Yes, there should be a grading system for cascara. I know there are different people talking about it. Some people encouraged some early work to do so. But yes, there should be a scoring system. I think coffee sorters and tea sorters could work well together. Step 4: Let it infuse for 4 minutes. Discard the cascara. Enjoy. However, the sale of cascara as a single product is not yet protected by the EU. It is classified as a novel food.
In response, the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) and the International Aloe Science Council (IASC) filed a joint petition with the FDA on June 10 (“AHPA/IASC Petition”) asking the FDA to suspend the effective date of the regulation (i.e. and reconsider the status of the ingredients in aloe and cascara sagrada.2 The AHPA/IASC petition challenges the FDA`s final regulations on legal and scientific grounds. Arguing that the ingredients of aloe and cascara sagrada cannot be considered “new medicines” because they are GRASE based on readily available information. Although FDA regulations require the FDA commissioner to “promptly review” these petitions, there is no time limit for the commissioner to act.3 This is expected to change very soon, as the EU has just legalized cascara. What is interesting is the early date of the patent, at a time when no one had a cascara on their agenda. The final rule could have far-reaching implications for the status of supplements containing aloe and cascara sagrada sold for laxative effects, and possibly for other products whose safety has not been proven by toxicological tests despite long-term use. The FDA does not address these issues in its decision. For legal reasons, it can be argued that the FDA`s final rule prohibiting the use of aloe and cascara sagrada in over-the-counter laxatives would not cover supplements containing these ingredients. Nevertheless, it appears that the FDA`s classification of the ingredients in aloe and cascara sagrada as laxatives not generally recognized as safe for the use of over-the-counter drugs could provide a basis for the agency to assert that the ingredients are not safe for supplements or other foods. This drink does not easily fall into a category that most people are familiar with. Overall, the consensus seems to be that cascara is a fruit taran – essentially a fruit tea.
Instigator! Okay; I heard that happen! But today we are not looking back, today we are talking about the future, the prospects that cascara has or could have in the European Union after approval. This has been a long process and a bit painful for some people in your field since the cascara ban. A lot is written about you and about you. And what`s funny, or not so funny, is that the ban actually started because of you. So, can we say that you were the troublemaker? This is different. If you say extract caffeine, as I understand it, it`s not covered by that because the final format is no longer cascara, it`s caffeine. I think you will certainly see experiences in the extractive sector. But they are looking for individual components; It can be a certain polyphenol, caffeine, etc. The ingredients industry is trying to find its way, to try to find the selling points for it. It will fall into place and change over time. Ultimately, it is consumers who make the decision about the types of products they like with cascara.
It will be very interesting to see because you will see so many interesting innovations to try to tackle this. This is a good introduction to my next question: There are companies in the United States like AFS (Applied Food Science) that make a cascara powder extract, or like Javo Beverages, that make a liquid cascara extract. Olam is also on the rise. Can we also count on the production of extracts in the EU? Alternatively, new data on aloe or cascara sagrada could be submitted to the FDA as part of a New Drug Application (NDA) to obtain prescription or over-the-counter market status. This path seems highly unlikely due to the huge investment of time and money that such a venture would require, especially since these ingredients are not patentable. While an “innovative” company can typically expect five years of market exclusivity for an FDA-approved drug under an NDA (regardless of patent protection), this may not provide sufficient financial incentive to pursue the NDA pathway. Although the EC and EFSA must be held accountable as taxpayer-backed public institutions and improvements are still needed in the process of assessing and authorising traditional and novel foods, there seems to be a real interest on the part of institutions in ensuring that food-safe cascara enters the market. The consumer wins when this is the case.
The small controversy attracted the attention of many eyes and a level of scrutiny and interest that no one really expected for dried coffee fruits. At the very least, those who fought the battle and cascara fans should celebrate. This autumn we can finally all enjoy cascara drinks in the EU. Before he had a chance to address these concerns, the law in Europe changed. The new law, which came into force in 2018, meant that an entirely new application with different requirements had to be submitted. At the time, Jelderks was busy launching a new company — a US-based cascara soda company called Caskai, so the revised application would have to wait. Most importantly, it must have good taste. And sometimes new brand founders forget about it. They`re so excited about the story that they forget that everything you serve has to taste very good, especially if it`s the first time the consumer has tried it, so I don`t think it`s going to be a quick process. I think there is a natural and organic development that needs to take place.
Things are likely to go faster in Europe. This is partly due to the ban and the accumulated demand. They also have a number of companies in Europe working there, large and small. All of these companies will spend time and money educating consumers about what cascara is, which should help create a lot of momentum. Surprisingly, we found that the caffeine content was quite low.