Consumer and legislative pressures, and scarcity of ingredients will be the three main drivers for nutraceutical companies to become more sustainable, according to Monique van der Vijve, innovation manager at Solidaridad, the global sustainability organisation....
Sparked by proposed US Department of Agriculture regulations that would drastically alter the certification process for industrial hemp, two lawmakers from Oregon want the agency to make several changes before it finalizes rules for the US Domestic Hemp...
Indian agri-tech start-up Sattvaponics Solutions has outlined its ambition to be a game-changer in the nutraceutical industry, spurred in part by a recent investment from the Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE).
Brazilian researchers found that pearl millet has higher protein and fiber than rice, and isolated bacterial strains from the fermented bran may have probiotic potential.
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.
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.
Sabinsa has promoted its marketing director, Shaheen Majeed, to worldwide president of the company, with responsibility for manufacturing, marketing, strategies and other operational matters.
Israel-based Algatechnologies Ltd. has achieved National Organic Program (NOP) certification for its 100% organic Haematococcus pluvialis microalgae powder and astaxanthin oleoresin.
With the new administration comes new opportunities for the food and beverage industry, from agriculture and scientists to manufacturers and public health advocates, to make their priorities heard by collectively raising their voices, stakeholders argued...
The botanical raw material GMP proposal put forward by GNC earlier this year is in active revision, according the American Herbal Products Association.
How to create a new high-value, sustainable business model for African ingredients? By focusing on demand-creation first, production second and engagement with communities, says the founder of baobab start-up Aduna.
A bill that would pre-empt state laws that mandate GMO labeling (such as Act 120 in Vermont) and set up a federal voluntary labeling system instead, has passed in the Senate Agriculture Committee 14:6, but faces an uphill battle when it goes to the Senate...
Change is a constant in the natural world, but it is accelerating for a variety of reasons, a fact that has serious implications for botanical ingredient suppliers, participants at a recent industry congress were told.
A federal judge in Florida has approved a $3.99m deal to resolve a proposed class action accusing Kashi of misleading shoppers by labeling products made with GMOs as ‘all-natural’.
Wresting local control of the food supply is an idea that continues to spawn advocacy groups. The latest, called Local Food Shift, has cropped up in Colorado with the goal to launch a magazine as a way to spread the message and influence policy.
The newest trade association in the natural products industry – Organic & Natural Health Association – has named its founding members and board members.
Omniactive Health Technologies has passed a milestone with the enrollment of more than 10,000 farmers in its lutein supply program, the company said Wednesday at the Vitafoods Europe trade show in Geneva, Switzerland.
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.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Health Organisation (WHO) have published a 60 point plan as part of a ‘framework for action’ to improve global food and nutrition systems.
After a years long pilot process, the new label Food Justice Certified is ready for market. The new designation aims to do what the USDA Organic Certification does not, and that is to verify that in every link of the food chain there is fair treatment...
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...
Few may go hungry but vitamin and mineral deficiencies and health problems like growth stunting in children are widespread among the 53 countries of Europe and central Asia, according to the FAO.
Whole food supplement manufacturer Standard Process has received the PR Daily Corporate Social Responsibility Award for best sustainability/green initiative.
SCS Global Services (SCS) has certified that over half of the rosemary production by Kemin is ‘Sustainably Grown’, with the remaining fields scheduled to be audited this year and certified before the 2014 cropping season.
Several studies have suggested that global food production needs to double by 2050 if we are to feed a growing population – but this will not be possible if current trends continue, according to new research.
Unilever and Nestlé say Oxfam missed an opportunity for a wider and more comprehensive debate about food ethics after the NGO published a damning report on the supply chains of the world’s biggest food firms this week.
Can we feed nine billion people by 2050? Only if we embrace the principles of open innovation, says Jeff Bellairs, senior director of the General Mills Worldwide Innovation Network (G-WIN), in this exclusive article for Foodnavigator-USA.com and FoodNavigator.com.
A breakthrough in cocoa genetics by a collaboration involving Mars, USDA and IBM will accelerate research into the production of trees that can better resist drought, disease and pests, and has met with an enthusiastic welcome from leading cocoa scientists...
Sara Lee has issued a clarification statement regarding its EarthGrain-brand bread after organic farming campaigners at Cornucopia accused it of “misleading and unethical” claims.
There’s a perfect storm building for food prices. You don’t have to scan the horizon to see the signs; the clouds are developing all around us - at a faster rate than anyone expected.
Everybody wants food to be safe - but the recent slugging match over how best to protect US consumers from E.coli-tainted meat highlights whether legislation or self-regulation is the answer to mending the country's flawed safety system.
The Food Safety Enhancement Act has been broadly welcomed by industry but a group of organizations has issued a letter to the relevant committee voicing strong opposition to several of the bill’s provisions.
Stressing plants to induce their natural defences could lead to a new range of functional foods enriched with a plant's natural defensive compounds, phytoalexins.
Who likes pesticides? Misunderstood by consumers and misrepresented by pressure groups, pesticides are a soft target for legislators. The latest blow to that soft target could have hard consequences for the European food industry and for developing countries.
“Four legs good, two legs bad.” When the pigs take over the land in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, they have no hesitation; any creature with four legs is beyond reproach and any human is bad, mad and dangerous to know.
A leading organic dairy processor in the US has announced a new
research initiative for reducing its carbon footprint, as part of a
new funding program designed to improve efficiency in sustainable
production.
Organically grown tomatoes contain higher levels of beneficial
flavonoids, says a new study from the US that fans the flames of
the debate between conventional and organic foods.
In a show of institutional support for the nutraceutical industry,
the Canadian government has announced a $2m Cdn plug for research
into identifying plant, animal and marine compounds that can
benefit health.
After a recent boost in French walnut production, combined with the
growing popularity of the nut among consumers, producers should be
celebrating - but bad news came this week in the form of a
government report indicating supply...
Two leading spirulina producers have criticised the National
Organic Standards Board's (NOSB) decision to disallow the use of
Chilean nitrate in organic production as unjust, and have declined
to alter their process as safety...
Two groups representing organic farmers are at loggerheads over the
release of a new report that claims to rate the nation's organic
dairy brands and products.
Dietary supplements made following the National Organics Program's
requirements for organic foods may now be certified as organic and
bear the USDA seal, according to a memorandum sent out by the USDA
this week to its accredited...
Industry's demand for quality, standardized herbal extracts will
continue to drive new cultivation projects that will also ensure
the sustainability of plant species and biodiversity, claims a
leading supplier.