Dear Esther:

To calculate the protein content for labeling purposes on supplements
consisting solely of amino acids, it should be more accurate to sum the
mass of each amino acid in 100 grams (These supplements frequently contain
other ingredients such as cellulose). Since you have only free amino acids
in the product I do not consider the molecule of water that it is released
every time you form a peptide bond.
The factor 6.25 is applied to the proteins, not free amino acids. It would
be a mistake to apply this number to free amino acids since some of them
contain non-nitrogen side chain  (i.e, aromatic amino acids such as
leucine, isoleucine, valine). The factor 6.25 is used in meat products
since meat protein contains a significant number of amino acids with
nitrogen side chains(lysine, arginine, glutamine, etc).
Hope it helps,

Patricio Carvajal Rondanelli
Food Biochemist
Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso

2018-05-02 13:45 GMT-03:00 Anders Møller <[log in to unmask]>:

> Dear Esther,
>
>
>
> GOOD QUESTION!
>
> I would contact the European Food Safety Authority and/or national food
> authorities to get a more clear answer.
>
>
>
> I do not know if this is of much help:
>
>
>
> 1.       The Directive 2002/46/EC of the European Parliament and the
> Council of 10 June 2002 relating to food supplements states that “Specific
> rules concerning nutrients, other than vitamins and minerals, or other
> substances with a nutritional or physiological effect used as ingredients
> of food supplements should be laid down at a later stage”. The Commission
> is investigating this, see bottom of https://ec.europa.eu/food/
> safety/labelling_nutrition/supplements_en
>
> 2.       The Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and
> of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the provision of food information to
> consumers (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/ALL/?uri=
> CELEX:32011R1169) clearly states that the Nutrition declaration section
> in the Regulation  does not apply to ”Directive 2002/46/EC of the
> European Parliament and of the Council of 10 June 2002 on the approximation
> of the laws of the Member States relating to food supplements”
>
>
>
> So where does this leave us?
>
>
>
> In DK and other Member Countries it is obligatory to register a food
> supplement with the national food authority, the ingredients/components
> added and how the amounts are determined (calculated/analysed). It is then
> up to the authority to determine (inspect/control) if the declared amounts
> are determined with a plausible method and within the given range for that
> component.
>
> I also guess this is the current situation for you J
>
>
>
> So, back to your questions (and my personal opinion J):
>
>
>
> -          Can you just sum up the amino acids? Or only the proteinogenic
> AA?
> No, the sum of amino acids is NOT the same as “protein”.
> However, the sum of (proteinogenic) amino acid residues, i.e. amino acid
> minus an H2O molecule (surplus from the peptide bonds in the protein) would
> in my judgement be correct (and the FAO recommendation, see also
> http://toolbox.foodcomp.info/ToolBox_Protein.asp).
>
> -          Or do you have to apply the general factor of 6.25? Would you
> apply the factor to total N or only to N from proteinogenic AA?
> The mandatory way of determining protein for food labelling in Europe is
> Kjeldahl nitrogen multiplied by the “Jones’” (nitrogen-to-protein) factor
>  6.25 and I suspect that most authorities would “lean against” this
> definition.
> Using an value for nitrogen only from (proteinogenic) amino acid residues
> may be more correct, but why take this “detour”?
>
>
>
> I have not yet seen clear European regulations for the food supplement
> nutrition declarations – maybe other members of the list have?
>
>
>
>
>
> All the best,
>
> Anders
>
>
>
> *Anders Møller*
>
> Borgediget 12
> <https://maps.google.com/?q=Borgediget+12+DK-4000+Roskilde,+Denmark&entry=gmail&source=g>
>
> DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark
> <https://maps.google.com/?q=Borgediget+12+DK-4000+Roskilde,+Denmark&entry=gmail&source=g>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Food Composition Discussion Group [mailto:InFoods-Food-Comp-L@
> LISTSERV.FAO.ORG] *On Behalf Of *[log in to unmask]
> *Sent:* Wednesday, May 2, 2018 15:05
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Calculation of protein content of amino acid supplements
>
>
>
> Dear All,
>
>
>
> we are having an internal discussion on how to calculate the protein
> content for labelling purposes based on the European legislation for
> supplements consisting solely from amino acids and/or other N-containing
> substances.
>
>
>
> Can you just sum up the amino acids? Or only the proteinogenic AA? Or do
> you have to apply the general factor of 6.25? Would you apply the factor to
> total N or only to N from proteinogenic AA? Or….
>
>
>
> Thank you in advance for your inputs.
>
>
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Esther
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *Esther Infanger*, RD, MNutr
>
> Scientific collaborator
>
>
>
> Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office FSVO
>
> Division Food and Nutrition
>
> Sector Nutrition
>
>
>
> Office: Schwarzenburgstrasse 155
> <https://maps.google.com/?q=Schwarzenburgstrasse+155&entry=gmail&source=g>,
> CH-3003 Bern
>
> Tel: +41 (0)58 469 70 88
>
> E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
>
> Internet: www.blv.admin.ch
>
>
>
>
>
>
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