Nutraceuticals International articles from July 2005

Nutraceuticals International archives from July 2005

European Court of Justice confirms validity of Food Supplements Directive.
July 1, 2005... Sectors of the European Union health food products industry suffered a major setback this month with a ruling by the European Court of Justice confirming the validity of the 2002 Directive on Food Supplements, due to come into force on August...

European Court of Justice judgement confirms drug bias.
July 1, 2005... A recent judgment in the European Court of Justice suggests medicinal status will continue to take precedence in decisions about borderline products in the European Union. The ECoJ said it was for EU member states to decide whether a product...

Ireland sets deadline for folic acid in foods fortification consultation.
July 1, 2005... The Food Safety Authority of Ireland made its final call to consumers and interested parties to express their views on the possible fortification of food with folic acid, as the deadline for the national public consultation closed June 24. The...

EMEA consultation on herbal substances.(European Medicines Agency)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The European Medicines Agency has released for consultation a Guideline on specifications: test procedures and acceptance criteria for herbal substances, herbal preparations and herbal medicinal products/traditional herbal medicinal products....

Euro functional drinks market growing, but are consumers confused, misled?
July 1, 2005... European consumption of functional drinks rose 8% in 2003 with some products, such as sports drinks, seeing double-digit rates. As growth in traditional soft drinks categories will likely remain flat in the coming years, nearly every company in...

UK separate regulation for unproven herbals urged.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Some herbal medicines have demonstrable efficacy but, for most, good efficacy trials are lacking and they would be expensive, Robin Ferner, director, and Keith Beard of the West Midlands Centre for Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting, Birmingham,...

How Ocean Spray cranberry juice won the first health claim for fruit, in France.
July 1, 2005... European Union Directive 2002/46/EC, which harmonizes EU legislation on food supplements, created the first opportunity for manufacturers to make a health claim for an ingredient or food supplement, instead of a nutritional claim. All EU member...

UK MHRA consults on EU herbals reg fees.(Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory)(European Union)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is asking for comments, to be received by August 29, on proposals to amend the Fees Regulations and the Medicines (Homoeopathic Products for Human Use) Regulations 1994, relating to the...

US study warns over seniors' Rx/supp use.(prescription drug usage)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... A new survey of US seniors has found that, of those who said that they were using dietary supplements, 25% were doing so without the knowledge of their doctor and 36% were combining supplements with prescription drugs. Moreover, of this latter...

US FTC settles Himalayan Diet Breakthrough claims.
July 1, 2005... AVS Marketing and its president William Heid of Illinois have agreed to pay $400,000 in consumer redress to settle charges brought by the US Federal Trade Commission that they had deceptively marketed a purported weight-loss supplement called...

FDA US-wide glyburide alert for Liqiang-4.(United States. Food and Drug Administration)
July 1, 2005... The US Food and Drug Administration has warned consumers not to take Liqiang 4 Dietary Supplement Capsules because they contain glyburide, which it says could have serious, life-threatening consequences in some people, and urges anyone who has...

US FTC settles claims with makers of Fiberthin and Propolene.(Federal Trade Commission)(Obesity Research Institute)
July 1, 2005... The marketers of the dietary supplements FiberThin and Propolene, the companies FiberThin and the Obesity Research Institute, have settled charges by the US Federal Trade Commission that their misleading weight- loss claims violated federal...

FDA "no" to green tea cancer health claims.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Under the US Food and Drug Administration's Consumer Health for Better Nutrition Initiative, the agency has announced the results of its review of qualified health claims that green tea may reduce the risk of certain types of cancer. Based on a...

US FDA again delays review of Nutrition 21's health claim for chromium picolinate.
July 1, 2005... The US Food and Drug Administration has requested a 60-day extension for the review of nutritional supplement maker Nutrition 21's qualified health claim petition associating chromium picolinate with a reduced risk of insulin resistance, type 2...

Anti-aging medicines group calls for action against proposed US ban on DHEA supplements.(dehydroepiandrosterone)
July 1, 2005... The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine and others have called on the public to take action to oppose a bill introduced in the US Senate by Senators John McCain (Republican, Arizona), George Allen (Rep, Virginia) and Chuck Grassley (Rep,...

US tax policy should encourage people to make beneficial dietary choices, says CRN.
July 1, 2005... Following the launch in the US Congress earlier this year of HR 1545, the Dietary Supplement and Healthy Meal Replacement Tax Parity Act, the Council for Responsible Nutrition has issued a position statement broadly supporting the proposed...

US anti-aging prods to exceed $30B in 2009.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... American's obsession with youth will continue to drive demand for formulated anti-aging products, the market for which will rise an average 8.7% a year to reach $30.7 billion in 2009, according to a new report from Freedonia. Fueling gains will...

