Nutraceuticals International articles from October 2003

Nutraceuticals International archives from October 2003

"Myths and misunderstandings" on health claims Regulation: EU Commission view.
October 1, 2003... The European Union Commission has issued a statement pointing out that, following its adoption of a proposed Regulation on health and nutrition claims mid-July (NI vol 8, no 8), a number of "myths and misunderstandings" have flourished in the...

UK govt ignoring VMS crime effect?(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The role of dietary supplements in reducing anti-social behavior and cutting crime has received some unexpected high-profile recognition by the former UK Chief Inspector of Prisons, Sir David Ramsbotham. In a new book, Prisongate, Sir...

Finland turns screws on health claims.
October 1, 2003... Finland's National Food Agency has set up an expert network to determine whether health claims on marketed foods are properly substantiated. The network, which held its first meeting on September 1, will examine products selected by the...

Health claims proposal goes to EU Parliament.
October 1, 2003... Mauro Nobilia, vice chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy, has been named rapporteur for the European Commission's proposed regulation on health and nutrition claims (NI vol 8, no...

Transparency key in nutritional profiling, says report for UK Food Standards Agency.
October 1, 2003... Mandatory food labeling alone is unlikely to guarantee that fortified foods or products carrying health claims will serve, rather than compromise, public health, concludes a recent report for the UK's Food Standards Agency. If nutritional...

Functional food study by Leatherhead.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... UK-based Leatherhead Food International has said it is looking for industrial collaborators for a research project into functional foods, pointing out that, despite continued product and market activity over the five years since the...

New EU proposals to control micronutrients in all foods.
October 1, 2003... At the end of August, the European Commission circulated its revised proposal for a regulation on the addition of vitamins, minerals and certain other substances to foods. This proposal was significantly changed from the previous draft released...

US seniors' regular use of multivitamins "could save Medicare $1.6B in five years".
October 1, 2003... The daily use of a multivitamin by adults aged 65 and over could lead to savings for the US Medicare program totaling more than $1.6 billion over the next five years, resulting from improved immune functioning and a reduction in the relative...

Dietary Supps Day for industry, DSHEA.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... A broad coalition of dietary supplement industry associations and consumer groups is urging its members and supporters to gather in Washington DC, October 21, to meet with members of Congress and their staff in defense of the Dietary Supplement...

European ban on kava "probably not justified," stakeholder meeting concludes.
October 1, 2003... Last year, the German health authority, the BfArM, banned the sale of food supplement products containing kava, because of reports of cases of liver damage associated with consumption of the ingredient and other European Union governments...

New era heralded for USA's dietary supplement industry.
October 1, 2003... "If it sounds to you like the sky is falling, listen a little harder," Byron Johnson, chairman of the US Council for Responsible Nutrition, admonished delegates at last month's annual conference. With its new leadership, the "reinvigorated,...

US Marshals seize "cancer cure" supps.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... US Marshals have seized the herbal products Forticel and Forticel Mix at the request of the Food and Drug Administration, which says their producer, New York-based Jean's Greens, is making unapproved medical claims for them. Specifically,...

US FDA issues interim consumer advisory against star anise teas.
October 1, 2003... The Food and Drug Administration has advised the US public not to consume teas brewed from star anise, as these have been associated with illnesses affecting around 40 people, including some 15 infants, in the last two years. The illnesses have...

Health claims fail to engage consumers in Australia and New Zealand.
October 1, 2003... Health claims for foods could face a wall of indifference if the general prohibition on their use is lifted in Australia and New Zealand. In a quantitative survey undertaken for Food Standards Australia New Zealand, health claims were among the...

South Africa is latest country to purge itself of kava products.
October 1, 2003... South Africa has joined the wave of countries taking kava products off the market amid fears about liver toxicity (NIs passim and page 10 this issue). The Medicines Control Council has announced the urgent withdrawal of all medicines, dietary...

Food opportunities in P-Health program.
October 1, 2003... Developing new foods and diets to combat disease and promote well-being is one strand of a preventative healthcare program being launched by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Australia. With four million of the...

Consumption of multivitamins linked to reduced risk of heart attack.
October 1, 2003... Multivitamin and mineral supplement users may have a lower risk of myocardial infarction, according to the results of an observational study published in the Journal of Nutrition. Multivitamin supplement use was significantly linked with a...

3rd study of chromium picolinate in diabetes.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... In a third study presented at the International Diabetes Federation Congress, held in Paris, France, researchers from the Isala Clinics and University Hospital Groningen, the Netherlands, presented data showing that daily nutritional...

