Bespoke green tea extract supplement manufacturing
British VitaTech is a green tea extract manufacturer for supplement brands: we develop and make custom green tea extract supplements within each market's EGCG limits, and the brand owns the formula.
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Making green tea extract capsules, drinks and gummies around EGCG
Supplement brands looking for a green tea extract manufacturer can have custom green tea extract capsules, film-coated tablets, powders and stick packs, acidified functional drinks and gummies made in our UK facility, from the first formula to the finished product. Green tea extract, concentrated from the leaves of Camellia sinensis, is valued for its catechins, led by (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), so we build every formula around a measured EGCG dose per portion, within each market's EGCG limits. Every batch is tested for EGCG, catechins and caffeine by HPLC and comes with a certificate of analysis and a batch release confirmation.
As of October 2026, a daily portion sold in the EU must contain less than 800 mg of EGCG, with the EGCG per portion, the maximum daily portions and three warnings on the label. Great Britain does not apply the EU limit, and Northern Ireland does. EU rules on green tea extracts are under review, so we keep a lower-EGCG version of every EU formula ready. Green tea extract sits within our weight management supplement manufacturing.
We specify every green tea ingredient by its EGCG content, its total catechins and its caffeine, measured by HPLC, and by the solvent used to extract it. Your formula is yours: you own the specification, the dose and the label we build together.
- Standardised extracts: extracts specified to a total polyphenol, total catechin or EGCG content. The EGCG figure sets the dose ceiling, as the table below shows.
- Decaffeinated grades: for formulas taken later in the day or alongside other caffeine sources.
- Aqueous extracts comparable to brewed tea: the EU limit does not cover aqueous extracts whose composition, once made up as a drink, is comparable to a traditional green tea infusion. We rely on that only with the supplier's evidence of comparability.
- Matcha and green tea leaf powder: whole-leaf forms that bring catechins, caffeine and L-theanine together.
- Green tea L-theanine: in the EU, L-theanine is not novel when extracted from green tea and used in food supplements (European Commission, novel food catalogue).
| EGCG in the extract | Extract that delivers 800 mg of EGCG |
|---|---|
| 20% | 4.0 g |
| 40% | 2.0 g |
| 50% | 1.6 g |
| 75% | About 1.07 g |
An EU daily portion must stay below the 800 mg figure, so we design well under it and count EGCG from every green tea source in the formula, including matcha and tea in a drink base.
Why EGCG stays well under 800 mg and is taken with food
EFSA's transaminase finding and the 800 mg limit
The EU limit rests on EFSA's 2018 finding that intakes of 800 mg of EGCG a day or more, taken as a food supplement, produced a statistically significant rise in serum transaminases compared with control groups (EFSA, 2018). That is why we design EU and GB formulas with a wide margin below the limit, not at it.
Fasting, food and catechin uptake
EGCG is poorly absorbed, and the way it is taken changes how much reaches the blood. A US Pharmacopeia review found that repeated bolus doses of green tea extract taken while fasting significantly increase the bioavailability of catechins, EGCG in particular, and set out a cautionary label statement that begins "Do not take on an empty stomach. Take with food." (Oketch-Rabah and colleagues, Toxicology Reports, 2020). The EU warning says the same: "Should not be consumed on an empty stomach". We write directions for use with food and split larger daily amounts across servings.
Catechins, pH and vitamin C
Catechins are stable in acid and break down as pH rises. Green tea catechins were very stable in acidic solutions below pH 4 and extremely unstable above pH 8, and between the two, the lower the pH, the greater the stability, with EGCG among the least stable (Zhu and colleagues, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 1997). Ascorbic acid significantly increased catechin stability at near-neutral pH, particularly for EGCG (Chen and colleagues, 1998). So drinks and gummies are acidified, often with vitamin C, powders stay dry, and stability studies track EGCG in the final pack across shelf life.
Caffeine and other green tea products
Unless the grade is decaffeinated, an extract brings caffeine with it. EFSA found that caffeine intakes of up to 400 mg a day from all sources raise no safety concerns for healthy adults other than pregnant women, and that single doses of up to 200 mg raise none for healthy adults (EFSA, 2015). We declare caffeine per serving and set it against those reference points. In the EU, the label must also warn: "Should not be consumed if you are consuming other products containing green tea on the same day".
Acid keeps catechins stable in drinks, mixes and gummies
- Capsules: the simplest route to an exact EGCG dose; our capsules are GMP certified. See capsule and tablet manufacturing.
