Nutraceuticals International articles from September 2004

Nutraceuticals International archives from September 2004

Irish Food Safety Authority warns of unsubstantiated noni juice claims.(Food Safety Authority of Ireland)
September 1, 2004... The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has warned the country's public about unsubstantiated medical claims associated with noni juice imported into Ireland from certain sources. Noni juice is extracted from the Polynesian fruit Morinda...

Health freedom in Denmark threatened.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration has issued a guidance on dietary supplements (and herbs) as a public hearing notice, in short stating that any substance with a physiological effect is to be regarded as a medicine in the future...

UK to consult in January on kava-kava safety.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has discussed its plans to review available evidence relating to the hepatotoxicity of kava-kava, to assess whether the current controls on it remain justified and proportionate. ...

Fast growth for vitamins, diet supps in new EU member states: Euromonitor studies.(European Union)
September 1, 2004... Improved economic conditions and a growing trend toward healthier lifestyles in a number of eastern European countries which, this year, became part of the enlarged European Union, are producing fast growth in their vitamins and dietary...

To comply with new EU laws, supp makers need suppliers' support.(European Union)
September 1, 2004... Through the first half of 2004, food technologists developing or supporting food supplements and functional foods for the European market have been faced with a number of significant challenges that have impacted on both the composition and...

European sports drinks market surpasses 1 billion euros in 2003.
September 1, 2004... Western Europe's sports drink market sprinted past the 1.0 billion-euro ($1.24 billion) barrier in 2003, putting on a 27% volume spurt to 477 million liters, according to the 2004 West Europe Sports Drinks report from drinks consultancy Zenith...

Denmark rejects vit-enriched Kellogg prods.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Under a new policy on the approval of fortified foods, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration has rejected an application from food giant Kellogg to market a range of 18 vitamin-enriched breakfast cereals and cereal bars, which were due...

California Assembly throws out bill seeking mandatory AE reporting.
September 1, 2004... US dietary supplement manufacturers, retailers and other groups have welcomed the failure of Democratic Senator Jackie Speier's California Adverse Event Reports Bill, SB 779, to gain sufficient votes to be approved by the state of California's...

US dietary guide: public comment thru Sept.
September 1, 2004... Public comments are now being accepted on the Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005, the US Departments of Health and Human Services and of Agriculture have said. Written comments...

US FTC $2M settlement seeks to ban Coral Calcium and Biotape infomercials.(Federal Trade Commission)
September 1, 2004... A US Federal Trade Commission settlement with Kevin Trudeau, who has either appeared in or produced hundreds of infomercials, broadly bans him from appearing in, producing or disseminating future infomercials that advertise any type of product,...

Improvements at US IBIDS Database.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... An improved, web-accessible version of the US International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements Database has been unveiled by the National Institutes of Health's Office of Dietary Supplements and the Department of Agriculture. The...

Is Japan's functional food 'boom' real this time or just media hype?
September 1, 2004... I suspect I'm not the only one who has noticed the ton of seminar materials for functional foods these days: seminars such as Functional Beverage 2004, Functional Foods & Beverage Forum 2004, Nutraceuticals Summit 2004 and so on. And there are...

Two supplement marketers pay nearly $1M to settle FTC "deceptive ad" charges.
September 1, 2004... Two Maine, USA-based dietary supplement marketers have agreed to settle US Federal Trade Commission charges of making deceptive advertising claims for their products. The stipulated final orders are for settlement purposes only and do not...

Japanese spend 5% of food expenditure on functional foods at $126 pp/year.
September 1, 2004... - bone health, $458 million with 12 approved products; and - dental health, $273 million with 26 approved products. FOSHU foods for cardiovascular and triglyceride health were the largest gainers in 2003, while two new categories, bone...

Uzbekistan runs vitamin A campaign.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The health authorities in Uzbekistan ran a week-long campaign in mid- August to provide children with vitamin A tablets, according to UzReport. These tablets were provided free of change by the Canadian government under a program lasting until...

