The scientific evidence on ephedra is not a closed book, according
to researchers at the University of California, who conducted a
study to determine whether repeated dosing and formulas including
caffeine contribute to the adverse...
Global standards for vitamin and mineral supplements were adopted
by Codex yesterday, despite some last minute requests for
amendments and consumer group campaigns to stall the ratification,
writes Dominique Patton.
Chrysantis is ready to start selling EZ Eyes to dietary supplement
makers following the FDA's acceptance of the marigold-derived
natural zeaxanthin as a new dietary ingredient (NDI), reports
Jess Halliday.
A handful of countries are threatening the adoption next month of
new world standards on how to set maximum levels of vitamins and
minerals, reports Dominique Patton.
Consumer awareness and the escalating costs of healthcare are among
the key factors shaping the nutraceuticals market in North America,
according to the latest analysis from Frost and Sullivan. In Europe
the landscape is dominated...
Increasing sales and future contracts for vitamin E phosphate will
help Australian firm Phosphagenics come close to breaking even in
2005, said company managing director Dr Ian Pattison at a
shareholders meeting yesterday.
The National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA) has become the
latest industry body to reassure companies and consumers that the
impending Codex guidelines will not affect the availability of
dietary supplements in the United States,...
One month after a Utah court issued a ruling on low dose ephedra
products, the dietary supplements industry is still in limbo over
the previously-banned herbal, since the FDA has not yet given any
indication of its next course of...
Last week SupplySide East attracted more than 2,800 executives to
the Baltimore Convention Center. More than the business
opportunities thrown up by bringing together visitors and
exhibitors under the same roof, also sought to heighten...
Nutraceutical Corporation racked up $38.8 million in sales of its
branded dietary supplements during the second quarter of fiscal
2005 - a three percent increase over the same three months of 2004.
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) is actively
discouraging the dietary supplements industry from resuming sales
of ephedra products following the court ruling that the FDA failed
to prove that a daily dosage of 10mg...
Jess Halliday speaks to Steve Mister, the new president and
CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), about the trade
association's three main areas of focus: safety, membership and,
underlying everything, a renewed...
The FDA has issued new guidelines to help dietary supplement
manufacturers label products in an appropriate, consumer-friendly
way and conform to requirements.
Industry assocations are seeking to dispel myths that the impending
Codex Alimentarius international guidelines for vitamin and mineral
food supplements, expected to be adopted in July, will force a
change in US law to bring regulation...
A court in Utah has overturned the FDA's outright ban on all
dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids, or ephedra,
clearing the way for the plaintiff Nutraceutical Corporation to
resume selling supplements containing...
Malaysian vitamin E maker Carotech and its US subsidiary has
announced its listing on the MESDAQ board on Friday April 15, the
Malaysian equivalent of NASDAQ, with an IPO of 76.69 million shares
of RM0.40 each.
A US court last week denied an injunction filed against the FDA by
American Longevity alleging that the "third party literature"
section of the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act
(DSHEA) is unconstitutional....
There is currently not enough evidence to suggest that multivitamin
and mineral supplements prevent infections in elderly people,
according to a meta-analysis published on the BMJ website today.
Israeli microencapsulation firm Biodar has developed a new
technology that resolves the taste issue for companies making
mineral supplements and fortified foods, writes Dominique
Patton.
The FDA says it has seized $13,500 worth of dietary supplements
either containing or claiming to contain banned ephedrine alkaloids
from Pennsylvania company ATF Fitness Products.
Adding value to mature vitamin supplements by combining them with
new ingredients is driving good growth at Merck's consumer health
care business, reports Dominique Patton.
A new Center for Dietary Supplement Safety has been set up at the
University of Minnesota's College of Pharmacy to collect, analyze
and disseminate information about the safety of dietary supplements
marketed in the US.
The introduction of the new Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) may
affect the profits of unprepared supplement makers, but industry
insiders say the costs are justified by the need to make sure all
companies adhere to standards,...
