A robust traceability system has become “indispensable practice” for nutraceuticals, say experts

04 Nov 2019 --- Vertically integrated and holistic processes to ensure traceability and safety are becoming essential platforms for nutraceutical suppliers. This is driven by the consumer demand for transparency, clean label and concern of farmer welfare, as well as worries over adulteration. NutritionInsight takes a look at how companies in the space are responding to the heightened awareness. Key practices arising are farm-to-fork solutions, including tech-driven DNA barcoding and blockchain.

“As part of the clean label and sustainability movements, consumers have a greater desire to know what is in the products they are purchasing. Most want to know if ingredients are artificial or potentially harmful, but for many, it also means they want to check if ingredients are ethically sourced, without harm to the environment and fully traceable,” says Christine Lippet, Head of Marketing (Food) at Lycored.

Nearly 90 percent of shoppers have indicated that they would feel a higher sense of trust for food manufacturers who provided full information on ingredients, according to the recent Transparency Imperative Report.

“Notable supply chain scandals in the food industry in the past few years, such as the horsemeat scandal, have made consumers more aware of the issue of traceability and provenance of their food and the ingredients in them. They are keen to ensure the integrity of the products that they are buying,” she adds.A rising number of suppliers are employing technological tracing capabilities – such as DNA barcoding and blockchain.

Indeed, product and ingredient adulteration is a serious concern throughout the nutraceutical industry, especially considering that dietary supplements usage in the US has peaked at an “all-time high,” with 77 percent of US adults reporting they consume dietary supplements, according to a Council of Responsible Nutrition (CRN) 2019 Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements.

In this way, deploying a robust traceability system thus is an indispensable practice, according to Dr. Benny Antony, Joint Managing Director, Arjuna Natural Extracts.

Tracing ingredients to battle adulteration 
The efficacy of a product has a direct correlation with the quality of the ingredients that goes into the making. “They can make or break your brand. Hence, it only becomes imperative for manufacturers operating in the health and nutrition industry to keep track of the pedigree of every ingredient that goes through the production cycle,” Dr. Antony tells NutritionInsight.

To keep track of ingredients in a detailed way, Arjuna has devised a collaborative system with its farmers. “We work with them closely right from the selection of seeds, to the cultivation, harvest and post processing. Arjuna’s team members closely monitor this process and are available for all kinds of assistance to our farmers during the course. We also make it a point to nurture innovation in partnerships; your customer will value your association more if you are able to deliver what your competitor is failing to,” he explains.

Arjuna applies this to its flagship curcumin ingredient, BCM-95. Arjuna works to ensure its traceability, from farm to finished supplement, to ensure a pure, clean, and safe product. 

“Arjuna has direct contract with the farmers and we only sell products manufactured at our own manufacturing facility. We have full control and system traceability from farm till delivery with stringent quality checks protecting our product from adulteration,” Dr. Anthony adds. 

Moreover, Lippet explains how Lycored also ensures the efficacy of its ingredients through a stringent sourcing system that revolves around quality. “By owning each step in our lycopene and beta-carotene production processes, we account for every detail and can provide full supply chain assurance. We use our own breed of lycopene-rich tomatoes and innovative farming methods that prevent nutrient loss and improve water efficiency.”

Implementing tech
Alongside a close relationship with farmers, a rising number of suppliers are employing technological tracing capabilities – such as DNA barcoding and blockchain. Shoppers have indicated that they would feel a higher sense of trust for food manufacturers who provided full information on ingredients. 

“A traceability system is required to provide an unambiguous, uninterrupted means of physically tracing and tracking an item, and/or its constituent components, through the interlinking nodes of a supply chain. In herbal plants used for pharmaceutical purposes, two aspects are needed for quality assurance – one being the authentication of the species and the other the authentication of the concentration of the particular phytochemical(s). In this context, DNA barcoding is a great help,” says Dr. Antony. 

Last month, pharmaceutical company Indena developed DNA sequencing-based tests, or DNA barcoding, to assure the traceability of medicinal plants. The company’s new method is made up of two crucial phases: purification and amplification and will be applied to its bilberry extract Mirtoselect.

First, the bilberry extract’s DNA is purified using an off-the-shelf kit. Second, a fragment of DNA is amplified using a real-time PCR-Probe, which amplifies a specific region of the DNA to allow researchers to determine if the plant used to make the extract is actually Vaccinium myrtillus.

Dr. Antony also notes that DNA barcoding can be a great help in the context of authentication of species and the concentration of particular phytochemicals. 

Natural Ingredients company Pharmactive Biotech Products has also shared its awareness of the severe impacts adulteration can have within an extract line. It uses highly reliable techniques that are well-established for the genetic identity determination for its Spanish saffron extract, Affron. This aids in the detection of the presence of unwanted bodies and unauthorized ingredients. Because it is a high-value botanical, saffron is extremely susceptible to counterfeiting, the company notes.

“We conduct strict quality controls internally and externally through certified third parties. These meticulous measures provide full traceability and allow a wholly trusted source of saffron,” Jean-Marie Raymond, CEO and Founder of Pharmactive, tells NutritionInsight. 

Blockchain on the rise – especially in Asia
Charles Breen, an Independent Advisor at EAS Consulting Group, an advisory firm for regulatory matters, has highlighted the benefits that fully implementing blockchain can bring. Breen explains that an average product recall for a company in the US can cost US$10 million, which covers notifications to regulators, the supply chain and consumers, product retrieval, storage destruction, unsalable products, investigating the cause of the recall as well as all the labor costs from the activities.

The efficacy of a product has a direct correlation with the quality of the ingredients that goes into the making.However, in light of high-profile product recalls in the nutritional sector, blockchain is increasingly being used. For instance, in Singapore, stricter rules were passed by authorities in 2017 to allow for product recalls of suspicious items without having to wait for investigation outcomes or test results. Hong Kong has passed a similarly strict regulation.

Blockchain technology, which is essentially a digital ledger without a central authority, is already widely used as a real-time record-keeping system in areas like banking, real estate and cybersecurity. Every transaction is recorded in the distributed ledger, which makes the blockchain’s documentation process very transparent and quickly accessible.

Breen notes that as there is no central authority over the blockchain, it makes tracking and tracing of products efficient and scalable. Through shared data stored on the blockchain, food companies can reduce the time taken for product recalls significantly by narrowing down the source of contamination in a matter of seconds. 

“Businesses who understand blockchain know they don’t have to rely on others to assure the integrity of production and distribution record keeping. Government regulators would very much like to drive seamlessness into the supply-chain because it makes their jobs faster, easier and most importantly, provides superior protection to consumers,” he notes.

What’s next?
As consumer awareness around traceability continues to grow and the voices of farmers across the world are amplified, there may be extra pressure on suppliers to visibly implement transparent sourcing schemes. Technology will surely continue to play a role in this as blockchain and methods, such as DNA barcoding, grow in prominence and become easier – and cheaper – to implement.

By Laxmi Haigh