Indonesia should use int herbal standards.(local Herbal Medicine Companies Association, )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The Indonesian herbal medicine sector needs to set and use international standards if it wants to boost its exports, according to Charles Saerang, chairman of the local Herbal Medicine Companies Association, who noted that, last year, herbal...

Japanese spend 5% of food expenditure on functional foods at $126 pp/year.(FOSHU)
September 1, 2004... Japan is not only the country of the rising sun, it is also where functional foods were born and where these have become a part of the fabric of Japanese healthy living, according to a new report from Paul Yamagouchi & Associates, entitled...

Hershey SmartZone launch proceeds.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Hershey Foods of the USA says that ZonePerfect Nutrition's request for a preliminary injunction to stop the sale of Hershey's SmartZone nutrition bar has been denied by Judge Richard Stearns of the US District Court for the District of...

New dietary supplement "hangover cure" stimulates controversy.
September 1, 2004... A new dietary supplement that claims to eliminate hangover symptoms such as headaches, nausea and dry mouth is being greeted with apprehension among US consumer health advocates, who are worried that it could lead to increased consumption and...

Doubts over weight loss effects of chitosan.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... A new study, conducted at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, has shown that chitosan is ineffective for weight control. The product, a deacetylated chitin, is a widely-available dietary supplement purported to decrease body weight and...

Citrus fruits may help combat cancer.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... New research presented at the American Chemical Society conference in Pennsylvania suggests that citrus fruits, such as oranges and grapefruits, may contain compounds that fight cancer, reports foodnavigator.com. Studies conducted at Texas...

Dark chocolate helps blood flow; new study.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... At the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology, held in Munich, Germany, new findings were presented demonstrating for the first time how chocolate improves the function of blood vessels, allowing them to dilate and thereby...

MIT explains yin-yang of ginseng.(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
September 1, 2004... In work that emphasizes the need for stronger regulation of herbal drugs, an international team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists and colleagues has unraveled the yin and the yang of ginseng, or why the popular alternative...

Dutch firm DSM to roll out PeptoPro.
September 1, 2004... Netherlands-based DSM has announced the commercial launch of its specialist sports recovery drink, PeptoPro Sports, which will be fronted by Olympic gold medal-winning Dutch swimmer Inge de Bruijn. DSM has signed a deal with German company...

Leading Brands debuts Soy2O.(Advertisement)
September 1, 2004... Canada's Leading Brands has announced that Soy2O, a blend of fruit flavored water and natural soy isoflavones, is now available in all 10 Canadian provinces and 18 US states, as well as Mexico. The company recently joined forces with NSSI,...

Blueberries may lower cholesterol; new study.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... New findings presented at the annual American Chemical Society meeting, held in Philadelphia, suggest that a compound found in blueberries has potential use in lowering cholesterol. In the study, conducted by researchers from the US...

Link between creatine and metabolic energy.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Results from a study investigating chronic fatigue syndrome indicate a link between creatine and metabolic energy. These findings were published in the Journal of Applied Physiology. Creatine is a popular over-the-counter supplement used by...

Vitamin E helps fight colds in the elderly.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Vitamin E supplementation can lower the risk of upper respiratory tract infections such as the common cold in the elderly, according to a study published in the August 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The...

Tomato juice may benefit diabetics.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Researchers have found that drinking tomato juice can reduce platelet aggregation - the blood's ability to clot - in people with type 2 diabetes. These individuals have an increased risk of unwanted clotting and therefore are more prone to...

Further Leiner supps awarded USP mark.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Leiner Health Products, a producer of vitamins, minerals and supplements, says that the dietary supplements Equaline and SunMark, manufactured for fellow US firms Albertson's and McKesson, respectively, are the latest products to be awarded the...

Danisco-Genencor deal sees first drug launch.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The first product originating from Netherlands-based Danisco's alliance with US biotechnology firm Genencor International has been launched at the international baking expo in Las Vegas, USA. The enzyme, known as GRINDAMYL POWERSoft, has...

Nutrinova seeks FSANZ approval of DHA oil.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Nutrinova Australia has applied to the Food Standards Australia New Zealand for the approval of docosahexaenoic acid-rich oil, derived from marine micro-algae (Ulkenia sp). Although DHA, an omega-3 essential fatty acid, occurs naturally in...