Abbott/Ross' ProSure helps people with cancer-related weight loss.
October 1, 2003... According to a study published last month in the journal Gut, a new therapeutic nutritional product, ProSure, a high-protein, high-calorie, specialized nutritional product containing a blend of protein, EPA (an omega-3 fatty acid), fiber,...

New antioxidant from Mannatech.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... US firm Mannatech has introduced a new antioxidant product, Ambrotose Ao, to its Optimal Health products range. The agent has been designed to help counter the harmful effects of toxins and other environmental sources of stress. The...

Provexis to launch CardioFlow.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Provexis of the UK has developed a new, patented extract of the tomato, a water-soluble non-lycopene trade-named CardioFlow, which has been shown in clinical trials to have a powerful effect on blood platelets, thereby reducing the propensity...

ADM to showcase soy ingredients at FiEuro.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... USA-based Archer Daniels Midland plans to present a number of ingredients derived from natural sources at this year's Food Ingredients Europe exhibition, due to take place in Frankfurt, Germany, November 18-20. One of these will be...

P&D and Pharmavite launch Olay Vitamins.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Olay, a division of Procter & Gamble, and Pharmavite have launched Olay Vitamins which, they say, is the first vitamin line devoted to promoting beauty through ingredients or nutrients taken internally. The products, available in the vitamin...

Nurture introduces OatVantage in USA.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Privately-held US firm Nurture Inc has launched what it claims to be the world's first and only all-natural, highly concentrated source of oat bran, OatVantage, throughout the country. The product is said to help supply the amount of oat bran...

Kywa Hakko debuts CSPHP tablets.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Following the introduction of its cholesterol-lowering food ingredient CSPHP (which combines soy protein hydrolyzate and soy phospholipids) in liquid form earlier this year, Japanese drugmaker Kyowa Hakko Kogyo introduced a tablet form of this...

Australian Cancer Technology buys rights to NutraForte range.
October 1, 2003... Australian Cancer Technology is buying the exclusive 20-year worldwide licensing rights to make and distribute UK company NutraForte's range of nutraceutical medicine products focused on cancer. The products will be launched into the US market...

ADM and Burcon deal on canola.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Canada's Burcon NutraScience has entered into a licensing and development agreement with US firm Archer Daniels Midland to commercialize its canola protein ingredients, including the Puratein and Supertein brands. The deal between the two...

Tnuva launches soy-based drinks in Israel.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Israeli food and dairy major Tnuva, which a year ago acquired the Magic Soy brand of health drink for $10 million, has started selling these products on the domestic market with the aim, according to trade sources reported by Just-food.com, to...

Cranberry juice may interact with warfarin.
October 1, 2003... The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's Committee on Safety of Medicines has issued a warning regarding the possible interaction between cranberry juice and warfarin. Since 1999, the CSM has received five reports...

Cranberry reduces stroke severity.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Researchers in the USA have reported that compounds found in cranberries may protect against the damage of brain cells that occurs during a stroke. The preliminary rat tissue study was led by principal investigator Catherine Neto of the...

Endovasc's supp increases endurance.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... USA-based Endovasc has released findings from a two-week study in mice which show a two-fold increase in running endurance in animals receiving a supplement containing very small amounts of the company's proprietary pyrrolidine alkaloid. ...

Revenues soar at Martek Biosciences.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Martek Biosciences has announced its financial results for the third quarter ended July 2003 which show that revenues leapt 115.6% to $29.1 million, while net income was $4.6 million, or $0.16 per share, compared to a loss of $3.7 million or...

Twinlab forced to sell up to IdeaSphere.
October 1, 2003... The financial pasting that Twinlab has had over the last two years has finally taken its toll. The company, one of the highest-profile firms in the US vitamins and nutritional supplements market, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection...

NBTY lists on New York Stock Exchange.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... NBTY's shares are now being traded on the New York Stock Exchange after the company applied to move its stock from the Nasdaq National Market. It started trading under the symbol NTY on September 19. The firm's chief executive, Scott...

Melatonin "worsens nocturnal asthma".(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... A study published in the September issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology suggests that the use of the hormone melatonin may worsen nocturnal asthma. The investigators took blood samples every two hours from 11 healthy...

Vitamin B supps may help cognition.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Results from a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggest that elderly patients may gain some protection against cognitive decline by taking vitamin B supplements to reduce levels of homocysteine. The US trial, involving...

