Functional foods and drinks

Danone Q3 results 'buoyed' by Asian infant formula recovery

16-Oct-2014 By Mark ASTLEY

The continuing recovery of Danone’s infant formula business, impacted by the 2013 Fonterra whey protein concentrate (WPC) botulism scare, has “buoyed” the French dairy's Q3 results.

Tackling toxins: Probiotic yoghurt provides mercury detox

15-Oct-2014 By Lynda Searby

Governments might not want to admit it, but according to a leading academic in microbiology and probiotics, there is demand for probiotic products with detoxification properties that can help protect against uptake of toxic metals such as mercury and...

What women want: Lallemand launches probiotics for female health

14-Oct-2014 By Lynda Searby

The absence of any EU-approved health claims for probiotics hasn’t deterred Lallemand Health Solutions from launching a suite of probiotics addressing women’s health issues.

Nutraceuticals to play a major role in preventive healthcare: analyst

14-Oct-2014 By Anna Bonar

As healthcare industry faces increasing expenditure, the emphasis shifts from treatment to prevention thorough use of nutraceuticals and better nutrition, say Frost & Sullivan analysts.

Probiotics giant debuts soft gel with 2-year shelf life

13-Oct-2014 By Lynda Searby

Danish probiotics player Chr Hansen has launched a patent-pending soft gel that can deliver live probiotics with a two-year shelf life and matched it with a probiotic-omega-3 supplement targeting pregnant women.

"We aren’t going to wake up one day and everything will be crystal clear; there’s going to be some trial and error going through it.”

Godsend or Godzilla? What will Japan’s new health claims system look like?

09-Oct-2014 By RJ Whitehead & Shane Starling at Health Ingredients-Japan in Tokyo

Japan will implement a new health claims system that is set to supersede its strict FOSHU regime in April 2015 – just six months away – but what form will it take and will it meet its deadline?

Montmorency tart cherry shows gout potential: Study

09-Oct-2014 By Lynda Searby

Evidence that Montmorency tart cherry could be useful in managing gouty arthritis and other inflammatory conditions is mounting, as a new study shows that tart cherry concentrate lowers uric acid and C-reactive protein – a marker for inflammation.

'It's a great change...': Japanese food industry readies for new health claim laws in 2015

08-Oct-2014 By Shane Starling at Health Ingredients-Japan in Tokyo

Japan’s innovative but restricted €25bn functional foods and food supplements sector is about to be handed a set of game-changing marketing keys by the government, industry players told us at Health Ingredients-Japan in Tokyo today.

Japan

World’s only salmon placenta taps into Asia’s halal anti-ageing market

08-Oct-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Japan’s second biggest island, Hokkaido in the north of the country, is known across Asia as being one of the continent's premier locations for seafood. And now a local nutraceutical company has been using its reputation to supply Muslims with a...

Kemin launches polyphenol-rich spearmint extract for cognitive health

08-Oct-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

Kemin is launching a proprietary phenolic complex sourced from patent-pending, non-GMO lines of its own purpose-grown spearmint for use in dietary supplements.

GanedenBC30 granted approval in four Asian markets

06-Oct-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Four Asian markets have now approved Ganeden Biotech’s GanedenBC30 for use as an ingredient in food and beverage fortification. 

ABC article says climate change is impacting quality of Chinese tea; whether botanicals in other regions are affected is less clear

29-Sep-2014 By Hank Schultz

Global climate change is affecting the quality of tea harvested in southwestern China, both in terms of taste and content of bioactive chemicals, according to a recent article in Herbalgram, the publication of the American Botanical Council.  Whether...

Australia

Deregulating complementary medicines would save A$70m a year

26-Sep-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Australia’s complementary healthcare industry lobby has called on Canberra to embrace deregulation of non-pharmaceutical medicines as a means to reduce costs while safeguarding consumer health.

Algal futures

VALORIE: TNO invests in high-value algae refining

23-Sep-2014 By Paul Gander

Dutch research organisation TNO is working with industry partners on a pilot scale algae refining plant with potential in omega-3s, proteins and antioxidants.

The power of babble: Communication, globalisation and consumer connection

17-Sep-2014 By By James C Griffiths, PhD

In today’s complex global marketplace, the patchwork of regulatory standards, cultural variations and logistical realities of time and space create an environment in which harmonisation may seem impossible. Not so, argues James C Griffiths, PhD, VP of...

Coffee genome sequenced: Researchers drink to greater caffeine control

12-Sep-2014 By Shane STARLING

Reducing, enhancing or even eliminating caffeine content in coffee plants will be possible in the near future researchers are saying after completing the genomic map of the coffee plant Coffea canephora.

