The European Commission this week issued a report that found evidence lacking for the ability of most food supplements to benefit Europe’s burgeoning elderly population.
Evidence is lacking to support vitamin and mineral supplementation’s role in active healthy ageing (AHA) “at this stage” an EC report has concluded. But it did not rule out their role completely.
The EU nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR) put many health-related product marketeers noses out of joint. But having survived two years since legislative enforcement, are we now witnessing a positive and unpredicted consequence? argues Pegasus's...
Daily supplements containing resveratrol may boost memory performance in association with improved glucose metabolism in older adults, says a new study from Germany.
"The principle is to replace costly substance by less costly substance at the expense of the consumer": CAFIA
The Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority (CAFIA) says it, “repeatedly reveals serious forms of adulteration of food supplements” despite efforts through its Food Pillory system.
Scientists at a German state control laboratory have developed a fast and accurate method of testing whether supplement and sports nutrition products contain the illegal stimulant DMAA (1,3-dimethylamylamine/methylhexaneamine).
The €2bn EU botanical food supplements market has been boosted by France’s imminent adoption of a 600-strong, positive list based on the well-regarded BELFRIT list, according to industry sources.
Brain health nutrient phosphatidylserine (PS) has won EU novel foods approval in yoghurt foods, bars, chocolate and milk powder drinks, opening non-supplements potential for the first time in the EU’s 28 member states.
'If they are not included, they may be relegated to novel food hell'
Firms must fight the case of the botanicals that did not make it on the BELFRIT list, according to a consultant behind a comprehensive index of those excluded from the Belgian, French and Italian agreement.
New UK guidelines for vitamin D intake in the UK should recommend that only medically licensed products are prescribed and not food supplements, according to several pharma experts.
Daily supplements of oligomeric procyanidins from grape seeds may change gene expression associated with cardiovascular disease pathways, according to a new study by an international group of genomics scientists.
The French food supplements market is set for double digit growth this year as the sector adapts to changing EU regulations around health claims, according to the chairman of the country’s biggest trade group.
It has been a tumultuous few years for the European food supplements sector as it has had to learn to live under the world’s toughest health claims regime. Marketing strictures may be tighter than ever but the sector is in a good place, says the chairof...
From the 2014 International PlantLIBRA Conference in Vienna, Austria
As the EU’s ambitious €6m PlantLIBRA project to further botancials science drew to a close this week at a congress in Vienna, we asked the European Commission about the project’s relative merits – and whether a ‘mark 2’ was on the cards.
Sustainability is not such an important issue for the supplements industry, because of the relatively low ingredient volumes involved and a difference in industry priorities, Malaysia-based Carotech has said.
Supplements of a Ginkgo biloba plus choline-based formula may produce modest improvements in executive functioning, according to a new study from Standard Process using its Ginkgo Synergy plus Choline products.
Supplement-like products that do not possess a registration under the European Union Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive (THMPD), including Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs), will be banned in retail environments in the UK...
Kirk Radomski came through the fire of the performance enhancing drug scandal of Major League Baseball to a new life as the founder of a supplement company specializing in sports nutrition. The experience has given him a unique perspective on the business,...
Lithuania has sent a list of 182 botanicals it intends to ban in food supplements to the European Commission in a move one major supplier called “a step back” for EU harmonisation and free trade.
Despite healthy diets and a lack of government support, food supplement use in Denmark is among the highest in Europe, the Danish Food Institute (NFI) has concluded after a survey.
Italy has legally adopted a harmonised list of about 1000 approved botanicals for use in food supplements, following a joint research effort with Belgium and France (BELFRIT).
Ginkgo, evening primrose, artichoke, aloe, fennel, valerian, soy, lemon balm, echinacea and blueberry are the most popular and 1-in-5 Europeans take plant food supplements (PFS), a 4-year study has concluded.
The dietary supplements market is set to grow by 4% annually running up to 2018, with Singapore, Hong Kong and Norway being the top spenders by household consumption, according to Euromonitor International.
If the nutritional supplements sector is to ever cast off its reputation for ‘dangerous’ and unlabelled contaminants then big online retails must embrace and enforce stricter anti-doping policies, argues Luca Bucchini, PhD.
