FrieslandCampina Ingredients, a global company specialising in healthy and functional ingredients for early life nutrition, has announced the regulatory approval of its 2’-Fucosyllactose (2’-FL) ingredient.
Following its previous approval for ‘flavoured milk drinks,’ for children of three years and above, Aequival 2’-FL is now permitted for use in products for infants and younger children too.
In 2023, nearly 15% of new IMF product launches in the country were supplemented with 2’-FL
With this development, the company’s human milk oligosaccharide (HMO) ingredient becomes accessible to the whole early life nutrition category in the country.
This also makes FrieslandCampina Ingredients the only provider of both HMOs and GOS (galacto-oligosaccharides) in Thailand, which, when used together, may offer complementary health benefits.
The approval creates opportunities for brand owners and manufacturers to develop innovative formulations utilising 2’-FL, possibly in combination with GOS, to deliver valuable benefits for Thai infants and toddlers.
In 2023, nearly 15% of new IMF product launches in the country were supplemented with 2’-FL.
Sophie Nicolas, global marketing lead for FrislandCampina, states: “This latest approval is not only exciting due to the advantages our HMOs can deliver in infant milk formula, but also because Aequival 2’-FL can now be used across the full early life nutrition category, from newborns to kids.”
HMOs are the third largest component of human milk, and 2’-FL is the most abundant of these HMOs.
With a wealth of scientific evidence already supporting the ingredient’s efficacy for supporting gut health, emerging research continues to substantiate 2’-FL’s ability to deliver this and a range of other benefits for infant development, including brain development, cognition and learning.
“Science shows that 2’-FL can play a vital role in supporting health in infancy and childhood, thanks in part to its bifidogenic effects. But this is just one example of the benefits offered by 2’-FL and oligosaccharides more widely,” declares Nicolas. “We believe including other prebiotic ingredients alongside 2’-FL, such as our Vivinal GOS, could offer even more benefits by providing more diverse oligosaccharides structures in recipes.”
