NIU’s Global Round-up: Surging hemp demand in China, DS regs clarified in Brazil, and more

25-Feb-2019 - Last updated on 25-Feb-2019 at 15:04 GMT

It’s a global industry and there’s a lot happening. We know it’s not always easy keeping up with everything that’s happening around the world that could impact the US dietary supplements industry. The answer? Our weekly round-up of key news from across the globe.

LATAM

ANVISA updates guidance on dietary supplements in Brazil

Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) released updated guidance for dietary supplements to help industry better understand and implement the framework.

The news was welcomed by Juan Pablo Waimann, executive director of the trade association Latin American Alliance for Responsible Nutrition Alliance (ALANUR), who called the update, “an initiative in the right direction that will help the regulated sector to better understand how to fully apply the new rules, reduce time in their interpretation and decrease the need for constant contact with ANVISA officials in order to obtain clarification,”

ANVISA introduced the regulatory framework in last year, thereby creating a distinct category for dietary supplements for the first time.

“For ANVISA, the publication of this instrument strengthens the agency's commitment to the regulatory quality of its actions,” the agency said. “...The material should guide and assist supplement companies, as well as the organs of the National Health Surveillance System (SNVS), in the implementation and inspection of the regulations in force on the subject.”

ANVISA said the guidance document was “an informative, non-regulatory, non-binding instrument designed solely to clarify doubts”.

For more on this from NutraIngredients-LATAM, please click HERE.

Europe

DSM Venturing invests in skin microbiome player

The company’s venture capital arm announced investment in Belgium-based life sciences company S-Biomedic, to enable the firm to “rapidly progress their portfolio of products and enter into development and commercialisation agreements with leading dermatological and cosmetic brands.”

Rishabh Pande, vice president marketing and innovation personal care and aroma at DSM, added: “With its long-established expertise in skin biology and in-depth knowledge in the field of epidermal science DSM is well placed to extend its research and innovation focus on the skin microbiome.

“We have already made encouraging discoveries about how skin actives in our existing product portfolio work on the skin and scalp microbiome. Through this investment, we hope to foster further innovation in the field.”

For more on this, please click HERE.

Asia

Surging hemp demand in China

In an interview with NutraIngredients-Asia, Xin Sun, CEO of China Health Industries Holdings, explained that the company’s recent Q2 revenue jump of 50% year-on-year was fueled by sales of its new hemp derivative products, including health foods and cosmetics.

Producing finished products ranging from hemp oil capsules to hemp cosmetics, the firm sources its hemp supply from its 0.3 acres wide plantation in Heilongjiang – the only other region that the Chinese government has approved to grow hemp besides Yunnan.

“Currently, we have developed about 50 products, we will introduce new products every month and we are in the midst of designing the product packaging. And so, we will focus on producing health products that are made from hemp.

“We are considered the firm which produces the most variety of hemp derivative products in China, and we have our own patents…Previously, we have also participated in many conferences, such as those in Harbin, and also those which are nationally recognised and we have promoted products we have developed in these conferences

“This have helped garner public attention, which explains the sales increment,” Sun said.