Company News: Nestlé, PepsiCo Invest in Nutrition Research

Nestlé, PepsiCo Invest in Nutrition Research

Nestlé and PepsiCo have announced separate plans to expand nutrition research. PepsiCo's new Global Nutrition Group will “deliver breakthrough innovation in the areas of fruits and vegetables, grains, dairy, and functional nutrition,” aiming to grow the company's nutrition business from $10 billion to $30 billion by 2020.
Meanwhile, the new Nestlé Institute of Health Science will “pioneer a new industry between food and pharma” by examining the role of nutrition in targeting health conditions such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular and Alzheimer’s disease.

Blue California L-Theanine Gets FDA GRAS

FDA has confirmed Blue California’s (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) L-TeaActive l-theanine Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) for food and beverages. The company says numerous clinical studies have shown that l-theanine stimulates production of alpha brain waves, increasing mental and physical relaxation, without causing drowsiness. L-TeaActive is standardized to 98%.

Cyvex Given Highest Marks by NPA Audit

Following an on-site inspection, Cyvex Nutrition (Irvine, CA) has received an “excellent compliance” Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) rating from the Natural Products Association (Washington, DC). The company’s ingredients include BioVin full-spectrum grape extract and PomActiv pomegranate extract.

Roquette, Solazyme: Microalgae Alliance

Starch producer Roquette Fréres (Roquette; Lestrem, France) has announced a joint venture with algal biotechnology firm Solazyme Inc. (San Francisco) to initiate what Roquette says will be “a new category of natural, healthy, and functional ingredients based on microalgae.” Called Solazyme-Roquette Nutritionals, the deal merges Solazyme’s microalgae technology with Roquette’s expertise in global food ingredient production. The project is expected to offer innovative proteins, fibers, and oils.

Partnership to Highlight Ingredients from Peru

Nutraceuticals International LLC (Elmwood Park, NJ) has agreed to a distribution deal with Peruvian Nature (Lima, Peru) to expand the market for Peruvian natural ingredients. Peruvian Nature produces dehydrated medicinal herbs, fruits, and vegetables, and operates its own sterilization plant.  

OmniActive’s Lutemax 2020 GRAS-Affirmed

OmniActive Health Technologies (Short Hills, NJ) has self-affirmed GRAS its Lutemax 2020 ingredient, introduced last year. Lutemax 2020 contains lutein and zeaxanthin, including both types of zeaxanthin isomers (3R and 3’R) present in the eye, in a 5:1 ratio.

DSM Acquisition to Build Carotenoids

Royal DSM NV (Heerlen, Netherlands) has acquired Microbia Inc. (Lexington, MA), a biotechnology research and development firm, to expand its development of natural carotenoids. Microbia’s proprietary fermentation technology produces natural carotenoids, including beta-carotene and canthaxanthin.

Bergstrom Nutrition Gets ISO-Certified

Bergstrom Nutrition (Vancouver, WA), a manufacturer of GRAS-affirmed methylsulfonylmethane, or MSM, has received ISO 9001:2008 registration for its quality-management systems. The certification indicates adherence to the quality standards of the worldwide International Organization for Standardization.

BioCell Collagen II GRAS

BioCell Technology LLC’s (Newport Beach, CA) flagship ingredient, BioCell Collagen II, is now self-affirmed GRAS. The ingredient features a naturally occurring matrix of collagen type II, chondroitin sulfate, and hyaluronic acid, and has been clinically substantiated for healthy joints and skin.

Indena’s Meriva Curcumin Wins Award

Indena’s (Milan) curcumin ingredient Meriva was voted best new product of the year by the European Outsourcing Awards. Meriva utilizes Phytosome technology for enhanced bioavailability, which published research has shown to be more than twenty-fold compared with standardized curcumin extracts.

Satiety Ingredient Now GRAS-Approved

Lipid Nutrition’s (Channahon, IL) PinnoThin satiety ingredient has received a “no objections” GRAS ruling from FDA. The new GRAS opinion affirms that PinnoThin is safe for food products, including baked goods, beverages, breakfast cereals, dairy product analogs, fats and oils, grains, milk products, and soup.

Cran-Gyn DDS Wins Award

Cran-Gyn DDS, a formula that combines UAS Labs’ (Eden Prairie, MN) Probiotic Blend 003 with cranberry fruit extract and all-natural D-mannose by Valensa International (Eustis, FL), received a Best of Supplements Award from Better Nutrition magazine in the women’s health category.

Frost & Sullivan Awards Nutraceutix Probiotics

Frost & Sullivan has presented Nutraceutix (Redmond, WA) its 2010 Technology Innovation of the Year award for the company’s LiveBac production process and Bio-Tract delivery system for probiotics. The LiveBac process, combined with the Bio-Tract delivery system, forms a protective barrier on a probiotic tablet that helps ensure probiotic survival through the entire product cycle.

Fortitech Plans South American Expansion

Premix specialist Fortitech (Schenectady, NY) announced plans to double the size of its facility in Campinas, Brazil, taking the facility up to 65,000 sq ft. The expansion will be complete late next year and will enhance the firm's ability to provide finished packaging for powdered products. It will be Fortitech’s third-largest site worldwide.

Caravan Aces AIB Audit

Caravan Ingredients has scored a superior rating from the American Institute of Baking (AIB) following food-safety audits of the company’s five nationwide facilities: its headquarters in Lenexa, KS; as well as Kansas City, KS; Grandview, MO; Fairfield, NJ; and Dolton, IL.

Natural Eggshell Membrane Gets GRAS

ESM Technologies (Carthage, MO) has received self-affirmed GRAS status for its patented joint-health ingredient, NEM (natural eggshell membrane). NEM naturally contains glycosaminoglycans, including chondroitin, hyaluronic acid, and collagen, and is sustainable by using eggshells that would otherwise go to landfills.

Wild Flavors, ET Horn Partner

The ET Horn Co. (La Mirada, CA) has agreed to distribute ingredients and flavors from Wild Flavors (Erlanger, KY). “ET Horn eliminates the many barriers of entry, given their long-time history and success in this dynamic and growing market,” said Tim Truby, vice president, food SBU and ingredient technologies, Wild Flavors.

Naturex Boosts Year-End Goal

Driven by strong performance and consistent growth so far this year, plant-based ingredients supplier Naturex (Avignon, France) said that it is raising its financial targets, now striving for 10 to 15% growth by the end of the year.

BASF Posts Strong Sales

BASF (Ludwigshafen, Germany) reported strong third-quarter sales that were 23% higher than the same quarter last year. Consequently, the company has raised its projections and expects year-end sales of €63 billion.

Ecuadorian Rainforest Expands Kosher Line

Ecuadorian Rainforest LLC (Belleville, NJ) has grown its line of all-natural kosher-certified ingredients. Additions include acai, camu-camu, and maqui berry, as well as other superfruits.

SourceOne Takes Tongkat Ali Mainstream

SourceOne Global Partners (Chicago) has rebranded its proprietary blend of tongkat ali (Eurycoma longifolia) under the name AlivEL100. The company plans to market the ingredient beyond supplements for sexual enhancement and bodybuilding, targeting areas such as energy, stamina, weight loss, heart health, and overall well-being.

MegaNatural Patent

Polyphenolics (Madera, CA) has patented its MegaNatural-BP grape seed extract, clinically shown to offer benefits to blood pressure and metabolic syndrome. The patent covers the ingredient’s unique molecular composition that the company says is easily absorbed by the body and that facilitates migration to endothelial cells for improved vasodilatation.