Doped athletes continue blaming contaminated food supplements as a convenient alibi, but it’s a thin excuse getting thinner as the mainstream supplements industry moves even higher up the quality chain, says UK-based food law expert Dr Mark Tallon.
Europe has various measures in place to report risky supplements – but it’s questionable if these warnings ever make it outside the closed circuit of national authorities. This lack of complete information is to the detriment of both consumer safety and...
Leatherhead Food Research has been bought out of administration by the Science Group for £1.6M in a move that will rid the organisation of its legacy pension deficit, the buyer revealed.
Dynamic Cellular Disruption – a novel process that breaks up plant matter without using chemicals, enzymes or blades - could enable manufacturers to create new, more nutritious foods and beverages, or produce existing products more cost-effectively, according...
Japanese supplier Kaneka has secured an extension for the Novel Food status of its liquorice extract Glavonoid, which is now approved for use in medical foods and energy-restricted diets.
Taking onion skin-derived food supplements of the flavonol quercetin can lower blood pressure for people with hypertension, according to a new study published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
French botanicals leader Naturex has emphasised its ambition to be the “world leader in the specialty fruit & vegetable category” by launching an extract range targeting food supplements including gummies.
Food is fun, says the self-described ‘serial optimist’ and ‘crowdfunding Jedi’ behind 500-calorie vegan ‘drinkable supermeal’ Ambronite. But not every eating occasion can be an epic, Mediterranean-style gathering fueled by wine and great conversation,...
A German court has dismissed campaign group FoodWatch’s law suit against Unilever’s cholesterol-lowering spread pro.activ – but FoodWatch continues its assault by urging the European Commission to retract its novel food approval.
Black elderberry extract may improve obesity-related metabolic disturbances like triglyceride (TAG) levels, inflammation and insulin resistance, research in mice finds.
Dietary supplement manufacturing giant NBTY has acquired UK skincare line Dr Organic, a move that mirrors a trend in the supplement industry toward higher margin personal care offerings.
Fennel may be the sixth most consumed botanical in some European countries, but little is known about its safety or rate of consumption, say PlantLIBRA researchers looking at it for the first time.
Do you know which ingredient has a FDA qualified health claim for reducing the risk of cognitive dysfunction and dementia in the elderly? What percentage of the total carotenoids in the pediatric brain tissue is lutein? Or which CPG company has led research...
Finished products containing OmniActive’s Gingever ingredient are expected to hit shelves in the later part of 2015, with the company predicting big things for ginger.
Swiss botanicals player Frutarom is pushing hard into botanical medicines and supplements markets in the EU, with pharma-grade extracts produced at its recently acquired Slovenian facility.
Eight years after the EU nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR) came into force the question of how to win a health claim is still not satisfactorily answered in the eyes of many food operators.
On September 1 a Hamburg court will on the case brought by FoodWatch against Unilever over marketing for its cholesterol-lowering margarine Becel pro.activ.
Competition remains fierce in cholesterol-lowering niche
Sales and profits were up in Q2 at Raisio, with CEO of the €500m Finnish agro-food player Matti Rihko content its re-housing of key brand Benecol was paying off.
Botanicals are the fastest growing nutraceutical ingredient class in a category being driven by ageing populations around the world, a report has found.
The Scottish seaweed industry seems set to boom as the country's government prepares an expansion policy and company Mara Seaweed seeks over €700,000 to take its condiments global.
Two firms that generated a lot of buzz at the IFT show this year were Parabel and Hinoman, which are both selling brand new nutrient-packed ingredients from tiny aquatic plants. But do they have what it takes to give more established players in the plant-based...
Canadian food supplements firm Advantage Health Matters has applied for EU novel foods approval for its chia seed products under European Union substantial equivalence rules via UK authorities.
A proprietary prebiotic blend can deliver immune system benefits to the healthy elderly better than placebo, an industry-backed study in the UK has found.
Food giant Unilever appeared in a Hamburg court today to defend use of expert statements that its plant sterol-based Becel pro.activ did not have any side effects such as bloodstream plaque levels in healthy people.
A group has been formed to fund clinical research and promote the health benefits of oleocanthal – a polyphenol found in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).
Research, focus and regulatory cunning will be needed if the nutraceutical industry is to tap into the relatively unexplored area of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), says the consultancy firm behind a new dedicated clinical trial platform.
Austria could be taken to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over its ban on doorstep sales of products like food supplements, the European Commission says.
Teddington Homeopathy mislead parents of children with autism with claims that the condition could be cured with nutritional supplements, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has said.
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...
The use of potentially performance enhancing ketones at the Tour de France cycling race has raised questions about their efficacy, legality and scale of usage.
A BBC investigation in the UK has questioned quality control in the botanicals sector, especially those sold as food supplements. The industry has called for greater enforcement.
Multi-level marketer Le-Vel Brands has been penalised by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for the social media marketing of one of its promoter-come-customers.
The Chinese Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) has taken action against local suppliers found to be engaged in supplying substandard versions of the botanical, ginkgo biloba.
Raspberrry ketone is being sold online despite being an unauthorised novel food – and the dosages in these slimming pills are potentially toxic, says new research.
Extracts from the common European ash tree (Fraxinus excelsior L.) have been shown to moderate post-prandial insulin response and lower fatty deposits in livers in a study of diabetic mice.
“Our aim with this cooperation is to get food products made with ‘algility’ microalgae into consumers’ hands faster.”
French supplier Roquette has inked a deal with a food and beverage innovator it met at the SIAL food industry trade show last year to develop products for its nascent chlorella microalgae offerings.Fellow French firm Algama won an award for innovation...
Salmonella in your infant nutrition, hormones in your supplements and lead in your detox. These were just some of the nasties included in this month’s round up of supplements blocked at the EU borders.
Supplementation with olive leaf extract could improve vascular functions and reduce inflammatory cytokines linked to heart disease, according to new human trial data.
Xavier Prats Monne is to become the new general director of the European Commission’s health and food safety unit, DG SANTE, a position he takes on after the resignation of Paola Testori Coggi.
Echinacea plus elderberry matches Tamiflu for early treatment of ‘flu
A proprietary combination of a concentrated echinacea herb and root extract and elderberry is as effective as Tamiflu (antiviral medicine) for the early treatment of ‘flu, says a new clinical trial from Europe.
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.
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