France-based Naturex acquired the GinseniPure brand of ginseng extract when it bought Pure World last year; but in September 2005 Blue California launched its GinsenPure product. The latter has now agreed to re-name its product as PanaxPure, action both companies agree will prevent further confusion in the marketplace.
Naturex says GinsenPure came to its attention at SupplySide West in November 2005. However Cecilia McCollum of Blue California told NutraIngredients.com that her company was unaware that Naturex had a product with a similar name until August of this year, when it received trademark registration.
Antoine Dauby, marketing manager for Naturex, said: "It has definitely generated confusion on the market considering the close similarity with our trademark."
For Blue California's part, McCollum said that it agreed to stop using the name "simply because we do not want to help promote their product and we do not want our customers to believe there is any association at all between our product and theirs". Jacques Dikansky, president and CEO of Naturex, called the agreement "a fair recognition of the scientific investments and expertise standing behind our premium ginseng extract". The marketing for both companies' ginseng root extract hinges on being contaminant-free.
Some ginseng roots sold on the market may contain residues of pesticides used in horticulture in some countries - specifically procymidone and quintozene. While these are not permitted for ginseng cultivation in the US and Europe, there are no such restriction in other countries.
Naturex sources its ginseng roots from China and uses a proprietary process to ensure they are not contaminated with procymidone, quintozene, their metabolites, or related impurities.
"Naturex tests every step of its extraction process and and GinseniPure extracts have been validated by many qualified third party laboratories," it says.
Likewise, Blue California uses a manufacturing process it says ensures that all of its extracts are pesticide-free - not just ginseng, and offers a complete drug master file for pesticide-free ginseng.
"We use respected laboratories here and in Europe for further validation of our product," said McCollum.