Nutraceuticals International articles from April 2006

Nutraceuticals International archives from April 2006

EU health claims: Parliamentary c'tee backtracks on nutrient profiles.(European Parliament's Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety)
April 1, 2006... In a second reading, the European Parliament's Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety voted on the Commission's Proposal for a Regulation on nutrition and health claims base on foods on March 21, and this month its amendments...

UK's NICE issues guidelines on malnutrition and role of supplements.
April 1, 2006... The UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), which gives guidance for the use of products in the National Health Service for England and Wales, and the National Collaborating Centre for Acute Care have recently launched...

Ireland research into natural health prods.(Ireland Food Safety Promotion Board)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Ireland's Food Safety Promotion Board, Teasgas, together with the Agriculture and Food Development Agency, is to carry out a research project to review aspects of the natural health product sector. The project, titled An investigation into...

New Belgian pharmacy supplement controls.
April 1, 2006... As part of Belgium's regulatory system for vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements, the AFSCA, the country's food chain security agency, has proposed that pharmacists should pay an annual tax on food supplements which are sold via pharmacies....

Belarus bar codes.
April 1, 2006... Belarus' Trade Ministry has announced that, starting July 1, nutritional supplements, along with other commodities sold on the retail market, will be subject to marking with bar codes, reports the Belta news agency. The measure is aimed at...

French government decree incorporates EU Food Supplements Directive.
April 1, 2006... A decree issued by the French government on March 20, 2006, transposes the European Union's Food Supplements Directive (regulation CE258/97 modified by regulation CE 1829/03, as well as directives 98/34/CE and 2002/46/CE), into French law. The...

French health insurer will reimburse Danacol, says "5,000 people could benefit".
April 1, 2006... Les AGF, a French subsidiary of German insurance giant Allianz, is offering to reimburse members of its compli-mentary health insurance for the cost of French agro-business giant Danone's Danacol products, between April and December this year....

Recent consequences of EU regulations on general food law.
April 1, 2006... The European Regulations on General Food Law (No 78/2002) which came fully into effect in January 2005 has now started to affect the areas of nutraceuticals and supplements. The law covers the issues of food safety and introduces the...

UK's FSA views folate and health.
April 1, 2006... The UK's Food Standards Agency Board has agreed to consult on options for improving the folate status of young women. Fortification of foods with folic acid could reduce the number of babies born with neurological diseases such as spina bifida....

Foods free of dairy, gluten and wheat reap rewards in UK's interest in health.
April 1, 2006... Latest research from Mintel International sees the UK's market for "free-from" foods such as gluten, wheat and dairy-free, growing an impressive 329% since the start of the millennium alone. Increased public awareness of food allergies and...

Lithuania raises VAT on vits and minerals.
April 1, 2006... Lithuanian manufacturers of vitamins and pharmaceuticals have expressed their disappointment at the recent decision of the State Medicines Control Service to remove medicines, vitamins and minerals from the list of goods subject to a...

Czechs do not read food pack labels.
April 1, 2006... A poll commissioned by the State Agricultural and Food Inspection Office in the Czech Republic has revealed that 50% of Czechs do not read the information contained on food packaging, according to the CTK news agency's Business News. An even...

Irish FSA says functional food claims must not refer to diseases.
April 1, 2006... The Food Safety Authority of Ireland last month published an information leaflet that addresses a relatively new development in the food sector in Ireland and the European Union - functional foods. In recent years, it says, there has been a...

Soy products in the UK meet GM labeling standards, says the country's FSA.
April 1, 2006... A UK Foods Standards Agency survey to investigate whether foods containing soy are correctly labeled to indicate whether they contain ingredients produced from genetically-modified material, has found that all products complied with the law....

US survey finds "baby-boomers" are confused by health and nutrition info.
April 1, 2006... Low fat, trans fat, no fat, the health benefits (or not) of chocolate, milk, nuts, coffee, etc, all of this conflicting information is leaving Americans confused and mystified about how to take care of themselves. With the abundance of health...

Public Citizen claims saw palmetto no more efffective than "sugar pills".
April 1, 2006... Saw palmetto, a popular dietary supplement, "is no more effective than sugar pills in treating urinary symptoms from an enlarged prostate," US consumer group Public Citizen writes in a new April posting on its WorstPills.orgEweb site. The...

Interview with IADSA chairman.
April 1, 2006... In the February issue of NI story, Interview with Randy Dennin, chairman of IADSA (International Alliance of Dietary/Food supplements Associations) - by Suzanne Shelton, we incorrectly attributed the source of the article as Natural Products...

US military surveys use of supplements.
April 1, 2006... US military personnel are being surveyed with regard to their use of dietary supplements, apparently because senior officials are concerned about the safety of some of these products, reports the International Alliance of Dietary/Foods...