Consumers may be exposed to increasing amounts of herbals, despite
intentional usage having reached a plateau in recent years, due to
the addition of ingredients such as lutein and lycopene in
multivitamins, say researchers.
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) has filed comments
with the FDA aimed at helping it to tighten up the new dietary
ingredient (NDI) notification process required by the 1994 Dietary
Supplement Health and Education Act...
Sabinsa Corporation has been making sure its manufacturing
processes are up to scratch in anticipation of new FDA requirements
by submitting its products for testing by public health and safety
company NSF International.
Reliv International, a US-based firm using network marketing to
distribute its supplement products, is hoping to make significant
inroads into the European market, with plans to start business in
Germany later this year.
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) has asked the FDA
to take into account relevant information on the traditional use of
herbs when substantiating claims for products that contain them.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is convening
a conference this week to assess the dangers of combining dietary
supplements with prescription blood-thinning medications - and
which may lead to scientific research...
BioProgress will make its first foray into China, having appointed
AXM Pharma as the distributor for its supplements that use
dissolve-in-the-mouth-film technology, in what it hopes to be a
lucrative deal.
Players in the dietary supplement industry have an extra 60 days in
which to send their comments to the FDA regarding the premarket
notification program for new dietary ingredients (NDIs).
Consumers remain concerned by the conclusions of the recent
meta-study on vitamin E and may be putting their lives at risk,
according to a study released last week.
Salt Lake City based Weider Nutrition said yesterday it had boosted
its Schiff-branded joint care supplements by adding hyaluronic acid
to the Move Free product line.
The Federal Trade Commission has charged more supplement companies
with deceptive advertising for weight-loss products that are said
to have included the banned substance ephedra.
NOW Foods yesterday issued a statement assuring the supplement
industry and its consumers that it has responded to the FDA's
warning letters about its American ginseng product, reports
Philippa Nuttall.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday held a public
meeting, as announced last month, giving industry and consumers the
chance to discuss the government body's premarket notification
program for new dietary ingredients...
The supplement industry has broadly welcomed the announcement of
three major regulatory initiatives by the FDA to further DSHEA ten
years after the legislation was first implemented.
The supplement industry agreed yesterday in Bonn, Germany that new
global guidelines - including changes to the way maximum levels of
nutrients in supplements are calculated - will go forward to be
ratified by the Codex Alimentarius...
Joint health supplements could see an extra growth spurt in coming
months, following Merck's recent withdrawal of the leading
arthritis drug, Vioxx. It is expected to raise consumer awareness
of the safety risks of prescription...
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) has reacted angrily to
the article published in last week's Lancet - which suggested that
dietary supplements may be doing more harm than good, and accused
the journal of "creating...
Dietary supplements may be doing more harm than good - with the
possible exception of selenium - if an article published today in
The Lancet is to be believed, writes Philippa Nuttall.
The organization has added eight new members to its board including
Gail Montgomery, president and CEO of Nutrition 21, who has been
made president of the body, which will henceforth be known as
Vitamin Relief USA.
Supplementation by US consumers could save the state $15 billion in
health costs according to a study published last week. Philippa
Nuttall spoke to Elliott Balbert, president of the Dietary
Supplement Education Alliance (DSEA), about...
Dietary supplements have suddenly become a hot topic in the UK,
where consumers spend £300m on them every year- the Science Museum,
London will open up the debate on September 30, when it invites
experts and amateurs to air their...
AXM Pharma has become the supplier for food grade multivitamins
produced by Supplement Sciences, which will henceforth be marketed
under the Sunkist brand.
The FDA has confirmed the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives'
(JEFCA) ruling in June that free lutein and zeaxanthin are safe for
human consumption - a move welcomed by Kemin Foods which produces
the ingredient FloraGlo...
Much to the relief of several trade associations, legislation which
would have altered the adverse event reporting system (AER) for
dietary supplements in the state of California has been defeated by
four votes in the state assembly.
The outbreak of SARS in China caused rapid growth in vitamin sales
and despite a slowing of demand this year, it may have a lasting
impact on the industry.