$17M grant for Africa Sorghum project.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Africa's leading non-profit agricultural and scientific organization, Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International, is part of a nine- member consortium that has been offered a Grand Challenges in Global Health grant of $16.9 million, funded...

Codex Alimentarius adopts vitamins and mineral food supplement guideline.
July 1, 2005... The Codex Alimentarius Commission, at its meeting earlier this month in Rome, Italy, has declared vitamin independence worldwide from arbitrarily-set standards for supplement upper levels by approving and adopting the Vitamin and Mineral Food...

Only 2% of Vietnam herbals are patented.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... While there are some 39,380 formulas for herbal medications based on recipes from 54 ethnic groups from all over Vietnam, very few herbals from that country have been patented, according to that nation's Intellectual Property Department and the...

New technology to aid Malaysia's herbals.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... New technology being brought into Malaysia will help advance the development and worldwide acceptance of that country's herbal medicines, according to Borneo Plant Technology, which has bought a license for Total Quality Profiling, developed at...

ACA calls for regs on supps in soft drinks.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... According to the Australian Consumers Association, the trend by local manufacturers of adding herbal supplements to soft drinks and other foods is becoming dangerous and should, therefore, be regulated. The ACA's food policy officer, Clare...

W Bengal med plant cultivation supported.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... In India, the West Bengal government's efforts to promote the state as a location for medicinal plant cultivation is having some success, with the Hyderabad-based bio-herbal company Nahdan Biomatrix agreeing to establish a 100-hectare...

IADSA expands global food supplements network to all major markets.
July 1, 2005... In recent months, new associations such as the French and Bulgarian have joined the International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplement Association and, in June, Turkey became the 50th member, thus expanding the body's network to all major world...

Australia moves on false nutritional claims.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is to demand the booming juice-bar sector stop making false claims about the nutritional, health and therapeutic benefits of its products, according to a statement from the ACCC, which also...

ChromeMate GRAS status confirmed.(Generally Recognized as Safe)
July 1, 2005... US firm InterHealth Nutraceuticals' ChromeMate has successfully been affirmed as Generally Recognized as Safe for use in functional beverages by the Burdock Group, a leading toxicology specialist in evaluating the safety of food and beverage...

Quercetin shown to inhibit NO production.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Researchers from the Department of Physiology at the University of Leon in Spain investigated whether different concentrations of the flavonoid quercetin ameliorate nitric oxide production and nuclear factor (NF)-B activation in interleukin-1...

Nutrient interactions with olestra assessed.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Daily intakes of multivitamins during long-term consumption of olestra (Procter & Gamble's no-calorie cooking oil Olean) in men prevents declines in serum vitamins A and E but not carotenoids, researchers from the USA's Penningtin Biomedical...

Grape seed extract may inhibit artery hardening.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Adding grape seed extract to the diet may prevent atherosclerosis, according to three studies conducted by cardiovascular researchers at UC Davis School of Medicine and Medical Center in the USA. The trials, which were presented at the...

Walnut omega-3s' benefits in pregnancy.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Whether a woman is pregnant or not, if she is trying to consume essential omega-3 fatty acids and is concerned about the mercury content in some fish, plant food sources of omega-3s, such as walnuts, are an effective option. Just one ounce...

High-dose folic acid might help improve memory, Dutch research shows.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... High-dose folic acid pills may help slow the cognitive decline of aging, according to research presented at a June meeting of the Alzheimer's Association, held in the USA. It is the first study to show a vitamin could really improve memory and...

Carrington launches Nutra-Tea.(Carrington Tea green tea with dietary supplements)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... USA-based Carrington Tea has launched a new specialty tea, Nutra-Tea, in the USA, providing consumers with a novel combination of green tea and dietary supplements. Designed by the firm to simplify supplement intake, correct preparation of...

Taiyo: new additions to Sunphenon line.(Taiyo Kagaku Company Ltd green tea)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Taiyo Kagaku Japan says it has bolstered its line of green tea extracts, which are marketed under the Sunphenon brand, with the addition of a new green tea base and green tea beverage line-up - Sunphenon 30S, Sunphenon 30LB, Sunphenon 30R and...

GSK debuts chocolate-tasting fiber shake.(GlaxoSmithKline)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare has launched its new Citrucel FiberShake which is made with real cocoa and represents, according to the firm, the first and only fiber therapy that tastes like a chocolate milkshake. "Citrucel FiberShake...

Elite's Celsius soda ups metabolism 12%.(Elite FX health drink)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Elite FX says that the results of a research study, presented at the International Society of Sports Nutrition Conference held in New Orleans, USA, show that drinking its Celsius soda actually burns calories. According to Steve Haley, president...

