A multi-ingredient formula previously studied for cognitive effects has additional evidence to bolster its efficacy in cases of mild cognitive impairment with the results of a recent study. Participants in a long-term trial showed significant improvements...
If iron flour fortification is to work sources and levels approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) are required and actual consumption must be considered, says food fortification expert.
A European Commission report has concluded the EU food supplements market remains fragmented but member state actions in areas like botanicals and maximum levels for some vitamins and minerals were worthy of replication, especially as internet trading...
B vitamins may protect against age-related brain wasting, but only in people with high omega-3 levels, says a new study from the University of Oxford that extends our understanding of how nutrients work together.
Adding in ingredients like vitamin C to make legal immune health claims may sell products short term, but this sucks the blood from more challenging ingredients like probiotics and botanicals, says a marketing expert.
Abbott Laboratories has filed an international patent for a process it says allows it to produce better-tasting powders with improved nutrient content.
Well-intentioned efforts to supplement children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) with additional nutrients or specific dietary plans can result in both insufficient and excessive nutrient intakes, warn experts.
Inca berry, cape gooseberry, golden berry. It has many monikers but one primary Andean source in Peru and Swiss supplier Frutarom was promoting it at Vitafoods Europe last week.
The use of food supplements is widespread among cancer survivors – but potentially dangerous practices may be going under physicians’ radars, say researchers.
A new vitamin D/exercise study on falls among older women has confirmed the vitamin’s role in bone health but falls short of a ringing endorsement for supplementation. But it’s one data point among the many that still point to the importance of getting...
Manufacturers of children’s food need to appeal to both children’s taste preferences and parental concerns over nutrition - but is excessive sugar warping children's tastes?
A UK public health policy that promises to provide free vitamin supplements for low-income childbearing women and young children is not fulfilling its potential to address vitamin deficiencies, say experts.
There is ‘little evidence’ that consumers benefit from the ‘extraordinarily high levels’ of micronutrients commonly added to novel beverages, according to a study published in the Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism journal this week.
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.
Neptune Technologies & Bioressources has launched a blend of krill and lutein for brain and vision health, with clinical data showing the absorption of lutein being improved by as much as eight times.
A new group called the Global Nutrition & Health Alliance has formed with the mission to clarify the role of food fortification and nutritional supplementation. The issue of the role of these nutrients in the diet is still a matter of some confusion,...
The UK should update vitamin D food and supplement content estimations that have the knock-on effect of distorting population intake levels of the sunshine vitamin by about 3%, a study has concluded.
UK supplements and health food retailer Holland & Barrett (H&B) has had its staff training programmes vindicated after a customer challenged whether in-store workers were "Qualified to advise".
A study in Singapore has found that over half of hospital patients do not disclose they are taking dietary supplements, which the authors say could put them at risk of adverse drug reactions.
Food supplements are classified by EU law as foodstuffs and so the recently implemented Food Information to Consumers (FIC) regulation has the potential to impact food supplements. Is there much to worry about? Legal experts say yes in this guest article…
Neptune Technologies and Bioressources absorbed a steep loss in the first quarter of its fiscal year as the company nears the end of its recovery from an explosion and fire that destroyed its lone production plant. Net loss for the quarter was $5.3 million,...
Green tea can drive brain-health drinks to new levels, writes Euromonitor International senior health and wellness analyst, Diana Cowland, in this guest article.
Magic bullet syndrome is something that has plagued the dietary supplement ingredient business over the years. While this is often negative for consumers, who put their faith into an overhyped (while still possibly effective) ingredient, it’s not so good...
A major fire due to a technical issue on March 12 at a BASF plant in Germany will close the plant for a month or more and affect supply of vitamins A and E.
Folic acid is backed to deliver important health benefits in the scientific literature and by regulators – but is over-consumption a real problem? asks Robert Verkerk, PhD, the founder, executive and scientific director of the Alliance for Natural Health...
In the continued effort to appeal to consumers loathe to swallow pills every day, supplement manufacturers have ventured into everything from melts and powders to confectionery-type supplement forms such as chews and gum. A few years into its foray into...
EFSA has issued new guidance on the adequate intake (AI) levels for the B vitamins biotin and pantothenic acid at 40 µg per day and 5 mg per day, respectively.
If the end goal of both the medical and nutritional fraternities is healthier, happier populations, it is difficult not to pour scorn on the latest work from the American College of Physicians (ACP) for slapping another clumsy brick into a dodgy, medically-biased...
The UK food supplements industry has joined its US counterparts in condemning Annals of Internal Medicine research that concluded vitamins are useless and even harmful in some cases.
An editorial panel of medical doctors (MDs) says the case is now closed for multivitamins: they don’t help well-nourished adults. But leading trade associations have defended the safety and efficacy of the products, calling the editorial, ‘close-minded,...
Putting a male-oriented sports nutrition product into a petite, pink package is a lazy way to meet female needs, says a leading UK firm which is going about things a little differently.
Hangover supplement start-up Alcotox, known in the UK as Vital X, exemplifies holes in theoretically unified health claims regulation within the EU, legal hounds say.
Sales of brain health boosting food supplements like omega-3s, the B vitamin group, vitamin C and phosphatidylserine are driving the category toward sales of €2bn globally, even as brain-boosting foods and beverages have endured a flat period.
Norwegian firm Kappa Bioscience has announced a research project into possible solutions to stability issues concerning vitamin K2, results of which could help manufacturers secure label claims.
As consumer perceptions of caffeine shift and the threat of more market regulation looms, companies are scrambling to find the next blockbuster to cater to demand for energy-boosting products, says an analyst.
Mo Farah, the British track athlete who just bagged world titles in the 5000m and 10,000m in Moscow, takes amino acid and vitamin and mineral supplements his coach has said in defending Farah’s rising performances against doping accusations.
Dutch authorities have issued a warning against a US fat burning food supplement called Dexaprine after 11 adverse reactions including hospitalisations and severe heart problems.
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) recent backing of folate’s (vitamin B9) ability to reduce the risk of spinal birth defects is a good thing for infant health and the vitamin industry – but is it actually a prohibited disease claim in disguise?...
A breakthrough in the understanding of the molecular pathways involved in the production of vitamin B12 may offer promise for better production efficiency, say researchers.
An Irish firm has created a range of customisable food supplements built on approved European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) health claims aimed specifically at 18-34 year olds – a group not known to consume a lot of supplements.
The possibilities for functional chocolate are wide-ranging. In this special edition, ConfectioneryNews scopes out the in-demand active ingredients for chocolate products, from probiotics to phytosterols and energy ingredients.
The EU energy market is set to grow by €1bn by 2017 and much of that could come from ‘natural energy’, a sub-sector that has been boosted by recent health claim approvals, says Euromonitor International analyst, Diana Cowland.
It started with an earthquake. Then a call from a local relief agency led to a mobilizing of connections. Nineteen years later and Vitamin Angels is reaching 30 million kids with micronutrients. But it could be so much more...