Nutraceuticals International articles from February 2002

Nutraceuticals International archives from February 2002

FOS/GOS cleared for use in infant foods.
February 1, 2002... The European Commission's Scientific Committee on Food has given the go-ahead for the use of resistant short-chain carbohydrates (oligofructosyl-saccharose and oligogalactosyl-lactose), in baby and infant formulae. Fructo-oligosaccharides...

EU novel foods regulation: an exercise in frustration and expense.
February 1, 2002... Just over five years ago, the controversial European Regulation No 258/97 on Novel Foods and Novel Food Ingredients was adopted. This regulation came into effect in all 15 member states of the European Union on May 15, 1997, and required that...

Portugal sees star showing for multivits.
February 1, 2002... Within the Portuguese 24 million euro ($21.2 million) vitamins, minerals and supplements sector, multivitamins were the key growth segment, with sales in the 12 months to September 2001 growing 6% to reach 5.3 million euros, according to...

France is latest to pull kava kava prods.
February 1, 2002... Following concerns in Germany, Switzerland and the UK about supplements containing the anxiety-relieving herb kava kava, a medicinal plant coming from South Pacific islands, France is the latest country to place curbs on the product. ...

European authorities move on star anise.
February 1, 2002... Food and health authorities around Europe have been taking steps to remove star anise (Illium verum) from their markets following reports of adverse reactions in children and infants. The herb is used in preparations to reduce colic and griping...

Herbals directive turning the screws on unlicensed products?
February 1, 2002... Efforts to find a new regulatory home for herbal remedies under European Union drug law have gained momentum as the European Commission adopted its proposed directive on traditional herbal medicines. In the unlicensed herbals sector,...

FSA takes noni juice off UK market.
February 1, 2002... The Food Standards Agency has instructed health food stores in the UK to remove noni juice (Morinda citrifolia) from their shelves on the grounds that it is an unapproved novel food (see also pages 2-3). The FSA's Advisory Committee on...

UK MCA declares more herbs to be medicines.
February 1, 2002... Following the publication of the UK Medicines Control Agency's revised Guidance Note 8 on the definition of a medicinal product and the formation of an independent review panel for borderline products in 2000, there have been a number of...

EU FAIR-FLOW program extends CLA project.
February 1, 2002... The European Union's FAIR-FLOW 4 program, which includes a project to determine the effects of conjugated linoleic acid on health, has extended its scope to evaluate the potential of CLA-enriched functional foods and determine their potential...

Russia cuts vitamins import duty.
February 1, 2002... The duty on imports of vitamins into Russia was reduced from 15% to 10% at the start of this year, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

French nutritionists urge clear quality/ efficacy rules for nutra, as sector booms.
February 1, 2002... Faced with the strong development of the nutraceuticals market, with sales of functional foods and nutritional supplements increasing rapidly, leading French nutritionists are calling for clear regulations to guarantee the quality and efficacy...

EU food safety agency, legal framework moves.
February 1, 2002... Legislation for the establishment of the European Food Safety Authority was formally approved in Brussels, Belgium on January 21, together with the framework for unified European Union foods laws. The process of appointing a management board,...

FDA publishes new consumer guide to dietary supplement use.
February 1, 2002... The choice to use a dietary supplement can be wise and provide health benefits, the US Food and Drug Administration tells consumers in a newly-published guide to the use of these products. However, it adds that, under certain circumstances,...

B-vitamin study sees high-dose side effects.
February 1, 2002... While all but one out of 21 products analyzed by New York-based testing company ConsumerLab.com in its B vitamin product review have been found to contain the claimed amounts of B vitamins, nine of the supplements exceeded the Tolerable Upper...

US supplement quality assurance moves.
February 1, 2002... - NSF International has established a certification program of Good Manufacturing Practices for contract manufacturers of dietary supplements, aimed at reducing the time and costs borne by the companies associated with third-party testing and...

