Nutraceuticals International back issues from March 1998:
Race is on in the USA to provide healthy foods, says expert panel.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Consumers have shown American business that they will make the cash register ring for healthy foods. Now the race is on for products that really do provide specific health benefits. The potential returns for the companies that bring these products to market are large. Polls show that US ...
AMWA approval seal for Nature Made supplements.
Mar 02, 1998 ... For the first time, the American Medical Women's Association has awarded its Seal of Acceptance to nutritional supplements for their benefit to women's health. The recognized supplements are Nature Made's vitamin E (100, 200 and 400 IUs) for its role in the prevention of heart disease, its ...
High stock price target for Finland's Raisio.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Noting that Finnish company Raisio's lipid-lowering margarine product Benecol is likely to get wider application in the second half of 1998, Credit Suisse First Boston analysts have increased their 12-month share price target for the company to 1,200 markka ($217.80) from 900 markka, and ...
Ferrosan to enhance Peter Black health ops.
Mar 02, 1998 ... UK-based toiletries, health care and footwear & accessories group Peter Black Holdings plc has reported results for the six months to end November 1997, with sales up 26.5% to L95.6 million ($155.8 million) and pretax profits 24.3% higher at L11.3 million. In the health care ...
Israel's Promedico developing own herbals.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Promedico, Israel's largest pharmaceutical distributor, is moving to supplement its traditional pharmaceutical business with a natural growth hormone, medicinal food supplements and minerals, according to the Tel Aviv-based Link Magazine, which notes that if sales take root at the healthy ...
Morepen Labs moves into Indian OTC sector.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Delhi, India-based Morepen Laboratories is to enter the over-the- counter health care and consumer segment of the market with a range of natural-ingredient products, according to the firm's chief executive, Mr K B Suri. Morepen has already set up a consumer care division to ...
US office for Japan's Earth & Life.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Earth & Life Inc, a Japanese importer and exporter of organic products, has established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Organic Planet Co, in the USA. The unit is already importing beef from Coleman Natural Meats, beverages from Blue Sky Beverages and organic teas from Argentina, and plans to ...
Forthcoming meetings/events.
Mar 02, 1998 ... The 7th Annual European Food Law Conference, on Development of European Food Legislation Beyond the Millennium, takes place June 23-24 at the SAS Radisson Hotel, Brussels, Belgium. For further details European Food Law Conferec,e 25 Frant Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 5JT, UK. Phone: +44 ...
People on the move.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Peter Buzy joins Martek Biosciences Corp as chief financial officer, while the firm's former CFO, Steve Dubin, becomes senior vice president of business development. - Canada's NatraCeuticals Inc, which is looking for a new president, has appointed Allan Fernie, vice president, operations ...
Japan's MHW relaxes procedures for health food labels.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Japan's health food manufacturers are crowding the doors of the Ministry of Health and Welfare to apply for its Specially Designated Health Food label after the Ministry added 18 products to its list of eligible health foods in late-1997. At the same time, it eased conditions and paper ...
Japanese want to be smaller with no effort, leading to slimming prods market growth.
Mar 02, 1998; ... A surprising number of Japanese people want to lose weight, and domestic manufacturers are capitalizing on this trend, launching many new slimming products, the sales of which are booming. This is a market sector based on products for those who want to shed a few kilograms without working ...
News in brief.
Mar 02, 1998 ... China's State Statistical Bureau has said that the country exported 14,686 tons of herbal medicines in November 1997 (the latest figure available), a 7.3% rise on the like, year-earlier period, reports the China Daily Business Weekly. The Czech Association of Bee-Keepers, says ...
India allows value-added herbal drug form exports.
Mar 02, 1998 ... The Indian government has allowed exports of value-added herbal drug formulations and indigenous ayurvedic drug formulations made out of 17 species of plants obtained from the wild. A government statement said the export policy, originally valid only up to March 24, 1996, is ...
China's vitamin C sector going through restructuring.
Mar 02, 1998 ... China is annually exporting 20,000 tons of vitamin C, giving it a substantial share of the international market, according to the China Daily Business Weekly. Chinese vitamin C is popular on international markets, it says, because of its competitive price resulting from low production ...
Hong Kong's TCM ambitions.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Hong Kong is seen to be well-placed between western and Chinese culture in the field of traditional Chinese medicine. But it is not just the export of TCM products and know-how to the rest of the world that excites many in the industry, reports the Hong Kong Trader. The ...
German drugs/homeopathic products law amendments moves on.
