Gut/digestive health

External advisory board to help Chr. Hansen capitalise on microbiome science

18-Mar-2014 By Lynda Searby

An explosion in microbiome science has prompted Chr. Hansen to appoint a scientific advisory board of “internationally recognised thought leaders in the field” to explore new opportunities for using bacteria to improve human health.

Battle of the bugs: Beneficial bacteria vital to immune response against infection

17-Mar-2014 By Lynda Searby

Our microbiome may play a central role in immune responses to infections, according to new research revealing how beneficial bacteria are necessary for the development of innate immune cells.

Customer relationships are crucial to developing personalised nutrition offerings

17-Mar-2014 By Lynda Searby

If Personalised Nutritional Offerings (PNOs) are to gain a commercial foothold in the marketplace, lessons need to be learned and providers will have to change the way they approach customer relationships, say researchers.

Gut microbiota ‘networks’ may play a role in autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes risk

14-Mar-2014 By Nathan Gray

The way in which our gut bacteria interact with each other may have vital implications for the risk of developing type 1 diabetes, according to new research.

BioGaia confirms extended agreement with Nestlé for clinical research and NPD

13-Mar-2014 By Nathan Gray

Swedish probiotic player BioGaia has broadened and strengthened its ties with food manufacturing giant Nestlé by agreeing a deal for clinical research and new product development (NPD), according to the firm.

Kamut wheat reduces IBS symptoms, finds human study

12-Mar-2014 By Kacey Culliney

Replacing modern wheat with Kamut International’s trademarked ancient wheat in the diet may reduce symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), finds research.

Almonds & their skins show prebiotic potential: Human data

06-Mar-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

Fiber-rich almonds and almond skin may selectively boost the populations of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli in the gut, says a new study funded by the Almond Board of California.

Functional bakery: Could ‘edible films’ be a new strategy for probiotic delivery?

05-Mar-2014 By Nathan Gray

The use of edible films could be a new approach to the production of functional cereals and bakery products with added probiotics, according to new research.

Microbiota makeup linked to intestinal cancer risk

04-Mar-2014

The makeup of microbes living in our gut may be a risk factor for colorectal cancer and could drive the development of intestinal tumours, say researchers.

Pooperoni? Spanish researchers produce low sodium and fat probiotic stool sausage

04-Mar-2014 By Nathan Gray

A fermented sausage product that is made with probiotic lactobacilli bacteria isolated from infant faeces could transform the meat product in to a health food, according to new research.

Vitamin D may have direct effect on brain development, social behaviour and autism

27-Feb-2014 By Nathan Gray

Vitamin D could have a 'critical influence' levels of serotonin in the brain and may directly effect social behaviours associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), according to new research.

Bitter PIL: UK firm ditches ‘probiotics’ for ‘live bacteria’ after regulator slap

26-Feb-2014

UK-based Probiotics International Ltd (PIL) is replacing all references to ‘probiotics’ with ‘live bacteria’ in its marketing materials after the UK advertising watchdog ruled ‘probiotic’ to be an unauthorised implied health claim under EU rules.

UK research takes aim at beneficial bacteria's ability to break down carbs

25-Feb-2014 By Nathan Gray

New funding from the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) could help researchers to better understand how beneficial bacteria break down non-digestible carbohydrate.

Mud in your eye: EFSA rejects vision and stool claims

21-Feb-2014 By Shane STARLING

Replacing vegetable oils with an esterified vegetable oil in infant formulas will not soften infant stools, and a choline form will not boost vision, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has found.

Special edition: Pre and Probiotics

Probiotic call: Forget health claims (consumers have)

20-Feb-2014 By Shane STARLING

Probiotic players obsessed with winning health claims needn’t bother as consumers don’t value them anyway, a leading consultant says.

Special edition: Pre & Probiotics

Know what you are putting in your products, urges probiotic Prof

20-Feb-2014 By Nathan Gray

Industry must do more to understand the inter-species interactions of multi-strain probiotic products rather than assuming that 'more is better', warns Professor Gregor Reid.

Special edition: Pre & Probiotics

What is gut health? That's the blurry 800-pound gorilla in the room

20-Feb-2014 By Hank Schultz

In discussing gut health it’s wise to keep in mind the words of the late United States Supreme Court justice Potter Stewart when discussing a 1964 obscenity case. Pornography, Stewart said, was hard to pin down, but “I know it when I see it.” So it...

Gut geography: Are obesity-linked gut bacteria more prevalent in northern areas?