For 12 days the 22nd Winter Olympiad in Sochi, Russia, had escaped the scourge of doping. It may not have escaped the scourge of homophobic ranting from its paragon-of-progress president, Vladimir Putin, but it had been drug-free.
Three quarters of samples of Pharma Labs Inc's bodybuilding food supplement Esto Suppress have been shown to contain the breast cancer drug, tamoxifen, according to researchers.
UK-based food supplement certification service Informed-Sport has linked up with online supplement retailer Trusted Pro Supplements to showcase those products that have passed through the stringent quality control process.
The market for probiotic yoghurt in 20 key European Union markets will fall 4.5% in the five years between now and 2018, but the overall sector trend remains positive, Euromonitor International analyst Ewa Hudson told a packed Probiota congress in Amsterdam...
Athletics Australia (AA) is wrong to warn its young and elite athletes off food and sports supplements as they can provide benefits at next-to-no risk, Europe’s sports nutrition sector has said.
Last week, Peter Zambetti, director of global business development at Capsugel and chairman of the International Alliance of Dietary Supplement Associations (IADSA), discussed the impact of GMPs on the global health & nutrition (H&N) sector. In...
The global health and nutrition (H&N) sector continues to expand, but regulations are tighter than ever and players need to understand this if they are to succeed, says the chief of the biggest global supplements organisation.
Athletics Australia (AA) – the body that represents elite athletes – is set to warn Australia’s best sports people that food supplements cannot be trusted to be contamination-free and deliver scant benefits.
From brain health to muscle building, and from malnutrition to botanicals, our special editions have set record traffic levels for their in-depth articles and exclusive content. Here, we have the second part of our round-up of the key lessons from the...
A survey of enteral nutrition 'key opinion leaders (KOLs)' has found that the research and development of food supplements for battling malnutrition and geriatrics has the highest priority, whilst treatment improvements in the area of intensive...
James Collins, bespoke nutritionist at Arsenal Football Club and with other elite athletes, says food supplements and sports nutrition products are highly important to top athletes - so important their use is now near-on ubiquitous.
A commercial dietary supplement marketed for joint pain has been backed to alleviate joint pain severity and reduce dificulties in performing day to day tasks, according to a new study.
Long-term supplementation with multivitamins plus selenium may help delay the progression of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in people with early stages of the disease who are not yet eligible to receive antiretroviral therapy, a new randomised trial...
By Shane Starling at #FIE2013 in Frankfurt, Germany
Botanical food supplements deemed medicinal have less than six months to achieve herbal medicines status or be removed from shelves in the UK – but the sector says the law remains unclear.
DNA barcoding for botanicals has a bright future, despite comments that it may not yet be fit for purpose, and the next 2-3 years will see a ‘huge shift’ towards the ‘robust and reliable technology’, says the CEO of AuthenTechnologies.
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has warned consumers off VERSA-1, the second pre-workout sports supplement made by Texas-based manufacturer USPLabs containing the disputed ingredient, aegeline.
The UK hospital system spends more on food supplements and medical food than it does on regular food, a situation that has provoked protest today – but the government says it is based on genuine need.
The European Union botanicals sector has been in limbo since 2010 when 2078 botanical health claim applications were placed on hold as the European Commission bowed to pressure to reconsider the scientific criteria for their validation. With no end to...
Drinking nitrate-rich beetroot juice for four days prior to a running time trial may boost performance, according to results of a study with trained female runners.
Supplementation with eight essential amino acids before and after knee-replacement surgery could help patients recover faster and with less wastage of muscles, according to new research.
The UK’s Chief Medical Officer says a scheme that offers free vitamins A, C and D to under-5s in low-income familes, should be extended all children to boost their health and avoid illness and disease.
Multivitamin supplements may boost working memory and attentional processing, and adding guarana may enhance these effects further, says a new study with Bayer Healthcare’s Berocca Performance and Boost products.
![Alban Maggiar on botanicals: “I understand [the EC] would not disagree with option 2,”](/var/wrbm_gb_food_pharma/storage/images/_aliases/news_teaser_medium/3/0/1/7/3437103-1-eng-GB/EU-supplements-sector-presses-on-for-EU-botanical-acceptance.jpg)