Mar 02, 1998 ... The much-awaited 7th amendment to the German Drug Law, the AMG, has passed through the federal Upper House after a lengthy period of blockage by the Social Democrat-dominated assembly. The law transfers some provisions of European Union Directive 92/73/EEC on homeopathic medicines for ...
US call for more dietary supplement and alternative medicine research funding.
Mar 02, 1998 ... 9 In testimony before the US House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, Michael Ford, executive director of the National Nutritional Foods Association, asked for increased funding of dietary supplement and alternative medicine research. ...
Govt panel recommends streamlined rules for natural health products in Canada.
Mar 02, 1998 ... A Canadian government advisory panel has presented an interim report to a House of Commons committee urging that a new regulatory scheme should be set up for natural health products. The report's principal point is that such products are fundamentally different from drugs and therefore ...
GNC customizing daily vitamins.
Mar 02, 1998 ... General Nutrition Centers has installed machines in 12 of its Live Well stores which customize daily vitamin mixtures, as part of its strategy to cater to the individual's particular requirements. Speaking to USA Today, Karla Willman, new business development director for GNC, noted that ...
Efamol boosts full-year results at Scotia.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Efamol, the nutritional division of UK pharmaceutical group Scotia, has posted full-year results for 1997, with sales up 43.2% to just over L12 million ($19.7 million). The company said this had been achieved by the geographic expansion of its distribution network, a new management team ...
Raisio begins work on US plant.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Finnish firm Raisio has said that its US unit, Raisio Staest, has begun building a stanol ester plant in South Carolina, which will quadruple the company's current capacity for manufacturing the lipid (see also page 24). The $22 ...
Wellness foods made by Vyrex, Uncle Ben's.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Vyrex, a biopharmaceutical company, and Uncle Ben's are jointly developing wellness foods which Vyrex' vice president of marketing, Aruna Lalwaney, defined as food products that deliver health benefits beyond basic nutrition. She told NI that consumers believe nutrition, disease, ...
Nutra International IPO to raise $5m more.
Mar 02, 1998 ... The price range to buy shares in Nutraceutical International Corp's initial public offering has been increased to $16-$17 each, up from an earlier estimate of $14-$16, according to lead underwriter Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette. With the new price increase, the IPO is ...
Pharmavit vitamins sales to grow 80%?
Mar 02, 1998 ... Pharmavit, the Hungarian company owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb, says it plans to increase sales of its vitamins by 70%-80% this year compared with 1997, according to MTI Econews. The company sees ...
Upward trend in sales for many US nutraceutical/supplement companies.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Health of Colorado posted healthy preliminary results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 1997, which showed a rise in net sales of 13% to $2.9 million. Revenues were down, however, for the full year, slipping 23.9% to $13.2 million. 4Health estimated that losses for the fourth ...
First pan-European patient database.
Mar 02, 1998 ... The first continuous international panel monitoring weekly consumer health care behavior has been launched by Taylor Nelson AGB. The service, entitled PRiME, covers the UK and Germany and uses a pan- European methodology to reveal how consumers really behave when they are ill. ...
Call for clear EU rules on GMO food labeling.
Mar 02, 1998 ... To calm public unease over genetic engineering, the European Union must provide clear rules for labeling foods containing genetically-modified organisms, Eridania Beghin-Say chairman Stefano Meloni has said. To stay in the current gray zone where each EU country makes its own decisions ...
Homeopathic drugs in new French regime.
Mar 02, 1998 ... A regulation covering conditions for the marketing of new homeopathic drug specialties has been published in France after a 30-year block on the introduction of new homeopathic products. The regulation reflects European legislation in the form of a 1992 directive transposed into French law ...
PAGB food supplement advertising workshops.
Mar 02, 1998 ... The Proprietary Association of Great Britain is running Food Supplement Advertising Workshops on March 20 and September 24. The purpose of these workshops is to provide attendees with: an awareness of the PAGB's food supplement strategy; an understanding of the law governing ...
Herbals need own regulations, Canadian chain drug stores urge.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Regulations are needed to protect consumers in the area of herbal drugs and other natural health care products, where label information is often inaccurate or incomplete, according to Ellen Mary Mills, vice president, policy and public affairs of the Canadian Association of Chain Drug ...
US FDA identifies 16 risky dietary supplements, looking to find more.
Mar 02, 1998 ... While most dietary supplements do not raise safety concerns, the US Food and Drug Administration has more than 2,500 reports of side effects linked to such products and 79 deaths have been attributed to dietary supplements. About 900 of the illnesses and 44 deaths involved people taking ...
