LATAM
Recent regulatory changes help spur functional beverage innovation in Brazil
The introduction of the dietary supplement framework [RDC No.243/2018] in July 2018 predominantly covers dietary supplements, but it also regulates isotonic sports drinks.
This change, coupled with another law to regulate functional juices (under the Ministry of Agriculture's normative instruction number 49/2018 [Article 14]), could open up opportunities for Brazil functional beverage categories.
Speaking with NutraIngredients-LATAM, Alexandre Jobim, president of Brazil's Association for Soft Drinks and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (ABIR), said these regulatory changes would fuel continued growth in Brazil's functional drink category, which currently represented just 5% of the market for non-alcoholic beverages.
“Companies are looking to diversify through the launch of new products and some types of functional beverages have only been regulated in recent years in Brazil. ...With the regulation of these products in recent years, we expect growth of this sector as we will have more options in the market,” he said.
Asked what product areas presented the biggest opportunities in functional, he said: “Fortified juices, teas, products with regional fruits and coconut water.”
Europe
Probi & Symrise explore probiotic ingredient uses for skin
Probi Symrise are aiming to launch a probiotic-based products that look to address sensitive and dry skin by the end of 2019
The Swedish probiotics firm will collaborate with the German fragrance and flavor giant to combine the knowhow and expertise for a probiotic-based nutricosmetic.
The product will be manufactured in the US, and Symrise will own the exclusive rights to sell the Lactobacillus plantarum HEAL19 strain to the worldwide cosmetics market. The strain is expected to appear in a broad range of applications that include dry skin care, atopic prone skin care, baby care, sensitive skin care, body and face care.
Imke Meyer, senior global product manager actives at Symrise, said: “We are focusing our research on Lactobacilli, because they are present in our daily life as well as a part of the human microbiome.
“This specific strain was chosen out of a collection of Probi strains that were screened on specific skin health endpoints, as it combined quite a number of benefits in different in vitro and ex vivo studies.”
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Asia
Understanding null results in some omega-3-heart health studies
Dietary intake, supplement dosage, and comorbidities are three factors that can be overlooked when trying to determine omega-3's effects on cardiovascular disease.
Consideration of these three factors may help explain why there are inconsistent results from omega-3 trials looking at cardiovascular endpoints, according to a recent presentation by Professor Trevor Mori, a research fellow at the University of Western Australia, at the inaugural NutraIngredients Omega-3 Summit in Singapore.
Referring specifically to EPA and DHA, Prof Mori said: “There are a number of studies that have looked at the benefits or potential benefits of omega-3 fatty acids on various aspects of cardiovascular disease.
“In a meta-analysis of over 170,000 patients with over 5,000 incident cases, there was about a 15% relative risk reduction with fish intake, and about 14% with omega-3 fatty acid intake.”
However, Prof Mori also said there was a need to consider trials that had produced less favorable outcomes.
Indeed, one meta-analysis of 10 trials involving 77,917 individuals published in late 2018 in the journal JAMA Cardiology concluded that there was no significant association between omega-3 supplementation and coronary heart disease death.
“We have to ask ourselves why some of these studies, especially the more recent ones within the last 15 years, have failed to show any effect of omega-3 on heart disease.”
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