Ghanaian plants show wound-healing props.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Researchers from King's College in London, UK, and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, are investigating the properties of plants used by by the Ashantis, one of the largest ethnic groups in Ghana. At the British...

Phytoestrogen supp alternative to HRT.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The findings of a 12-week study, conducted by the Natural Menopause Advice Service, UK, have suggested that a phytoestrogen-rich multivitamin supplement, Estroven, may be an alternative to hormone- replacement therapy as a first-line treatment...

Danisco misses 1st qtr earnings targets.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Denmark-based food ingredients concern Danisco has reported a lackluster performance for the fiscal first quarter ended June 30, 2003, as the impact of a weak US dollar and tough competition took its toll on earnings. The company, which...

FiberGel partnership opportunities upped.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The USA's FiberGel, which owns the global rights to the zero-calorie, multi-functional, fiber food ingredient Z-Trim, says that it has expanded the scope of its marketing partnership programs following growing interest in the product. ...

DSM gets final go-ahead for Roche deal.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Netherlands-based DSM and Swiss drugs and diagnostics major Roche have announced that regulators on both sides of the Atlantic ocean have finally approved the sale of the latter's vitamins unit to the Dutch firm. The companies said that...

FACT acquires rights to new product line.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The USA's FACT Corp, which develops and markets functional food products, has acquired the exclusive marketing rights to a line of non- dairy whipped toppings manufactured in Italy. The creams, sold under the brand name Aunt Lydia, are...

Profits down at Integrated Biopharma.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The USA's Integrated Biopharma, which manufactures both pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, has reported a dip in profits for the first half of 2003 as revenues edged down and the company increased spending on its Paxis Pharmaceuticals...

Roche Vitamins unit has 150 million-euro potential for DSM.
October 1, 2003... Following the closing of its acquisition of Roche's vitamins unit (see page 25) Netherlands-based DSM has outlined the business potential of its new purchase. The company told a recent meeting of analysts that it has already identified over 150...

Blackmores benefits from Pan's problems.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The suspension in April of Australia's largest contract manufacturer of health supplements, Pan Pharmaceuticals, and the subsequent recall of some 1,600 products, damaged sales and dashed consumer confidence in the health products industry (NIs...

S Africa's Nutrihealth aims to double sales.
October 1, 2003... South African natural health products manufacturer and distributor Nutrihealth should double its sales annually for the next five years by aggressively growing its independent distributor network, according to chief executive Robin Peterson,...

Liqua Health to buy Parit Perak.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Malaysian multi-level marketing group Liqua Health is to buy financially-distressed Parit Perak Holdings and plans to list on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange during this month, according to the former's executive chairman, Mohd Sarit. ...

ANC sets up JV with two Chinese firms.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Thailand's Asian Nutraceutical Center, the trading arm of Loxley, is to establish a joint venture with two Chinese firms, Baiyao and the Kumming Institute of Botany, to export herbal slimming products worldwide, with ANC holding a 55% stake....

Forbes placement raises $4.7 million.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Canada's Forbes Medi-Tech has raised almost $4.7 million by way of a private placement led by BioAsia Investments, through issuing more than 3.1 million shares (priced at just under $1.49 each), with approximately 1.12 million warrants...

Private placement raises $2 mill at HSG.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Health Sciences Group has announced the closing of a private placement of $2 million led by its investment banker Spencer Trask Ventures. Those involved in the placement also received warrants which, when exercised, could generate an extra $2.6...

Hain Celestial enjoys strong fiscal 2003.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The Hain Celestial Group says that net income for the fiscal-2003 fourth quarter ended June 30 reached $6.8 million, or $0.19 per share, compared with a loss of $12.8 million, or $0.38 per share, in the like, year-earlier period. Sales grew...

Mera back on its feet.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Mera Pharmaceuticals, which has invested heavily to promote AstaFactor, the firm's astaxanthin-based nutritional supplement, says that its operating loss for the fiscal-third quarter ended July 2003 fell to $178,000 versus a loss of $499,000...

DTC revenues boost Natural Alternatives.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Natural Alternatives International, which manufactures customized nutritional supplements, has reported net income of $1.1 million, or $0.18 per share, for its fiscal year ended June 30, 2003, compared with $3.9 million, or $0.67 per share, a...

Forthcoming meetings/events.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Natural Products Expo Asia 2003 will be held in Hong Kong on December 3-5. The event was rescheduled from June because of uncertainties related to severe acute respiratory syndrome. For more information visit www.naturalproductsasia.com or...