By Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of the American Botanical Council
The past year had been a good one for the industry, with sales rising toward $8 billion and supporting clinical evidence for the category continuing to accrue.
The latest Botanical Adulterants Program bulletin focuses on a foodstuff of seasonal interest — cranberry — whose application as a dietary ingredient is rapidly expanding.
By Michael McGuffin, president, American Herbal Products Association
The herbal industry continued to evolve in 2017 to meet the steadily increasing demand for high quality botanical ingredients in an array of consumer goods from teas and health supplements to personal care products and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Three members of Congress have sent a letter to the US Food and Drug Administration requesting specifics on how enforcement funds are allocated. The three lawmakers are among those the Council for Responsible Nutrition has worked closely with on regulatory...
Finding the right partner in China is critical to navigating this ever more important market in the dietary supplements industry, according to the United Natural Products Alliance.
The herbal dietary supplements industry has lost another of its foundational pioneers with the death of Dr James Duke, PhD, who catalogued thousands of medicinal plants from around the world.
Rice Bran Technologies has exited the Brazilian market and will concentrate on growing its ingredients business in North America, the company announced recently.
Dr Dan Fabricant, PhD, executive director of the Natural Products Association, has continued his forceful advocacy of existing compliant paths to market for CBDs in an appearance on The Doctors TV show.
A new study conducted by anti doping researchers has found that products containing SARMs are readily available online and that many of the products contain additional undeclared, unapproved drugs.
The Natural Algae Astaxanthin Association has filed a citizen’s petition that seeks regulatory action by FDA against a synthetic form of astaxanthin marketed by Cardax.
A recent warning letter to a dietary supplement company shows that FDA is starting to drill down to the next level of GMP compliance in looking at the scientific validity of tests used to verify ingredients.
An innovative program administered through a Virginia university is fostering a model for increasing supply chain quality and transparency via the cultivation of forest botanicals in situ.
The Global Retailer and Manufacturer Alliance (GRMA) is in the final stages of completing a comprehensive set of consensus-based standards for dietary supplements, OTC pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and medical devices.
Only five out of 19 supplement products labeled as Reishi mushroom purchased in the U.S. could be verified as genuine Reishi mushroom, says a new study that highlights quality issues in the category.
The need to verify one of its primary ingredients—aloe—has pushed Herbalife to become one of the industry’s leaders on identification and quality, an executive asserts.
From market sizing to the need for global probiotics standards at Codex, the International Probiotic Association’s second DC workshop in collaboration with the US Pharmacopeia succeeded in providing a venue for sharing knowledge and expertise.
Dietary supplement brand MegaFood announced that its entire line is now certified glyphosate residue free, a move the company deemed necessary as a supplement maker that differentiates itself by making “whole food” supplements.
A recent project completed by branded ingredient supplier PLT illustrates how companies can fairly easily plug gaps in their botanical identification structure if they’re willing to expend the effort, an expert says.
Algae Health Sciences, Inc. has announced it has joined the ranks of astaxanthin suppliers that have achieved Non GMO Project Verified status on its ingredients.
The Food and Drug Administration has issued a consumer warning against supplement-like body building products that contain SARMs, or selective androgen receptor modulators.
It’s natural for herbal raw materials to contain some foreign matter—but there’s a limit to it. The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) recently launched a guidance titled Limits of Foreign Matter in Herbal Ingredients, compiled to help the industry...
Norwegian scientific consulting firm Orivo has announced a plan in conjunction with supplier GC Rieber Oils to refine its testing technology to be able to verify the authenticity of concentrated fish oils.
Addressing persistent illness and deaths caused by foodborne diseases, California-based nutraceutical ingredients maker BI issued a statement urging the industry to demand for product-specific kill step validation procedures.
A presentation yesterday at a meeting of liver injury specialists presented preliminary research that claims that a majority of dietary supplements collected when patients seek treatment are mislabeled.
