1) And the winners are…find out who took the top prizes at the first NutraIngredients-Asia awards
The first NutraIngredients-Asia Awards have taken place in Singapore, with 10 winners crowned the region's nutrition and functional food stars.
The event took place on September 10 at Marina Bay Sands, on the eve of the Vitafoods Asia trade show.
An expert panel of 13 judges assessed the entries, initially whittling them down to a shortlist before picking the winner.
Find out who the victorious companies and individuals are.
2) No need to fear": FSSAI responds to food fortification allegations from Indian civil society organisation
FSSAI has responded to allegations that its fortification efforts are being driven by commercial interests rather than public health purposes.
Indian civil society organisation Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) has launched a campaign of sorts against the regulatory body, accusing it of "joining hands with MNCs" and "playing into the hands of the vitamin 'cartel'" behind the façade of encouraging nationwide fortification of staple foods.
It first released a document detailing its concerns and suspicions regarding the FSSAI's true intentions, claiming the latter was attempting to get food firms to fortify their staples with synthetic vitamins that could be harmful to health.
On 29 August, SJM decided to escalate things further with a letter to Indian PM Narendra Modi, urging him to prevent any possible mandatory food fortification until he had consulted with experts and professionals from different sectors in the industry.
But an FSSAI spokesperson who elected to remain anonymous told NutraIngredients-Asia: "Food fortification is the addition of key vitamins and minerals to staple foods to improve their nutritional content. However, many are unaware of its health benefits.”
3) China's probiotic market: Huge interest in products for weight management – Lumina Intelligence data
When it comes to consumer engagement and approval, probiotic products with weight management benefits top the list in China, according new data revealed by Lumina Intelligence.
It shows that products making weight claims have five times the number of reviews as other probiotic products.
Launched this week, Lumina Intelligence, part of William Reed, provides insights of high-growth food and nutrition markets, with the probiotics sector being the topic of its first report.
It provides data on a raft of markets, but we have honed in on China, where sales growth is rocketing.
4) Blackmores' supply challenges under control as business plans move ahead, says CEO Henfrey
Blackmores insists its recent supply chain challenges — documented in its half-yearly results six months ago — have now eased, with CEO Richard Henfrey adding that new measures would hopefully help to avoid future shortages.
While the report mentioned that the "the most serious constraints" concerned its supply of whey protein and fish oil, Henfrey said this was no longer the case.
"These two products received a fair bit of attention because they were two examples of supply challenges at the time of our half-yearly results announcement.
"There aren't any ongoing issues with the supply of either ingredient, pleasingly. In fact, there was no single product that was out of stock long-term.”
5) HMOs a goldmine of human health applications beyond infant formula: DuPont expert
:Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) have extensive potential to offer a range of health benefits in products beyond infant formula, DuPont's global business director for HMOs, Steen Lyck, said at Vitafoods Asia on Tuesday.
Lyck was presenting findings from clinical trials on HMOs and their potential applications for not just infant health, but also adult and senior health.
At the moment, DuPont’s HMO research has centred around 2’-Fucosyllactose (2’-FL), which is the most abundant of more than 130 oligosaccharides that have been identified in human breastmilk so far.
Fermentation is typically used to produce the most abundant of HMOs, which enables scalable production. Together with clinical studies pointing to the safety and efficacy of commercially produced HMOs, this has encouraged infant nutrition firms to invest in HMO-enriched infant nutrition and dietary supplements.
In terms of clinical trials, epidemiological studies have found a correlation between fewer incidents of diarrhoea in infants and higher 2’-FL concentration in human milk.