Efforts to prevent state and local governments from mandating GMO labeling cleared an early hurdle with House Agriculture Committee’s approval this week of the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act.
Earning the NonGMO Project verification for every product in the I Heart Keenwah line was a “frustrating” and “taxing” year-long process, but it was worth it, said the company’s president and co-founder Ravi Jolly.
Non GMO product positioning continues to gain importance in the marketplace, but the search for compliant excipients still complicates the claim for supplements. A suite of ingredients that will be on display next week in Chicago can help.
Food ingredients produced using ‘synthetic biology’ techniques – such as Evolva's vanillin, which is made from genetically engineered baker’s yeast - do not qualify for the Non-GMO Project Verified stamp, says the Non GMO Project.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Process Verification Program could provide an avenue for firms to certify the veracity of non-GMO claims without indirectly suggesting that genetic engineering is undesirable or unsafe.
As widely predicted, the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) is appealing a federal court ruling denying its bid to halt implementation of Vermont’s GMO labeling law (Act 120) until a lawsuit over the Act is resolved.
Attorney: This case could end up in the Supreme Court
While opponents of Vermont’s GMO labeling Act 120 suffered a major setback this week after a federal judge rejected many of their arguments, some attorneys predict the case could ultimately end up in the Supreme Court to settle a long-running debate over...
Congress needs to strengthen FDA’s oversight of genetically modified organisms before foreign countries, with potentially lower safety standards, begin genetically engineering crops used in finished products that are imported to the U.S., argues an executive...
French-based botanical ingredients supplier Naturex is adjusting to meet future market conditions in the US by certifying seven of its most popular ingredients non GMO.
More than 100 members of the Natural Products Association gathered in Washington, D.C., to discuss with their legislators hot topics facing the industry. Talking points included defining organic as non-GMO, gaining flexible spending account coverage for...
In the face of repeated requests for information and services, a working group of dietary supplement companies that includes FoodState Inc. is the process of formalizing its membership structure to transform into a dues-paying organization.
Nutrasource Diagnostics Inc. is set to launch a cost-effective, evidence-based certification program to test finished products, and the ingredients used to make them. Results allow manufacturers to determine if they contain GMOs or whether GMO’s were...
As the issue of mandatory GMO labeling looms ever larger on the radar of the dietary supplements industry, so too looms the question of supply of non GMO ingredients. The main active ingredients in supplements are for the most part of little concern,...
The United Natural Products Alliance has announced a new insurance program designed especially for the needs of the dietary supplements industry. The program takes a detailed look at company operations in the rate setting process and qualifying for the...
As more consumers avoid genetically modified organisms, manufacturers that fail to label whether their products contain GMOs are at an increased risk of losing consumer trust and relevance, according to The Hartman Group.
Fruit d’Or, a Quebec-based cranberry processor, has announced the commercial launch of Oral Cran, a specially formulated and packaged whole cranberry powder aimed at the oral health market.
Stevia First Corp, producer of a fermentation-based steviol glycoside ingredient, is moving its technology beyond its namesake high intensity sweetener into new ranges of functional ingredients that the company is billing as “geroprotectors.”
Opponents of the labeling of genetically modified ingredients have spent millions to defeat the various state ballot measures on the issue. At least as far as dietary supplements are concerned, that money was spent out of a misguided fear, said one influential...
Non GMO positioning is becoming an ever hotter topic within the supplement realm. NutraIngredients-USA will examine the topic in an online forum on Feb. 26 with an expert panel drawn from trade organizations, manufacturers and retailers.
By Michael McGuffin, president, American Herbal Products Association
The herbal products industry can expect several recent trends to continue in 2015, but there are also some significant changes on the horizon. Here are a few things the industry can look for in 2015.
By Loren Israelsen, president of the United Natural Products Alliance
On the cusp of its 30th anniversary, there’s been a lot of talk about the look forward provided by the 1985 movie, Back to the Future. A similar look back at the natural health products industry to see the future is not such a far-fetched idea. A number...
A new competitor has arrived on the plant-based omega-3s scene with the announcement of FDA no-objection GRAS status for Ahiflower oil, an ingredient from Technology Crops International. The oil offers a balance of omega-3, -6 and -9, according to the...
SDC Nutrition, a producer of sports nutrition products, has seen growth in Latin American markets help to push the company to the rank of the fastest growing manufacturer based in Pittsburgh.
Dietary supplement manufacturing giant Pharmavite LLC has made a big move into natural channel supplements with its acquisition of whole food supplement manufacturer FoodState Inc. Pharmavite acquired the company from the private equity firm 2X Consumer...