Chondrobi: July debut.(Zeria Pharmaceutical health drinks)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Tokyo, Japan-headquartered Zeria Pharmaceutical says that it will commence marketing its new health drink Chondrobi Concentrated Solution Jyunkou from July 1. The beverage contains chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine and collagen peptide. A 720ml...

Mosaic finishes devel of vitamin chew.(Mosaic Nutraceuticals multivitamin candy)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Dallas, Texas, USA-based Mosaic Nutraceuticals has completed composition and preliminary testing of its VitalHealth Premium Multivitamin Candy Chew. The product contains a special blend of vitamins and is available in two flavors - chocolate...

Quigley unveils in vivo results with QR440.(Quigley Pharma Inc. antihypersesitive agents)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... US firm Quigley Corp says that it has obtained results from a series of in vivo (animal model) inflammation studies conducted at a leading university research center of a potential broad-spectrum anti- inflammatory, all natural, botanical...

Trans-free NuSun lowers cholesterol.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... A groundbreaking study from the Pennsylvania State University, USA, has demonstrated that trans fat-free NuSun sunflower oil provides not only a technical solution, but also a health solution to frying and manufacturing heart healthy foods....

Omega-3s help the heart and brain.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Recently-published articles confirm the positive effects of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC- PUFAs) in reducing atrial fibrillation, improving heart rate variability, benefiting children at high risk of heart disease and...

Pomegranate juice may reduce birth defects.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine, USA, who mimicked hypoxic ischemic birth defects in mice by temporarily lowering brain oxygen and blood flow in the newborns, have found that the mice whose mothers had been given...

Leiner Health up, despite vitamin E bad press.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Leiner Health Products, which makes private-label vitamins and dietary supplements, has posted results for its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 26, which show that sales were up 3.4% to $174.6 million, while net income was $6.4 million, down...

Nutraceuticals drive growth at Zila but marketing costs lead to heavier losses.
July 1, 2005... Zila of Phoenix, USA, has announced its financial results for its third quarter of fiscal 2005 ended April 30, which show that revenues rose 11% to $14.1 million, while net loss was $2.2 million, or $0.05 per share, compared to a loss of $1.6...

Universal FAB to debut flavored water.(Universal Food & Beverage Co.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Illinois, USA-headquartered Universal Food & Beverage Co says it plans to release a new line of healthy drinks to expand its flavored water offering. Frost2O, a no calorie, sugar-free, vitamin-enhanced and naturally- flavored alternative...

Potter's Sweet Dreams available in the UK.(Potter's Herbal Medicines sleep inducing herbal medicine)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... UK-based Potter's Herbal Medicines has highlighted the availability of its sleep aid Sweet Dreams, which is part of its Femmeherb collection and contains Passiflora, a herb known to have relaxing and sedative properties. Unlike potentially...

Enzymotec to present lipid products at AIFST.(Australian Institute of Food Science & Technology convention)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Israeli group Enzymotec plans to introduce its lipid-based ingredients for the Australian foods market at this month's annual Australian Institute of Food Science & Technology convention in Sydney, according to Nutritionhorizon.com. The...

HPF leads performance-boosting market.(High Performance Fitness energy drinks)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Houston, Texas-based High Performance Fitness says its is dominating the sports performance-enhancing market with its highly-effective 1st STEP For Energy, a liquid multivitamin and mineral supplement which represents a safe alternative to...

Response debuts glucose control supp.(Response Scientific antioxidants)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The USA's Response Scientific says it has launched its InResponse, a patented antioxidant supplement clinically proven to promote healthy blood glucose levels and support insulin function. Data from two clinical trials with the supplement,...

Cargill expands chondroitin production.(Cargill Health and Food Technologies)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... USA-based ingredient and supplement giant Cargill says it has completed engineering for a planned expansion of OptaFlex natural chondroitin sulfate production capabilities at its Denver, Colorado, facility, within the next few months. ...

Ameritech acquires brands from PowerLean.
July 1, 2005... Ameritech International of Phoenix, Arizona, USA, has expanded its operations with the purchase of two leading product line in the weight- loss and health and well-being market, buying the North American rights to the PowerLean and NutrLife...

Premier Foods buys Marlow Foods.
July 1, 2005... Premier Foods says that it has agreed to acquire fellow UK-based Marlow Foods Holdings, the owner of Quorn, the country's leading meat- alternative brand, from Montagu Private Equity in al all-cash deal worth L172.0 million ($314.8 million)....

Danisco's FY profit leaps 23%, as forecast.
July 1, 2005... Denmark-based Danisco says that, in the full fiscal year to April 30, operating profits grew 9% to 1.94 billion kroner ($248.3) impacted by the cessation of goodwill amortization, which amounted to 409.0 million kroner last fiscal year. ...