Most calcium and vit D supplements pass USA's Consumerlab.com review.
April 1, 2006... The USA-based ConsumerLab.com, an independent evaluator of products that affect health and nutrition, has announced test results from its new Product Review of Supplements for Bone Health, covering 32 adult and children's products containing...

USA's NNFA confirms soy product safety.
April 1, 2006... Following recent questions on the safety of soy products raised by the US National Toxicology Program Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction (CERHR), the National Nutritional Foods Association issued a statement saying that...

Japanese FOSHU market worth $5.48B.(Foods for Specific Health Uses)
April 1, 2006... Since the inauguration of the Japanese FOSHU (Foods for Specific Health Uses) approval system in 1991, the Japan Health Food and Nutrition Food Association has collected and communicated information relating to approved products and the...

Canada: distorted nutra claims feared.(Health Canada bans misleading adverts)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... As the Canadian regulator Health Canada is preparing to lift a 70-year- old ban on advertising of over-the-counter medicines and natural health remedies claiming to treat serious illnesses, critics see this as allowing in misleading adverts....

Health Canada warns on slimming aids.(slimming tablets from China contains sibutramine)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Health Canada is advising consumers not to use two herbal weight loss products from China because they have been found to contain sibutramine, a prescription medication that should only be taken under medical supervision. Super Fat Burning...

US quality standards issued for herbal dietary supplements by NIST.
April 1, 2006... The US National Institute of Standards and Technology has issued the first suite of Standard Reference Materials in a planned series of reference materials for botanical dietary supplements. The dietary supplement industry in the USA has...

US CRN sets out position on adverse event reporting for dietary supplements.
April 1, 2006... At present, dietary supplement companies in the USA are not required to submit adverse events to the Food and Drug Administration although they can do so voluntarily. However, if a consumer used a product and believes something went wrong, that...

"Superfruit" market set to soar in 2006.
April 1, 2006... As a result of the rising demand for healthy, premium and exotic products, the market for "superfruits" could be the success story of 2006, according to research by the Netherlands-based Innova Database Newsletter. It says that there is...

Japan to set maximum isoflavone intakes.(Japan. Food Safety Commission)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... An expert panel of the Japanese government's Food Safety Commission is close to deciding on a policy to limit the maximum intake of soy isoflavones in dietary supplements to 30mg per day by converting it into the intake of aglycon. The panel...

Indian vit A palmitate antidumping moves.
April 1, 2006... The Anti-Dumping Directorate within India's Ministry of Commerce is reportedly planning to launch an investigation into Indian imports of vitamin A palmitate from China and Switzerland during the period April 1, 2004 to September 30, 2005,...

Wider health claims likely in Australia.(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... In an important development for all foods and nutraceuticals sold in Australia and claiming a health benefit, these products will be affected by the current Food Standards Australia New Zealand review of the Nutrition, Health and Related Claims...

Australian functional and allied foods market growing at 5% a year.
April 1, 2006... The Australian market for functional and allied foods is estimated to be worth A$1.0 billion ($743.3 million) and increasing at about 5% annually. Around A$240.0 million of this is for dietary supplements, including vitamins (50%), herbals...

Omega-3s may cut CVD risk, help brain.
April 1, 2006... New peer-reviewed studies show that long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFAs) may significantly reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and ease the symptoms of treating Parkinson's disease. As reported in the March PUFA...

New studies on B vitamins presented at ACC not the final word.
April 1, 2006... Findings from two new studies (HOPE-2 and NORVIT) on vitamins B6, B12 and folate supported the conclusions of a vast body of scientific research which shows that these vitamins help lower homocysteine levels, but failed to support the...

Diet rich in fish may help prostate cancer.
April 1, 2006... Eating foods such as fish that are rich in omega-3 fats might help prevent the spread of prostate cancer to other parts of the body, according to research published in the British Journal of Cancer last month. Prostate cancer is the most common...

HMRlignan efficacy in managing menopause.
April 1, 2006... New research performed by the clinical medicine faculty at the University of Insubria in Italy has added to the body of evidence supporting the use of lignan phytoestrogens to help women manage menopause. In the study, designed to establish the...

Solo GI launches low GI snackbar.
April 1, 2006... Solo GI Nutrition, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Canadian functional foods developer New Era Nutrition, has announced the launch of SoLo Gi, its 100 calorie low-glycemic snack bar, at the Natural Products Expo West trade show in...

Nutiva launches hemp-based beverage line.
April 1, 2006... USA-based functional food specialist Nutiva has launched its new line of hemp-based beverages, HempShakes, at the US Natural Products Expo, in Anaheim, California. The products, which are available in three flavors, chocolate, berry,...