A new publication on rhodiola outlines the common adulterants or species misidentifications associated with this increasingly popular herb. It’s part of the expanding Botanical Adulterants Program’s list of publications.
Members of the Council for Responsible Nutrition must demonstrate a “unified commitment” to the Supplement OWL, with the organization’s Board of Directors indicating that all members must be substantially compliant by the beginning of the year.
California-based supplement maker Custompax must stop selling products until it comes to compliance with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s dietary supplement manufacturing regulations, according to a press release by the federal agency.
Chilean omega-3 supplier Golden Omega has become the first omega-3 concentrate producer to obtain a certification from third party verifier Orivo, ensuring pure raw material sourcing.
Interest in personalized nutrition has been climbing steadily since the summer of 2015, according to search queries for the term analyzed by Google Trends, and personalized nutrition brands will have increasing presence at industry trade shows like SupplySide...
The American Botanical Council has announced a plan to create an industry-accepted practice to ensure that rejected raw materials don’t find their way back into the market and onto the shelf in the form of finished goods.
A nascent organic herbal cooperative model in Vermont offers the promise of increasing domestic herbal ingredient sources. The founders say they have been pleasantly surprised that demand for these higher priced materials has consistently outstripped...
The Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED) has developed “GOED Best-Practice Guidelines on Oxidation Control” to help the industry to avoid oxidation issues and produce the highest quality products available.
Canada-based Nutrasource Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Services has formed a strategic alliance with Baltimore-based DNA4 Technologies in order to offer cutting-edge species identification technology for botanical and herbal products.
A recent warning letter to a Colorado dietary supplement company illustrates the hot water companies can get themselves into when starting business operations without adequate counsel.
Compared to crickets, grasshoppers and even meal worms, the fruit fly is minuscule, but according to the co-founders of Flying SpArk this tiniest of insects could prove to be a more bountiful, sustainable and efficient source of protein.
The American Botanical Council is continuing to shed light on the issue of the adulteration of botanical ingredients by making available a book chapter on the adulteration of essential oils. This comes on the heels of the publication of an ABC bulletin...
At Pharmavite, we pride ourselves in the work we do and the products we make. Since 1971, we’ve been a leader in the health and wellness industry, and, with our Nature Made brand, have earned the trust of consumers, healthcare practitioners, retailers,...
Transparency is becoming more of a watchword for the industry, says Mark Blumenthal of the American Botanical Council. Whether it's a word to live by or to hide behind is the question, he said.
The tussle between ChromaDex and Elysium Health highlights again the curious dance between a New Dietary Ingredient Notification and a GRAS affirmation as a way to bring ingredients to market.
Widespread flooding in Houston has caused Aker BioMarine to close its lone krill oil processing facility there as a precautionary measure, the company announced today.
Increasing harvests of Rhodiola rosea grown in Alaska could soon offer botanical product formulators high quality “grown in the U.S.” R. rosea for the first time.
The accelerating trend toward consolidation in the analytical testing sphere could diminish the highly specific services required to meet the needs of a complex industry like dietary supplements, experts say.
A new technology building on genetic information as the basis of botanical identification has been demonstrated in a recent research paper dealing with a common TCM ingredient.
Bringing algae-based dietary ingredients to market has proven to be more of an ultra-distance contest than a sprint, and Zivo Bioscience believes it has entered the bell lap.
A lack of identity testing is a frequent failure cited in warning letters issued by the Food and Drug Administration. But even when tests are being done, they need to be done in the right way and with properly calibrated equipment.
To help formulate its vitamin and mineral-infused coffee pods, compatible with the Keurig brewing system, startup VitaCup recruited a ‘Chief Vitamin Officer.’
Ingredient supplier Bayir Group has announced $2.45 million in funding which will be used for a manufacturing expansion primarily aimed at pharmaceutical applications.
Trade associations including the Food Marketing Institute and the Grocery Manufacturers Association have warned the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that failing to implement federal GMO labeling legislation in a timely manner could cause major headaches...