Lipid Nutrition introduces 95% CLA.(conjugated linoleic acid)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Lipid Nutrition has launched a 95% concentration of its conjugated linoleic acid, Clarinol A95, overtaking its 80% predecessor to become the highest form of CLA on the market, reports NutraIngredients.com. Clarinol A95, containing active...

Cargill expands use of trehalose to drinks.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Cargill is preparing to expand the use of trehalose, trade mark name Ascend, with its food scientists currently blending the sugar into green and red liquids to be used as prototypes to sell to beverage makers for inclusion in sports drinks,...

Tishcon's Q-Gel coQ10 agents get USP stamp.(United States Pharmacopeia)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Tishcon of the USA says that four of its Q-Gel coenzyme Q10 softgel products (15mg, 30mg, 60mg and 100mg) have met the standards set by the US Pharmacopeia's verification program for dietary supplements, thereby obtaining the USP mark....

Lutein and zeaxanthin crucial for good vision.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... A new study published in the September issue of Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science has shown that the two carotenoids zeaxanthin and lutein play a vital role in maintaining the distribution of Retinal Pigment Epithelium cells; the...

Vit B12 may prevent birth defects.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Mothers with low levels of vitamin B12 in their blood are at increased risk of having a child with spina bifida, a birth defect in which the spinal cord does not form properly, according to Dutch scientists. Women are currently recommended...

Butterbur no benefit for hay fever sufferers.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... A study reported in July's issue of the Annals of Allergy Asthma Immunology suggests that the herbal remedy butterbur appears to have no impact on hay fever symptoms. Earlier this year, the researchers from the University of Dundee,...

Ginseng reduces warfarin efficacy.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Findings published in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggest that the widely-used herbal supplement ginseng reduces the effects of the anticoagulant warfarin. According to the lead researcher Chun-Su Yuan from the University of Chicago,...

Nestle misses 1st-half targets on poor sales.
September 1, 2004... Nestle of Switzerland, the world's largest food company, undershot its target for the first half of 2004, posting profit growth of just 2.1% on falling sales in Europe and higher costs for essentials such as sugar, energy and packaging. ...

Numico raises 2004 sales target on 2nd-qtr.
September 1, 2004... Netherlands-based baby and hospital food maker Numico has returned to profit in the second quarter of 2004, on a 9.7% rise in sales, leaving the company well on the way to recovery following the divestment of its flailing US vitamins business,...

L-Carnipure boosts fatty acid oxidation.
September 1, 2004... Swiss company Lonza has announced that a new study confirms that supplementation with its branded product L-Carnipure (L-carnitine) can significantly increase fatty acid oxidation in healthy adults. The company-sponsored trial, conducted at the...

Cargill's Regenasure gets UK approval.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Iowa, USA-based firm Cargill's Regenasure glucosamine, said to be the first commercially-available fermentation-derived form of this supplement, has been approved by the UK regulatory authorities for all applications using glucosamine. The...

Valio to market lactose-free milk tech.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Finnish firm Valio has developed and patented a process to produce lactose-free dairy products. The milk drinks produced using the new technology are completely different to the so-called "lactose-free milks" available outside Finland, simply...

EAS debuts low-carb nutrition bars in UK.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The AdvantEdge Complete Nutrition range of low-carbohydrate, high- nutrient snack bars from US sports nutrition firm EAS has been launched in the UK. The products have been available in the USA for some years and are aimed at dieters limiting...

Tricky time in China for Natural Health.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Natural Health Trends Corp says that net sales for the second quarter ended June 30 increased 48% to $17.7 million, though net loss was $6.7 million, or $1.24 per share, compared to earnings of $947,000, or $0.17 per share. Sales for the...

Weider results disappoint analysts.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Salt Lake City, USA-based Weider Nutrition International says that sales for its fiscal fourth-quarter ended May 31, climbed 17.6% to $65.6 million, while net income was $1.5 million, or $0.05 per share, compared to $281,000, or $0.01 per...

