Vegetarians may have a significantly lower risk of mortality than
people who eat lots of meat, according to a study at the German
Cancer Research Centre.
UK company Barefoot Botanicals introduced its Rosa Fina botanical
skin care products to the US market this week. The range which
contains rosehip seed oil, vitamins and natural antioxidants, is
the first to be launched by the company's...
Fruit juice, especially juice made from berries, and probiotic
dairy products could help prevent women from getting recurring
urinary tract infections, says a team of Finnish researchers.
German company Degussa is to disband its Health & Nutrition
division next month, reorganising the Flavors & Fruit Systems,
BioActives and Texturant Systems activities into a new business
unit.
A new study suggests that white and green tea can provide as much
protection against colon tumours as the widely used prescription
drug sulindac. A combination of the two could be even more
effective, say the researchers.
Cranberry co-operative Ocean Spray voted on Saturday for a clean
slate - replacing most of its board with a brand new set of faces -
in the wake of lagging cranberry prices and a bid from rival
Northland Cranberries.
Dutch food and nutrition group Royal Numico said today it has
agreed to sell its UK retail business the Health & Diet Group
to NBTY-owned Holland & Barrett for €15.6 million.
People who eat breakfast are significantly less likely to be obese
and diabetic than those who usually do not, researchers reported
this week at an American Heart Association conference.
Speciality chemicals company Cognis yesterday reported its
operating result before EBITDA rose 3 per cent to €393 million for
2002, despite flat sales during the year.
The American Heart Association has released guidelines on tackling
prevention of heart disease during childhood, including diet
changes and in some cases, drugs for high blood pressure and high
cholesterol.
Eating wholegrain cereals can reduce likelihood of death from heart
disease, say researchers, but they stress that refined grain
cereals show no beneficial effect on heart health.
Reporting its first results since a package of divestments were
announced in November, Dutch food and nutrition group Royal Numico
said net sales for the full year were down by 4.8 per cent to €3.97
billion.
Biochemists at the University of California have developed a
technology that increases the amount of vitamin C in plants,
including grains, by increasing the amount of the enzyme that is
responsible for recycling vitamin C.
Swiss cereal maker BioFamilia has launched a new muesli in its
functional range, targeted at people who want to keep in shape. Fit
Crisp is a crispy muesli with nine added vitamins.
Annual results from Irish dairy ingredients group Glanbia reflected
the weak international dairy markets, but the company said its
nutritional activities helped sales and the new business unit is
showing good growth potential.
Zinc and an antioxidant found in citrus fruit may lower the risk of
rheumatoid arthritis, according to new findings, although the
researchers cautioned that the results are preliminary.
Roche Vitamins is to start production of pure epigallocatechin
gallate (EGCG), the active compound in green tea, at a new
production plant in Shanghai. Annual output is expected to be more
than 40 tons.
Reporting a 1 per cent drop in sales over 2002 and a significantly
lower net income, German fine chemicals group Degussa predicted
sales in core operations should rise to around €11.5 billion for
2003.
New functional foods continued to hit the shelves this month with a
focus on making traditionally not-so-healthy products a little more
appealing to the growing number of consumers looking for extra
health benefits. Some of the latest...
A European study aims to understand the impact of heterocyclic
amines - developed in some heated foods - on the development of
cancers. Preliminary findings suggest that plant foods could
provide protection.
Green tea is not an effective treatment for advanced prostate
cancer, say researchers reporting on a small in-vivo study,
although the plant has previously been shown to decrease tumour
size and cancer spread in mice.
Swedish probiotics firm BioGaia has signed a three-year agreement
with Japanese marketing company Erina for the sale of its Reuteri
tablets in Japan. The tablet has been specially designed for the
Japanese market, says the company.
Last week the WHO issued a controversial report on obesity and the
impact of diet on health, suggesting we need to cut intake of
saturated fats, salt and sugar and up fruit and veg. Health
think-tank the International Obesity TaskForce...
Dutch food group Royal Numico has signed a letter of intent for the
sale of its US supplement business Unicity Network to an American
investment company, Activated Holdings. The transaction is expected
to complete in the second quarter...
Israeli company Enzymotec has launched an ingredient derived from
healthy fats for use in food applications. MultOil is based on
natural oils enriched with phytosterols and DAG, both thought to
help reduce the risk of cardiovascular...
Vitamin D supplements can reduce fractures in elderly men and
women, finds a study in this week's British Medical Journal.
Previous research shows that vitamin D taken with calcium can help
prevent fractures in the elderly, but...
Spanish choline manufacturer Algry Quimica has welcomed new US
regulations regarding choline salts to become effective in autumn
2003. The company said the laws will clearly define the quality of
choline-based preparations.
Northland Cranberries, the US-based juice group, has made an offer
for the cranberry juice business of its main rival Ocean Spray - a
move which the latter group seems to have dismissed as merely a
statement of interest.
US-based Spherix will be putting pressure on Denmark's Arla Foods
to begin production of the natural sweetener tagatose in the coming
months. Arla has promised production will start in April or May,
but legal proceedings may...
Norwegian firm NutriPharma says a study shows its soy composition
Abacor to be more effective at lowering cholesterol than other
commercially available soy protein.
Health ingredients manufacturer Cognis Nutrition and Health says
the US Food and Drug Administration has approved GRAS status for
the company's Xangold brand natural lutein esters products in a
variety of foods.
Correcting zinc deficiency in world populations should be a top
priority for health organisations, according to one expert writing
in this week's British Medical Journal.
French company Ferco Développement has completed the purchase of a
former Sefcal production plant in the south of France. The purchase
is expected to increase the company's production capacity by five
times.
Balchem Encapsulates said it will now be offering only USP-grade
choline chloride and choline bitartrate to customers. The company's
products have received a quality recognition from the United States
Pharmacopeia (USP) which...
Reporting its results for 2002, Swiss pharmaceuticals group Roche
said the sale of its vitamins division and legal settlements with
US customers in the vitamin case will result in significant
one-time charges and a net loss of SF4...
Increasing awareness of the need for proper hydration and other
potential health benefits of drinking bottled water are driving
market growth in the UK, but there is still a long way to go before
Continental consumption levels are...
Functional soft drinks are no longer confined to obscure avenues of
soft drinks consumption and are steadily edging towards the
mainstream, according to a new report from drinks consultancy
Zenith International.
Swedish probiotics company BioGaia, which has made significant
developments in its health and nutrition unit this year, reported
net sales for 2002 reached SK43.1 million (€4.7m), with sales in
the fourth quarter up by 142 per cent...
"There are no 'good' and 'bad' foods but rather 'good' and 'bad'
diets," said David Byrne, European Commissioner for Health and
Consumer Protection, discussing planned proposals on health...
People at higher risk of oral cancer, such as heavy smokers and
drinkers, may benefit from a diet rich in fruits and vegetables,
suggest researchers in Spain.
Women who eat more eggs as teenagers may be less likely to develop
breast cancer later on, say researchers at Harvard University. They
also found that butter tended to raise the risk of the disease
while people who use vegetable oil...
Women with a low vitamin K intake may be at increased risk of bone
fractures, suggests research in this month's American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition.
Dutch food group Wessanen has reported full year sales of €2.8
billion in 2002, down from €4 billion a year earlier, but continues
to stress that its efforts to restructure the company will pay off
in the long term.
Sales of oxygenated water in North America, western Europe and
Japan increased by 45 per cent last year, but the market still
remains niche, claims Zenith International. And it is likely to
remain so until a major soft drinks group...