17-Feb-2014 By Nathan Gray

People living in cold, northern latitudes have a greater proportion of gut bacteria that may predispose them to obesity, according to new meta-analysis data.

EFSA draft opinion on niacin (vitamin B3): 13.2 to 16.5 mg daily

17-Feb-2014 By Shane Starling

EFSA has recommended a population reference intake (PRI) of between 13.2 and 16.5 mg of niacin equivalent (NE) for Europeans, in a new draft opinion.

Probiotic Bifidobacterium lactis shows immune support for elderly people

13-Feb-2014 By Stephen Daniells

Daily supplements of the probiotic Bifidobacterium lactis Bi-07 may improve the activity of white blood cells in elderly adults, a population with higher susceptibility to infections.

Emerging markets drive probiotic expansion for Swedish player

12-Feb-2014

A focus on emerging markets has paid off for Swedish probiotics supplier BioGaia with sales and profits up in 2013.

Probiota 2014: Chairman calls for industry to 'step up' in fight for probiotics

06-Feb-2014 By Nathan Gray

Probiotic and preboiotic industry players must do more to get consumers on their side in the fight with regulators in the US and EU, and should also be doing more to help save lives in Africa, according to Professor Gregor Reid.

Live from Probiota 2014

IPA calls for fresh global alliance in probiotics

05-Feb-2014 By Shane Starling in Amsterdam

The founder of the International Probiotics Association (IPA) has called on the Global Alliance for Probiotics (GAP) to work with it to develop the science and dossiers that can win health claims in Europe and elsewhere.

Can Weetabix-Weight Watchers tie-up help tough out difficult times?

05-Feb-2014 By Annie-Rose Harrison-Dunn

Weetabix and Weight Watchers have joined forces to develop a high fiber cereal - a good example of how weight loss firms and breakfast brands can become more resilient in difficult dieting times, say analysts.

Live from Probiota 2014

Data eater: EU probiotic yoghurt market to drop 4.5% by 2018; supplements on the up

04-Feb-2014 By Shane Starling in Amsterdam

The market for probiotic yoghurt in 20 key European Union markets will fall 4.5% in the five years between now and 2018, but the overall sector trend remains positive, Euromonitor International analyst Ewa Hudson told a packed Probiota congress in Amsterdam...

Probiotic boosts flavonoids in fermented soy

31-Jan-2014 By Shane Starling

A strain of the Bifidobacterium genus can enhance flavonoid output in fermented soy or other bean-derived drinks, a study has found.

EU health claim submissions

DSM applies for DHA omega-3 brain health claim

31-Jan-2014 By Shane Starling

DSM Nutritional Products (DNP) has applied for an article 14 claim linking omega-3 and brain function under the European Union nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR).

Special edition: Polyphenols

The big challenges in polyphenols: Providing credible evidence and a quality supply chain

28-Jan-2014 By Nathan Gray

With surging interest in the potential health benefits of polyphenols around the globe, experts suggest that there are still some major sticking points in the polyphenol success story.

Special edition: Polyphenols

Polyphenol science needs to catch up to better inform regulators and consumers, say experts

28-Jan-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

A paradigm shift is needed in the study of polyphenols to better understand the bioavailability, bio-activity, and the role of the gut microbiota in polyphenol metabolism and health benefits, say experts from academia and industry.

Prebiotics may modify brain chemistry through microbiota modulation: Rat study

27-Jan-2014 By Nathan Gray

The modification of gut microbiota by prebiotics may also lead to alterations in brain chemistry, according to new dat that suggests a potential role for prebiotic compounds in neuropsychiatric illness.

Calcium absorption theory 'insufficient' to explain milk tolerance: Study

23-Jan-2014 By Mark ASTLEY

Analysis of DNA data from the 5,000-year old skeletal remains of eight Iberian farmers suggests that the widely cited theory of calcium absorption was not the only reason Europeans evolved a tolerance for milk.

“I get personal because they [EFSA] get personal to me"

Fed up: Probiotic research veteran issues global call to action

23-Jan-2014

Veteran probiotic researcher professor Gregor Reid is not a happy man. It’s time the probiotic community fought back against those forces that have for too long denied a perfectly valid body of nutrition science in the form of commercial claims. It’s...

EFSA comment rebuttal shows product-specific claims are not the way to go, says expert

23-Jan-2014 By Nathan Gray

EFSAs rebuttal of claims that a recent positive scientific opinion should have related to a whole product rather than a single constituent reaffirm the belief that product-specific health claims are not viable, according to one consultant.

