France's Danone has announced a three-year licence with US-based
Integrated Genomics for access to the ERGO database and genomic
discovery system to enhance the group's probiotic understanding and
R&D.
Cranberry juice, already well-known as a remedy for urinary tract
infections, may help protect against common infections caused by
gastrointestinal viruses, reports Dominique Patton.
Blue California is changing the ingredient purification process at
its China manufacturing facility from gamma-rays to ozone, in order
to meet regulatory standards in international markets.
Microalgae producers Cyanotech and Earthrise Nutritionals have
signaled their surprise that spirulina was excluded from a recent
study suggesting that a potential toxin known as BMAA is present in
diverse groups of cyanobacteria,...
High consumption of fructooligosaccharides (FOS) increases the risk
of salmonella infection in rats, according to new research,
although it is impossible to tell whether the prebiotic ingredient
could have the same impact on humans,...
Danish ingredients company Chr Hansen has licensed the use of a
genomics tool to improve knowledge of how probiotic bacteria work.
It could help the firm develop new probiotic bacteria with superior
benefits over existing products.
Raspberries and another berry commercially grown in Finland, the
cloudberry, contain a compound that inhibits the growth of harmful
intestinal bacteria, report researchers at VTT Biotechnology and
the University of Helsinki.
An oregano and cranberry concoction could be a potent
anti-microbial agent for food processors under constant pressure to
reduce the risk of foodborne diseases in the ever-expanding food
production chain.
Millions of women use yoghurt as a natural remedy to prevent thrush
while taking antibiotics but an Australian team says there is no
proof that the bacteria in yoghurt has any beneficial effect.
New gene technology could provide further evidence to support
probiotic bacteria, often criticised by the medical profession for
having insufficient science behind the claims made about their
health benefits.
A major, randomised trial to assess the effectiveness of probiotic
bacteria in reducing infections in intensive care patients, the
first such study to be carried out in the US, may help to expand
applications for the supplement to...
Probiotics, the bacteria thought to help gut health disorders,
allergies and even some forms of cancer, contain immune
system-stimulating DNA, which makes them just as effective when
inactivated as when consumed as live microorganisms...
Experts meeting at a symposium on probiotics this autumn said that
further scientific support is needed to explore the strong
potential for health benefits of these bacteria.
Scientists will soon huddle together to unravel the third plant
genome to be sequenced to date. Their work - boosted recently by a
$10.8 million (€9.2m) slice of funding - should shed light on the
health-promoting properties buried...
Nutritional products company Natrol has introduced a new
triple-shell beadlet technology, BioBeads, designed to improve
delivery of active probiotics in supplements to the intestinal
tract.
In our first news of the day from the Society for General
Microbiology's meeting in the UK this week, scientists from the
Institute for Animal Health announced progress towards controlling
the deadly E. coli bacterium that causes...
A variety of factors play a role in whether food-borne bacteria
actually make people sick, and a better understanding of the
infection process from food-borne bacteria could certainly lead to
ways to stop such illnesses from occurring,...
Seaweed species have been found to defend themselves from specific
pathogens with naturally occurring antibiotics, which could present
oppportunities for future nutraceuticals, report US researchers.
Drinking tea appears to prime the immune system to fight infection
and chronic disease, according to US researchers, who report on
both laboratory and in vivo studies this week.
New methods for the detection of enterotoxins from Bacillus
cereus have been developed by European scientists. The
discovery paves the way for the identification of genes responsible
for the production of emetic toxins (vomiting toxins).
New insights about the foundations of our health could soon be
revealed thanks to the recent completion of the genome sequence of
one of the most prevalent bacteria that live in the human intestine
- Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron.
Improving food safety 'the natural way' would certainly appeal to
the increasingly health vigilant consumer. Scientists in the UK
have been looking at a variety of natural antimicrobials that could
extend food shelf-life...
Are organic foods better for us? This is the question on the lips
of many a consumer, food manufacturer and scientist. For what,
exactly, is the consumer paying a higher price? The US Institute of
Food Technologists took a refreshing,...
US scientists are meeting later this month to analyse the DNA of 11
strains of probiotic bacteria. The aim is to help food scientists
improve the safety of foods such as cheese and yoghurt and the
research will also contribute to...
Honey contains similar levels of antioxidants as broccoli, and a
range of antioxidants comparable to that found in apples, bananas,
oranges and strawberries, according to research presented at the
national meeting of the American...
A European project is developing new microbial strains from soy and
dairy foods with the aim of increasing production of vitamin B,
prebiotics and trehalose-type sugars.
American scientists could have discovered why the ancient Chinese
compound rubricine is effective in burn treatment, and the findings
also suggest that microbes may be slow to develop resistance to the
herb.
Trials to find out whether certain vegetables can relieve infection
with stomach cancer and ulcers could soon be underway, say the
researchers who have found a compound in broccoli that kills the
bacterium responsible for the infections.
A new European funded research project, involving a consortium of
European academic institutions, is dedicated to improving the
nutraceutical knowledge of fermented food products and will spend
four years seeking to improve the health...
Cranberries are the fruit with the greatest antioxidant properties,
according to a number of studies presented this week at the
Experimental Biology 2002 meeting and at the 223rd national meeting
of the American Chemical Society earlier...
Last week saw the first shipments of VSL#3, a probiotic food
ingredient marketed by Questcor Pharmaceuticals. VSL#3 is a
preparation of eight highly concentrated species of live
freeze-dried lactic acid bacteria which are said to...
Environmental biotechnology has been used by humans for centuries
in food making, medicine, fermentation and waste treatment.
According to a new study, today the market for microbial blends and
nutrients is gaining in strength.
This month saw the first annual workshop of the Food, GI-tract
Functionality and Human Health Cluster (PROEUHEALTH), a grouping of
64 research partners from 16 European countries working together to
obtain greater knowledge of the...
Food technology company aLF Ventures, LLC, a partnership between
Farmland National Beef Packing Company L.P. and ingredients
specialists DMV USA, this week opened N-terminus, a new
multi-million dollar food safety research and development...
Decontamination with 1 per cent and 2 per cent buffered lactic acid
does not appreciably affect the spread of pathogen E.coli in beef
tissue, Belgian scientists report this week.
Organic broiler chickens are three times as likely as
conventionally-bred poultry to be contaminated with a bacterium
that causes food-poisoning, say Danish vets, the New Scientist
reports this week.
