Clean label Vitamin D ingredient approved for 18 food categories

A vitamin D dietary ingredient, a plant-sourced version of the additive, has completed the three-year approval process from the Food & Drug Administration, now eligible to be included as an ingredient in food and beverages produced and sold in the United States.

Manufacturers of branded and private brand products can use the mushroom-based ingredient called Earthlight Whole Food Vitamin D in a broad range of products like breakfast cereals, bakery products, juices, meal replacements and more. Additionally, the approval covers use of Earthlight in food categories previously not covered in the regulation of Vitamin D fortification such as fruit smoothies, soups and soup mixes, vegetable juices, extruded vegetable snacks and plant-based meat analogues.

The Earthlight Whole Food Vitamin D comes from Morristown, N.J.-based PLT Health Solutions Inc., a company that recently launched a proprietary chickpea ingredient for plant-based products.

PLT’s Earthlight Whole Food Vitamin D has been for sale for a few years as a supplement but this FDA certification through the long Food Additive Petition process has expanded it into a new ingredient arena.

"Earthlight is the right ingredient at the right time for food and beverage producers in the United States. Adequate levels of Vitamin D have always been important, but today, people are more tuned into D than ever. As a whole food, plant-based, clean label ingredient, Earthlight supports virtually every major food and beverage market trend and can really help product developers differentiate their offerings if they choose to fortify with Vitamin D," said Devin Stagg, chief operating officer, PLT Health Solutions.

The ingredient is produced from mushrooms via a patented process where the mushrooms are exposed to UV light producing Vitamin D. The whole food ingredient is minimally processed without any extract solvents. It offers consumer-friendly labeling as “mushroom powder” or “mushroom powder Vitamin D.” This non-GMO ingredient delivers 1,000 micrograms (40,000 IU) of Vitamin D per gram of ingredient.