Add calcium to drinks and food, says US researcher.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Calcium is known to promote good bone development and can limit absorption of lead in the digestive tract, according to John Bogden, a professor of preventive medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark, New ...
Codex Alimentarius moves on sports and energy drinks.
Mar 02, 1998 ... The Codex Alimentarius has circulated a proposal for recommendations for the composition and labeling of sport and energy drinks. At the 25th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labeling, a proposal was made by the South African government that recommendations should be ...
New UK controls on gelatin and animal ingredients - by Peter Berry Ottaway.
Mar 02, 1998 ... The British public woke up one morning in mid-December last year to find that its government had, without prior consultation, banned from sale all beef on the bone and ox-tails. There was only a few days' notice of the law, which came into force December 16, 1997, and made it a criminal ...
FDA allows heart health claim for psyllium soluble fiber.
Mar 02, 1998 ... The latest US Food and Drug Administration-approved health claim which can be put on food labels is for soluble fiber derived from the dried husk of the psyllium seed. The agency has ruled under the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 that foods containing psyllium, such as ...
SBA launches attack on FDA rulemaking.
Mar 02, 1998 ... The Small Business Administration in the USA has attacked the US Food and Drug Administration over its proposed plans to limit dietary supplements containing ephedra (NIs passim), saying that the agency is guilty of ignoring the impact on small businesses, making inappropriate data ...
P&G launches olestra product line in USA with fat-free snacks.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Despite the link to gastrointestinal disturbances and vocal criticism by some consumer groups, Procter & Gamble's chief executive, John Pepper, believes that the company's fat substitute Olean (olestra) could make $400 million in annual sales from its use in salty snacks and chips alone ....
Antioxidants protect fetus from smoking.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Women who insist on continuing to smoke during pregnancy may reduce the risk of growth retardation in their child by taking antioxidant vitamin supplements, says a report in the American Journal of Epidemiology (1998; 147:127-135). The study involved more than 1,500 women and backs up ...
Vitamin B2 may help prevent migraines.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Taking high doses of vitamin B2 (riboflavin) every day may reduce the number of migraine attacks in sufferers, according to a new study published in Neurology (1998;50:466-470). The researchers, from the University of Liege in Belgium, say that supplementation may provide an attractive ...
More dairy - not less - for lactose-intolerant?
Mar 02, 1998 ... Many people who think they are lactose-intolerant would actually benefit from eating more dairy products, according to Dennis Savaiano, dean of the School of Consumer and Family Sciences at Purdue University in the USA. Prof Savaiano says that most people avoid the symptoms of lactose ...
Olive oil role in cancer prevention questioned?
Mar 02, 1998 ... A new study in 1,953 cancer patients has raised questions about the role of olive oil, a feature of the so-called Mediterranean diet, in the prevention of cancer. The Mediterranean diet is not particularly low in total fat but does comprise low levels of animal fat and high levels of olive ...
Garlic workers at risk from asthma.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Workers involved in growing, harvesting or processing garlic are at increased risk of developing asthma and rhinitis, according to the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (1997;100:724-738). The association was identified by researchers at the Hospital ...
Vitamin E effects on hot flashes a placebo.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Women taking vitamin E supplements to help reduce menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes see a reduction, but the decline is no different from that seen with placebo, according to the Journal of Clinical Oncology (1998;16:495-500) ....
Elderly at risk from iron overload?
Mar 02, 1998 ... Men and women aged over 60 are at greater risk from heart disease if they take in too much iron, according to a study in the American Journal of Epidemiology (1998;147:161-166). The report adds fuel to a fire which has been burning for years, with various studies giving conflicting data on ...
Emerging complexities in homocysteine story.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Two new studies have provided further evidence that low levels of vitamin B6 and folic acid are associated with an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. However, one study has questioned the prevailing hypothesis on the role that homocysteine may play in this equation. ...
Vitamin E and neurological disease.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Vitamin E's activity in cardiovascular disease and stroke has been well-documented over the past few years, but less well-recognized is its potential value in neurological disorders. A new review by Veris, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to health professionals, ...
Seal oil capsules selling well in Newfoundland.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Terra Nova Fisheries and OmegaVite, two companies based in Newfoundland, Canada, have seen a dramatic increase in sales of their seal oil capsules, spurred on by a personal endorsement by Fisheries Minister John Efford. Sold as nutritional supplements under the names OmegaVite and Terra ...
