Last week’s headlines included Dr. Bill Barclay receiving the GOED Lifetime Achievement Award, the potential of a kimchi-derived probiotic to eliminate nanoplastics from the body, and how everyday demands for protein and fiber are blurring the lines between traditional supplements and mainstream food and beverage.
Bill Barclay wins GOED Lifetime Achievement Award
Algae pioneer Dr. Bill Barclay was awarded the GOED Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in discovering and developing a technique to produce microalgae-derived omega-3, now widely used as a plant-based alternative to fish oil in supplements.
Motivated by the need for a sustainable, consumer-friendly omega-3 source, Barclay identified and commercialized a robust microalgae strain that grows rapidly and produces high levels of DHA-rich oil under low salinity, making industrial fermentation feasible.
“We hypothesized that there would be other reasons as to why algae would make omega-3 fatty acids, other than as an adaptation to cold temperatures. Since there are hundreds of thousands of algae strains in the environment, I thought that there could be at least several strains that made omega-3 fatty acids as an adaptation to life in rapidly changing or harsh environments,” said Dr. Barclay.
He founded OmegaTech Inc., which was later acquired by Martek and then DSM, helping scale the technology globally. Barclay’s approach of self-funding and not overpromising contributed to the successful commercialization and widespread impact of his innovation, benefiting millions, especially infants through fortified formulas.
Probiotic shows promise for nanoplastic elimination
A probiotic derived from kimchi may absorb nanoplastics in the gut and help eliminate environmental pollutants from the body, suggests a new study from the World Institute of Kimchi in South Korea.
Data published in Bioresource Technology indicated that Leuconostoc mesenteroides CBA3656 from kimchi showed high biosorption efficiency across a range of nanoplastic (NP) concentrations, temperatures and pH levels.
In addition, experiments using germ-free mice showed that the strain demonstrated significantly enhanced fecal excretion of nanoplastics.
“The strain exhibited superior adsorption performance under challenging environmental conditions and effectively enhanced NP excretion in germ-free mice, providing direct in vivo validation,” wrote researcher from the WIK’s Kimchi Functionality Research Group.
“Although further field-scale and microbiota-integrated studies are necessary to confirm its applicability in natural ecosystems and the human gut, these findings establish a strong foundation.
“Collectively, this work not only highlights microbial biosorption as a promising and practical approach to address NP contamination but also provides new insights into microbe-based strategies for NP removal in environmental and health contexts.”
NIQ: Everyday nutrition habits redraw boundaries for supplement category
Protein, fiber and functional claims are moving into mainstream formats, challenging traditional positioning of vitamins and dietary supplements
The way US consumers engage with health is starting to pull multiple categories into the same orbit. A new NielsenIQ (NIQ) report describes a “convergence effect,” in which food, supplements, beauty and healthcare services are increasingly overlapping as consumers track and manage their health more directly.
Around 70% of consumers now say they are proactive about managing their health, according to NIQ data, with behaviors like increasing protein and fiber intake becoming part of everyday habits rather than direct interventions.
Protein, fiber and other functional ingredients are extending across the store, from traditional supplement formats into mainstream food, beverage and even adjacent categories. NIQ frames this as a shift away from “removal” toward “addition” and “optimization,” in which products are expected to contribute to health outcomes throughout the day.
“The biggest shift for supplement companies is knowing consumers are no longer thinking in supplement silos, [but] expect protein, fiber, and functional benefits to be integrated into daily routines just like food and beverage,” Sherry Frey, VP of Total Wellness at NIQ, told NutraIngredients.
