Beyond The Headlines: Nestlé closes infant milk formula factory, Tufts University launches Food is Medicine Institute

20 Oct 2023 --- This week in nutrition news, Nestlé closed a baby milk factory in Ireland due to declining demand from the Chinese market as the country’s birth rates are dropping. At the same time, Tufts University launched a Food is Medicine Institute to integrate food-based solutions in healthcare. Meanwhile, Diamond Therapeutics started a clinical trial to determine how low-dose psilocybin affects humans suffering from feelings of hopelessness.

Nutrition news
Nestlé shut down an infant milk formula factory in Ireland that exclusively produces formula for China. A falling birth rate combined with a growing interest in local produce over imported baby products has reduced demand from the Chinese market. The plant, operating as Wyeth Nutritionals Ireland, was acquired by Nestlé in 2012. The Irish R&D operations will be absorbed by one of the company’s centers in Switzerland, while production will be split between Switzerland and Nestlé’s factory in China. Nestlé aims to complete the closure by the first quarter of 2026. The factory’s 542 workers will face redundancy as of the beginning of 2025. 

The Food is Medicine Institute aims to integrate food-based solutions in healthcare.The Friedman School at Tufts University, US, launched the Food Is Medicine Institute, aiming to bring together researchers, private and public sectors to drive change and integrate food-based solutions in healthcare. According to the university, research indicates that food and nutrition interventions in treatment plans could lead to improved health outcomes and reduced healthcare costs. The new institute will focus on scalable food-based interventions such as medically tailored meals and prescriptions for produce, nutrition education for doctors and reimbursement pathways for nutrition-based tools to help treat or prevent diet-related illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes. It also aims to advance research, patient care and policy engagement. Partners in the institute include Kaiser Permanente, John Hancock and Google. 

Diamond Therapeutics, a clinical-stage drug development company focused on psychedelic-based therapies for mental health, enrolled the first patient in an FDA-approved clinical trial to evaluate the influence of low-dose psilocybin on humans suffering from demoralization. The study, a first of its kind, is conducted at the University of Alabama, US, and will enroll 60 patients who experience feelings of hopelessness and meaninglessness. It will assess efficacy, feasibility and potential mechanisms of action for the psilocybin, which will be administered in low doses that are not expected to produce hallucinogenic effects. 

Chinese ingredient manufacturer Jiaherb adopted kava (Piper methysticum) through the American Botanical Council’s (ABC) “Adopt-an-Herb” botanical research and education program. This supports ABC’s HerbMedPro database, ensuring it remains current for researchers, health professionals, industry and consumers. Jiaherb states that its mission is to continuously research, develop and source innovative ingredients that benefit people’s health, focusing on ingredients with benefits that have been clinically proven. Kava extracts have been linked to improvements in mood and generalized anxiety disorders. 

Product launches  
Melatonin is one of the most commonly used sleep aid ingredients in supplements.Nutraland USA launched Somato, a whole-food derived melatonin sourced exclusively from tomatoes, to offer an eco-friendly, natural alternative to synthetic melatonin for functional foods and supplements. The company stated that the natural products industry still relies heavily on synthetic melatonin for supplements, even though the popularity of whole-food-derived nutrients has grown exponentially. Somato is made from whole, dried tomatoes — a natural source of melatonin — and other compounds such as the antioxidant lycopene. The ingredient will be presented during next week’s SupplySide West trade show in Las Vegas, US. 

In pet food, Cult Food Science launched the first vegan cat treat in the US — Noochies Freeze Dried Cat Snacks. Contrary to popular belief, the company states that a recent peer-reviewed study indicates that cats can eat a vegan diet when supplemented with essential nutrients. The high-protein and nutrient-rich pet food is made without factory farming and includes vitamin B, Bflora and the company’s patented Bmmune nutritional yeast ingredient. These animal-free ingredients offer various health benefits, such as improved digestion, immune system support and overall cognitive and heart health. 

Drinking less alcohol, not necessarily complete abstinence, is associated with better mental and physical health.Scientific studies  
A study published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research found that certain brain regions of people who reduce or quit drinking have a greater volume than people who drink more heavily. The authors suggest that drinking less, not necessarily complete abstinence, is associated with better mental and physical health, quality of life, brain structure and neurocognition. The brains of people who drink at low-risk levels — three drinks daily for men and 1.5 drinks for women — are similar to those of people who do not consume alcohol. The brains of low-risk drinkers were only significantly different from abstainers in their frontal regions, which play roles in decision-making, self-monitoring and behavioral control and support higher-order cognitive functions, such as emotion regulation and working memory. People with less volume in these regions may be less capable of performing these activities. 

Research published in Brain identified a link between the gut microbiota and Alzheimer’s disease. The authors noted that symptoms related to the illness can be transferred to a healthy young organism through the gut microbiota, which confirms its role in the disease. By transplanting gut microbiota from people with Alzheimer’s in young animals, the researchers transferred their memory impairments to the animals, producing fewer new nerve cells. Patients also had a higher abundance of inflammation-promoting bacteria in stool samples, directly associated with their cognitive status. The authors state that understanding the role of gut microbes during different stages of dementia and before the onset of symptoms may open avenues for new therapy development or even individualized interventions. 

By Jolanda van Hal