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Dietary supplement manufacturer Wellington Foods Inc. (Long Beach, CA) is pleased to announce that it has received Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certification from the Natural Products Association (NPA; Washington, DC). In the independent, third-party audit, NPA gave the company an 'A' compliance rating in its certification for the dietary supplement industry. The company formulates, manufactures, and packages dietary supplements in both liquid and power forms. For more information on the company, click here.

To assist the dietary supplement industry with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) procedures, Blaze Science Industries (Lawndale, CA) and Tampa Bay Analytical Research Laboratories (Largo, FL) will be offering a one-day workshop in July in St. Pete Beach, Florida, according to Verdure Sciences (Noblesville, IN), a sponsor of the event.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA; Parma, Italy) published its negative opinion on a health-claims application for beta-glucans on May 26. But the details of Leiber GmbH...s (Bramsche, Germany) Article 13.5 application may be of greater concern.

The USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion released a draft report for its 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, last week'”a report that will ultimately form the basis for 2010...s Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Within the report...s language, dietary supplements receive mixed approval.

As of today, June 25, all dietary supplement manufacturers are now required by law to follow good manufacturing practices (GMPs). Since the GMP final rule was first inked in 2007, the entire dietary supplement industry has had 36 months to prepare itself for the changes. Now, even companies with fewer than 20 employees are required to be comply with the regulation.

In the case of Monsanto v. Geertson Seed Farms'”the first-ever Supreme Court case to be held on genetically modified (GM) crops'”the Supreme Court has ruled 7 to 1 in favor of lifting an injunction (established previously by a lower court) on planting GM alfalfa. Furthermore, planting and selling of said alfalfa is still prohibited until an environmental review is conducted and considered.

UAS Laboratories (Eden Prairie, MN) has announced that its DDS brand probiotics are now kosher-certified by OK Kosher (Brooklyn, NY). The company...s DDS line of probiotics, including DDS Acidophilus and DDS Junior, is available in 37 countries around the world. OK Kosher currently certifies over 300,000 products from over 1500 companies.

Ever since the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA; Parma, Italy) published its second batch of general health claims in February, much of the industry had been waiting for last week...s stakeholders meeting, where EFSA intended to clarify its procedures and offer advice on claims substantiation.  

At least 20 million people in the United States have cataracts, clouding that develops in the eye...s lens. In the June issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology, researchers suggest that eating foods rich in a variety of vitamins and minerals may help postpone the development of nuclear cataracts, which forms in the center of the eye...s lens.

In the May issue of Clinical Ophthalmology, researchers comparing the effects of dietary supplement Mirtogenol and medicated Latanoprost eye drops found that the supplement works almost as effectively as the drug to lower intraocular pressure (IOP)'”albeit over a longer period of time.

UAS Laboratories announced that its proprietary DDS probiotic line'”including DDS-Plus, Probioplus DDS, DDS Acidophilus, and DDS Junior'”have been kosher-certified by OK Kosher. The company eventually plans to apply kosher certification to all of its private-label probiotics and probiotic raw materials, blends, bulk capsules, tablets, and powders.

NBTY, Inc. (NYSE: NTY), a leading global manufacturer and marketer of nutritional supplements, today announced the execution of a definitive merger agreement under which The Carlyle Group will acquire NBTY in a transaction valued at $3.8 billion.

Dietary Supplement Maker to Pay $5.5 Million to Settle FTC False Advertising Charges; FTC Challenges Claims that Supplements Cause Weight Loss and Treat or Prevent Colds, Flu, Allergies, and Hay Fever As part of its ongoing efforts to stop bogus health claims, the Federal Trade Commission is requiring a major marketer of dietary supplements to pay $5.5 million to settle charges that it falsely advertised that its supplements could help consumers lose weight and treat or prevent colds and other illnesses.