ENSA: Soy-breast cancer study not reflective of ‘state of scientific knowledge’

11-Sep-2014 By Shane STARLING

The soy industry has hit back at a recent study that suggested soy supplementation could worsen rather than ameliorate breast cancer by influencing gene behaviour.

Open source: Blendhub offers ‘fingerprint’ library for nutrient blends

10-Sep-2014 By Paul Gander

Spanish supplier Blendhub is taking the rare step of offering customers access to its new library of near infra-red (NIR) spectroscopy analyses from more than 300 raw materials.

Rimfrost going under the krill fishery sustainability knife (again)

09-Sep-2014 By Shane STARLING

Norway’s Olympic Seafood-owned krill phospholipid and omega-3 supplier Rimfrost is under assessment from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) - a €300,000 process it expects to complete by the “middle of next year”.

Omega-3 reduces anti-social behaviour in kids: Long term study

04-Sep-2014 By Anne Bruce

High-dose omega-3 supplementation can reduce anti-social behaviour in children - and alter parent attitudes - a 2-year study has found.

Nestlé files patent for kids’ ‘protein balance’

03-Sep-2014 By Anne Bruce

Nestlé has filed for a worldwide patent for a protein balancing product aimed at children aged 5-15.

Arla pours €38m into facility to meet whey demand

01-Sep-2014 By Shane STARLING

Dairy giant Arla's ingredients business is building a new whey processing facility for €38m to meet rising demand for the dairy fraction in infant, sports and clinical nutrition.

Kids’ cereal in New Zealand needs regulatory overhaul, say researchers

26-Aug-2014 By Kacey Culliney

Policies governing nutrient and health claims, labeling and use of mascots on breakfast cereals in New Zealand need a serious re-think, researchers say.

Antioxidant-rich pomegranate juice may aid blood sugar management for diabetics: Human data

25-Aug-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

Daily consumption of pomegranate juice may help control blood sugar levels in type-2 diabetics, as well as improving the function of beta cells in the pancreas, say data from a human trial.

Chr. Hansen wins landmark probiotics health claim in South Korea

18-Aug-2014 By Anne Bruce

Bioscience company Chr. Hansen’s Urex product has become the first probiotic to win an approved health claim in South Korea.

DSM and Merck form high-end folate alliance

06-Aug-2014 By Shane STARLING

DSM Nutritional Products (DNP) is not abandoning its folic acid (vitamin B9) offering but has added a high-end, folate form aimed at global supplement and food makers in a deal with Merck in Switzerland.

DSM Q2 nutrition profits slip 11% as key markets struggle

05-Aug-2014 By Shane STARLING

Sales slipped 6% and net profits 11% in Q2 for DSM’s human and animal nutrition arm as adverse currency movements, a slow US vitamins and omega-3 food supplements market and the Asian botulism infant formula scare affected earnings.

Breast is best: Punjab gov sets new infant formula labelling rules

04-Aug-2014 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

Labelling of infant formula sold in the Pakistani department of Punjab must now include the warning “mother’s milk is the best food for your baby and helps in preventing diarrhoea and other illnesses,” according to new prohibition and guidance rules released...

Australia

Survey finds complementary healthcare industry is in good health

04-Aug-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Business confidence is strong within Australia’s complementary healthcare segment with more than eight out of 10 companies expecting to see their businesses grow over the next three years.

GM probiotics reduce insulin resistance and body fat: Mouse data

31-Jul-2014 By Lynda Searby

Mice lost weight and had significantly lower insulin resistance and body fat after taking genetically modified bacteria that produce the lipid compound NAPE in the gut, researchers from Vanderbilt University have found.

DSM reads 'fini' in green tea and leaves it to Japanese

30-Jul-2014 By Shane STARLING

Dutch-Swiss ingredients giant DSM Nutritional Products (DNP) has called ‘time’ on Teavigo, a decade after launching the proprietary, weight management-focused green tea extract.

Is Danone feeling the need for Mead?

28-Jul-2014 By Shane STARLING

 Danone shares rose today as rumours strengthened the French dairy giant would sell its medical and paediatric nutrition business (Nutricia), but is the firm streamlining its activities around its core foods businesses or just shifting infant-medical...

“The IEA does not accept state money, and all of our research is independent of corporate funding.”

UK think tank denies Malaysian palm oil conflict of interest accusations

28-Jul-2014 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has said categorically it does not accept state money, following accusations by a Malaysian media outlet that the UK think tank is in bed with the Malaysian Palm Oil Council and the country’s government.

Folates not folic acid for flour fortification, urge researchers

25-Jul-2014 By Lynda Searby

New findings that the body is less efficient at metabolising folic acid than natural folates could inform policy-making decisions as the UK government considers mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid.

Southeast Asia

Young Malaysian scientists honoured for probiotics research

23-Jul-2014 By Rei Rengsen Siew Lin

Probiotics research is now entering the Malaysian mainstream, according to two female Universiti Sains Malaysia students who recently received international recognition for their work.

