Nutraceuticals International articles from January 2006

Nutraceuticals International archives from January 2006

UK's MHRA upholds complaints on Chinese medicines advertising.
January 1, 2006... The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has raised concerns that consumers were at risk as a result of misleading claims about the safety of traditional Chinese medicines and recently complained to the Advertising...

Leap of Faith applies for noni juice appro.
January 1, 2006... Leap of Faith Farms has applied to to the UK Food Standards Agency to have its noni juice products approved for sale on the grounds that it is "substantially equivalent" to other products that have already been authorized. The firm wants...

EFSA launches public consultation on recently-published report about itself.
January 1, 2006... In line with its policy of openness and transparency, the European Food Safety Authority last month launched a public consultation to gather comments on a recently-published independent report on the Authority and its work. On behalf of the...

Spherix says tagatose is now permitted as sweetener by European Union.
January 1, 2006... Spherix Inc of the USA says that its tagatose has been formally approved as a "novel food ingredient" in the European Union, permitting the use of the sweetener in a wide variety of products. The EU decision follows the clearance of tagatose by...

Growing European soluble fibers market.(Industry Overview)
January 1, 2006... Given that obesity is a major concern among the European population, food fibers are gaining in popularity in the battle to stay healthy. While various scientific studies have advocated the role of fibers in controlling obesity and other...

The UK position on maximum levels in food supplements.
January 1, 2006... It is now over three and a half years since the European Food Supplements Directive was adopted and the requirements of Article 5, the cornerstone of the legislation, are still not in place. Article 5, key to the removal of barriers to...

UK science group slams detox products as "wasting money and sowing confusion".
January 1, 2006... A group of UK scientists has used the New Year hangover period to attack the fast-growing "detox" industry, condemning its products as a waste of money. The criticisms appear in a study to be published January 26 by the Sense About Science...

UK MP probes charity health endorsements.
January 1, 2006... UK Labour Member of Parliament Austin Mitchell has asked for more details on the criteria which the national Food Standards Agency will use to decide which organizations such as charities are to be permitted to endorse health claims for food...

French national diet study to include supps.
January 1, 2006... France's food safety agency, the AFSSA, has commenced its second survey of the population's eating habits and it will, for the first time, include information on people's consumption of dietary supplements and functional foods. The study...

US NIH-sponsored study on glucosamine and chondroitin questioned.
January 1, 2006... Not everyone is convinced that a recent National Institutes of Health- sponsored study on the use of the dietary supplements glucosamine and chondroitin to treat osteoarthritis of the knee is conclusive enough. Results of the...

OTC, including herbal, weight-loss products, now a $2 billion market in the USA.
January 1, 2006... Despite the fact that there is little reliable scientific evidence to prove that the products are either safe or effective, over-the-counter weight-loss products account for almost $2.0 billion in annual sales in the USA, according to the...

FDA allows coronary heart risk health claim for barley products.
January 1, 2006... The US Food and Drug Administration last month, as part of its continuing initiative to provide Americans with the information they need to make healthy nutritional choices about foods and dietary supplements, announced that whole grain...

FDA acts to protect US public from fraudulent avian flu therapies.
January 1, 2006... The US Food and Drug Administration has recently issued warning letters to nine companies marketing bogus flu products behind claims that their products could be effective against preventing the avian flu or other forms of influenza. The FDA...

US FTC charges Braswell made false claims to sell dietary supplements.
January 1, 2006... The mastermind behind a scheme to sell dietary supplements using claims that the US Federal Trade Commission alleged were false and unsubstantiated has been banned from the direct response marketing of foods, unapproved drugs and dietary...

FDA calls for ephedra supplement seizures.
January 1, 2006... At the request of the US Food and Drug Administration, the Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania filed a Complaint for Forfeiture against Lipodrene, a dietary supplement that contains ephedrine alkaloids. On January 12, the...

USA: "superfoods" seen as key to healthy eating and Wild Oats moves in on the act.
January 1, 2006... Superfoods - or functional foods, the heavy-hitters of the food world, have been creating quite a stir among US nutritionists and consumers, alike. The latest event is Steven Pratt's new book SuperFoods HealthStyle, which hit stores in January....

Consumers' overindulgence boosts dietary supplements sector.
January 1, 2006... Ever more revellers were expected to be "hedging against hedonism" by opting for a hangover or detox supplement, according to market analyst Euromonitor International in a report issued just ahead of the past holiday season. Today's...

Nearly half of South Australian CAM users believe products are tested by govt: study.
January 1, 2006... 48.8% of Australians who use complementary and alternative medicines believe, erroneously, that these products are tested independently by a government agency such as the Therapeutic Goods Administration before launch, says a study published in...