Cuba investing in blue green algae market.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Cuba is investing in the mass production of Spirulina, the vitamin-rich blue green algae which has become popular as a health food. The country has cultivation plants for the freshwater algae at Jaruco and San Jose in Havana province, with a combined annual production ...
Meiji Milk Products revamps milk drink products with iron boost.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Meiji Milk Products has revamped its milk drink products by boosting the amount of iron in Meiji Love and Meiji FeCa Teishibo, both of which are sold as calcium and iron ...
Taiwan - diet products laced with drugs.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Seven slimming products available on general sale in Taiwan have been found to contain prescription pharmaceuticals, some of which have been withdrawn from the market on safety grounds, reports the Department of Health. Four of the products were unbranded, while the remaining three were ...
Noni juice latest health drink to hit US market.
Mar 02, 1998 ... The noni (Morinda citrifolia), also known as Indian mulberry, is an evergreen shrub with a bitter-tasting fruit that features in the traditional medicine of Polynesia. Now, juice and capsules based on the plant are being sold as a health supplement in the USA by Morinda Ltd of Tahiti, as ...
Humanetics broadens technology base.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Humanetics Corp of Minneapolis in the USA has signed a licensing and distribution agreement with New Zealand Pharmaceuticals over the North American rights to its pinitol product, a new dietary supplement ingredient for use in enhancing metabolic function and carbohydrate control. ...
Martek gets low-cost DHA patent.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Martek Biosciences has been granted a US composition-of-matter patent (No 5,711,983) for its algal biomass, the source of the company's docosahexaenoic acid. The patent is important as it provides a proprietary position for the company as it seeks to develop products based on the ...
Nutrition Medical's first in-house product.
Mar 02, 1998 ... In the medical foods sector, Nutrition Medical has launched a high- glutamine elemental diet in the USA. Glutasorb is a ready-to-use product, designed to provide patients in ...
Green tea spices up weight-loss product.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Olympian Labs of Scottsdale, Arizona, has launched Medi-Phen, a new weight-loss product designed to fill the gap in the marketplace since the withdrawal last year of certain prescription weight-loss ...
Vitasoy USA revamps soymilk product.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Vitasoy USA has changed its soymilk product for the first time in 12 years, in response to what it describes as soaring consumer interest. One of the most significant changes is the use of brown rice syrup as a sweetener which improves the taste, according to ...
NutriCology launches homocysteine product.
Mar 02, 1998 ... NutriCology, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Scottsdale Scientific, has launched a nutritional formula specifically designed to reduce homocysteine levels in the blood. Elevated levels of homocysteine in the blood have been identified as a positive risk factor ...
China a major importer of TCM.
Mar 02, 1998 ... China has become a major importer of traditional Chinese medicines in recent years, with imports worth $150 million a year coming from Japan, southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macao, and even western Europe. The imports now account for a third of the total TCM market in China, ...
Egis withdraws from nutritional market.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Hungary's Egis has said that it plans to phase out its involvement in the nutritional products industry and concentrate instead on its pharmaceutical activities. The company wants to ...
Food labels still too confusing, says study.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Terms found on nutrition labels such as reduced fat, low in cholesterol and sodium-free are interpreted differently by consumers than they are by regulators, according to a new study. Marc Resnick of Florida International University told the 41st annual meeting of the Human Factors and ...
Nucleotide milks boost infant immunity.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Infant formula fortified with nucleotides can boost a baby's developing immune system, confirms a new study reported in the journal Pediatrics (1998;101:242-249). The new findings are based on the observation that babies fed with nucleotide-enriched formula develop higher antibody titers ...
European product news in brief.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Zeneca gives lycopene boost to tomatoes Zeneca Pharmaceuticals says it has identified many of the genes involved in the production of lycopene in tomatoes and has created transgenic plants in an effort to increase production of the gamma-carotenoid in the fruit. Studies have demonstrated ...
Relaunch of Gerard House products.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Gerard House, part of Peter Black Holdings (see also page 24), has completely reviewed its product ranges and is relaunching its herbal remedies and essential oils in the UK in an effort to take advantage of increased public awareness and expanding market opportunities. In the ...
Belupo launches products in Croatia.
Mar 02, 1998 ... The Belupo pharmaceuticals producer in Kroprivnica, Croatia, was expected to launch Fitolax powder, a herbal digestion regulator, and Sylimarin liver capsules on the domestic market in ...
Merck to distribute Quigley's Cold-eeze.
Mar 02, 1998 ... Quigley Corp reports that it has reached an agreement with Merck KGaA's subsidiary Genpharm for the latter to exclusively distribute its Cold- eeze lozenges in ...