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LEGAL Vitamin Shoppe reaches groundbreaking settlement with Oregon AG Natural Products INSIDER Under a far reaching agreement, Vitamin Shoppe has agreed to pay $545,000 as part of a settlement with the Oregon attorney general, which alleged that the retailer continued to sell DMAA even after the FDA determined it was unsafe or illegal. The settlement admits no wrongdoing, but the company agreed to suspend sales of any product after FDA has issued a written notice that it is unsafe or illegal. Read more→ REGULATORY
ODSP's Tave acknowledges vinpocetine conundrum Natural Products INSIDER FDA’s director of the Office of Dietary Supplement Programs (ODSP) Steven Tave describes the predicament his office is facing in examining the status of vinpocetine for brain health as a dietary supplement. He said the agency is trying to maintain transparency and fairness in its process as it considers industry comments.Read more→ UNPA NEWS Register for these upcoming industry events International Conference on the Science of Botanicals, April 3-6, Oxford, Miss. UNPA is a title sponsor and Loren Israelsen and Larisa Pavlick are speaking. See "UNPA Member Discounts" at right for special offer. Ingredient Marketplace, April 18-20, Orlando, Fla., produced by member company Informa Exhibitions. See "UNPA Member Discounts" at right for special offer. Wasatch Scientific Open House, April 19, Murray, Utah. Wasatch is a UNPA member. The Practitioner Channel Forum, April 26-28, San Diego, produced by UNPA member Holistic Primary Care. See "UNPA Member Discounts" at right for special offer. CHPA Dietary Supplement Seminar, May 10, N. Bethesda, Md. UNPA is a host of this event, produced by CHPA. Recently posted at unpa.com: 2017 Expo West Members’ Meeting PPT (requires member log in) “New Dietary Ingredients: Enforcement” presentation at 2017 Expo West, by Larisa Pavlick FDA Inspections, Part II by Larisa Pavlick, UNPA VP, Global Regulatory & Compliance (log in) FDA Inspections 101 by Larisa Pavlick, UNPA VP, Global Regulatory & Compliance(log in) The PPT presentations from NDI III: Roadmap to a Viable NDI Policy, UNPA member price: $295 Border Tax Memo by Patricia Knight and Peter Reinecke, UNPA Senior Political Advisors(log in) Plus, updated industry events calendar,Member Memos (log in) and UNPA educational archives(log in). EXPO WEST REVIEW Nutraingredients-usa team identifies key supplement trends from Expo West 2017 Nutraingredients-usa.com The reporters at Nutraingredients-usa pinpoint five key supplement trends from their observations at the recent trade show in Anaheim. Their category predictions include probiotics, collagen, gummies and protein. Read more→ M&A ACTIVITY Albertsons considers 'merger' with Sprouts; Benexia and Taiyo partner to distribute ingredients in North America Bloomberg.com, Nutraceuticals World Citing "people with knowledge of the matter," Bloomberg reports that Albertsons has had preliminary talks with Sprouts Farmers Market in recent weeks about taking it private and adding it to the Albertsons portfolio. Benexia,a researcher, cultivator and processor of chia seed ingredients for supplements, foods and beverages, has entered into a new partnership with Taiyo to distribute is ingredients in North America. Read coverage: Cerberus-backed Albertsons said to consider merger with Sprouts→ Taiyo and Benexia reach distribution partnership→ GLOBAL REGULATORY Chinese authorities fine Blackmores; regulatory changes looming in Australia; China halts rules to tighten cross-border e-commerce Nutraingredients-asia.com, Nutraingredients.com Australian vitamin manufacturer Blackmores was fined $50,000 and publicly named and shamed by Chinese authorities for breaching advertising laws. It was one of several companies named by the Shanghai Administration of Industry and Commerce for claiming its products treat a number of diseases. With just one week left, complementary medicine firms are running out of time to respond to regulatory changes being considered by the Therapeutic Goods Association in Australia. China’s Commerce Ministry appears to have halted plans for more stringent cross-border e-commerce rules, which means many goods will still be considered personal trade and not commercial distribution. Read coverage: Blackmores fined for violating China ad laws as regulators name and shame global firms→ Time running out for Australian supplement firms to respond to raft of regulatory changes→ China seemingly backtracks on tougher e-commerce rules providing a boost to