The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH; Bethesda, MD), recently announced the publication of its Encyclopedia of Dietary Supplements, 2nd Edition. This new edition contains new chapters on several botanicals, including aloe vera, bilberry, bitter orange, black cohosh, kava, and saw palmetto. American Herbal Products Association chief science officer Steven Dentali, PhD, and COO Devon Powell contributed as co-authors of the aloe vera chapter.

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN; Washington, DC) has submitted its comments regarding what it says are inaccurate statements about multivitamins in the recently released 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory (DGAC) Committee Report'”a report that will help shape the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. CRN took issue with a number of 'unqualified' comments about multivitamins, citing the report...s 'inaccuracies in its interpretation of the scientific evidence.' In particular, such statements in the report were criticized:

The Carlyle Group (Washington, DC) just picked up NBTY, Inc. (Ronkonkoma, NY) for $3.8 billion in cash.Under the terms of the merger agreement, Carlyle will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of NBTY for $55.00 per share in cash, representing a premium of approximately 57% over NBTY\'s average closing share price during the 30 trading days ended July 14, 2010.

The New Zealand Patent Office has granted a patent to Sabinsa for processes to prepare derivatives of forskolin, namely, isoforskolin and 7-deacetylforskolin. NZ Patent No: 568652 'Commercial Process for Making Forskolin and its Derivatives' will be in force until February 2, 2027.

In the first published study of its kind, Tonalin CLA was found to improve airway hyperreactivity in overweight mild asthmatics accompanied by a significant improvement in their tolerance for strenuous exercise.

Botanicals specialist Naturex has announced new efforts in Mongolia and Cambodia to improve the global communities from which the company sources raw materials. In Mongola, a project headed by Naadam, a French NGO, is working with local inhabitants to create food-producing gardens to combat malnutrition. The program includes tactics such as teaching proper gardening techniques. Naturex will conduct a thorough assessment to help the implementation of an expert agronomist.

Botanical-ingredients supplier Naturex cited 'very strong acceleration in growth' in the second quarter of 2010. Sales in the second half of 2010 grew 15.4% over sales in the second half a year ago, in 2009, with revenue totaling €112.8 million. The company said that its acquisition of the ingredients division of Natraceutical helped spur business, although sales were also up throughout the group.

GLG Life Tech Corporation (GLG; Vancouver, BC), a supplier and developer of stevia (Stevia rebaudiana), has launched its new BlendSure stevia-based sweetener. BlendSure was introduced at the Institute of Food Technologists conference in Chicago.

US Farms Inc. (San Diego), a marketer of aloe-based products, has turned its eye to creating aloe-based energy beverages. The company also announced plans to construct a new facility to bring production in house, according to Marketwire. The company plans to construct a 2000-sq-ft facility to increase capabilities for multiple flavors and formulations of energy drinks, as well as to reformulate and produce the brand...s existing aloe products, such as Aloe365 Skin Gel.

The Food and Drug Administration (Rockville, MD) held a teleconference last week highlighting the agency...s first seven months of experience using its new Reportable Food Registry. The Reportable Food Registry is an online portal that enables food manufacturers and other bodies to submit online reports of adverse events.

A cover story in Consumer Reports... September issue questioning the safety of dietary supplements'”and the Food and Drug Administration...s (FDA) ability to monitor the category'”has industry on the defensive. Titled 'Dangerous Supplements: What You Don...t Know About These 12 Ingredients Could Hurt You,' the article infers that many supplements on the market are unsafe, unmonitored, and lack the science to prove their efficacy.

A subsidiary of Nestlé S.A., the world...s largest food and nutrition company, has agreed to drop allegedly deceptive advertising claims about the health benefits of its children...s drink BOOST Kid Essentials, as part of a settlement resolving the Federal Trade Commission...s first case challenging advertising for probiotics.

Cyvex Nutrition (Irvine, CA) has received Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status for its BioVin(R) full spectrum grape extract and BioVin(R) 20 grape skin extract, according to a company announcement made yesterday. The successful GRAS status qualifies the extracts for safe used in a wide-range of functional foods and beverages. The process involved an intensive review of safety and toxicology data by an independent panel of qualified experts.