Japanese dairy backs bifidobacteria

16-Jul-2014 By Anne Bruce

Scientists have called new discoveries from leading Japanese dairy product company Morinaga Milk Industry on popular probiotic genus bifidobacteria, “an interesting first step”.

Does Unilever’s Slim-Fast fail signal the end of weight management as we know it?

11-Jul-2014 By Julian Mellentin

Fourteen years after Unilever spent $2.3bn (€1.7bn) to buy Slim-Fast, it has sold up for an undisclosed sum to a private equity player. Analyst and author Julian Mellentin tracks the decline of a mega-brand and considers what he sees as a category in...

China

New draft law is a step in the right direction for supps exporters

08-Jul-2014 By RJ Whitehead

A recent draft reform of China’s Food Safety Law, which is now available for public comment, is a great improvement for supplements exporters who have been increasingly frustrated at the time and expense required to gain certification in the country. 

Heliae enters joint venture to produce astaxanthin in Japan via hybrid algal technology

03-Jul-2014 By Hank Schultz

Astaxanthin has been a red-hot ingredient in the United States for several years and demand is ramping up worldwide. To meet that demand in the Japanese market, Heliae, an algae technology company based in Gilbert, AZ, is teaming up with Sincere Corporation...

Australia

Dietician claims world first with “Fodmap” range for IBS sufferers

18-Jun-2014 By RJ Whitehead

A Melbourne-based dietician is claiming a world first with the launch of a new range of low-Fodmap foods, opening up a new “free-from” market segment that she believes has the potential to rival gluten-free products.

A metropolitan detox: Broccoli could be 'frugal, simple and safe' way of reducing risks of air pollution

17-Jun-2014 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

Daily consumption of half a cup of a broccoli sprout beverage increased participants' ability to excrete the carcinogen benzene and lung irritant acrolein, according to research in China.

ISAPP consensus: Gut, yes. Immunity, no (for now)

Time to recognise ‘core benefits of certain probiotics’: ISAPP

11-Jun-2014 By Shane STARLING

The evidence has grown so strong for the best-documented probiotic strains that a generic digestive health claim should exist, according to a consensus statement from leading international researchers published this week in Nature Reviews: Gastroenterology...

Indevex to distribute NGCTM formula in Japan through Asahi agreement

10-Jun-2014 By Richard Whitehead

Swedish biotech company Indevex has joined its Symrise KK Far East partner in a supply and licence agreement with Asahi Food and Healthcare to distribute NGCTM Nutrition Formula in Japan, where the product is better known as N&G Nutrition Formula. 

Connell Brothers to distribute Graminex products in Taiwan

10-Jun-2014 By Richard Whitehead

Asia-Pacific’s largest specialty chemicals and ingredients distributor, Connell Brothers, will now manage the sale and distribution of Graminex products in Taiwan, including finished goods and ingredients, such as saw palmetto and cranberry.

Mongolian dairy probiotics may alleviate allergies: Mouse study

09-Jun-2014 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

Probiotics isolated from Mongolian dairy products could alleviate allergy symptoms through intestinal immunity and helper cell balance, research using mice has suggested.

Malaysia

Evolva to open Apac centre to explore endangered agarwood production

04-Jun-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Evolva Holding will collaborate with Universiti Malaysia Pahang to establish a scientific centre of excellence for natural products from Malaysia in Pahang state’s Flavour and Fragrance Cluster.

Analysis

‘Lazy’ Malaysian food companies need to learn how to innovate

02-Jun-2014 By RJ Whitehead

Malaysian food companies are lazy in comparison to their counterparts north of the border in Thailand, and are not willing to experiment with formulations the way their neighbours have become accustomed to do.

ACADEMICS SUGGEST SALES BAN TO UNDER 18S

'Adolescents don't know what they're drinking': Energy drinks study warns

27-May-2014 By Mark ASTLEY

Australian academics warn that young adolescents can easily identify energy drinks brands such as Red Bull or Monster, but are unaware of key ingredients including caffeine, guarana and taurine, and in comments that should serve as a wake-up call for...

Extracts from pumpkin seed and soy germ show bladder support potential

21-May-2014 By Stephen Daniells

A combination of extracts from pumpkin seed (Cucurbita pepo L.) and soy germ may reduce the sense of urgency in women with overactive bladders, and boost their quality of life, says a new study from Korea.

Singapore

Scientists make brain breakthrough with long-term omega-3 potential

20-May-2014 By RJ Whitehead

While research suggests the DHA omega-3 fatty acid is good for the brain, little has been understood about how it is absorbed. But now a new study by researchers in Singapore seems to have identified a transporter protein that is used to carry DHA from...