supplement and food firms→ OMEGA-3s Trade groups see AHA omega-3 update as positive for industry Nutraingredients-usa.com The recent advisory from the American Heart Association supporting the role of omega-3s in prevention of heart disease is seen as a win for industry stakeholders, according to groups such as CRN and GOED. However, GOED Executive Director Adam Ismail noted that the advisory is very specific for CVD and related outcomes and does not mention a prevention benefit for the general public. Read more→ SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY Synbio ingredients may have more market penetration than thought Nutraingredients-usa.com Synthetic biology, or GMO 2.0 as some call it, might have significantly more penetration in the marketplace than previously believed. That is the takeaway from assembly of the first list of these ingredients, according to Jim Thomas, program director at ETC Group, a Canadian non-profit that tracks the effects of emerging technologies. The database shows where ingredients produced from fermentation using modified organisms turn up in the market. Read coverage and resources: Synbio ingredients have vast market penetration: New list→ FOE Synthetic Biology Guide→ GMOs 2.0 Ingredients Database→ BOTANICALS AHP releases monograph for red clover; ABC releases grapefruit seed extract adulteration bulletin; joint venture will create genomic reference for TCM products United Natural Products Alliance, Nutraingredients-usa.com The American Herbal Pharmacopoeia has announced the completion of its new Monograph and Therapeutic Compendium for red clover and its dry extracts. The long-awaited monograph will provide a full suite of identity and quality tests, a complete history of usage, guidance on harvest and cultivation practices, and reviews of research and safety. The ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program has released a bulletin regarding grapefruit seed extract, which will be detailed by ABC founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal at the upcoming ICSB conference. A new project will create the world’s first catalog of genomic references for medicinal plants used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The joint venture between U.S. DNA research firm Illumina and the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development in Beijing will include a reference database to be established in two phases. Read coverage: American Herbal Pharmacopoeia releases standards of identity, analysis and quality and therapeutic compendium for red clover and red clover extracts→ ABC-AHP-NCNPR releases bulletin on grapefruit seed extract adulteration→ East meets West to create world’s first catalog of genomic references for TCM products→ MARKET TRENDS Cannibinoid products take off in EU; trending ingredients in cosmeceuticals Nutraingredients.com, Nutritional Outlook Europe will become a key market for a number of new cannabinoid-infused nutraceutical products targeting the multi-billion dollar European nutrition industry, according to Swiss firm Domaco. The company is striking a deal with Australian cannabis and hemp developers. A roundup article offers a look at the latest trending ingredients for nutricosmetics and cosmeceuticals, harnessing everything from Ayurvedic spices to snow mushroom. Read coverage: Cannabinoid nutraceuticals set for European take off→ Trending ingredients for natural beauty→ UNPA MEMBER NEWS LifeVantage names Steven Fife CFO; PLT Health Solutions launches third edition of Search for Innovation program; New AFS center takes on GMO research LifeVantage Corp. Nutraceuticals World, Project Nosh As part of an ongoing commitment to enhance its executive team, LifeVantage Corp. has announced the appointment of Steven R. Fife as chief financial officer. Fife brings substantial public company experience, as well as diverse financial perspective with high growth companies, cost savings initiatives, as well as overseeing productivity measures, processes and controls. Read more→ PLT Health Solutions has opened its third edition of its PLTNext Global Search for Innovation program, designed to connect the company with ingredient and technology innovators to assist in product development and commercialization. As part of the program, PLT is putting its track record of developing and launching successful ingredients in supplements, foods and beverages to work for companies that meet the program’s criteria. Read more→ Austin, Texas-based ingredient supplier Applied Food Sciences is going back to the future (before