Southeast Asia mineral and vitamin fortification market gains momentum.
January 1, 2006... The increasing number of educated consumers in Southeast Asia is greatly aiding the growth of awareness of the benefits associated with specific nutrients such as vitamin C, calcium and iron, according to a new report from international...

Japan's health foods market due to decline.
January 1, 2006... The Japanese market of the health-oriented foods (functional foods) for 2005 will decline to 1,176.0 billion yen ($10.13 billion), a decrease of 7.1% compared to the previous year and starting to fall for the first time since 1996, according to...

India's CERS evaluates labels of ayurvedic medicines and finds labeling faults.(Consumer Education and Research Society)
January 1, 2006... A study of the labels of 18 ayurvedic medicines widely sold and made in India conducted by the country's Consumer Education and Research Society and published in its consumer magazine, Insight, has found that none of these products declared on...

Australians have strong understanding of labels.
January 1, 2006... Australians have one of the highest levels of understanding of nutritional labeling on grocery products in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a regional study by AC Nielsen, which found that only 7% of Australians never check nutritional...

Growth forecast for Malaysia herbals.
January 1, 2006... Malyasia's herbal industry is now reported to have sales of more than 4.5 billion ringgit ($1.19 bilion) a year and this figure is expected to double by 2010, says a study by the Industry-Goverment Corporation for High Technology.

MegaNatural to carry NSF Certification.
January 1, 2006... Four MegaNatural Grape Extract products have received authorization to use the NSF Certification Marks, attesting to their consistent quality and excellence in manufacturing processes. The products - MegaNatural GSKE Grape Pomace Extract,...

Pine tree bark improves circulation.
January 1, 2006... For patients who supplemented with the pine tree bark extract known as Pycnogenol, the product may offer an important solution to the difficult treatment of venous ulcers and lends further understanding to the improvement of blood circulation,...

Vitamin Angel Alliance increases outreach over 250% in 2005.
January 1, 2006... The Santa Barbara, California, USA-based not-for-profit Vitamin Angel Alliance this month announced a record level of contributions of nutritional help worldwide in 2005. Stimulated by an unprecedented level of natural disasters around the...

Asia a big market for soy products, with health concerns driving growth.
January 1, 2006... Health concerns are a strong consumer driver regionally in the soy category, according to food maker Parmalat's Andrew Lennox, and Australia is no exception. In an interview with NI's local correspondent, he said: "Asia has always been a...

Glucorell's Insulow enters US clinical study.
January 1, 2006... Glucorell, a USA-based manufacturer and distributor of health products, says that it will be will be suporting a study by researchers at the USA's Northern Illinois University on the effects of R-alpha lipoic acid in type 2 diabetics. The...

Dannon Co launches Activia in USA.
January 1, 2006... Dannon Co, the US subsidiary of French functional foods giant Groupe Danone, will introduce its Activia range of probiotic yogurts at the start of the year. Activia, which was first introduced in France in 1987, is one of Groupe Danone's...

Healthy America over 1,000 products in new line.
January 1, 2006... Southern California-based supplement firm Healthy America has introduced its new product line, featuring more than 1,000 nutritional supplements. The firm will offer a mixture of single-ingredient products in varying dosages as well as...

GNC and US Air Force in whey protein accord.
January 1, 2006... General Nutrition Centers, the USA's largest specialty retailer of dietary supplements, will work together with researchers at the Wright Patterson Air Force base to develop a new whey protein-based nutritional supplement drink to help airmen...

BooKoo launches 16-oz energy drink.
January 1, 2006... The USA's BooKoo Beverages has launched a 16-oz energy drink available in wild berry, citrus and wild berry zero-carb flavors. Dallas, Texas-based BooKoo, which is the nation's fastest-growing energy drink, said that the move was all part...

NuVim starts selling powder formulation.(of dietary supplement)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... The USA's NuVim has started selling a powder version of its NuVim immune, muscle flexibility and athletic performance enhancement dietary supplement, a recent addition to its product line up. Up until now this product has been available...

Omega-3s improve body and mind.(omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, fish oil)
January 1, 2006... Recent studies show that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may lower people's heart rate and risk of sudden death as well as slow cognitive decline in older age, reports the December 2005 PUFA Newsletter. A meta-analysis of...

Enzymotec's dietary solution to ADHD.
January 1, 2006... A recent clinical study conducted at the Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Israel, has demonstrated the great potential of a natural, safe and effective alternative to those who are concerned about the psychiatric stimulators commonly used...

