Nutraceuticals International articles from April 2002

Nutraceuticals International archives from April 2002

Switzerland slams US noni firm's marketing.
April 1, 2002... A Swiss court has fined US company Morinda, which markets juice products based on noni fruit (Morinda citrifolia), a total of 6 million Swiss francs ($3.6 million) for making misleading claims and running an illegal multi-level marketing...

Food supplements directive reading sparks media frenzy.
April 1, 2002... The European Union's draft directive on food supplements passed its second reading in the European Parliament on March 12, sparking a catalogue of reports in the media claiming that the legislation will lead to hundreds of products being taken...

New EU legislation on fish oils a threat to supplement market?
April 1, 2002... For a number of years, there have been concerns about levels of dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls in foods due to the carcinogenic potential of these substances. Dioxins are very persistent unwanted by-products of the manufacture of...

EU food supplements directive: Byrne welcomes Parliamentary agreement.
April 1, 2002... European Commissioner David Byrne has welcomed the European Parliament's position on the proposed Directive on Food Supplements, after it voted in favor of the legislative text adopted by the Council of Ministers as its Common Position, thus...

TCM slimming prods still cause problems.
April 1, 2002... Traditional Chinese medicines for slimming still cause health problems and stringent regulation is urgently needed, according to researchers at Southend Hospital in Essex, UK, writing in the British Medical Journal (Vol 324, page 679). The...

Controls tighten on herbal supplements in UK as more herbs deemed medicinal.
April 1, 2002... In early March, the UK's Medicines Control Agency published a further list of determinations on products considered to be medicinal but being marketed in the UK as dietary supplements. The document included 20 herbs considered to be "medicinal...

F&S report mulls Euro phytonutrient sector.
April 1, 2002... The combined market for phytonutrients (vitamin E, carotenoids, flavonoids, isoflavones and phytosterols) in Europe is forecast to rise to $780 million in 2008 with a compound annual growth rate of 4.2% from a current level of around $585...

Wrangling over EU FSA location continues.
April 1, 2002... The site of the European Union's Food Safety Authority continues to be a bone of contention, with what are regarded as the two front runners in the game, Parma in Italy and the Finnish capital Helsinki, ruling out the possibility of co-hosting...

Norway gives in on baby food fortification.
April 1, 2002... The Norwegian government has backed down from its resistance to demands by the European Commission that it allow the addition of vitamins, minerals and amino acids to baby foods, ending a six-year stand-off. At issue was the European Union's...

Insights into EU Commission initiatives on health claims and food supplements.
April 1, 2002... Patrick Deboyser, head of unit, food law and biotechnology, at the European Directorate General Health and Consumer Protection, believes there is growing acceptance worldwide that there is a link, be it positive or negative, between diet and...

Canadian lawsuit over US hemp ban.
April 1, 2002... Agribusiness group Kenex and a number of other Canadian companies plan to sue the US government over the Drug Enforcement Agency's interpretive rule banning hemp seed and oil food products containing any amount of trace residual...

Diet supplement/liver damage link raises concerns over regs, safety, surveillance.
April 1, 2002... LipoKinetix, a supplement marketed for weight-loss which US regulators warned consumers to stop taking late last year after receiving reports of liver injury and liver failure (NI vol 6, no 12), has been linked to seven reports of severe liver...

CRN releases draft omega-3 monograph.
April 1, 2002... An international working group set up by the Council for Responsible Nutrition, the US trade association for the dietary supplement industry, has approved a draft voluntary monograph on omega-3 fatty acids after "an intensive year of discussion...

WHCCAMP report emphasizes safety, science, information.
April 1, 2002... Two years after being set up by former US President Bill Clinton, the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy has issued its final report, with 29 recommendations on optimizing the potential benefits of CAM...

Pharmavite first to join USP's DSVP plan.
April 1, 2002... US dietary supplements company Pharmavite is to be the first to join the US Pharmacopeia's Dietary Supplements Verification Program, and will submit its Nature Made product line through this certification process. The DSVP was created to help...