US FTC goes to court against Enforma.
February 1, 2002... The US Federal Trade Commission has gone to court to seek civil contempt sanctions against Enforma Natural Products after the company failed to comply with an FTC requirement that it must substantiate claims made for its weight-loss products....

"Natural" or "plant-derived" labeling can mislead consumers, says NCL survey.
February 1, 2002... Around three-quarters of people in the USA believe that products labeled "natural" should contain at least 90% natural ingredients, and 86% think that products labeled natural are safe, according to a survey by the National Consumers League....

US consumers mix herbal and Rx drugs.
February 1, 2002... Concern has been expressed about unintended interactions that may arise when prescription drugs are used with herbal medicines or dietary supplements by researchers from Boston University, USA, in the Slone Survey, which was published in the...

FDA structure/function compliance guide.
February 1, 2002... In an attempt to make dietary supplement labeling regulations more understandable to small business owners, the US Food and Drug Administration last month published a booklet, entitled Regulations on Statements Made for Dietary Supplements...

US Medicare covering nutrition, pain care.
February 1, 2002... Since January 1, Medicare has been paying for nutrition therapy as well as pain management. The nutrition benefit, available to over seven million US patients with diabetes or kidney disease, was introduced after Congress acted in December 2000...

Nutrition and chronic disease in US seniors.
February 1, 2002... A new US campaign is now underway aimed at helping doctors and seniors apply nutrition in the management of chronic conditions. The Physician's Guide to Nutrition in Chronic Disease Management in Older Adults is being distributed to doctors...

GNC settles with Florida over "old" vitamins.
February 1, 2002... General Nutrition Centers, the largest chain supplier of vitamins and health supplements in the USA, is to pay the state of Florida $1 million and offer refunds to customers in settlement of claims that it sold vitamins that lacked potency...

Nigeria warns over traditional meds ads.
February 1, 2002... Nigeria says it intends to strictly enforce the country's ban on advertising by any medical practitioner, reports the Lagos newspaper This Day. Lekan Abudu, provost of the College of Medicine at the University of Lagos, said recently that...

Pakistan govt accused over herbal medicine.
February 1, 2002... The Pakistani government has been criticized for ignoring herbal and unani (Greek) medicine, says the local Business Recorder newspaper. Allopaths, homeopaths and hakims attending a seminar on alternative medicine urged the government to adopt...

Canada seeks ephedra/ephedrine ban, warns consumers not to use kava.
February 1, 2002... Health Canada is seeking the voluntary withdrawal from the market of a wide range of unapproved products containing the herb ephedra or its chemical derivative ephedrine at levels which do not meet federal guidelines, stating that large...

CHPA wants review of conflicting vit A data.
February 1, 2002... The USA's Consumer Healthcare Products Association has requested the Institute of Medicine (an associated organization of the National Academy of Sciences) to review conflicting data on vitamin A use in the form of retinol by postmenopausal...

Targeting the nutra consumer profitably.
February 1, 2002... Given that the majority of people in the USA admit to using dietary supplements, the Natural Marketing Institute says it is "paradoxical that the industry has recently registered an increase of just 5%" in the market for such products....

Cera Products seeks partners to take rice drinks into mass markets.
February 1, 2002... Cera Products of the USA, best known as a manufacturer of rice-based oral electrolyte replacement fluids used for the support of diarrhea patients under the CeraLyte brand, is looking to widen distribution channels for its products through...

Kenya plans to legalize herbal and traditional medicines.
February 1, 2002... Legislation to legalize traditional and herbal medicines in Kenya will be introduced very soon via a bill to Parliament, the country's Public Health Minister, Sam Ongeri, told the International Council of Women of Africa Regional Conference,...

Australia's organic soybean makers offered premium prices.
February 1, 2002... Premium prices are being offered to organic soybean growers with the opening of Australia's first Vitasoy A$27 million ($14 million) beverage plant, a joint venture between National Foods and Vitasoy International Holdings. It is the biggest...

