Sabinsa Corporation helped to set the monograph standards for Selenomethionine in the United States Pharmacopeia, and Selenium SeLECT ® conforms to these standards. However, in the face of tightening regulations in the European Union and interest from research institutes who wish to use the material in clinical studies, Selenium SeLECT is now guaranteed to contain less than one part per million (ppm) lead, less than 0.5 ppm arsenic, less than 0.5 ppm cadmium, and less than 0.5 ppm mercury. The USP limits are 20ppm for heavy metals and 10ppm for lead
No changes have been made to the product itself, just to the specifications. These changes are based on comprehensive trend analysis of actual analytical results.
As stated by Todd Norton, President and Chief Operating Officer of sabinsa Corporation, "Selenium SeLECT has always been well within US Pharmacopeia (USP) standards for heavy metal content. "The new limits represent the bare minimum we can comfortably and confidently deal with."
Sabinsa's decision to lower the heavy metal content in its product was driven partly by EU regulations (the company has recently submitted a dossier on Selenium SeLECT to comply with the food additives directive) and partly by the reality of market conditions.
Selenium SeLECT is currently being used by the National Cancer Institute in a 12-year study into the role of selenium and vitamin E (both separately and together) in the prevention of prostate cancer, and other research centers are working with Sabinsa to use the material in clinical studies.
