New York governor George Pataki this week signed into law a ban on
the sale of all over-the-counter ephedra products in New York
state, the third to ban the herbal.
The Codex committee charged with supplements and foods for special
uses has agreed to abolish the 100 per cent RDA measure for setting
maximum levels of vitamins and minerals, as proposed in a draft
guideline.
Taking supplements of lycopene, the tomato-derived carotenoid
making growing sales in the supplement market, may not be
sufficient to fight against the onset of prostate cancer, say
researchers in a new lab study. Whole tomato powder...
Calorie intake may not be a major factor in causing death by heart
disease, according to a study, which questions the efficacy of
dieting and low-calorie foods marketed for weight loss.
Scientists have developed a new cattle-feed supplement, which
dramatically boosts the content of unsaturated fatty acids over
saturated fats in cows' milk. It could also be used to reduce
saturated fat in meat, suggest the US-based...
An overview of the Korean market for nutraceuticals suggests that
it is growing by 20-30 per cent annually, representing a
significant opportunity for foreign companies.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition is urging the USDA to
incorporate advice on consistent use of multivitamins in its review
of the Food Guide Pyramid.
New research designed to help consumers create customized diets
based on their genetic make-up will create ethical and legal
challenges with serious implications for the scientific and medical
communities, warn international experts.
Pressure in the soy processing market continues to squeeze margins
for food ingredients companies, pushing up prices for
manufacturers. Solae said yesterday it will increase its lecithin
prices by 5-8 per cent.
The US bankruptcy court has approved the sale of supplement
manufacturer Twinlab to IdeaSphere. Twinlab CEO Ross Blechman says
the deal heralds a stronger brand and the potential to reshape the
industry.
Legislation that would significantly increase the costs of
marketing herbal dietary supplements was introduced in the House of
Representatives last week, designed to better prevent adverse
events caused by herbal ingredients.
Western ingredients companies continue to make inroads into the
massive Chinese food market with Danish company Chr Hansen cutting
the ribbon yesterday on new facilities in Bejiing.
The Chinese herb Scutellaria barbata has been found to slow
progression of prostate tumors in mice, suggesting potential
chemopreventive effects in humans.
At the end of last week the USDA published a proposed rule aimed at
ending the ban on imports of Canadian cattle under 30 months old,
deemed to be at low risk for mad cow disease.
A review of almost 50 glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM supplements
shows that some are unlikely to help patients with joint disease as
they do not contain sufficient amounts of the declared ingredients.
The rolling out of third quarter results today continues with a
slip in earnings for US agri-giant Bunge on the back of weaker
profits sorely felt in the agribusiness division.
Utah supplement maker Nature's Sunshine Products saw sales slip in
the nine months to end of September, with poor revenue in the US
offsetting better performance in international markets.
The American government is funding new research into complementary
medicine, in the hope that ancient knowledge from other cultures
may one day also benefit the US public.
The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists has released
medical guidelines on the clinical use of dietary supplements and
nutraceuticals, to better educate doctors about the risks and
benefits of natural products, it claims.
Experts attending this week's meeting on cancer prevention heard a
number of studies to back green tea's powerful anti-cancer effects
in humans. The tea's active agent, Epigallocatecin-3-gallate, is
already thought...
Pricing pressure hits another ingredients company as leading
Australian yeast supplier Burns Philp sees low margins cutting into
profit for the quarter.
Disappointing figures from flavours company Quest pulled an already
less than dazzling set of third quarter results down further for UK
chemical group ICI hit by a continuing malaise in US and European
sales. National Starch figures...
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced dates for
further meetings to provide food companies with information on
complying with the bioterrorism act.
Drug delivery firm Capricorn Pharma has signed a deal with
International Specialty Products giving ISP worldwide marketing
rights to its range of microencapsulated ingredients for
supplement, OTC and oral care applications.