Global probiotic market to add 50% to €33bn by 2018: Analyst

22-Jan-2014 By Shane STARLING

The term ‘probiotic’ may be banned in the European Union – along with its cousin ‘prebiotic’ – but sales remain steady, and the global picture is buoyant, says leading analyst, Euromonitor International.

Apple polyphenols may slash inflammation marker levels, change gut microbiota

22-Jan-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

Polyphenols from apples may modify the bacterial populations in the gut, and reduce markers of inflammation, according a new study from the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited.

Microbiome metabolism: Scientists reveal how gut bacteria break down complex carbohydrates

21-Jan-2014 By Nathan Gray

An international team of researchers have uncovered the cellular mechanisms that allow bacteria a single group of bacteria found in our microbiota to break down complex sugars and fibres.

DSM profits rise in 2013 despite sluggish nutrition performance

21-Jan-2014 By Shane STARLING

Multiple issues in the omega-3 sector, a ‘saturated’ US food supplements market, a widespread consumer move to private label plus a strengthening euro have all impacted Dutch-Swiss ingredient giant DSM’s nutrition division in 2013, but it still delivered...

Italians target infants with donkey milk probiotics

20-Jan-2014 By Shane Starling

Italian firm Eurolactis is ready to bring probiotic lactic bacteria derived from donkey’s milk to market, with infant formula makers in sight.

EFSA was right to reject herb-joint health claim: Consultants

20-Jan-2014 By Shane STARLING

Europe’s central science agency was right to reject a recent joint health claim application for a herbal blend, consultants have said.

Frutarom backing botanical science in 2014

15-Jan-2014

Swiss ingredients giant Frutarom will publish at least four trials this year from its suite its suite of botanical extracts and blends as it revamps the classification and presentation of its wares.

Dietary fibres may protect against asthma: Mouse data

15-Jan-2014 By Nathan Gray

A lack of fermentable fibres in people's diet may pave the way for allergic inflammatory reactions such as asthma - and increasing intake of these fibres could help battle asthma, according to new research.

Probiotics may benefit energy metabolism in obese people: Human data

13-Jan-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

Daily supplements of probiotics combined with an herbal preparation may improve obesity-related parameters, according to a new study from South Korea.

EFSA health claim opinion

Get inulin! Northern European giants win EFSA claim for non-digestible carbs and glycaemia

13-Jan-2014 By Shane STARLING

The three giants of chicory-derived inulin and fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) supply have won a significant European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) health claim approval linking non-digestible carbohydrates and improved blood glucose response.

Supplements shakedown part 2: Health claim medicine tastes better than expected

13-Jan-2014 By Peter Zambetti

Last week, Peter Zambetti, director of global business development at Capsugel and chairman of the International Alliance of Dietary Supplement Associations (IADSA), discussed the impact of GMPs on the global health & nutrition (H&N) sector. In...

New bioinformatics platform set to predict bacterial functionalities based on genes alone

09-Jan-2014 By Nathan Gray

A new bioinformatics platform created by a consortium of European SMEs and research institutes could help industry predict the functionality of food bacteria and probiotics based on their genome.

Functional dairy: Milk is 'ideal platform' for bioactive polyphenol delivery, finds study

08-Jan-2014 By Nathan Gray

Milk could act as the ideal protective carrier for bioactive nutrients such as the polyphenol epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), say researchers.

Festive video insights: Mintel experts offer up highlights and predictions

23-Dec-2013 By Nathan Gray

With 2013 fast drawing to a close and 2014 just around the corner, we took the chance to catch up with analysts and experts at Mintel to ask them what their highlights from this year have been ... and a few predictions for what might be in store in the...

“The impact of this longer-term erosion of the relationship with consumers will be profound.”

Appraised: 12 months in the life of the world’s toughest health claims regime

20-Dec-2013 By Shane STARLING

Widely despised and foreseen as an innovation crusher and healthy foods/supplements market wet blanket, we asked how life under the controversial EU nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR) is panning out.

Probiota 2014, February 4-5, Amsterdam

Probiota 2014: The ultimate pre- and probiotic science-business blend

19-Dec-2013 By Shane STARLING

Probiota 2014 – relocated from Brussels to Amsterdam and organised by NutraIngredients – will bring together the finest scientific and commercial minds operating in the pre- and probiotic sector in a 2-day, 2-stream event.