Boiron's Oscillo sees 203% US sales growth.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The US subsidiary of French homeopathic medicine producer Boiron says that sales of Oscillo, its six-dose oscillococcinum homeopathic flu medicine has surged 203% in the 12-week period ending April 16, 2005. Sales rose 62% from last year...

Danone to sell sauces to Heinz and L&P.(Groupe Danone)(HP Foods)(Lea & Perrins )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... France's Groupe Danone has reached an agreement for the sale of its sauce business to US condiments major Heinz, represented by HP Foods in the UK and Lea & Perrins domestically. In 2004, the two firms posted consolidated sales of 240.0 million...

Mars Inc unveils new nutrition-focused unit.
July 1, 2005... Leading confectionery maker Mars Inc has announced the setting up of a new business unit, to be called Mars Nutrition for Health & Well-Being, which it says will develop and launch new foods, snacks, beverages and lifestyle support to better...

Ideasphere to buy Metabolife assets.(Indeasphere Inc)(Metabolife International)
July 1, 2005... Indeasphere Inc, owner of the Twinlab Nature's Herbs and Alvita Teas brands and Rebus Publishing, has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire certain assets of Metabolife International, a maker of diet and nutritional supplements, which...

Hoodia diet pill firms enter alliance.(Hoodiadietproducts.com)(Hoodiadietpills.org)
July 1, 2005... Hoodiadietproducts.com and Hoodiadietpills.org, both of which provide Hoodia, a natural product seen to aid weight-loss problems, have announced a partnership to combine their buying power and supply hoodia diet pills and associated products to...

Pharmanex debuts supplement optimizer.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Pharmanex, a division of Nu Skin Enterprises, has launched the Pharmanex Product Regimen Optimizer, which it says is an easy-to-use, web-based tool that integrates decades of nutritional and scientific expertise to provide customers with the...

Lonza/Nutraceutical settle over carnitine.(Lonza AG)(Nutraceutical Corp.)
July 1, 2005... Switzerland-headquartered Lonza and Nutraceutical Corp have settled litigation pending in the US District Court for the Central District of Utah relating to counter claims over US patent no 5,073,376 entitled Preparations containing...

Weider Nutrition exits European market.(Weider Nutrition International subsidary Haleko purchased by Atlantic Grupa)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Salt Lake City, USA-based Weider Nutrition International has sold its European subsidiary Haleko to Atlantic Grupa, a holding company headquartered in Zagreb, Croatia, for around $15.0 million. Haleko, which has its headquarters in Germany...

NutraCea looking to expand globally.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... California-based NutraCea, which produces nutritional supplements and related products derived from stabilized rice bran, has announced its intention to spread its wings beyond the frontiers of the USA, with Latin America likely to be its first...

Omega signs nutra deal with Korea firm.(Omega Biotech Corp)(Global Total Well-Being Co )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Omega Biotech Corp of Canada says that it has signed a 10-year exclusive distribution deal with Global Total Well-Being Co of Seoul, South Korea. The Vancouver-based privately-owned company said that the agreement involves the distribution of...

New 20M-euros facility for Cognis.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Specialty chemicals supplier Cognis has unveiled a new 20 million-euros ($24.2 million) high-performance plant in Illertissen, Germany, reinforcing its leading position in the worldwide supply of plant sterol esters and conjugated linoleic...

Tipco Foods Thailand to expand production.(health drinks )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The foods division of the Tipco Group, Tipco Foods (Thailand), is to spend 1.0 billion baht ($23.8 million) to expand production capacity of Tipco health drinks this year, according to its vice president, Viwat Limsakdakul. He said in an...

Calpis and Unilever in AmealPeptide deal.(Calpis Food Industry Company Ltd.)
July 1, 2005... Japan's Calpis Co has entered into agreements with food and consumer goods giant Unilever to license technologies, patents and trade marks and to provide the hypertension-regulating ingredient AmealPeptide for blood pressure-controlling foods...

Aroma Spices to cutivate herbal plants.(organic spices)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... With the health food sector requiring a greater organic content and the tremendous potential of the north-eastern states of India to produce organic spices, companies including Aroma Spices have said they plan to start cultivation in Assam and...

Forthcoming meetings/events.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The European Nutrigenomics Organization is hosting a conference on Personalized Nutrition which, it says, is the first meeting with time dedicated to both science and societal issues, on November 2-4 in Palma de Mallorca, Mallorca. For more...

People on the move.(Groupe Danone executive committee adds new memebers)(Danisco A/S appoints Anders Wilhjelm as president)(Cognis Nutrition & Health appoints Charles Barber technical manager)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... - To ensure that all group functions are represented on its executive committee of France's Groupe Danone, the company had added two new members: Philippe-Loic Jacob, secretary general, and Sven Thormahlen, vice president, R&D. - Denmark's...