority has determined that Benecarb’s safety profile is substantially equivalent to molasses, creating immediate market opportunities for European food and beverage manufacturers. Benecarb has previously secured GRAS (Generally Recognised As Safe) status in the US.

Benecarb has been proven to significantly lower the blood glucose response to carbohydrate intake. Benecarb has a significantly higher ORAC¹ value compared to green tea, providing a high source of natural polyphenols and antioxidants. Benecarb can be applied to a wide range of carbohydrate matrices in different food and beverage applications, improving blood glucose response and thus providing healthier carbohydrate metabolism. It can be used in a wide range of foods including cereals, baked goods, soft drinks, juices, energy drinks, meal replacement bars and sweeteners.

Horizon Science’s first commercial application of Benecarb is LoGiCane™, the world’s first all-natural low GI cane sugar, making it a healthier alternative to normal sugar. Recent testing at Oxford Brookes University—an internationally accredited GI testing facility operating to ISO standards—has shown Benecarb reduces the GI of a sugar from 71 (high GI) to 50 (low GI), a 30 per cent reduction versus the sugar tested without Benecarb.

“Achieving EFSA status for Benecarb creates a significant commercial opportunity for Horizon Science to license its patented ingredients to food and beverage manufacturers seeking to improve the nutritional health profile of their products,” said Arvind Sridharan, CEO, Horizon Science.

Horizon Science Director David Sinclair, Professor, Genetics Department at Harvard Medical School, said, “Polyphenols are increasingly being seen to address consumer health issues, and are a major driver of innovation in the food and beverage manufacturing space.”

Gunnar Weikert, Horizon Science Director and Chairman of Inventages, one of the world's largest life-sciences, nutrition and wellness focused venture capital funds, said, “As the rate of obesity and diabetes increases around the globe, products like Benecarb can help improve consumers’ diet and help them live a healthier lifestyle. Our investment in Horizon Science is being validated by recent initiatives of large food and beverage manufacturers to lower the glycemic impact of their products.”

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About Horizon Science

Horizon Science is an Australian-based company that develops natural innovative sugar cane molasses extracts enriched with polyphenols for health benefits in blood glucose management. Established in 2004 in response to a demand for solutions to increasing rates of metabolic syndrome disorder throughout the world, Horizon Science’s patented technology has applications for functional or novel foods, medical foods, dietary supplements and nutraceuticals. For further information visit www.horizonscience.com.

¹ ORAC: Oxygen Radical Absorption Category, a method of measuring antioxidant levels in foods.