Worldwide licencee for PreventASe™
DSM Food Specialties, Frito-Lay and Procter &Gamble have reached an agreement on the Intellectual Property rights to apply asparaginase in food products in order to reduce acrylamide levels. The reduction is catalyzed by the enzyme PreventASe™, which has been developed by DSM. DSM holds the rights to produce the enzyme and has now become a worldwide licensee for the Frito-Lay and Procter &Gamble application rights. DSM Food Specialties has the rights to sublicense these rights to its clients (i.e. food manufacturers).
This agreement paves the way for food manufacturing and processing companies to incorporate the PreventASe™ enzyme in the production processes, in order to lower levels of acrylamide.
Asparaginase enzyme preparation: PreventASe™
The PreventASe™ enzyme is a so-called “asparaginase enzyme preparation” from the micro-organism Aspergillus niger. The enzyme basically converts one of the precursors of acrylamide, asparagine, into another naturally occurring amino acid, aspartate. As a result, asparagine is not available anymore for the chemical reaction that forms acrylamide when carbohydrate-containing foods, such as bread, cake, cookies, potato chips and cereals are being heated.
