Oobli, a developer of low-sugar sweet tea and chocolates, on March 20 announced it has received a "no questions" letter from the FDA allowing it to use its variant of the novel sweetener brazzein as a sweetener in food and beverage products.
The FDA accepted Oobli’s Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) petition for its Oubli Fruit Sweet Protein, which originates with an African fruit called oubli. However, in his introduction on the company website, Jason Ryder, Oobli Founder & CTO, notes, “I’ve been focused on perfecting a fermentation process to replicate and produce these sweet proteins.
"The Oubli Fruit Sweet Protein is one of several sweet proteins that is derived from fruits primarily found in West Africa and other equatorial environments," continued Ryder, who also is an adjunct professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at University of California Berkeley. “Sweet proteins are a class of proteins that deliver a sugar-like sweetness but don't affect blood sugar, insulin or the gut microbiome."
"The Oubli Fruit Sweet Protein can be safely used in various foods with support from the general scientific community and the FDA," added Ali Wing, Oobli CEO. “It can replace 70% or more of sugar in most food and beverages.”
Oobli already produces branded chocolates and iced teas with the sweetener replacing most of the sugar. It’s one of the companies that are pursuing non-nutritive sweeteners via precision fermentation, many of the other companies focusing on glycosides of stevia.