Monsanto, Aventis sued in Canada.
February 1, 2002... Canada's Saskatchewan Organic Directorate has launched a lawsuit against Monsanto and Aventis, claiming damages caused by the introduction of genetically-modified canola seeds. These farmers are also trying to get a court injunction preventing...

Boeh Ingelheim extends TrimFit product range in Canada and launches Probiata.
February 1, 2002... Boehringer Ingelheim Canada has extended its product range in Canada with the launch of two new products, TrimFit Nutritional Energy Bars and the probiotic supplement Probiata. The company expects the TrimFit bars to make a real impact on...

Questcor to sell VSL probiotic in USA.
February 1, 2002... Questcor Pharmaceuticals of the USA has signed an agreement with VSL Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held firm owned partly by the main shareholders of Italy's Sigma-Tau Finanziaria SpA, to promote, sell and distribute the proprietary probiotic...

Go Fast! takes on US energy drink sector.
February 1, 2002... Denver, USA-based Go Fast! Beverage, founded in 2001 and a sister firm to the Go Fast! Sports clothing firm, has introduced a new energy drink. Go Fast! Energy Drink is described by the firm as "a great- tasting, ingredient-rich energy drink...

Kamut pasta endorsed as low glycemic index.
February 1, 2002... Pasta made using Kamut grain, which derives from a relative of durum wheat and has been trademarked by Kamut International, has passed through an evaluation by the non-profit Glycemic Research Institute in the USA as having a low glycemic...

Puerto Rico next launch for AmBev energy drink.
February 1, 2002... Brazilian beverage company Companha de Bebidas das Americas, also known as AmBev, says it has launched its guarana-based energy drink Guarana Antarctica in Puerto Rico, the second country in its planned international roll-out for the brand...

GNC expands Scan-Diet range in USA.
February 1, 2002... Royal Numico subsidiary General Nutrition Companies has introduced a series of extensions to its Scan-Diet weight-loss range, including nutrition bars and ready-to-drink shakes, in the USA. Scan-Diet is based on the clinically-supported soy...

Novartis to divest its functional foods ops.
February 1, 2002... As this issue of NI went to press, Novartis of Switzerland announced its intention of divesting its Health & Functional Foods business, which had sales of around 850 million Swiss francs ($498 million) in 2001. The business comprises food and...

Quaker to offer cholesterol tests with Biosafe.
February 1, 2002... Quaker Oats has linked up with a blood-testing specialist in the USA to promote Quaker Oatmeal as a cholesterol-reducing food. In an exclusive partnership with Biosafe Medical Technologies, Quaker is sponsoring reduced-cost cholesterol testing...

Penwest tech to be used in new herbals.
February 1, 2002... Penwest of the USA's PROSOLV technology is to be used in a new line of herbal supplement formulations to be co-developed by the firm in cooperation with Martin Bauer subsidiary Finzelberg. The new range will be sold to companies under the...

P&G licenses green tea tech to Green Power.
February 1, 2002... Procter & Gamble has licensed exclusive rights in China to its solvent- free green tea processing technology, which produces less bitter extracts with lighter color, improved clarity and higher concentrations of antioxidant polyphenols, to Wuxi...

Degussa, Phytomedics to work on botanical.
February 1, 2002... Degussa BioActives, a subsidiary of Degussa AG of Germany, has forged an alliance with the USA's Phytomedics to co-develop, produce and market PMI-5011, a proprietary botanical product with oral antidiabetic activity. Degussa BioActives...

ONP licenses Vietnamese plant medicines.
February 1, 2002... Oxford Natural Products of the UK has signed a development agreement with Vietnam's Center for Research and Development of Ethnomedicinal Plants, along with the Thanh Thao Traditional Medicines Company, in which ONP gains exclusive rights to...

ABM mushroom sales reach $300 million in Japan in 2001.
February 1, 2002... Agaricus blazei murill mushrooms have become the biggest-selling health supplement in Japan, but sales are now peaking, according to a center in the capital promoting the product. Stephen Black, promotions manager for the Freeze-dried...

