Senomyx gets GRAS status for S9632

Senomyx, a company using proprietary taste science technologies to discover novel flavour ingredients for the food, beverage, and ingredient supply industries, has announced that its new flavour ingredient, S9632, has been determined to be Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) under the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, administered by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

According to the company, taste tests have demonstrated that S9632, which was discovered and developed by Senomyx, can be used to restore the desired taste profile in a wide variety of foods and selected beverages wherein sucrose (common table sugar) has been reduced. Sucrose is widely used in many food and beverage products. The GRAS determination allows S9632 to be incorporated into specified products in the U.S. and in other countries.

“S9632 provides Senomyx with an important new commercial opportunity,” said Kent Snyder, CEO of the company. “The rising consumer focus on health and wellness has increased the demand for foods and beverages with reduced calories. S9632 is a solution for manufacturers seeking to create new offerings that meet these needs, but retain the taste consumers enjoy.”

Senomyx said that GRAS status allows usage of S9632 in a broad range of non-alcoholic beverages including powdered and concentrated beverages, along with ready-to-drink and powdered forms of dairy, coffee and tea products. In addition, S9632 may be used with alcoholic beverages, as well as a variety of foods, including dairy products, confectioneries, snack foods, and sauces. Numerous individual product types are included in each of these product categories.

Firmenich, a Senomyx partner, has exclusive rights to commercialize S9632 for the food product categories and shares co-exclusive rights in the powdered beverage category with Senomyx. Senomyx maintains exclusive rights for all other non-alcoholic beverages and says that it is currently evaluating various commercialisation strategies for S9632 in those categories.