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Seltzer Companies Inc. (Seltzer; Carlsbad, CA) announced today that it has changed its name to Glanbia Nutritionals Inc. and will operate under the Glanbia Nutritionals Customized Solutions brand. Seltzer, which includes Seltzer Nutritional Technologies and Seltzer Ingredients, is a subsidiary of Glanbia Nutritionals (Glanbia; Monroe, WI).

Nutraceutical products manufacturer PIVEG Inc. (PIVEG; Celaya, Mexico) launched its I-Z trademark for Zeaxanthin carotenoid products at the SupplySide West trade show in Las Vegas, last week. The company produces carotenoid concentrates for eye health, such as Zeaxanthin and Lutein, along with other products at its facilities in Celaya, Mexico.

Natural Wellness (Deerfield Beach, FL) has announced a voluntary recall of its male sexual enhancement product MasXtreme because it contains 'undeclared amounts' of Aildenafil, according to FDA. Aildenafil has a similar structure to Sildenafil, an FDA-approved drug for erectile dysfunction, which is found in products such as Viagra. FDA warns that Aildenafil could produce the same risk of adverse health effects as Sildenafil. Potential side effects include harmful interactions with nitrates from some prescription drugs and severely-lowered cholesterol levels.

In an effort to better formalize herbal extract standards, the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA; Silver Spring, MD) announced new guidance and labeling requirements related to extract ratios (e.g. Hoodia gordonii extract 20:1), last month.

On April 2, Kanec USA Inc. (Davie, FL) issued a voluntary nationwide recall of its dietary supplement called Stud Capsule For Men, after being informed by FDA that laboratory analysis revealed a batch of the product to be adulterated with Sildenafil, an FDA-approved drug used in the treatment of erectile dysfunction. The presence of Sildenafil means that the dietary supplement is misbranded and is actually an unapproved new drug, according to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

At a time when many are denouncing sweetened soft drinks as playing a huge role in rising obesity rates in the United States, the Sugar Association says that sugar is not to blame, according to Reuters. The association pointed out that most soft drinks are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and not sugar. 'Sugar is not part of the problem,' told Andrew Briscoe, president and chief executive of the Sugar Association, the Reuters. The association says that HFCS is used almost 15 times more than sugar in beverages.

In association with the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, and the Department of Fisheries Western Australia, Cognis Australia (Tullamarine, Victoria) has announced the opening of a new facility for sustainable production of artemia (brine shrimp). Artemia are a critical food source for fish and prawn aquaculture, and the new project, which has been jointly funded by all three groups, will provide a sustainable source of carotenoid-rich artemia to the aquaculture market, under the trade name Nutremia.

Stating that current levels of sodium in foods are 'too high to be '˜safe...,' the Institute of Medicine today released a report advising that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) establish mandatory national standards for sodium content in foods. Currently, FDA does not regulate the level of sodium in foods. IOM says that very little of the sodium currently in foods is naturally occurring, but instead, is added.

Sales of organic products saw steady increases last year, according to findings from the Organic Trade Association...s (OTA; Greenfield, MA) 2010 Organic Industry Survey. OTA...s survey found that sales of U.S. organic products reached $26.6 billion in 2009, a growth of 5.3% from 2008. Of that total, organic food sales accounted for $24.8 billion. The greatest growth in organic food came from fruits and vegetables, which reached $9.5 billion in sales, an 11.4% increase from 2008.

Stevia supplier PureCircle (Oak Brook, IL) has announced a new partnership with Michigan State University...s department of horticulture to engage in research and breeding of the natural sweetener. 'The goal of the research is to accelerate the creation of proprietary varieties of stevia that contain dramatically higher levels of sweetness in the leaf, as well as other improved agricultural properties,' says PureCircle...s press release.

Sales of herbal dietary supplements in the United States jumped nearly 5% in 2009, according to a market report published last Friday in HerbalGram, the quarterly journal of the American Botanical Council (ABC; Austin, TX). ABC...s report, which compiled market research data from Information Resources Inc. (IRI; Chicago), Nutrition Business Journal, and SPINS (Schaumburg, IL), estimates that over $5 billion was made in herbal supplements sales in 2009.

In its latest report on the U.S. vitamins and dietary supplements market, analyst Euromonitor International (www.euromonitor.com) dubbed the industry recession-proof during 2008 and 2009.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM; Washington, DC) has released a report urging FDA to standardize its methods for validating biomarkers used in scientific studies. IOM says that right now, FDA is hampered in its ability to evaluate proposed health claims because it lacks a process for validating biomarkers.

Vitamin A may have a positive effect on adolescent lung function, according to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine'”but only if a mother takes it. From 1994 to 1997, pregnant Nepalese women participated in a placebo-controlled, double-blind, cluster-randomized trial in which they supplemented with vitamin A, beta-carotene, or placebo.

A slow economy and rising healthcare costs have increased consumer interest in dietary supplements. But market-research company Packaged Facts (Rockville, MD) has provided more numbers to ground these general arguments.

Stratum Nutrition’s (St. Louis) Artinia chitin-glucan fiber, targeting arterial and heart health, has been determined safe as a novel food ingredient by the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition, and Allergies (DNA).

The Dairy Research Institute has been founded by Dairy Management Inc. (DMI; Rosemont, IL) and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. The nonprofit institute is designed to help strengthen the dairy industry’s access to and investment in technical research for dairy innovation. It will work with industry, academic, government, and commercial partners to promote precompetitive research.

Ocean Spray’s Ingredient Technology Group (ITG) has launched a new website at www.oceansprayitg.com to provide information on the supplier’s range of fruit and cranberry ingredients.

Martek Biosciences Corp. (Columbia, MD) is restructuring its Winchester, KY, facility to improve capacity and reduce manufacturing and operating costs.