Turnaround is well underway at Natrol.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Natrol has reported results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2004, which show that net sales rose 9.6% to $20.7 million, while net income was $769,000, or $0.05 per share, compared to a net loss of $550,000, or $0.04 per share, for the...

Healthy revenues posted at Bio-One.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Bio-One Corp has posted sales of $11 million for the second quarter ended June 30, (compared to no revenue in the second quarter of 2003), while net loss was around $277,000, or $0.04 per share, compared with a loss of $153,000, or $0.05 per...

Former Lundbeck CEO set up herbals firm.
September 1, 2004... Danish medical tycoon Erik Sprunk-Jansen, a former chief executive of pharmaceutical company Lundbeck, is now implementing a venture to create a global company for herbal medicine. In buying the worldwide rights to 25 herbal medical products...

BASF inaugurates new citral plant.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... BASF has officially inaugurated a new production plant for the fine chemicals intermediate citral at its Ludwigshafen site in Germany. The world-scale plant, which has an annual capacity of 40,000 metric tonnes, replaces an existing one of...

Danone Serbian buy?(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... France's Groupe Danone has put in an offer for Serbian water bottler Knjaz Milos, which has been accepted by the authorities. Other offers have also been submitted.

Acorus Calamus to expand exports.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Lithuania's Acorus Calamus, a producer of medicinal teas and herbal medicines in capsule form, is planning to start exporting to Germany, Ireland and Estonia, as well as to increase its exports to Latvia, according to Baltic Business News. The...

HQ buys Chinese nutraceutical firm.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... HQ Sustainable Maritime Industries, a Delaware, USA-based group engaged in aquatic product processing, has announced that it has acquired Hainan Jiahua Marine Bio-products Co Ltd, a leading nutraceutical company in Wenchang, China City. HQ is...

Nutri Source acquires Pacific AgMark.(Acquisitions and mergers)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Nutri Source Industries of Belle Vue, Washington in the USA, which is in the business of purchasing berry crops for use in the nutraceutical industry, has acquired Pacific AgMark, based in Abbotsford, Canada. Terms of the deal were not...

Equity companies buy Phillips Health.
September 1, 2004... Two New York-based private equity investment firms, ACI Capital Co and American Securities Capital Partners, say they have completed the acquisition of a majority of the assets of Phillips Health, in partnership with the company's existing...

USA's Herbalife opens up for business in Bolivia.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Herbalife International, a US weight-management firm based in Los Angeles, has set up business in Bolivia, making it the 59th country where its products are sold through the firm's network of independent distributors. The company first...

Argan merges with Vitarich Laboratories.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Argan of Rockville, Maryland, which manufactures, packages and distributes premium nutraceuticals, says it has closed its merger with fellow US firm Vitarich Laboratories, which is based in Naples, Florida. No financial details were disclosed....

Natural Alternatives sales hit record high.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... San Marco, California, USA-based Natural Alternatives International, which specializes in customized nutritional supplements, says that net sales for fiscal 2004 ended June 30 were $78.5 million, the highest level in the company's history and...

Vital Living divests Christopher's Original.
September 1, 2004... Vital Living has entered into an agreement to divest Christopher's Original Formulas, a division which markets traditional vitamins through independent health food stores and which Vital Living acquired fairly recently (NI vol 8, no 7). Under...

Forbes Medi-Tech posts losses.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Canada's Forbes Medi-Tech says that for the second quarter ended June 30, revenues slipped 8.6% to C$3.2 million ($2.5 million), while net loss was C$2.4 million, or C$0.08 per share, compared with a net income of C$2.0 million or C$0.09 per...

Forthcoming meetings/events.(Calendar)
September 1, 2004... l Soy & Health 2004 - Clinical evidence and dietetic applications, takes place in Bruges, Belgium, October 7-8. For further details and registration, contact: Soy & Health 2004, PB 220, B8500 Kortrijk, Belgium. Fax: +32 (0)57 46 95 25; e-mail:...

People on the move.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... - Archer Daniels Midland has made two appointments: Shannon Chapoy becomes director of marketing, Europe, following the retirement of Tony Miles-Prouten; and Gudron Vis has been promoted to marketing manager, Europe. Both will be based in Koog...