- Tablets: film-coated to hold back astringency and colour, and made in-house like every format.
- Powders and stick packs: acidic drink mixes keep catechins stable once mixed; see powder supplement manufacturing.
- Functional drinks: acidified drinks protected with vitamin C. In the EU, the 800 mg limit and the warnings apply to any food with added green tea extract, drinks included. See functional drink manufacturing.
- Gummies: an acidic gummy suits catechins, and every gummy batch gets an active assay as standard.
Catechins are bitter and astringent, so every format goes through our flavour and taste masking work. Brands pairing green tea extract with berberine get one formula plan that meets both sets of rules: the EGCG limit for the extract, and standardised plant extracts for berberine in GB and EU formulas. Companion nutrition for people using GLP-1 medicines is built on protein, fibre and micronutrients instead; see GLP-1 support supplement manufacturing. We make every format in our UK facility, which is ISO 9001, HACCP and GMP certified by BSI, and FDA registered.
A green tea extract manufacturer designs to the strictest market
- Specify. We set the grade, the EGCG, catechin and caffeine targets, the extraction solvent and the EGCG per daily portion with you, against the strictest market on your launch plan.
- Source. Every lot comes from a supplier that has passed our supplier approval, reviewed annually, with a certificate of analysis stating EGCG, total catechins and caffeine.
- Weigh and blend. Materials are weighed against the batch record, under our allergen management plan with yellow colour coding, then blended and checked for uniformity; acidulants and vitamin C go in where the format needs them.
- Fill, compress or mix. Capsules are filled and checked by weight, tablets compressed and film-coated, powders filled into tubs or stick packs, and drinks acidified and filled.
- Pack. Each product goes into the pack its stability study approved: bottles with a desiccant for capsules and tablets, foil stick packs or lined tubs for powders, and sealed bottles for drinks, each coded with its batch number and best-before date.
- Label and release. Label verification on every batch is the critical control point in our HACCP plan, and for EU products it covers the EGCG per portion and all three warnings. Quality control releases every batch against its specification.
No health claim, three EU warnings and one UK label
Green tea and its catechins carry no authorised health claim on the GB or EU registers, and botanical claims remain on hold. The table sets out what each label carries as of October 2026, in line with the panel on this page.
| Market | What the label carries, as of October 2026 | Claims |
|---|---|---|
| European Union | The EGCG per portion; the maximum number of portions for daily consumption, with a warning not to consume a daily amount of 800 mg of EGCG or more; and three warnings: "Should not be consumed if you are consuming other products containing green tea on the same day", "Should not be consumed by pregnant or lactating women and children below 18 years old" and "Should not be consumed on an empty stomach". | No authorised claim. |
| United Kingdom | The same EGCG per portion, maximum daily portions and warnings as the EU, on every UK label we make, so one label serves Great Britain and Northern Ireland. | No authorised claim on the GB register. |
| United States | A Supplement Facts panel and directions to take the product with food; no federal limit is specific to green tea extract. | Structure and function claims backed by competent and reliable scientific evidence, notified to FDA and carrying FDA's standard disclaimer. |
Our label check covers every one of these points before artwork is printed, and our regulation watch page reviews green tea extract every quarter; we tell clients when a change affects their product.
EGCG per portion, measured by ISO 14502-2
Ask how the EGCG per portion on the label is proved. Every batch is tested by accredited partner laboratories (ISO/IEC 17025), and batch testing is part of every order:
- Catechins and EGCG: by HPLC following ISO 14502-2, so the EGCG per portion on an EU label rests on a measured value.
- Total polyphenols: by the Folin-Ciocalteu method of ISO 14502-1, where the specification states them.
- Caffeine: by HPLC, for every grade, decaffeinated included.
- Contaminants: lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic by ICP-MS, pesticide residues, residual solvents for solvent-extracted grades, and microbiology.
- Stability: EGCG, colour and, for drinks, pH tracked in the final pack across shelf life.
Our quality system adds a HACCP study per product type, reviewed annually; three retained samples per batch, kept for shelf life plus one year; and a full mock recall, forward and backward with mass balance, in seconds. Nothing is dispatched without quality control sign-off. Our testing and batch release page sets out the full approach.
Every batch comes with a certificate of analysis showing the measured EGCG, catechins and caffeine, and a batch release confirmation. Development adds the documents your brand keeps: the formula, the specification, the stability data, the lower-EGCG version for EU products and a label review for each market.
