Every day FoodNavigator scans a heap of scientific journals to bring you all the latest research news relevant to your industry – but there’s a lot of dodgy research out there.
From the scientific controversy around DMAA to a major resveratrol research fraud scandal, plus all the latest developments in gut health, omega-3 and vitamin science; 2012 has been an eventful year for research in the health and nutrition arena.
Neptune Technologies and Bioressources has been hit with a shareholder rights lawsuit over the Nov. 8 explosion and fire that destroyed the company’s production facility and a resulting steep decline in the company’s share price.
Business consolidation, battling stalling economies and the belated activation of the dreaded (by most) EU health claims register – these are just a few issues that have defined the 2012 EU nutra space.
Virun CEO Philip Bromley tells Ben Bouckley about the firm’s evolution from drug delivery technology into the beverage sphere, and explains that DHA and EPA Omega-3 oils dominate functional demands from clients.
There is evidence linking almost every food or ingredient to cancer, but don’t worry because the evidence for pretty much all of it is very weak, say researchers.
A day after confirming the €500m acquisition of New York-based blends specialist Fortitech, Royal DSM has concluded the year by buying beta-glucan brand Oatwell from Swedish Oat Fiber (SOF).
German fragrance and flavours house Symrise has just last night inked a deal with Swedish probiotics firm Probi to develop a stand-alone R&D project with oral probiotic supplements the most likely product out of the pipeline in 2014-2015.
BASF has extended the bid period for its €650m offer to buy high-dose omega-3 specialist Pronova BioPharma, after only 67.2% of the Norwegian firm’s shareholders agreed to sell their stakes.
Spanish researchers have created a cholesterol-low, reduced salt, fatty acid-enriched cheese, which is “highly suited” to the elderly and those that suffer from hypertension.
Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) CEO John Brock has taken a sideswipe at detractors of soft drink ingredients who he claims base negative comments on ‘bad science or no science’.
There is no end to the possibilities of functional chocolate bar development and firms must specialize to succeed in a sector dominated by big players, a Herza Schokolade product developer says.
Parties on both sides of table have welcomed the recent decision by Australian and New Zealand ministers responsible for food regulation on the issue of health claims in the region.
The European Food Safety Authority has rejected health claims that a supplement containing a combination of lycopene, vitamin E, lutein and selenium “helps to prepare and activate tanning.”
Yakult has announced that it intends to completely dismantle its Argentinian business, citing the problems encountered establishing a “sufficient business foundation” in the country.
Green tea extracts (Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze) and guarana do not promote weight loss, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has found, amid a fresh batch of article 13.5 health claim rejections.
Is the association between resveratrol and red wine beneficial for the compound, or could the link to alcohol be the cause of more harm than good in the long term?
Two cups (500ml) of milk per day is enough to maintain adequate vitamin D and iron levels in children aged between two and five, a Canadian study has claimed.
As 2012 comes to a close, NutraIngredients looks back on an action packed year. In this gallery, we take a look at the biggest business deals of the year.
Despite giving us object lessons in corporate word wash, can PepsiCo pull off what seems like a slightly puzzling mission, namely a long-term plan to ‘drinkify' snacks and vice versa under its Power of One banner?
Red Bull has welcomed a ruling from France’s highest constitutional court striking-down the government’s plans to tax caffeine and taurine-rich energy drinks from 2013.
Can we feed nine billion people by 2050? Only if we embrace the principles of open innovation, says Jeff Bellairs, senior director of the General Mills Worldwide Innovation Network (G-WIN), in this exclusive article for Foodnavigator-USA.com and FoodNavigator.com.
New varieties of the Chinese red bayberry fruit are nearing production after successful trials were held by growers, while a deal to market the produce is in the offing.
Consuming gum Arabic for six weeks may help healthy women shed up to 2.2% body fat, says a new randomized, placebo controlled, double-blind trial from Sudan – home of the gum.
As attention turns to the enforcement of the EU’s controversial article 13, general function health claims list after a six month waiting period, an expert on the ground in Italy says the country’s policies will encourage law breaking.
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) claims that grape seed extracts can up the antioxidant content in cookies by 10 times when microencapsulated.
A new EU funded project aims to tackle the growing burden of heart disease in Europe by building a solid science for the heart healthy properties of food bioactives.
From today food and supplement products marketed in the EU’s 27 member states must comply with the article 13, permitted list of health claims or face prosecution for misleading marketing.
After 20 failed starts, probiotics leader Chr Hansen says it has finally found an ingredient dispensing cap partner that can handle the demands of high speed filling utilised by the world’s biggest beverage manufacturers.
“Human guinea pigs”, “gambling with health” and “shadowy research project”—the terms came thick and fast in Greenpeace’s revelation about Golden Rice earlier this year.
BASF is moving en masse into omega-3 - especially if its bid for Norwegian player Pronova is approved - but it is technology gained from its May acquisition of a high-dose omega-3 start-up on a remote Scottish island, that is exciting the German giant.
Industry experts are predicting rock star status for fibre – if a global tour was planned most of the stops would be fortified and whole foods, although there might be a few more ‘gigs’ for fibre supplements as the tour progresses with Italy stop numero...
‘High fibre’ claims are traditionally the realm of bakery products, but has recent growing demand for fibre by consumers resulted in a shift away from bread-based products?
The year 2012 might not mark the end of the world. But in future years as people look back, it might mark the beginning of the end for the adulteration of botanical materials, according to Mark Blumenthal, executive director of the American Botanical...
Giving iron supplements to low birth weight infants may reduce the risk of developing behavioural problems such as ADHD later in life, say researchers.
With the December 14 enforcement of the EU's article 13 general function health claim list that includes 200+ approved claims and about 1500 rejections just two days away (after a six month lay-period), we polled key players for core reactions.
Daily supplements of coenzyme Q10 and omega-3 may offer potential prostate benefits by reducing levels of a PSA, linked to prostate cancer risk, says a new study.
Consumer demand for fiber-rich products is predicted to continue to sky rocket, with some industry observers claiming fiber will have ‘rock star’ status for the food and nutrition industries.
Regular use of dietary supplements containing fish oil, or glucosamine and chondroitin may reduce markers of inflammation by up to 22%, says a new study.
Prebiotics are the thin end of the wedge in the new era of beneficial functional fibers. Gone are the days where mere ‘regularity’ was the goal; now fiber is understood to provide biochemical benefits in addition to just plain bulk, and prebiotic fibers...
As the formlisation of the main organ (article 13.1 list) of the nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR) kicks in this week, Professor Ambroise Martin, the new chair of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) health claims panel, tells NutraIngredients...
Premature infants fed formula are more likely to develop necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) - a severe, often fatal intestinal condition – than those who are breast-fed, a US study has found.
Food supplements multinational Solgar reveals the sweeping marketing and formulation changes provoked by Friday’s belated confirmation of a massive list of approved and non-approved claims under the 2006 European Union nutrition and health claims regulation...
Barley has great potential to leach the charge in a new era or functional bread products, but more needs to be done in understanding the key formulation challenges, warn researchers.