The National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA in Portuguese) announces a ban on all food supplements containing ora-pro-nobis. The measure was adopted because the plant (pereskia aculeata) is not authorized as a food supplement ingredient.

The measure does not affect the consumption or sale of the fresh plant. Ora-pro-nóbis is a plant that has a tradition of being used in everyday food, especially in the states of Goiás and Minas Gerais.

The Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA in Portuguese) published Normative Instruction IN No. 318, which updates Normative Instruction IN No. 28 that establishes the lists of constituents, limits of use, declarations and supplementary labeling of dietary supplements.
It updates:

I – List of constituents authorized for use in dietary supplements, except for dietary supplements indicated for infants (0 to 12 months) or early childhood children (1 to 3 years), established in Annex I.

II – “List of constituents authorized for use in food supplements indicated for infants (0 to 12 months) or young children (1 to 3 years)”, set out in Annex II.

III – “List of minimum limits of nutrients, bioactive substances, enzymes and probiotics to be provided by food supplements, in the daily consumption recommendation and by population group indicated by the manufacturer”, established in its Annex III.

IV – “List of maximum limits of nutrients, bioactive substances, enzymes and probiotics that cannot be exceeded by food supplements, in the daily consumption recommendation and by population group indicated by the manufacturer”, established in Annex IV.

V – “List of claims authorized for use in the labeling of dietary supplements and the respective composition and labeling requirements”, set forth in Annex V.

VI – “List of supplementary labeling requirements for food supplements”, set out in Annex VI.

Health Canada’s Food Directorate has assessed L-alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (also called alpha GPC or choline alfoscerate) as a supplemental ingredient. This is one of the ingredients the Food Directorate previously identified for further assessment since it was an ingredient that was present in product(s) that were previously eligible to transition to the food regulatory framework from the natural health products regulatory framework under Temporary Marketing Authorizations.

The Food Directorate concluded that information related to the safety of L-alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine supports its safe use in supplemented foods, as a source of supplemental choline, provided the levels of use do not exceed the previously established maximum levels for choline, and that certain other labelling requirements are met; as set out in the table below. Therefore, Health Canada proposes to enable the use of L-alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine as a source of supplemental choline by modifying the choline entry in the List of permitted supplemental ingredients as shown in the table below (in bold).