Carnosine acid may aid memory, says study.(study results of Nagase Sangyo Ltd.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Tokyo, Japan-based Nagase Sangyo, an importer and marketer of chemicals, health food products and medical equipment, says that carnosine acid, which is found in rosemary extract, assists in the formation of neural brain connections thought to...

Ferrazone gets GRAS status from FDA.(Geological Applications of Remote Sensing)(Food and Drug Administration)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Dutch chemical and pharmaceuticals group Akzo Nobel says it has received official US Food and Drug Administration notification that its iron supplement compound Ferrazone be classified as Generally Recognized As Safe. The FDA accepted an expert...

FiberGel launches new product Z-Trim plus.
April 1, 2006... USA-based food company FiberGel Technologies, a subsidiary of Circle Group Holdings, has announced the launch of Z-Trim Plus, an addition to its Z-Trim product range which is used to make specific high-fat foods healthier for the institutional...

Synutra rolls out new products in China.
April 1, 2006... Synutra International, a manufacturer of dairy-based nutritional products for infants and adults in China, has announced the launch of one new product and two product line extensions beginning April 1. Willie Wu, vice president, marketing and...

Vitamins "preventive not disease therapy".
April 1, 2006... USA-based Pharmavite, maker of Nature Made vitamins, has urged careful assessment of two studies involving high-doses of B vitamins given to patients with advanced disease. The company cautioned against making judgments about the study findings...

Positive trial results for IGI's vitamin C.
April 1, 2006... New Jersey, USA-based IGI Inc has announced positive results from a clinical study evaluating its patented 10% Pure C Serum. The 12 week clinical study was conducted by an independent testing laboratory, says IGI, where subjects topically...

Wild blueberries may reduce risk from cardiovascular disease.
April 1, 2006... New research findings conclude that wild blueberries have the potential to decrease the vulnerability of heart blood vessels to oxidative stress and inflammatory insults in animal models. According to the study, published in the Journal of...

NutraCea to enter GI deal with Stonebridge.(StoneBridge Pharma, gastrointestinal)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... NutraCea, a world-leader in stabilized rice bran technology, has signed a binding letter of intent with fellow USA-based StoneBridge Pharma, to market a line of over-the-counter products under the RiceMucil brand, targeting the human fiber...

Next Pharma drums up business for Seditol.
April 1, 2006... California, USA-based Next Pharmaceuticals says it is conducting a consumer awareness campaign on Seditol, its new sleep aid dietary supplement, made of a blend of proprietary ingredients that reduce stress. According to the firm, the US...

XanGo calls for RDA standards on xanthone.(Recommended Daily Allowance)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... USA-based XanGo, the market-leader in xanthone-rich supplements, has called for the global nutritional community to establish daily recommended intake standards for this antioxidant, to stop the category being undermined with unscientific...

DSM's PeptoPro: strong data in athletes.(PeptoProSports helps athletes)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... DSM, the Netherlands-based life sciences and performance materials firm, says that its specialist sports drink, PeptoProSports, helped athletes' recovery in trials conducted at the German Olympic Support Centre. According to DSM, 50 athletes...

Phytopharm deal with Unilever moves on.(Unilever Group)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... UK-headquartered Phytopharm say that it has successfully completed the first stage of the joint development agreement for Hoodia gordonii extract with Anglo-Dutch food giant Unilever (NI vol 10 no 1) and will now progress to the second stage...

MM2 Group to buy nutra firm Genotec.
April 1, 2006... The New Jersey, USA-based MM2 Group has said that it will acquire Genotec Nutritionals, a New York-headquartered manufacturer and distributor of nutritional supplements and vitamins. The transaction, which is subject to due diligence and the...

Zila expands Ester-C into Korea, Taiwan.(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... USA-based Zila Inc, a wholly-owned unit of Zila Nutraceuticals, has signed an agreement with Lohaspia to distribute its Ester-C advanced vitamin C ingredient into Korea and Taiwan, saying that both markets are among the top five for vitamins...

Aquanova launches weight-loss nano supp.
April 1, 2006... Darmstadt, Germany-based Aquanova, a supplier of nanostructured liquid formulas for active substances, has launched a weight-loss product called NovaSOL SUSTAIN for fat reduction at the waist, which it says is ready for manufacturers to...

Cognis wins F&S 2005 innovation award.
April 1, 2006... Frost & Sullivan, the international market consulting and intelligence firm, has presented Germany-based Cognis Nutrition and Health with its 2005 Product Differentiation Innovation of the Year Award in recognition of its "superior...

