Japan Focus: Anti-allergy ice pop and probiotic potential in our country round-up
NutraIngredients, in conjunction with GOED, will be holding APAC's first ever omega-3 event in Singapore in February 2019, featuring renowned speakers from CSIRO, A*STAR, Koure, GOED and more.
Innovation not to be sneezed at: Mandarin yogurt ice pop 'relieves' hay fever symptoms
Japanese ice cream manufacturer Meisui Ice has teamed up with researchers from Ehime University to produce a yogurt ice pop that claims to relieve hay fever symptoms.
Made from mandarin orange and cow milk, the yogurt ice pop contains nobiletin and β-LG (β-lactoglobulin) – they are the ingredients responsible for reducing allergic symptoms.
Nobiletin is a major component of citrus fruits. It produces anti-inflammatory, anti-tumorogenic, and anti-diabetic activities.
On the other hand, β-LG is a globular protein made up of 162 amino acid residues. It is absent in human milk but abundant in bovine milk.
The yogurt ice pop branded as “W Double Mican Yogurt Ice” went on sale in September.
Health food the first choice for alleviating female menopause symptoms: Japanese survey
Consuming health food was deemed the best way for alleviating female menopause symptoms, according to a Japanese survey.
The survey was conducted by Kirei Lab, a website which conducts studies on female well-being.
In a survey involving 475 participants, it was found that consuming health food was the top choice for alleviating menopause symptoms for women aged 41 to 45 and 56 to 60.
Specifically, consuming health food was the first choice for 23% of women aged 41 to 45 and 20% of women aged 56 to 60.
In contrast, bed rest was the first choice for most women (12%) aged 46 to 50.
WATCH: "Now is the right time to expand even further" — Japanese probiotics supplement manufacturer Morishita Jintan
The time is ripe to expand the APAC probiotics business, according to Morishita Jintan, a Japanese probiotics supplement manufacturer.
Higher income, demand for better lifestyle and longevity were factors fuelling the demand for supplements, said Yuji Sakuta, manager of the firm’s international business group (healthcare business division).
“We see that the probiotics trend is growing in Asia, we have been expanding this business opportunity since 20 years ago and I would say that now is the right timing to expand even further more into the other Asian countries.”
“China is now growing very rapidly on probiotics, it is very attractive for Japanese companies to get in, especially for Chinese people, (because) when they come to Japan, they like to buy local products.”
Sashimi 'supplements': Packet tuna, prawn and salmon products attracting health-conscious youngsters in Japan
A Japanese firm has launched tuna, prawn and salmon sashimi 'supplements' in packet form, and they are already proving a hit with younger consumers.
The company behind this idea is Kaisho Group – is a wholesaler of fresh, cured and frozen fish and seafood.
Interestingly, the sashimi are also marketed as “supplements”, due to the rich source of protein, vitamins b6 and b12 present.
The main reason for doing so, was to highlight the benefits of the sashimi and attract the health-conscious youngsters, Masahiko Yamamoto, person-in-charge of foreign businesses at Kaisho Group (Tokyo) said.