Nutra powders/drinks have adequate labels.
April 1, 2002... Out of 26 nutrition powders and drinks tested by USA-based ConsumerLab.com, 24 met their label claims for carbohydrates, fats and proteins. The US retail channel market for these products grew 16% to reach a value of $970 million, according to...

FDA's notification procedure for new ingredients too burdensome?
April 1, 2002... The US Food and Drug Administration has asked for comments on its pre- market notification requirements for new dietary ingredients, which take up an estimated 700 hours of the agency's time each year. The request is standard practice under...

US supp users polled on Rx drugs, etc.
April 1, 2002... A survey of vitamin and dietary supplement users in the USA has revealed that, for 33%, the possibility of side effects is a reason for not taking a prescription medication, while 25% gave "not safe" as a reason. Just 8% of those polled cited a...

US pharmacists favor GSK's Os-Cal.
April 1, 2002... GlaxoSmithKline's Os-Cal calcium supplement was the most widely- recommended product by US pharmacists in 2001, says Pharmacy Times' Survey of Pharmacist Recommendations. This is the third successive year that the product has topped this annual...

US Congress backs vit plan for at-risk children.
April 1, 2002... A program under which children at a low-performing US school have been given chewable multivitamins each day has yielded significant results in terms of attendance, academic performance, behavior, energy, appetite and self-image, says The...

Australia New Zealand food regulators finalize infant formula prods review.
April 1, 2002... The Australia New Zealand Food Authority on March 22 released its recommendation to Food Standards Ministers of the finalization of its review of infant formula products. This review has updated requirements, taking account of advances in...

Hong Kong pulls more stevioside-snacks.
April 1, 2002... The Hong Kong government has ordered off the market 12 more popular Japanese snack foods containing the sweetener stevioside, which has not been approved and which has been linked with cancer and other health problems (NI vol 6, no 12). ...

Canadian awareness of folic acid program.
April 1, 2002... The Canadian Federal Minister of Health, Anne McLellan, has launched a national campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of folic acid to help prevent neural birth defects. About 260 babies are born in Canada each year with this syndrome,...

ANZFA seeks comment on FSC moves.
April 1, 2002... The Australia New Zealand Food Authority called for a public comment, on March 13, on a number of proposed changes to the Food Standards Code. These included new requirements for making nutrition claims and an extension to the folate/neural...

KFDA sets standards.
April 1, 2002... The South Korean government has proposed new regulations for health foods, reports the International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplements Associations. The change is primarily to ensure the safety and quality of products on the market, and...

Three new countries join IADSA.
April 1, 2002... The International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplements Associations has welcomed three new national trade associations, representing Hong Kong, Poland and Hungary to its fold. With these new members, the Alliance total now reaches 38,...

AU vitamin price fixing class action filed.
April 1, 2002... The vitamin price-fixing affair that has already taken place in the European Union and the USA, with some of the world's major producers being fined by the authorities, (NIs I passim) has now reached Australia. The Australian Federal Court has...

World nutraceutical news in brief.
April 1, 2002... - Singapore has introduced a voluntary ban on kava kava, following reports of serious liver side effects in Germany and Switzerland (NIs passim). No adverse events have been recorded in Singapore, but Singapore Health Sciences states it has...

First vitamin D-fortified juice launched in the USA by Minute Maid.
April 1, 2002... Minute Maid, the fruit juice division of Coca-Cola, has introduced the first US national brand of vitamin D-fortified juice. In 1987, the company was the first to market a nationally-branded calcium-fortified orange juice and now, 15 years...

New drink to be sold under SoBe label.
April 1, 2002... PepsiCo is planning the first major new product launch under the label of its recently-acquired South Beach Beverage Co (SoBe) label, according to a report in US newsletter Beverage Digest. The product, Mr Green, is said to have a taste similar...

Wonder Bread claim falls foul of FTC.
April 1, 2002... Interstate Bakeries of the USA has been forced by the US Federal Trade Commission to retract a claim made for its Wonder Bread with Calcium product in a television advertisment, even though the ad was discontinued some time ago, according to an...