GMOs) with its new research and development center that will use plant-based science to examine how the evolution of food shapes the current and future food supply. AFS hopes the research will help companies find solutions to continue feeding the population in healthy ways, while meeting environmental and nutritional needs. Read more→ MOU PARTNERS NEWS ABC honors Ikhlas Khan, Ph.D., with 2016 Herbal Community Builder award HerbalGram.org The American Botanical Council has awarded Professor Ikhlas Khan, Ph.D., with the Herbal Community Builder Award for 2016. As organizer of the International Conference on Science and Botanicals at the University of Mississippi, Khan has created a global community of researchers, regulators and others who have an interest in furthering the appropriate production and responsible use of scientifically supported medicinal plant products. Read more→ INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE NDs can help fuel consumer interest in supplements; nutritionists can play a vital role in consumer education Nutraingredients-usa.com, New Hope Network Naturopathic doctors can play a key role in supporting use of supplements through their holistic view on health, according to Michelle Simon, Ph.D., N.D., president of the Institute of Natural Medicine. She notes that there is growing consumer interest in managing conditions with non-pharmacological approaches. Similarly, nutritionists can play a vital role in educating the consumer and even advocating for brands and product lines. Experts at a session during Natural Products Expo West provided information about how manufacturers can partner with the right nutritionist. Read coverage: Patient interest driving increase in supplement use, naturopathic doctor says→ Engage nutritionists to build brand value→ RESEARCH Probiotics may ease stress; vitamin E, selenium may not lower dementia risk; group disputes prenatal DHA findings; citrus protects from high-fat diet; pynogenol may prevent CVD in women NewHopeNetwork, Nutraingredients.com, Nutracenticals World A new study from the University of Missouri conducted on zebrafish has found that a common probiotic used to keep the digestive track in sync also may be useful for reducing stress levels.Vitamin E or selenium used alone or in combination as a dietary supplement did not appear to raise or lower the risk of dementia in asymptomatic older males, according to a new JAMA study. Researchers in China suggest that flaxseed oil and astaxanthin could help reduce the accumulation of fat in the liver, as well as lower triacylglycerol and cholesterol in a recent rat study. In Australia, a randomized trial follow-up found little benefit of prenatal DHA supplementation on the IQ of children at age seven, but industry group GOED is disputing the findings. Researchers in Korea and Japan have found that long-term supplementation with low-dose nobiletin can protect against high-fat-diet-induced inflammation, insulin resistance, dyslipidaemia and liver disease, despite not contributing to weight loss. New research published in Minerva Gynecologica builds upon previous research that pycnogenol may normalize risk factors for heart disease, such as elevated cholesterol, tryglycerides and blood pressure in perimenopausal women. Read coverage: Zebrafish help reveal how probiotics can sooth stress→ Vitamin E, selenium supplements unlikely to prevent dementia: Study→ Flaxseed plus astaxanthin could help lower liver fat risk; Rat data→ No valid conclusions: Omega 3 trade body fires back over prenatal DHA supplementation findings→ Citrus compound protects against effects of high fat diet, study from Korea and Japan reports→ Pycnogenol may normalize cardiovascular risk factors in perimenopausal women→ ETC. Amazon pioneers strategy to combine the Internet of Things in new bricks-and-mortar stores MediaPost In a peak at Amazon’s new bricks-and-mortar stores, it appears the company is selling books and a whole lot more in a new strategy that may portend how smart devices could be marketed and sold next. The approach takes the guess work out of which connected products to buy, such as smart lights, smart locks and wi-fi thermostats, by showing consumers how they work together. Read more→ FDA WARNING LETTERS & GUIDANCES Current FDA enforcement actions and guidances Keep up to date on FDA’s current enforcement actions, including general warning letters, recall information and GMP compliance issues, with this link to FDA's website. Read more→ Comments are closed.
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