UK's Superdrug sees increased vit D sales.(Superdrug Stores PLC, Vitamin D)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Superdrug, a leading UK health and beauty products retail, has reported a sharp rise in sales of vitamin D following recent reports highlighting the positive benefits of the supplement, including reducing the risk of cancer. The retailer...

Principle Healthcare launches Glucose.
January 1, 2006... UK-based nutrition firm Principle Healthcare, a specialist manufacturer and supplier of vitamin, mineral and food supplements, has announced the launch of Glucose Granules, a flavorless formulation of glucose designed to be added to food or...

Kagome launches lactobacillus-based drink.(Kagome Company Ltd. introduces Labre)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Kagome, a Japan-based food and dietary supplement conglomerate says that it plans to launch a range of lactic acid bacteria based beverages called Labre, on March 14. The new product range will contain the Lactobacillus brevis subspecies...

Provexis' UK roll-out of Sirco continues.
January 1, 2006... UK-based functional foods developer Provexis says that it has secured distribution deals with two of the UK's largest five supermarkets covering the national distribution of Sirco, a drink which contains its bioactive FruitFlow technology....

Bioriginal extends EFA product portfolio.
January 1, 2006... Canadian specialist ingredient developer Bioriginal says that it has extended its comprehensive portfolio of essential fatty acid-based supplements with the addition of a new improved range of flavored omega-3, 6 and 9 oils. The new products...

Carbery unveils new product Isolac Clear.
January 1, 2006... Irish food ingredient manufacturer Carbery has announced details of its new product Isolac Clear, a whey protein isolate, designed for the fortification of beverages. The product, which has been specifically developed for the functional...

Forbes Medi-tech debuts Reducol in UK.
January 1, 2006... Canada's Forbes Medi-Tech says that its cholesterol-lowering ingredient, Reducol, was launched in the UK on December 20, 2005. The initial products carrying Reducol will be sold through the UK's largest retailer, Tesco Stores, under the...

Kobayashi's peppermint extract aids dermatitis.
January 1, 2006... A study has found that a health food containing peppermint extract in a tablet formulation has the possibility to improve symptoms of atopic dermatitis, according to Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, a Japanese manufacturer and wholesaler of...

Pharming completes GRAS filing for hLF.
January 1, 2006... Dutch biotechology company Pharming Group NV says that it has completed its human lactoferrin (hLF) filing for a Generally Recognized as Safe notification with the US Food and Drug Administration. Pharming has notified the FDA that its hLF...

NBTY suffers dramatic earnings decline but stays confident it can weather storm.
January 1, 2006... After recently releasing its preliminary sales figures for the fiscal fourth quarter and full year (NI vol 10, no 11), US nutritional supplements giant NBTY has published a more detailed set of figures (although still unaudited) which make...

Cyanotech threatened with Nasdaq delisting.
January 1, 2006... Hawaii-based Cyanotech Corp, which specializes in developing and marketing natural products from microalgae, could be delisted from the Nasdaq SmallCap market if its share price does not rise above the minimum $1.00 limit for 10 consecutive...

Asahi and Morinaga to use anti-pollenosis supp.
January 1, 2006... A private-public research consortium in Japan has established that Benifuuku green tea is effective in controlling the symptoms of hayfever. The National Institute of Vegetable and Tea Science at the National Agriculture and Bio-oriented...

Green tea's EGCG could be cancer protective.
January 1, 2006... US and Japanese researchers have found that the green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin-3 gallate (EGCG) can cause the D3-1 breast cancer cell line to adopt a more normal phenotype. The data, which appears in the late December issue of the...

Nutrition 21's Chromax to sell in Rite Aid stores.
January 1, 2006... The USA's Nutrition 21, has received a purchase order from Rite Aid for the chain-wide distribution of its Chromax chromium picolinate product across its 3,400 plus stores. This is the first time the Chromax brand will be in retail stores....

New infant formula client for Martek.
January 1, 2006... The USA's Martek Biosciences says that Israel's Medici Medical has signed a license agreement for use of its docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid in infant formula. The omega-3 fatty acid DHA and the omega-6 fatty acid ARA are...

Benecol launches two new yogurt flavors.
January 1, 2006... Benecol, a UK-based specialist in cholesterol-lowering foods, has launched two new one-a-day yogurts, available in peach and strawberry flavour twin-packs. Benecol contains the unique ingredient plant stanol ester which is clinically...

Boeh Ing's NCC to market new nutra prods.(Boehringer Ingelheim Group's natural care center, nutraceutical products)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the world's 20 leading drugmakers, says that its Natural Care Center will also be marketing two of its recent nutraceutical products in the USA: Diaque, an oral rehydration supplement for calves, and Bovikalc, an...