ITO EN to launch green tea range in the USA.
April 1, 2002... ITO EN of Japan has spearheaded the launch of its green tea-based beverages in Japan with the introduction of Teas' Tea, which includes Pure Green, Golden Oolong and Green Jasmine varieties. All the teas are claimed to be sourced from...

Mai's Foods unveils functional chew.
April 1, 2002... Massachusetts, USA-based Mai's Foods, which also trades under the Margaret's Kitchen banner, has launched a new soy- and flax seed-based functional food product, Caramel Soy-Flax Chews, in the USA. Among the claims made for the product on the...

GeniSoy extends soy snack offerings.
April 1, 2002... US functional foods manufacturer MLO/GeniSoy has launched two new products in its soy-based snackfood range, GeniSoy Chocolate Drenched Premium Soy Nuts and Xtreme snack bars. The company's products are designed to help people obtain the...

LifeSmart unveils new weight-loss fiber bar.
April 1, 2002... LifeSmart Nutrition Technologies of Utah in the USA, a specialist in dietary supplement product development and marketing, says it has completed the development of a new weight-loss nutrition bar characterized by high levels of dietary fiber....

SKW unveils its first functional food for Japanese market.
April 1, 2002... SKW East Asia Ltd has said it intends to launch its first functional food on the Japanese market in early April, by "jumping on the low- insulin diet train." Jurgen Schmid, the firm's technology manager, told NI that its Figu Top Insulin Diet...

TMC ends work on probiotic for vaginosis.
April 1, 2002... The Medicines Company has said that it is ending the development of its probiotic CTV-05 (Lactobacillus crispatus) after the results of a Phase II trial indicated that it failed to increase the cure rate when given in tandem with antibiotics in...

Benecol in meat debuts in Finland.
April 1, 2002... Raisio's sales of its cholesterol-lowering stanol ester ingredient Benecol may be achieving uninspiring sales growth, but it is turning up in an increasing range of food products. In the latest development, Finnish company Atria Oyj has...

Schouten to offer organic SoyLife.
April 1, 2002... Schouten USA, the local subsidiary of Royal Schouten of the Netherlands, has said it can now offer certified organic soy germ under the SoyLife brand name, sourced from SoyLife Nederland. The firm said it is also offering a new grade in its...

Heinz to sell DHA formula in UK.
April 1, 2002... Heinz plans to introduce an infant formula product containing omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid supplied by Australia's Clover Corp under the Heinz Farley label. Clover will supply 43,000 kilos of its HiDHA product to Heinz, generating...

Cargill unveils shellfish-free glucosamine.
April 1, 2002... Cargill Acidulants has announced plans to introduce a new brand of glucosamine, Regenasure, that does not use shellfish as its source. The firm notes that glucosamine used in dietary supplements is derived from shellfish, which can cause an...

Pilot completes trial of Airozin in children.
April 1, 2002... Pilot Therapeutics has completed a dosing trial in children of its medical food product for asthma, Airozin, and says that it remains on track for a US launch by the end of 2002. The company hopes to emulate the success of other medical foods...

2001 earnings squeezed at Royal Numico as new CEO is named.
April 1, 2002... Having recently reported a 14% rise in turnover to 4.34 billion euros ($3.83 billion) for full-year 2001 (NI vol 7, no 2), Royal Numico of the Netherlands says that its net earnings before goodwill amortization edged up 0.8% to 379 million...

Nestle signs $500 mill contract with IBM.
April 1, 2002... Switzerland's Nestle SA has signed a five-year technology contract with International Business Machines Corp of the USA, valued at more than $500 million, whereby the latter will supply the Vevey-based group with hardware and software services....

Martek to acquire OmegaTech in deal worth up to $90 million.
April 1, 2002... Martek Biosciences Corp has signed a definitive agreement to acquire OmegaTech, a fellow US firm that produces nutritional docosahexaenoic acid. The stock-for-stock transaction is expected to close within four to six weeks. Under the terms...

Galaxy Nutritional Foods' turnaround progressing well.
April 1, 2002... Galaxy Nutritional Foods, which produces nutritious plant-based dairy alternatives, says that the effects of previous cost-saving and other tactical initiatives (NIs passim) are positively impacting the company's operating expenses as well as...

