Adding value to mature vitamin supplements by combining them with
new ingredients is driving good growth at Merck's consumer health
care business, reports Dominique Patton.
Market analyst Frost & Sullivan has awarded its 2004 Product
Innovation award to Larex for the development of soluble prebiotic
Arabinogalactan (AG) FiberAid.
Changes in gut microflora caused by widespread use of antibiotics
and today's high-fat, low-fibre diet could be responsible for a
major increase in allergies in recent years, say researchers.
A French supplier of konjac gum, most commonly known for its use as
a texturant in food products, is hoping to move into the health
ingredients sector, after preliminary research found that konjac
derivatives may have benefits for...
Probiotic chocolate bars and cereals could emerge on the market
next year as strong demand for the gut health ingredient pushes
food makers to invest in the complex processes required to
formulate with live bacteria.
The controversial issue of nutritional profiles will remain one of
the biggest hurdles for EU legislation on health claims but recent
reports suggest that Germany may be ready to concede some elements
of profiling, reports Dominique...
A major EU research programme, under discussion at a meeting in
Brussels today, could help food manufacturers target the
increasingly affluent, elderly consumer with products designed to
make their lives longer and more comfortable.
Belgian ingredients group Orafti has walked away with three awards
at this year's Ingredients Russia 2004 exhibition, more than any
other company, but major international groups did not have it all
their own way, with a number...
A panel of European experts has for the first time drawn up
guidelines for quality standards for probiotic products in a bid to
improve the quality of the increasing numbers of supplements and
probiotic foods on the market.
A daily probiotic supplement reduced the number of sick days caused
by gastrointestinal illnesses or colds by almost 70 per cent,
according to a new study done by Swedish firm BioGaia.
Delayed product launches will see losses at Swedish probiotics
company BioGaia continue into next year, warned the firm yesterday.
It had been counting on two major contracts to help it back into
the black by the end of the year.
Finnish dairy products company Valio is to acquire Norwegian firm
Synnöve Finden's 42 per cent holding in Estonian cheese producer
Võru Juust, leaving Valio with a 99 per cent stake in Võru Juust.
Growing competition in the probiotics market is forcing cultures
suppliers to increase collaboration with scientists and independent
laboratories that can provide them with strong evidence to support
the benefits of their products...
Millions of women use yoghurt as a natural remedy to prevent thrush
while taking antibiotics but an Australian team says there is no
proof that the bacteria in yoghurt has any beneficial effect.
Scientists from Danish company Chr Hansen say they have developed a
lactic acid bacteria that may lower blood pressure when added to
yoghurt and other foods.
Probiotics company BioGaia saw sales fall and further losses in the
first half compared to last year's six month period but says new
contracts could help it return to the black by the end of the year.
A probiotic treatment almost reversed many of the symptoms of the
gut disease ulcerative colitis in a small trial, report researchers
at the University of Dundee in Scotland.
Changing economic conditions in eastern Europe are boosting sales
and demand for vitamins and dietary supplements, offering major
opportunity for foreign entrants to the market and suppliers of
novel ingredients.
The probiotic drink Actimel appeared to boost the immune system in
students consuming the drink during examination periods, report
Spanish researchers.
Researchers from Tufts University, Boston, US have concluded from a
review of recent literature that further studies need to be carried
out to substantiate the link between the ingestion of probiotics
and gastrointestinal health.
Researchers from Tufts University, Boston, US have concluded from a
review of recent literature that further studies need to be carried
out to substantiate the link between the ingestion of probiotics
and gastrointestinal health.
Confirming market opportunities for suppliers and users of fibre
ingredients, a review from the UK suggests that cancer of the gut -
one of the major causes of death from cancer - might be prevented
through a change in diet, writes...
European legislation on health claims could take a significant leap
forward under the new Dutch presidency of the European Union, which
appears to be aiming for the regulation to get its first reading in
the European parliament by...
Lifeway Foods, a manufacturer of cultured, probiotic and functional
foods, has agreed to acquire a privately-held gourmet cheese
producer based in Philadelphia.