Legislation in Europe to end 'hidden' allergens on food labels
cleared a crucial hurdle last month when the Council and the
European Parliament put a red pen through the '25 per cent' rule,
ushering in the transparent...
Common fruits not only contain a number of vitamins and minerals
that help fight everyday illnesses but could also harbor agents
that can reduce the risk for skin cancer, suggests new research
presented this week at the Frontiers...
Against a current tough market backdrop for ingredients, Danish
company Chr Hansen is facing up to the challenge, with the dairy
culture specialists this week lifting previous profit forecasts for
the year by €4 million on the back...
The substance that gives ginger its flavour appears to inhibit the
growth of human colorectal cancer cells, according to research
presented yesterday at a major meeting of cancer experts in the US.
Dutch ingredients firm DMV International has developed a new
milk-derived peptide aimed at the emerging interest in liver
health. Cysteine Peptide is said to boost levels of glutathione in
the liver which is needed to break down toxic...
Two awards presented at a recent seminar held by the International
Aloe Science Council (IASC) highlighted the work of individuals who
have contributed to the development and promotion of aloe as a
booming health ingredient.
Dutch ingredients firm DMV International has developed a new
milk-derived peptide aimed at liver health, an area attracting
increasing attention from consumers.
Lutein is more bioavailable from eggs than either spinach or
supplements, according to a small trial presented this week, which
also showed no difference in the bioavailability of lutein ester
and free lutein supplements.
Steady growth for the US and European fruit and vegetables extracts
and powders market - currently standing at $960 milion - is pitched
to reach $1,321 million by 2009. But NPD, price and product
awareness will all be necessary to...
Natural foods distributor Tree of Life, a Wessanen subsidiary, has
announced that it is to terminate its primary supplier agreement
with retailer Wild Oats Markets, following mutual disatisfaction
with the current arrangement.
An insidious fuzzy grey mould that often coats refrigerated
strawberries and many other plants during growing and storage could
be prevented by a gene identified at Purdue university in the US.
New York firm Balchem continues to be plagued by its encapsulation
business, which experienced a third quarter of low volumes and weak
prices, offsetting better performance in the feed and specialty
products units.
Park City, Utah-based Nutraceutical International has been selected
for the second consecutive year as one of Forbes Magazine's top 200
small companies.
Dietary supplement industry members will today testify before the
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation in a
hearing designed to size up the effectiveness of DSHEA.
The Office of Dietary Supplements has released the latest issue of
the 'Annual Bibliography of Significant Advances in Dietary
Supplement Research' for the year 2002, featuring several studies
on vitamin E supplements and...
Abbott Laboratories' Ross Products Division - the maker of Ensure
nutritional products - is to gain direct acces to millions of New
Yorkers next month with the launch of an extensive marketing
campaign in the New York metro region...
Commercially savvy and biotech rich company Monsanto is waging a
war on the waist, with impeccable timing. Following hot on the
heels of new FDA rules requiring food manufacturers to imminently
reveal the amount of trans-fat on food...
Can the trend for foods with added health benefits turn the tide of
consumer cynicism towards genetically modified foodstuffs? US
researchers hypothesise that shoppers might just pay a premium for
GMOs if they are told of the potential...
Coca-Cola revealed it will launch a new cholesterol-reducing orange
juice under its Minute Maid brand next month. The new product
contains plant sterols, which are gaining growing consumer and
scientific acceptance in a range of functional...
The dietary supplement industry trade associations AHPA, CHPA, CRN,
NNFA, and UNPA have declared their support for legislation
introduced on Thursday that would require steroid hormone
precursors such as androstenedione to be listed...
ADM takes on the contract services of a fermentation improvement
technology company - particularly present in nutraceuticals - to
work on 'opportunities and efficiencies' in the food ingredients
arena.
The market for sugar-free confectionery can only gain pace, keeping
in step with an increased consumer demand for 'guilt-free' products
spurred on by burgeoning rates of obesity and diabetes across the
globe. Suppliers of...