The biggest rise was in products making non-GMO or GMO-free claims
Non-GMO, Kosher, gluten-free, ethical, environmentally-friendly, lactose-free, vegan, no additives/preservatives, and on-the-go claims are all gaining more traction on US food labels; while growth in ‘all-natural’- antioxidant- and low/no/reduced sugar/sodium/fat...
Sales of herbal and other teas increased by 5.9% in the United States in 2013, capping off a decade of solid growth, according to a market report by the American Botanical Council. It was ABC’s first such report on the tea sector.
Qualitas Health has achieved a significant milestone with the launch of two consumer products that feature the company’s algal-based EPA ingredient branded as Almega PL.
Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage reported strong revenue growth for the fourth quarter of its 2014 fiscal year. Net sales grew by 17.8% over the same period in 2014 and were up by 20.9% for the fiscal year. The company notched $520.7 million in net...
UPDATED - Initial returns indicate that voters in Colorado have given a firm thumbs down to GMO labeling initiative Proposition 105, while the vote in Oregon on Measure 92 headed to a nail-biting finish - but ended with voters saying NO.
The November elections draw nearer featuring numerous state ballot initiatives requiring the mandatory labeing of genetically modified ingredients. While this is an issue with clear fault lines in the food realm, the question of non GMO positioning is...
Despite ongoing vacancies in the main office of the Division of Dietary Supplements, companies must continue to build relationships with FDA’s district offices to ensure ongoing GMP compliance, says Dr Daniel Fabricant, CEO of the Natural Products Association.
The cost to consumers of requiring labeling of genetically modified food is $2.30 per person annually, or less than a penny a day, says new analysis commissioned by Consumers Union, the policy arm of Consumer Reports.
Relaunching as an employee-owned company will help focus Twinlab on its mission of “reauthenticating” the brand in the natural channel, said CEO Tom Tolworthy.
90 scientists have written to President Obama urging him to press the FDA into making a decision, one way or another, on whether AquaBounty Technologies should be allowed to introduce the first genetically engineered (GE) animal to the human food supply.
Desires to align product portfolios with messages of corporate social responsibility are driving some of the M&A activity regarding organic and natural companies, says Euromonitor International.
Pure Via labels will be amended, but 'natural' claim will stay
10 months after Cargill agreed to settle a class action lawsuit alleging it was misleading shoppers by marketing consumer products under the Truvia brand as ‘natural’, the firms behind rival stevia brand Pure Via have agreed to settle a similar lawsuit.
A new trade organization has formed with the mission to define what 'natural' means. The nascent Organic and Natural Health Alliance (ONHA) plans to go about defining that attribute in a way that is unique in the natural products business in...
After taking a hit due to recent negative press and a consumer shift toward more use of functional food and beverages, the US nutritional supplements market will see growth return to just over 6% per year through 2018, when sales will reach $16.4 billion,...
With all the attention GMOs have received in recent months—good and bad—confusion in the marketplace has inevitably followed, as consumers scramble to make sense of the pro- and anti-camps’ arguments and product manufactures scramble to keep track of...
Natural and organic is the future of functional food and food in general, according to MetaBrandCEO Eric Schnell. Schnell is a panelist in an upcoming NutraIngredients-USA online forum title "Trends in Functional Foods" and set for June 30.
Leading academic calls results “out of line and improbable”...
The cost of New York State adopting labeling of GMO ingredient in food products could increase the cost of food for a family of four by $800 per year, says a new economic study from Cornell University. The results have been described as “out of line and...
Pointing out problems and flaws in organic farming and certification is constructive in that they need to be addressed. But using the imperfections of the organic production system to defend why GMOs are a preferred way to produce food - as Mischa Popoff...
Guest article: Mischa Popoff, author, Is it Organic?
I worked for five years as a USDA-contract organic inspector after growing up on an organic grain farm in Saskatchewan. I had the pleasure of inspecting over 500 organic farms and processors, but I began questioning this career path when I realized the...
The majority of the leading US supplement companies are working on using non-GMO ingredients in their formulations, said Cal Bewicke, CEO of Ethical Naturals Inc (ENI), as the company launches non-GMO vitamin C.
An Abbott Laboratories shareholder proposal to label genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in its Similac infant formula range received about 5% of the vote, and has been rejected by the company.
A bill requiring foods produced with genetic engineering be labeled in Vermont has passed the house and the senate, and now just needs Governor Peter Shumlin’s signature to be signed into law. However, legal experts say a First Amendment challenge could...
NBTY is introducing a line of non-GMO supplements, the Long Island-based manufacturing giant announced yesterday. The line, called Nature’s Origin, also features a gluten- and irradiation-free positioning.
