Fortification

Blame game: Supplements have been fingered once more for a doping infringement but are the facts surrounding the case contaminated?

On the spike: The curious case of a contaminated sports supplement

By Shane STARLING

‘Don’t take sports supplements, they can’t be trusted’ was the takeaway message from Welsh track stars Rhys Williams and Gareth Warburton after the recent UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) tribunal agreed steroids got into their blood streams via contaminated sports...

How hemp seed oil could offer new hope to epilepsy sufferers

Soapbox

How hemp seed oil could offer new hope to epilepsy sufferers

By Paul Benhaim

It is well established that the brain has metabolic requirements that must be satisfied by what we eat or in the case of infants, “what their mother eats”. In particular, dietary fats are fundamentally important for thinking, learning and memory abilities,...

Fertility food supplement targets older couples

Fertility food supplement targets older couples

An Israeli firm has debuted ‘his, her’s and theirs’ food supplements aimed at boosting the fertility of ageing couples who want children - the chances of pregnancy drop to as low as 5% after the age of 40.

Feijoa and blackberry could give new focus for inflammation treatment

New Zealand

Feijoa and blackberry could give new focus for inflammation treatment

By RJ Whitehead

New Zealand scientists believe that feijoa and blackberry extracts could be central to the development of new treatments for inflammatory bowel disease after the two fruits came top of a field of 12 others in terms their anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant...

Asia-Pacific in 2014: A year of scandals, soul searching and success

Review of the year

Asia-Pacific in 2014: A year of scandals, soul searching and success

By RJ Whitehead

The last 12 months have been turbulent for much of Asia-Pacific's food industry, with regulations, legislation, markets and partnerships continuing to develop in the latest step in the region's economic development.To mark a fascinating year...

BASF sells Norwegian omega-3 business to US firm

BASF sells Norwegian omega-3 business to US firm

By Shane STARLING

BASF has sold its Norwegian, “natural fish oils, medium-concentrated omega-3s, and customised bottled fish oil” plant to Pennsylvania firm Marine Ingredients for an undisclosed sum as the German ingredients and chemicals giant switches its focus to high-end...

Special edition: functional foods

Functional Foods: The end of the processed foods era?

By Peter Wennstrom

To understand Functional Foods you must see it as a strategy to add value to processed foods, says the president and founder of the HealthyMarketingTeam, Peter Wennstrom, in this guest article.

Mellentin:

Special edition: Functional foods

Phood booed: Why big pharma fails at functional food

By Julian Mellentin

Faced with mounting difficulties in their drug businesses, many pharmaceutical manufacturers are looking at getting into functional foods and beverages, notes food marketing expert, Julian Mellentin in this guest article.

'On our terms': Raisio resumes global control of Benecol

“This is a good move for Raisio. They are the correct parent of this niche brand.”

Raisio brings cholesterol-lowering Benecol home for €90m

By Shane STARLING

“J&J should have sold it 10 years ago,” is one analyst’s appraisal of Finnish agro-food giant Raisio’s buy-back of the licensing rights to its cholesterol lowering, plant stanol-based Benecol brand today, referring to US market difficulties for the...

“A congress like this is a stimulus for organisations to reassess recommendations...”

Academic: "Anybody who thinks the world’s malnutrition problems are going to be solved without industry is dreaming."

Time for a vitamin E intake rethink? Emerging data builds argument

By Shane Starling from the 3rd World Congress of Public Health Nutrition in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria

Emerging research linking vitamin E deficiency with increased risk of Alzheimer’s, miscarriages and fatty liver disease can contribute to an ongoing debate around recommended intakes, a nutrition congress was told yesterday.

Regulatory reform will come, but don’t expect the world to change

Australian complementary health under the spotlight

Regulatory reform will come, but don’t expect the world to change

By RJ Whitehead

After years of calling for changes in Australia’s supremely tight regulatory framework, Australian complementary medicine manufacturers might just get some of the things they’ve been asking for, even if the process will only be a “quiet revolution”, according...

Complementary medicines could save A$3bn from healthcare bill

Australia

Complementary medicines could save A$3bn from healthcare bill

By RJ Whitehead

Speaking at the complementary medicines industry’s national conference Sydney, the chief executive of Complementary Medicines Australia welcomed a report by Frost & Sullivan to show a robust link between some complementary medicines with the reduced...

“Indonesia is very important, our most important Asian market after China.”

Tate & Lyle backs fibre to battle Asian bulge

Tate & Lyle used the recent Food Ingredients-Asia trade event in Jakarta as a springboard for its mounting ambitions in the country of 250 million people as well as other parts of Asia. Fibre and low-calorie sweeteners for weight control were a big...

Learning from Japan's healthy ageing market

Special edition: Healthy ageing

Learning from Japan's healthy ageing market

By Shane STARLING

From an €80 million market for anti-ageing placenta supplements to the world’s most innovative (and fad-driven) functional foods and drinks market, Japan’s healthy ageing market is unique and instructive.

New class of ‘good’ fat could aid diabetes prevention

New class of ‘good’ fat could aid diabetes prevention

By Nathan Gray

The ‘surprising’ discovery of a previously unidentified class of lipid molecules that enhance insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control could offer a route to the prevention of type 2 diabetes, say researchers.

Probiotic yoghurt shows toxin reducing potential in study but would they be marketed in this way?

Tackling toxins: Probiotic yoghurt provides mercury detox

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...

Chr Hansen says its 2-year shelf life probiotic soft gel is a

Probiotics giant debuts soft gel with 2-year shelf life

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.

Firms like Nexira promote nutrient-health links at shows like HI-Japan, but they do not always make it onto products as claims

"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?

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?

TNO is looking closely at algae extraction

Algal futures

VALORIE: TNO invests in high-value algae refining

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

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...

Researchers developing nutrient super pill to combat depression

Australia

Researchers developing nutrient super pill to combat depression

By RJ Whitehead

Scientists taking part in a joint study by two Australian universities say they hope their research will help people suffering from clinical depression by offering them new combination of nutrient-based medications to enhance mood.

Industry body slams watchdog for reinventing the claims wheel

Australia

Industry body slams watchdog for reinventing the claims wheel

By RJ Whitehead

Australia’s complementary medicines chief has hit out at an an inquiry into “the promotion of false or misleading health-related information or practices” by the New South Wales committee of the Healthcare Complaints Commission (HCCC).

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