Fermenta Biotech has received approval from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for its plant-based Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol), VITADEE Green, allowing it to be used as an ingredient in health supplements, nutraceuticals and food products.
The approval enables Indian manufacturers to incorporate VITADEE Green into fortified staple foods, beverages, dietary supplements and nutraceutical formulations.
According to Fermenta Biotech, this will help address one of the most pressing gaps in the country’s nutritional landscape. Studies estimate that a large proportion of the population has suboptimal Vitamin D levels, a deficiency increasingly linked to urbanisation, indoor lifestyles and limited sun exposure despite the country’s geography.
Prashant Nagre, Managing Director, Fermenta Biotech, said, “Vitamin D deficiency remains a widespread public health concern in India, and the demand for sustainable nutrition continues to grow rapidly. The FSSAI approval allows us to bring VITADEE Green directly to Indian food fortification and nutraceutical manufacturers, helping bridge the nutrition gap for the country’s large population.”
Nagre added that Fermenta is among the first Indian companies to develop and patent a sustainable, scalable and affordable plant-source Vitamin D3 process.
He said the product, which is developed and manufactured in India, also aligns with the government’s Make in India initiative by offering a self-reliant domestic option for Indian formulators.
He further highlighted that VITADEE Green offers Indian formulators the superior D3 form in a fully plant-sourced format, unlike Vitamin D2, which has traditionally been the primary plant-based option available to them.
“This is a meaningful step in our commitment to delivering differentiated, science-validated and sustainable solutions that create lasting value for our customers and for society,” he added.
The approval is expected to benefit India’s large vegetarian population, which has had limited access to plant-derived Vitamin D3. It also supports the country’s broader efforts to combat Vitamin D deficiency through food fortification, an area where regulators have increasingly encouraged the use of plant-based ingredients.
Fermenta Biotech manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), pharmaceutical intermediates and nutritional premixes for global markets. The company operates manufacturing facilities in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh; Dahej, Gujarat; and Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, with its research and development centre based in Thane, near Mumbai.
