PLT Health Solutions’ Earthlight Whole Food Vitamin D, a whole food source of vitamin D sourced from mushrooms, received approval for use in food and beverage fortification by ANVISA, the regulatory agency in Brazil which is responsible for registration, inspection, and risk control of all new raw materials.
 
Earthlight previously received ANVISA approval for retail supplement use in 2020. That same year, it received Novel Foods Approval in Europe and allowance in a broad range of food and beverage categories in the U.S. via Food Additive Petition.
 
Brazilian producers and multinationals now have a new whole food vitamin D source for foods and beverages, said Jay Martin, managing director of global sales at PLT Health Solutions.
 
“As a whole-food, plant-based, non-GMO and organic ingredient, Earthlight supports virtually every major food and beverage market trend and will give product formulators the most transparent, cleanest label option on the market,” he said. “Consumer products companies who invest millions in their food and beverage brands need to take a close look at the way that various clean label or plant-based vitamin D ingredients are made. From raw materials to finished product, the production process of Earthlight is completely transparent.”
 
Clean-Label and Sustainable
 
Earthlight is produced from mushrooms through a patented process, by exposing the mushrooms to light. Like the human body, mushrooms produce vitamin D when exposed to UV light. The ingredient is then subject to minimal processing without the use of solvents. IT contains no carriers or binders, and the manufacturing process is published, PLT reports.
 
The ingredient delivers 1,000 mcg (40,000 IU) of vitamin D per gram, and is available in both conventional and organic grades.
 
A study commissioned by the U.S. Mushroom Council found that the production of a pound of mushrooms only requires 1.8 gallons of water and one kilowatt-hour of electricity, with only 0.7 pounds of CO2 equivalent emissions. The average yield of mushrooms is 7.1 pounds per square foot, which means a single acre of land could produce one million pounds per year.
 
Taking Earthlight Global
 
Earthlight is marketed in Brazil by PLT’s exclusive regional distributor, Barentz.
 
According to Moses Benzaquen, director presidente of Barentz in Brazil, Earthlight is an ideal vitamin D ingredient to pique Brazilian consumers’ interests.
 
“Vitamin D has been a subject of intense interest in Brazil over the last few years. Earthlight is a perfect way to introduce high-quality Vitamin D into products for health-conscious people. Made from high quality mushrooms, it is organic, non-GMO, minimally processed and sustainable. It is also one of the most transparently produced Vitamin D sources on the market. We look forward to working with PLT in bringing these benefits to the Brazilian market,” he said.