USANA Health Sciences selling business to its founder.
April 1, 2002... USANA Health Sciences of the USA has announced plans to sell its business to a new corporation, Gull Sub, wholly-owned by Gull Holdings which in turn is 100% owned by USANA founder Myron Wentz. Gull Holdings currently has a 49.5% stake in...

Health Sciences Group to acquire Quality Botanical Ingredients.
April 1, 2002... The USA's Health Sciences Group, which says that it is active in the area of "acquiring, integrating, and operating companies involved in health-related businesses," has signed a letter of intent to acquire the assets and operations of Quality...

Twinlab closing facility in Arizona.
April 1, 2002... In a continuation of its strategic initiatives "to streamline operations, increase productivity and become more cost effective," Twinlab Corp of the USA has announced plans to close or sell its Health Factors International plant in Tempe,...

Lifeway Foods net income rises 31.7%.
April 1, 2002... The USA's Lifeway Foods says that net income for the year ended December 31, 2001, rose 31.7% to approximately $1.2 million, while turnover grew 16% to just under $10.7 million. Chief executive Michael Smolyansky attributed the company's...

Chai-Na-Ta expecting good 2002.
April 1, 2002... Chai-Na-Ta Corp, based in British Columbia, Canada, and the world's largest supplier of North American ginseng, says revenues rose 13.9% to $13.9 million in 2001, while operating loss before an inventory writedown of $1.6 million was $0.8...

Forbes not buying back Reducol rights.
April 1, 2002... Canada's Forbes Medi-Tech has announced that it has exercised its option not to buy back the licensing and distribution rights to its cholesterol-lowering food ingredient Phytrol from Novartis and therefore will not make the $4 million payment...

Bunge acquires La Plata in Argentina.
April 1, 2002... USA-headquartered Bunge says that it has closed its acquisition from Switzerland's Andre & Cie of La Plata Cereal, a leading Argentine agribusiness, in a cash and assumed debt deal valued at around $50 million. Bunge said it expects the...

Revenues fall at Clover Corp.
April 1, 2002... Clover Corp, an Australian health care and nutrition company which focuses on the development and sale of omega-3 fatty acids, says that revenues for the first half of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001, fell 16% compared with the like,...

Boeh Ingelheim sells Quest to PanGeo.
April 1, 2002... PanGeo Pharma of Canada has agreed to acquire Quest Consumer Health Care from the Canadian unit of Boehringer Ingelheim for approximately C$14 million ($8.8 million). Under the terms of the deal, PanGeo will acquire the contracts to manufacture...

Cadbury to acquire Nantucket Nectars.
April 1, 2002... Cadbury Schweppes of the UK has announced that its Snapple Beverage Group subsidiary in the USA has entered into an agreement to purchase Nantucket Nectars from Ocean Spray for an undisclosed sum, subject to regulatory approval. Nantucket...

Chinoin buys Pharmavit from B-MS.
April 1, 2002... Hungary's Chinoin, a subsidiary of French drugmaker Sanofi-Synthelabo, has signed an agreement to acquire Pharmavit, a Hungarian unit of Bristol-Myers Squibb (Marketletter February 25). Financial terms were not disclosed, but Reuters reports...

Wessanen buys UK's Nature's Store.
April 1, 2002... Royal Wessanen NV of the Netherlands has acquired UK company Nature's Store, a distributor of health products. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Wessanen noted that the acquisition of the Stoke-on-Trent-headquartered firm was...

Forthcoming meetings/events.
April 1, 2002... - The 5th Vitafoods International Trade Exhibition and Conference on Nutraceutical Ingredients and Services will take place May 14-16 in Geneva, Switzerland. For additional information, contact Vitafoods on: phone +44 (0)1872 263 682; fax...

People on the move.
April 1, 2002... - Tazdin Esmail has stepped down as chief executive of Forbes Medi- Tech, to be replaced by Charles Butt. Mr Esmail remains chairman of the board; - Vitamin Shoppe Industries has appointed James Kirk to the post of vice president, retail...