Beyond The Headlines: Aker BioMarine sells feed ingredients unit, Purina and top athletes host dog series

05 Jul 2024 --- In nutrition news this week, Aker BioMarine has agreed to sell its Feed Ingredients business and Life Extension launched a new vegan collagen formula and Purina teamed up with elite athletes such as champion swimmer Michael Phelps for its new dog docuseries.

Meanwhile, Sabinsa received recognition from the US Pharmacopeia (USP) for upholding critical standards set by the regulatory body, and the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) looked into the benefits of free breakfast clubs.

Business news
Aker BioMarine has agreed to sell its Feed Ingredients business. The unit will continue developing and growing through ownership by Aker Capital (40%) and American Industrial Partners (60%). The company says the transaction results from a process that attracted interest from a wide range of reputable parties and not only demonstrates the value of Feed Ingredients and underscores the value potential of Aker BioMarine as a whole.

Life Extension has launched Vegan Pro Collagen, an innovative formula composed of clinically-studied amino acids, vitamin C and botanical extracts to aid collagen production in the body. Clinical studies have observed that it reduces the appearance of wrinkles by 14%, enhances skin texture by 13% and increases collagen density by 8% after eight weeks of use. The company notes that while there are no vegan sources of collagen, there are foods and ingredients that encourage normal collagen production, like tofu, lentils, citrus fruits, gotu kola and ginseng root. Their research shows that taking skin care supplements is popular for supporting healthy, youthful-looking skin. A recent survey of over 3,000 Life Extension customers revealed that 70% of respondents go for vitamin C skin care supplements and 53% choose traditional collagen supplements. Purina Pro Plan collaborates with athletes for docuseries (Credit: Purina).

Pet nutrition brand Purina Pro Plan has collaborated with world champion swimmer Michael Phelps and a team of sports professionals to launch Fueled By, a documentary series about nutrition’s important role in driving the active lifestyles of elite athletes and their dogs. The series gives an inside look into the lives of Phelps, gymnast Olivia Dunne, track star Lolo Jones and sportscaster Erin Andrews and how they draw motivation and strength from their dogs in their daily routines.  

Regulatory news
The USP recognized nutraceutical and cosmeceutical specialist Sabinsa for providing candidate documentary and reference standards that assisted USP in reaching significant milestones in 2023. USP also acknowledged the company’s contributions toward global public health by advancing USP standards. The Sami-Sabinsa Group, which has been working with USP for more than 20 years on projects related to reference standards, has been a consistent source for USP of reference standards for the herbal industry, including the three main curcuminoid actives.

Nutrition education news
The IFS has examined the benefits of free breakfast clubs as promised in the Labour Party’s manifesto pledge to expand breakfast clubs to all primary schools in England to boost attendance. Attendance has significantly fallen since the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for students eligible for free meals. The new analysis looks at the details of the commitment. The IFS found several benefits to the policy, including improving nutrition, educational attainment, childcare and cost-of-living support for parents. However, there is less evidence to suggest that breakfast clubs will boost school attendance in the way the pledge sets out. Another concern raised by the IFS is that schools are facing a “mission creep” as they take on additional roles and responsibilities and will need increased government support and funding to continue making breakfast clubs a success. 

Scientific researchIFS is evaluating the benefits of expanding breakfast clubs at schools.
An Italian study carried out as part of the Umberto Project, conducted by the Joint Research Platform Umberto Veronesi Foundation in collaboration with the University of Casamassima, found that people diagnosed with any tumor who have a high adherence to the Mediterranean diet in the year preceding their enrollment into the study, live longer and have a reduced risk of cardiovascular mortality, compared to those with lower adherence to the diet. The study, published in JACC CardioOncology, examined 800 adult men and women diagnosed with cancer during enrollment in the Moli-sani Study between 2005 and 2010. Participants were followed for more than 13 years. Detailed information on their food consumption during the year before enrollment was available for each participant. The diet is mainly composed of fruit, vegetables and olive oil — natural sources of antioxidant compounds.

A new study presented at Nutrition 2024, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, found that school-aged children who ate more isoflavones from soy foods exhibited better thinking abilities and attention. The researchers examined available data from a cross-sectional study that included 128 children ages seven to 13. They used information from 7-day diet records to calculate each child’s average dietary intake, including the amounts of macronutrients, micronutrients, vitamins and isoflavones consumed. The scientists used a set of pencil and paper tests adjusted for grade level to assess the children’s general intellectual ability. The analysis revealed that the children consumed low amounts of isoflavone-containing soy foods. However, those who ate more soy foods showed faster responses during the attentional tasks and exhibited faster processing speed. The findings pave the way for future research to unravel how soy foods can positively impact children’s cognitive abilities.

Appointments
CG Life has formalized public relations and social media teams into a Strategic Communications Group to enhance clients’ support in rare diseases and precision medicine. With this move, the company welcomed US-based Karen Sharma as SVP of public relations. She brings to the role more than 20 years of public relations, corporate and crisis communications experience in life science and healthcare. Managing partner Erik Clausen leads the group, which features centers of excellence in scientific, medical and corporate communications and social media. 

By Inga de Jong