Novogen gets first royalty from DuPont.
February 1, 2002... Australia's Novogen says it has received its first royalty payment under a license agreement signed with DuPont Protein Technologies of the USA, picking up $826,000. The latter firm has worldwide rights (apart from Australia and New Zealand) to...

Danone finally completes acquisition of New Zealand's Frucor.
February 1, 2002... Groupe Danone of France has finally completed its acquisition of New Zealand's Frucor Beverages, after announcing that it has received acceptances in excess of 90% for its takeover offer of NZ$2.35 ($1.01) per share (NIs passim). The value of...

Kimia Farma builds new facility.
February 1, 2002... PT Kimia Farma of Indonesia is investing 25 billion rupiah ($2.4 million) to build a new state-of-the-art facility to make over-the- counter treatments derived from plants and herbs indigenous to the country, according to Indonesian Investment...

Nestle hives off FIS to Givaudan.
February 1, 2002... Nestle says it is selling its Food Ingredients Specialties subsidiary to fellow Swiss company Givaudan, in a cash and equity deal valued at about 750 million euros ($662.7 million). It was also noted that Nestle will take an undisclosed equity...

Degussa sells gelatin business to Sobel.
February 1, 2002... Germany's Degussa AG is selling its SKW Gelatin & Specialties business to Sobel NV of the Netherlands for 265 million euros ($234.2 million). Explaining the reasoning behind the decision to sell, Degussa's chairman, Utz-Hellmuth Felcht, said...

Norway's ProBio bought by Igene.
February 1, 2002... Norwegian privately-held firm ProBio Nutraceuticals has been acquired by Igene Biotechnology of Maryland, USA, in a cash and stock deal valued at $2.2 million. The latter firm said that the purchase of the Tromsoe-headquartered group will...

Numico vitamins unit still suffering.
February 1, 2002... Royal Numico of the Netherlands, the world's largest producer of vitamins and food supplements, has posted a 14% rise in turnover to 4.34 billion euros ($3.83 billion) for full-year 2001. However, the figures took on a healthy glow due...

NBTY posts strong first-qtr sales growth.
February 1, 2002... NBTY of the USA says that net sales for the fiscal first quarter ended December 31, 2001, increased 29% to $215 million while net income was $11 million, or $0.17 per share, compared with $639,000, or $0.01 per share for the like, year-earlier...

Mannatech patent awarded in Australia.
February 1, 2002... Mannatech of Texas, USA, announced that the Australian Patent Office has issued a patent for its glyconutrient blend (naturally-occurring, plant-derived, carbohydrate-based products) for use in dietary supplements. The company has already been...

Nutra International gets $60 mill boost.
February 1, 2002... Nutraceutical International Corp says that it has closed a new five- year, $60 million revolving credit facility with Rabobank International as leader and KeyBank, Wells Fargo Bank and Zions Bank as participants. Initial borrowings of $23.5...

Galaxy Nutritional set to break even.
February 1, 2002... Galaxy Nutritional Foods of the USA has announced its preliminary earnings forecasts for the third quarter ended December 31, 2001, and says that it expects to break even, compared with a net loss of $0.27 per share for the like, year-earlier...

Opta Food reducing workforce by 6%.
February 1, 2002... Opta Food Ingredients has announced a restructuring program that is designed to reduce costs by approximately $1 million per year. As part of this strategy, the company has reduced its 140-strong workforce by more than 6%, principally at its...

Joshua Tree set to acquire AHDC.
February 1, 2002... Joshua Tree Construction has signed a letter of intent to acquire fellow US firm American Health and Diet Centers, which is described as "a multi-channel marketer of high-quality nutraceuticals and natural health product solutions." Financial...

Forbes completes phytosterol plant.
February 1, 2002... Canada's Forbes Medi-Tech has announced that Phyto-Source, its joint venture with US partner Chusei, has essentially completed construction of its $16.2 million wood sterol manufacturing plant, based near Houston, Texas (NI vol 6, no 3). ...

