ALAMEDA, Calif. — This summer, Abbott plans to begin the U.S. rollout of its new FreeStyle Lite blood glucose test strips, which have just been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration.

The company said Monday that the FreeStyle Lite test strips are designed to minimize interference during blood glucose testing plus offer a better testing experience.

According to Abbott, the FreeStyle Lite strips do not use the GDH-PQQ enzyme, which can be affected by common non-glucose sugars. The new strips use a GDH-FAD enzyme that’s unaffected by common non-glucose sugars, such as maltose or galactose, and reduces the potential for other interference, the company said.

In addition, the FreeStyle Lite strips feature a new, easier-to-use ZipWik design tapered test strip that offers a better blood glucose testing experience. The new strips are designed to ensure faster blood application and reduce the number of error messages and wasted test strips.

Plans call for the FreeStyle Lite test strips to start shipping to U.S. customers in July, and retailers and consumers can expect widespread availability by the end of August, Abbott reported.

FDA clearance follows Abbott’s recent announcement of European availability of the FreeStyle Lite test strips. The strips currently are available in 14 European countries, and over the coming months they’re slated to become available to customers in Australia, Israel and Norway.

"The new FreeStyle Lite test strips represent Abbott’s latest success in delivering innovative products for people living with diabetes," Heather Mason, senior vice president at Abbott Diabetes Care, said in a statement. "By minimizing interference and providing a better testing experience, Abbott is delivering on what patients and health care professionals demand in diabetes care, especially for people who use insulin to manage their diabetes."

The new FreeStyle Lite test strips are compatible with all FreeStyle Lite blood glucose monitoring systems, eliminating the need to switch meters, Abbott noted. The new test strips also offer all the same benefits FreeStyle Lite users have come to expect — no-coding required, a minimal blood sample size and virtually pain-free testing, the company said.