BR's Valupak relaunched.
January 1, 2006... The UK's BR Pharmaceuticals has repackaged and relaunched its Valupak high-strength glucosamine sulfate and glucosamine and chondriotin as part of its new JointCare range. Glucosamine is a naturally-occuring constituent found in connective...

Martek overcomes inventory woes.(Martek Biosciences Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Martek Biosciences Corp of Columbia, USA, has posted a mixed set of results for its fourth fiscal quarter ended October 31, 2005, which saw revenues reach $56.0 million, a decline of 6.2% from the like, year- earlier period. However, turnover...

Zila's nutraceutical revenues down 15%.
January 1, 2006... Zila of Phoenix, USA, has announced its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2006 ended October 31, which show that revenues dipped 2% to $9.7 million, while net loss was $5.0 million, or $0.11 per share, a rise of 46% compared to...

Immune System to market nutraceuticals.
January 1, 2006... Canadian biotechnology company Immune System Management says that it has purchased intellectual property that will allow it to market a variety of services and nutraceutical compounds targeted at the management of the underlying causes of...

Hain merger complete.(Hain Celestial Group Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... The Hain Celestial Group, a US manufacturer of natural and organic foods and personal care products, has completed its merger with Spectrum Organic Products (NI vol 10, no 9). Under the terms of the deal, Hain has paid Spectrum's shareholders...

EC investigates Cargill/Degussa deal.
January 1, 2006... The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation under the European Union Merger Regulation into the planned $670.0-million acquisition by the USA-based Cargill group of the food ingredients business of the German company Degussa AG...

Sos takes loan to finance Lassie buy.
January 1, 2006... Spanish food group Sos has signed a 200.0-million euro ($239.9 million) loan with a group of national and international banks to pay down debt and finance the 52.0-million euro acquisition of Dutch rice maker Lassie. Sos said the agreement...

Developments at Murray Goulburn.
January 1, 2006... The global functional foods market is currently valued at an estimated $50.0 billion and is growing around 8% annually. To satisfy this large market, food manufacturers are demanding novel ingredients with bioactive and other functional...

Takeda and House Foods enter alliance.
January 1, 2006... Leading Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical and House Foods Corp have announced that they will establish a new joint venture, to which all the business of Takeda Food Products will be transferred, in a 30.0 billion yen ($261.0 million)...

Kaneka beefing up plants for Co-Q10.
January 1, 2006... Osaka-based Kaneka Corp, Japan's leading manufacturer of polyvinyl chloride, functional plastics, food stuffs and synthetic fiber, say that a new plant for Co-enzyme Q10 of its wholly-owned subsidiary Kaneka Nutrients in Pasadena, Texas, will...

Sami Labs open for tie-up for ayurveda.
January 1, 2006... India's Sami Labs is looking to work with ayurveda drugmakers to develop of herbal products, according to a report carried by PharamBiz.com. Speaking at the Global Summit 2005 on ayurveda, Sami Labs' chairman, Muhammed Majeed said that it is...

India's Vasudeva plans new facility.
January 1, 2006... Kerala, India-based Vasudeva Ayurvedic Group is building a 20,000- square foot plant to make herbal products and cosmetics plant in Kinfra, according to managing director Pradeep Jeothi, who noted that the 30.0-million rupee ($666,000) plant...

Canada's Jamieson Labs targets China.
January 1, 2006... Jamieson Laboratories, a Canada-based leader in the vitamin and nutrition industry, is aggressively pursuing international expansion plans to meet the global needs of its customers. With sales in 45 countries, the firm says it has made its mark...

Lonza buys Nutrinova DHA business.(docosahexaenoic acid )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Swiss group Lonza has acquired the docosahexaenoic acid business including know-how, patents and registrations in the major global markets, from Nutrinova, a Germany-based subsidiary of US firm Celanese Corp. Financial terms of the deal were...

Blackmores in deal with UK's G&G Food.(G&G Food Supplies Ltd.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Australian natural health products manufacturer and marketer Blackmores has entered into an exclusive deal with UK-based G&G Food Supplies. The arrangement will allow G&G to sell Blackmores' Celloids range to health care practitioners...

Forthcoming meetings/events.
January 1, 2006... Vitafoods International 2006, Europe's largest nutraceuticals event, is taking steps to create a big impression in its ninth year, with the participation of the Swiss Import Promotion Program. Additionally, says the sponsor, companies from...

People on the move.(Frank Pistorius, Polly Kawalek appointed)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Frank Pistorius has been appointed director of the Netherlands nutritional and pharmaceutical ingredients group DSM Nederland BV with effect from May 1, succeeding Just Fransen van de Putte who retires on that date. Mr Pistorius was chief...