Burcon’s Peazazz and Peazac Pea Proteins Receive Self-Affirmed GRAS Status

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 18, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Burcon NutraScience Corporation (TSX:BU) (“Burcon” or the “Company”) a leader in natural product extraction, purification and isolation technologies, is pleased to announce the Company’s Peazazz® and Peazac® pea proteins have received self-affirmed Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) status, and the Company has officially submitted to the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) a formal GRAS Notification dossier.  Burcon engaged experts to proactively gather and provide the scientific evidence necessary to affirm this important FDA designation recognizing Burcon’s Peazazz® and Peazac® pea proteins as safe.

Obtaining GRAS status is important for the acceptance and use of these protein ingredients by leading food and beverage companies.  GRAS status removes regulatory barriers for food innovators, ingredient buyers, and mass-market food service buyers to use Burcon’s Peazazz® and Peazac™ pea proteins in their product offerings. The demand for pea protein is expanding rapidly and is now an in-demand ingredient for fast growing specialty food companies, as well as large-scale multinational consumer-packaged goods (CPG) companies seeking to respond to consumer demand for more natural, and high-nutrition products.

For a substance to be considered GRAS, scientific data and information about the intended use of the substance must be widely known and there must be a consensus among qualified experts that the data and information establish the substance is safe under the conditions of its intended use.  GRAS status is the standard set by the US FDA for food ingredients to be accepted for use in foods and beverages.  With today’s announcement, Burcon’s Peazazz® and Peazac® are officially affirmed GRAS.  Burcon has chosen to also pursue GRAS Notification for Peazazz® and Peazac®.  GRAS Notification is an additional voluntary procedure whereby a company informs the FDA of its determination that the use of a substance is GRAS.  A substance is GRAS notified when, after reviewing the GRAS notification, the FDA responds with a no-objection letter indicating that it is satisfied with the submission.   As announced today, Burcon has officially submitted to the FDA a formal GRAS notification dossier for Peazazz® and Peazac™ pea proteins.  It is important to note however that Burcon’s Peazazz® and Peazac® pea proteins are considered GRAS from today’s date for their intended applications. 

Consumer demand for great-tasting, nutrient-dense foods is at an all-time high and Burcon is committed to bringing its novel pea protein ingredients to global markets.

Burcon is a pioneer in the development of novel plant-based protein ingredients and has developed technologies for the production of value added proteins from a variety of plant-based sources including: soy; pulses (including pea); canola; hemp and flax, to name a few. 

Pea offers important advantages to consumers, and to farmers as its production is environmentally friendly while being a great source of protein, with numerous applications in dairy-free foods, vegetarian foods, sports and slimming foods, senior nutrition and clinical nutrition.  Burcon’s Peazazz® pea protein has uniquely clean flavor characteristics and exceptional solubility and is well-suited for use in beverages, dairy alternative products, meal replacements as well as a variety of other healthy and great tasting food and beverage product applications. 

“Today’s announcement marks an important milestone in the development of Burcon’s novel pea proteins Peazazz and Peazac,” said Johann Tergesen, Burcon’s president and chief operating officer, adding, “We are looking forward to offering our novel pea protein products to customers and consumers in Canada, North America and worldwide.”   

About Burcon NutraScience Corporation

Burcon is a leader in developing technologies for the production of valuable plant-sourced ingredients for use in food, nutrition, wellness and supplement products. The company has developed a portfolio of composition, application, and process patents originating from a core protein extraction and purification technology.  Burcon’s CLARISOY® soy protein offers clarity and high-quality protein nutrition for low pH beverage systems and excellent solubility and exceptionally clean flavor at any pH; Peazazz® is a uniquely soluble and clean-tasting pea protein; and Puratein®, Supertein® and Nutratein® are canola protein isolates with unique functional and nutritional attributes.  Burcon is also conducting research to develop extraction and isolation processes for the production of purified cannabinoid extracts from cannabis and other organic source materials.  For more information about the company, visit

The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy of the content of the information contained herein. This press release contains forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements or forward-looking information involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performances, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward- looking statements or forward-looking information can be identified by words such as “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “project,” “estimate,” “expect,” “believe”, “future,” “likely,” “may,” “should,” “could”, “will” and similar references to future periods. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding expectations, intentions and plans contained in this press release. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Burcon’s plans and expectations include the actual results of business negotiations, marketing activities, adverse general economic, market or business conditions, regulatory changes and other risks and factors detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by Burcon with securities regulators and stock exchanges, including in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Burcon’s annual information form dated June 21, 2017 filed with the Canadian securities administrators on .  Any forward-looking statement or information only speaks as of the date on which it was made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Burcon disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Although Burcon believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and accordingly, investors should not rely on such statements.

CLARISOY is a trademark of Archer Daniels Midland Company.

Media & Industry Contact:

Paul Lam

Manager, Business Development

Burcon NutraScience Corporation

Tel (604) 733-0896, Toll-free (888) 408-7960