Every project runs through the same development stages: brief, evidence review, formulation, bench samples, blind sensory panels to settle the bitterness and astringency, a pilot batch on production equipment, stability in the final pack, and scale-up into routine production. Each stage leaves a record you keep.
Research and development is a paid stage that can be included with an order of the right size. Start your project with your target markets, and we will propose the grade, the EGCG per portion and the label for each.
References: Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2340 on green tea extracts (2022); EFSA, scientific opinion on the safety of green tea catechins (2018); Oketch-Rabah and colleagues, Toxicology Reports (2020); Zhu and colleagues, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (1997); Chen and colleagues, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (1998); EFSA, scientific opinion on the safety of caffeine (2015); ISO 14502-2, catechins in green tea by HPLC (2005).
Where it can be sold
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EU
Permitted with conditionsAs of October 2026, a daily portion must contain less than 800 mg of EGCG, with the EGCG per portion, the maximum daily portions and three warnings on the label.
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UK
Permitted with conditionsAs of October 2026, Great Britain does not apply the EU limit on EGCG in green tea extracts, and Northern Ireland does.
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US
PermittedAs of October 2026, green tea extract sells as a dietary supplement ingredient, with no federal limit specific to it.
Where this is going
To 2030
Down in the EU if the 800 mg EGCG limit tightens; steady elsewhere
To 2036
Low-EGCG and whole-leaf forms replace high-EGCG extracts in Europe
What to watch
A tighter EU limit on EGCG, and a GB limit if Great Britain adopts one
Questions brands ask
What are the EU rules for green tea extract?
As of October 2026, a daily portion sold in the EU must contain less than 800 mg of EGCG, and the label must give the maximum daily portions, the EGCG per portion and three warnings: not with other green tea products on the same day, not for pregnant or lactating women and children below 18, and not on an empty stomach. We confirm the EGCG per portion by HPLC on every batch, and our label check covers each of these points before artwork is printed.
Do the EU limits apply in the UK?
Not in Great Britain, as of October 2026, but they do in Northern Ireland. We build GB formulas to the EU limit and warnings anyway, so one formula serves Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the EU, and one label serves both parts of the UK. Every formula stays well below 800 mg of EGCG a day, with EGCG counted from every green tea source in the serving and confirmed by HPLC on every batch.
How much green tea extract can a daily serving contain?
It depends on the extract's EGCG content. An extract at 50% EGCG delivers 800 mg of EGCG in 1.6 g, and one at 20% in 4 g, so the EGCG figure on the certificate of analysis sets the ceiling for an EU daily portion. We design well below 800 mg, count EGCG from every green tea source in the formula, including matcha or tea in a drink base, and confirm the EGCG per portion by HPLC on every batch.
Which grade of green tea extract should we use?
It follows the market and the format. EGCG-standardised extracts give an exact dose for US formulas and for EU formulas built below the limit. Decaffeinated grades suit products taken later in the day. Aqueous extracts with a composition comparable to traditional green tea infusions fall outside the EU restriction, provided the supplier can show that comparability. Matcha and leaf powders bring catechins, caffeine and L-theanine together for food-first products.
Can green tea extract go into drinks and gummies?
Yes, with acid on our side. Green tea catechins are very stable below pH 4 and extremely unstable above pH 8, and vitamin C improves their stability at near-neutral pH, so we acidify drinks and gummies and protect them with ascorbic acid. In the EU, the 800 mg limit and the warnings apply to any food with added green tea extract, drinks included. Stability studies then track EGCG in the final pack across shelf life.
How do you pack green tea extract products?
In the pack its stability study approves. Capsules and tablets go into bottles with a desiccant, powders into foil stick packs or lined tubs, and drinks into sealed bottles, each coded with its batch number and best-before date. Catechins break down in solution as pH rises, so dry formats stay sealed against moisture and drinks are acidified. Stability studies track EGCG in the final pack across shelf life before we set the best-before date.
How do you test green tea extract supplements?
Every batch is tested by accredited partner laboratories, as part of every order. We measure catechins and EGCG by HPLC following ISO 14502-2, caffeine by HPLC and, where the specification states them, total polyphenols by ISO 14502-1. Contaminant testing covers heavy metals, pesticide residues, residual solvents for solvent-extracted grades and microbiology. Stability studies track EGCG, colour and drink pH in the final pack, and quality control releases every batch.