Milk powder fortified with vitamins and minerals, as well as milks
with prebiotic and probiotic bacteria, can prevent major, often
fatal, childhood diseases such as diarrhoea and pneumonia, and have
a significant impact on growth,...
Puleva Biotech, the biotech arm of Spanish food group Ebro Puleva,
has been awarded funding worth €428,290 from a regional development
fund to help it start up a new probiotics line.
Dutch ingredients firm Sensus has carried out new research to prove
the prebiotic effect of native inulin at only 5 grams, allowing
food manufacturers to make prebiotic claims on a relatively low
dose.
Growing demand for natural colours and the increasing popularity of
probiotic cultures lifted third quarter sales at Danish ingredients
firm Chr Hansen.
New gene technology could provide further evidence to support
probiotic bacteria, often criticised by the medical profession for
having insufficient science behind the claims made about their
health benefits.
The first dairy food range in Europe containing Danisco's Howaru
probiotics has been introduced in Slovenia by one of the region's
top dairy product manufacturers Ljubljanske Mlekarne.
The new cultures unit at Danisco looks set to become a powerful
force in the probiotics sector, gaining additional strains and
entrance to new markets with the acquisition of Rhodia Food,
according to new division chief Fabienne Saadane-Oaks.
A new probiotics alliance, between leading Danish firm Chr Hansen
and a Canadian biotech company, is launching its first product for
the growing women's health market.
Britannia Health Products, the company set up to market the evening
primrose oil brand Efamol, is introducing a range of breakfast
cereals containing Hi-maize prebiotic resistant starch.
Mothers taking probiotic supplements appear to have higher levels
of an anti-inflammatory molecule in their breast milk, which could
offer their babies better protection against allergy and other
diseases, according to new findings.
Dutch chemicals firm DSM has opened a €12 million food research and
product development centre, which is expected to speed up the time
it takes for a new product to reach the market and boost creativity
in food ingredient design.
Probiotic bacteria appear to tackle the HIV virus and may even stop
it from being transferred from a mother to her children, said
researchers at the American Society for Microbiology general
meeting this week.
Netherlands-based Pharming has increased its stake in Australian
company ProBio and is now hoping to accelerate the
commercialisation of recombinant human lactoferrin in Asia,
writes Phil Taylor.
Treating cirrhotic patients with synbiotics or fermentable fiber
can alter the flora in the gut, lowering its pH levels as well as
the ammonia levels in the blood and significantly reducing brain
dysfunction, a common symptom of the...
Spanish food ingredients developer Puleva Biotech is preparing to
enter the probiotics market with strains isolated from human milk,
writes Dominique Patton.
Probiotics in capsule form have been around for a few years, as
dietary supplement manufacturers seek to take advantage of the
growing awareness of their beneficial effect on gut health. But
some consumers do not like taking capsules,...
Danish ingredients firm Arla Food Ingredients has moved into
another new market with its low-calorie bulk sweetener, tagatose,
as the food watchdog for Australia and New Zealand gives the green
light for its use in foods that span...
Ongoing growth in cultures sales to the dairy industry and health
markets helped the Danish ingredients firm Chr Hansen post a modest
rise in revenue for the food ingredients division in the first six
months. Organic growth for the...
Leading cultures firm Chr Hansen has entered a strategic alliance
with a Canadian research company to offer probiotic bacteria
specifically targeted to the substantial women's health market.
Valio is to launch its probiotic cheese in Belgium, the first
country outside its home market, where cheese is a fast-growing new
application area for the health-promoting bacteria, writes
Dominique Patton.
Synbiotics, a combination of prebiotic and probiotic bacteria,
appear to reduce the risk of colon cancer, the most common form of
cancer in the European Union, revealed researchers last month.
Nutritional ingredients producer DSM is to launch an improved
version of its Lafti probiotics in the USA, which are said to offer
superior survival through the GI tract, writes Wai Lang Chu.
Bacterial vaginosis is considered the most common cause of vaginal infection among pregnant and non-pregnant women. In this scenario, the oral intake of...
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