NCLI secures $2 million in funding.
February 1, 2002... Nutraceutical Clinical Laboratories International of the USA says it has secured a $2 million credit facility that will be used to support the full-scale manufacturing of its proprietary nutraceutical ingredients, notably the natural...

Naturade gets financial boosts.
February 1, 2002... Naturade says it has received $2.5 million from Westgate Equity Partners in a transaction which the company claims will provide it with working capital to build its Total Soy brand and "support continued strong revenue growth."EIt also...

Nutrition 21 gets $4 million credit lifeline.
February 1, 2002... Nutrition 21, a US developer and marketer of nutritional supplements headquartered in Purchase, New York, has announced the finalization of a one-year $4.0 million line of credit from Fleet National Bank, which will be used for working capital....

DSM building new food laboratory.
February 1, 2002... DSM has announced plans to build a new applications development laboratory to service its food specialties division in Delft, the Netherlands. The Dutch firm is to invest 12 million euros ($10.4 million) into the project, which is set to be...

New international HQ for Nutri Pharma.
February 1, 2002... The board of Norway's Nutri Pharma has issued a statement saying that it has decided to move the company's international headquarters from Copenhagen, Denmark, to London, UK. The new offices will be established and in operation by mid-2002, at...

Puleva Biotech directors take stake.
February 1, 2002... Directors of recently-listed Spanish biotechnology company Puleva Biotech have bought 1.5% of the firm's shares for around 3 euros ($2.59) per share, chairman Javier Tallada has told Reuters. The group, which is developing a range of health...

Hain set to post lower earnings.
February 1, 2002... The Hain Celestial Group of USA says that it expects revenues for the second quarter ended December 31, 2001, to rise 9% to approximately $125 million, and earnings per share of $0.14-$0.17. However, this is well down on an average estimate of...

Neptune Tech expanding plant.
February 1, 2002... Neptune Technologies & Bioressources, a Canadian firm which specializes in marine-based products, has announced a major new expansion program, the first phase of which will involve investing C$4.5 million ($2.8 million) to convert an existing...

Cyanotech sets up Japanese unit.
February 1, 2002... Cyanotech, the world's largest commercial producer of natural astaxanthin from microalgae, says it has formed a Japanese unit which will allow the company to economize on shipping, "provide more timely delivery to customers and allow customers...

Sales increase at Advanced Nutra.
February 1, 2002... Advanced Nutraceuticals of the USA has posted its financial results for the year ended September 30, 2001, which reveal that sales increased 9.3% to $17.6 million. The firm reported a net loss from continuing operations of $1.1 million,...

GNC spells out new business strategies.
February 1, 2002... General Nutrition Companies, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Netherlands' Royal Numico and the largest retailer of nutritional supplements in the USA, says that members of its senior management have embarked on a cross-country tour of major...

Martek signs two major agreements.
February 1, 2002... The USA's Martek Biosciences Corp has announced major agreements with units of Bristol-Myers Squibb and Abbott Laboratories which relate to infant formulas containing ingredients supplied by the Columbia, Maryland-based group. Share price...

Nutraceutix looking to attract investors.
February 1, 2002... Nutraceutix says that it has engaged Bibicoff & Associates, a US strategic planning group, "to increase investment community awareness of the company." The latter will initially concentrate on developing and implementing communications...

Forthcoming meetings/events.
February 1, 2002... - Functional Foods 2002, organized by the Leatherhead Food Research Association, will take place March 5-7 in The Hague, the Netherlands. More information is available on: phone +44 (0)1372 822271; fax +44 (0)1372 822272; e-mail...

People on the move.
February 1, 2002... - At NBTY, Harvey Kamil has been appointed president, while Scott Rudolph, who formerly filled this role, will continue as chairman and chief executive; - Michael Griffith becomes president of Procter & Gamble's global beverage and North...