Regulatory

President Obama today signed off on The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which will for the first time set nutrition standards for all foods provided in schools.

The dietary supplements industry will have the valuable opportunity to meet with member of Congress, especially new members, during the Natural Products Association’s (NPA; Washington, DC) 14th annual Natural Products Day on Wednesday, April 6.

The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA; Silver Spring, MD) has submitted its comments on FTC’s proposed changes to its Green Guides covering the use of environmental marketing claims.

Oat beta-glucan producer CreaNutrition AG announced the news.

But to what end?

The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act now awaits a signature from president Barack Obama.

Excipients might not always be the star of a dietary supplement product-that role most likely goes to the active ingredient-but make no mistake that excipients are more than just “filler.” And, excipients will need to answer to stricter FDA regulation in the near future, according to David Schoneker, director of global regulatory affairs for Colorcon (Harleysville, PA) and past chairman of the International Pharamceutical Excipients Council (IPEC). Schoneker spoke at a recent webcast sponsored by the Council for Responsible Nutrition and Virgo Publishing.

What’s making the FTC tick these days? Recent consent orders-not to mention POM’s lawsuit-have industry speculating.

There’s a train about to leave the station, and I sure want dietary supplements to be on it. That train is healthcare reform, or at least a substantial rethinking of the approach to healthcare in this country.

The Institute of Medicine's newly recommended vitamin D levels are still lower than many industry members had hoped for.

Supplements distributor Emerson Ecologics has released a list of red yeast rice brands that have received its Emerson Quality Program (EQP) seal, indicating quality manufacturing.

The Food Safety Modernization Act cleared the Senate by a vote of 73 to 25.

The International Aloe Science Council (IASC; Silver Spring, MD) has partnered with a testing provider for the association’s seal-based certification program.

The Celiac Sprue Association (CSA) has allowed Hugo Naturals’ complete line of natural body-care products to bear the association’s gluten-free seal.

Who would be exempt from the new standards?

The Korean Food and Drug Administration has approved a health claim for Proprietary Nutritionals’ (Kearny, NJ) Cran-Max cranberry concentrate.

Polyphenolics’ (Madera, CA) has patented its MegaNatural-BP grape seed extract, clinically shown to offer benefits to blood pressure and metabolic syndrome.

Ecuadorian Rainforest LLC (Belleville, NJ) has enhanced its line of all-natural kosher-certified ingredients.

Action against marketers of alcohol-containing energy drinks could soon come in the form of FDA warning letters, according to an article published today in the New York Times.

FDA has confirmed Blue California’s (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) L-TeaActive l-theanine ingredient as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) for use in food and beverages.

Caravan Ingredients has scored a superior rating from the American Institute of Baking (AIB) following audits of the company’s five nationwide facilities.

Slendesta, a potato extract ingredient for weight management, has been given non-Novel Food approval by Canada.

Whether the Food Safety Modernization Act (Senate Bill S510) will see any action in the upcoming lame-duck congressional session was a topic addressed in a webcast held today.

Bergstrom Nutrition (Vancouver, WA), which says it is the world’s only manufacturer of GRAS-affirmed methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), has received ISO 9001:2008 registration for its quality-management systems.

OmniActive Health Technologies has achieved self-affirmed GRAS status for its Lutemax 2020, introduced last year.

The ingredient BioCell Collagen II has been self-affirmed Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS). It is a flagship product of BioCell Technology LLC (Newport Beach, CA).

Phytosterols are one of the few winners in EFSA's latest round of health claims opinions.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA; Parma, Italy) has issued positive opinions for the omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) for eye, brain, and heart health.