This week’s headlines included the launch of a new Milk Analytics Core at the Human Milk Institute at UCSD, a partnership to scale precision hydroxylated collagen peptide and a new pharmacovigilance survey in the natural products sector.
UCSD launches first human milk analytics hub
The Human Milk Institute at UC San Diego announced the first-of-its-kind analytical hub for human milk: The Milk Analytics Core, which aims to close critical knowledge gaps, investigate bioactive molecules in milk and inform ingredient innovation.
“Believe it or not, we still don’t know exactly what is in human milk,” Dr. Lars Bode, director of the Human Milk Institute, told NutraIngredients. “There’s probably still a bunch of components that we don’t even know that they’re in there, and then there are a lot of components that we know they’re there, but we don’t know what they do. And that’s really a blind spot that we’re trying to close to understand what these molecules are, and eventually, what do they do for the infant, for mom, and can we also explore that to develop new solutions for people of all ages.”
The new Milk Analytics Core (MAC) is designed to close those knowledge gaps by bringing advanced analytics into one coordinated research pipeline. The MAC will investigate the bioactive molecules in milk that influence immune development, long-term disease risk and maternal health, positioning milk as a source of therapeutic discovery, not just calories.
There has been growing interest in the human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) in breastmilk as potent prebiotics that help kick-start an infants microbiome and may offer benefits throughout the lifespan, but Dr. Bode noted that there are many other things in human milk, including bioactive lipids, bioactive proteins, peptides and so on.
“And then, of course, a lot of things that we don’t name yet because we don’t know that they exist,” he said. “I really see that as a discovery tool but also as an innovation tool where you can identify new components, new ingredients, potentially to really deliver to all kinds of platforms.”
Provenance Bio partners with German firm on animal-free collagen
Provenance Bio, an innovator in animal-free proteins, has partnered with German CDMO Artes Biotechnology to scale its precision hydroxylated collagen peptide, Col-01.
The collaboration aims to produce a high-purity, sustainable collagen alternative without the variability and contaminants associated with animal-derived collagen.
The partnership leverages Provenance’s hydroxylation technology and Artes’ expertise in microbial expression systems to create a consistent, bioavailable collagen product.
Michalyn Andrews, CEO of Provenance Bio, told NutraIngredients that animal-sourced materials can introduce risks like heavy metals, antibiotics, hormones, pathogens—such as BSE risk in bovine—or environmental pollutants from feed and water. In addition, supply chains involve multiple steps, including slaughter, rendering and transport, all of which increase the chances of cross-contamination or degradation.
“Premium brands are now seeking a new standard: purity, precision and sustainability without compromising function,” she said.
The U.S.-based startup utilizes a hydroxylation technology that allows the replication of the critical structural features of animal derived collagen to offer the traceability and purity “that modern consumers demand”, Andrews said.
“Precision fermentation like with our Col-1 allows for production in a controlled microbial system, yielding a defined, consistent peptide profile with targeted hydroxylation—eliminating these sources of batch-to-batch variability."
Survey explores pharmacovigilance in natural health sector
A global survey led by Professor Jo Barnes from the University of Auckland will explore pharmacovigilance practices in the natural health products sector, targeting over 200 organizations and regulatory bodies worldwide, including several Asia-Pacific countries.
The survey aims to gather insights into current safety monitoring practices, regulatory challenges and opportunities for alignment across regions. It will also assess the industry’s needs for resources and support to meet pharmacovigilance requirements, with findings to be published in an open-access journal.
The research builds on previous work highlighting the variability in safety monitoring standards across jurisdictions.
“The survey is designed to obtain a clearer picture of how current safety monitoring systems and requirements for dietary supplements and natural health products are viewed by manufacturers and regulators of these products,” Professor Barnes said.
“We are particularly interested in learning from the dietary supplements and natural health products industry stakeholders about the challenges and opportunities in this area, and what resources and support the industry needs to help strengthen the safety monitoring for their products.”