Martek Biosci launches high-DHA powder.(Martek Biosciences Corp., docosahexanoic acid )(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... USA-based Martek Biosciences has introduced a new powder form of Martek docosahexanoic acid for use in food and beverage products requiring dry mixing. Martek says that its powder has much higher concentrations of DHA than fish oil powders...

Vitamin Shoppe to retail Cinnergen.
April 1, 2006... eFoodSafety.com, a publically-traded US company dedicated to improving food and health conditions, says that The Vitamin Shoppe, a health food retailer, has submitted its initial purchase orders for Cinnergen, the former's all-natural liquid...

Enzymotec names Russian distributor.
April 1, 2006... Moving forward with its expansion in East Europe, Israel-headquartered biotechnology firm Enzymotec has appointed the Russian firm Protein Plus to distribute and promote its active ingredients for the dietary supplements market in that country....

Natraceutical in deal with EuropeEspes.(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... The Spanish functional-foods concern Natraceutical and compatriot research group EuropeEspes have signed an initial accord to research and develop active principles targeting Alzheimer's disease. The two companies will set up a three-month...

Prelude invests further in Sciona.(Prelude Trust PLC, Sciona Inc. )(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Prelude Trust, an investment trust that specializes in early-stage, technology-based businesses, has made a further investment of $1.4 million in Colorado, USA-based Sciona Inc. The investment is part of a fundraising totalling $6.5 million...

Arkopharma sees profits slump 43%.
April 1, 2006... Net profits at the French plant-based drugmaker Arkopharma plummeted 43% to 11.0 million euros ($13.2 million) in 2005, as sales declined 3.7% to 235.0 million euros. The company said it suffered from the withdrawal of a drug for treating...

Carotech invests $40M in new plant.(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... New Jersey, USA-based Carotech has announced its plan to invest $40.0 million to build a new plant near a deep-sea port in Lumut, Malaysia, reinforcing its leading position in the worldwide supply of natural tocotrienol complex, a potent form...

Forbes Medi-Tech upbeat on 2006 outlook.
April 1, 2006... Forbes Medi-Tech up-beat on 2006 outlook Canada's Forbes Medi-Tech forecasts strong growth in sales of its phytosterol Reducol and other value-added products for 2006 with anticipated revenues of C$6.0-C$6.5 million ($4.3-$4.7 million)...

Jamba Juice and Services Acqusitions merge.(Services Acquisition Corporation International)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Jamba Juice Co, a leader in healthy blended beverages, juices and good- for-you snacks, and Services Acquisition International have announced a planned merger. Upon consummation of the deal, SVI will seek to change its name to Jamba Inc. ...

Nutraceutical unit drags Zila down.(financial results)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Zila of Phoenix, Arizona, USA, has announced its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2006 ended January 31, which show that revenues fell 12% to $9.6 million, while net loss was $7.2 million, or $0.16 per share, compared to a...

Hain Celestial buys Para Laboratories.
April 1, 2006... The Hain Celestial Group, a US manufacturer of natural and organic foods and personal care products, which has completed its merger with Spectrum Organic Products (NI vol 11, no 2), has made a quick return to the marketplace and bought Para...

Sunwin Neutraceuticals posts 350% earnings rise.(Sunwin International Neutraceuticals)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Sunwin International Neutraceuticals, which has headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, USA, and Qufu, China, and specializes in Chinese herbs, veterinary medicine and low-calorie natural sweeteners, has posted revenues of $3.8 million for its fiscal...

Net income shoots up at Reliv International.(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... US nutrition firm Reliv International says that net income rose 41% to just over $1.8 million, or $0.11 per share, for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2005, while sales reached $27.5 million, an increase of 89% compared with the like,...

Hansen Natural Corp continues to soar.(earnings)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Hansen Natural Corp of California, USA which specializes in nutritional drinks, has posted a 94.7% rise in net sales to $98.0 million for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2005, while net income reached $18.4 million, or $0.75 per share,...

Martek's Roche supply deal impresses analysts.
April 1, 2006... Having posted a strong set of financials that impressed investors (NI vol 11, no 3), shares in Martek Biosciences Corp of Columbia, USA, were given a boost with the news that pharmaceutical giant Roche has chosen the firm to help it produce the...

Forthcoming meetings/events.(Calendar)
April 1, 2006... l The USA's National Institutes of Health is to hold a meeting, entitled State-of-the Science Conference: Multivitamin/Mineral Supplements and Chronic Disease Prevention, at the NIH Natcher Conference Center, Bethesda, Maryland, May 17. l...

People on the move.(Natural Health Trends, Leatherhead Food International, Royal Numico hire people)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... - Texas, USA-headquartered international direct-selling group Natural Health Trends says that it has mutually agreed with Robert Hesse that he has completed his assignment as interim chief executive of the firm. He will continue to serve as a...