Beyond The Headlines: Novonesis partners with Benchiling on digital R&D, Harvard study reveals SNAP significance
This week in nutrition news, Novonesis and Benchling announced that they would work together on the biosolutions company’s R&D digital platform. Meanwhile, the Roquette Foundation for Health revealed the winners of its health prevention prize. GLP-1 weight loss programs supplier Ivím Health said that it would work with Klarna to allow consumers to pay for services in installments. Groupe Berkem and Arctic Bioscience launched a herring caviar oil extract, and supplement provider Animal released its special edition Primal Pre-Workout flavor.
At the same time, scientists at the US University of Harvard published a study looking at how the termination of COVID-19 nutritional benefits in the country’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) led to a notable decline in the nation’s food security. A study published in the UK explored the differences in the way men and women metabolize breakfast foods and another one showed the positive cognitive effects of FutureCeuticals’ CognatiQ ingredient.
Nutrition news
Novonesis selected Benchling as its digital R&D platform for its development and testing operations. Benchling will now be available to Novonesis’ 1,500 scientists to help them manage the scale, complexity and speed of enzyme and microbe R&D. Commenting on the new partnership, Martin S. Borchert, senior director of Scientific Data Strategy and Systems at Novonesis, said that the biosolutions giant’s R&D goals “are more ambitious than ever,” adding that “a strong digital strategy is essential for achieving them.” Borchert further stated that the extension partnership with Benchling enables the company to work at speed and scale by automating key aspects and unifying the foundation for advanced data tooling.
Ivím Health and Klarna set out to improve consumer access to personalized GLP-1 weight loss programs.The Roquette Foundation for Health announced scientist Delphine Payros and her team as the winners of its third research prize for health prevention. They received this acknowledgment for their work on the toxicity of multiple dietary exposures involving mycotoxins in digestive pathophysiology. Delphine Payros is an INRAE (the French National Institute of Agricultural Research) researcher at the Food Toxicology Laboratory as part of its Mycotoxin Biosynthesis and Toxicity team. Since its creation in 2020, the Roquette Foundation Research Prize has supported and honored medical research about food, nutrition, health prevention and the food of the future, awarding €25,000 (US$27,000) per project.
Business news
The US telehealth-based weight management Ivím Health announced a new partnership with Klarna to improve consumer access to personalized GLP-1 weight loss programs by offering more flexible payment options. Ivím Health’s GLP-1 programs span between one and 12 months. Prices start from US$125 a month and offer Klarna payments, which patients can use to spread costs over time with 0% interest financing options. All programs also require an Ivím Health membership, which costs US$74.99 a month, including unlimited consultations with obesity specialists, personalized care plans, access to a mobile health app, functional nutrition coaching and the company’s prior authorization team to assist with insurance approvals.
Groupe Berkem, a French bio-based chemicals company, announces that it is teaming up with Norwegian biotech specialist Arctic Bioscience to launch B-Romega — a herring caviar oil extract — in North America. This ingredient is rich in phospholipid omega-3, with naturally occurring SPMs (Specialized Pro-Resolving Mediators) and DHA-type phospholipids, which play an important role in cellular health and have anti-inflammatory properties. The oil is upcycled from wild-caught herring, which is certified for its sustainability.
Animal and athlete and internet personality Monica Grands are launch a special edition Primal Pre-Workout flavor.Animal, a premium sports nutrition supplement provider based in New Jersey, US, shared that it is partnering with the athlete and internet personality Monica Grands to launch a special edition Primal Pre-Workout flavor. This is the first time Animal, from parent company Universal Nutrition, is working with an athlete to create a signature flavor — Peach Lavender Lemonade. Granda commented: “I wanted to create a flavor that’s both refreshing and powerful.”
Scientific studies
A new study from the University of Harvard, US, found that nutrition insecurity in the country increased following the expiration of the government’s COVID-19 emergency allotment benefits as part of SNAP. The key findings include that food insecurity increased by 8.4% among more than 15,000 SNAP participants across 35 states, and food insufficiency increased after the pandemic benefits were stopped. The allotments provided participants up to an additional US$250 per month. This drop in food security led to a 2.1% increase in the use of food pantries, a 2% increase in difficulty paying expenses and higher symptoms of anxiety among Black SNAP participants. The researchers assert that their findings show the importance of strengthening SNAP, as Congress considers the Farm Bill, which funds SNAP and expired last month.
New insights into the differences in how men and women process fat consumption after a period of fasting could have implications on recommendations concerning breakfast foods. The study, conducted at the UK’s University of Waterloo and published in Computers in Biology and Medicine, employed a mathematical model of men’s and women’s metabolisms. The results reveal that, after fasting for several hours, such as when waking up, on average, men’s metabolisms respond better to a meal high in carbohydrates like oats and grains. Meanwhile, women’s metabolisms respond more favorably to meals with a higher percentage of fat, such as omelets and avocados.
FutureCeuticals, a US-based R&D company specializing in fruit, vegetable and grain-based powders and extracts for functional F&B and dietary supplement markets, announced a new study showing the “same-day” cognitive benefits of its CognatiQ ingredient. The study conducted at Auburn University, and published in the journal Nutrients, is “the first of its kind” to investigate the effectiveness of a cognitive performance ingredient in an at-home setting mimicking real-life conditions rather than in a laboratory setting. It finds that a 200 mg serving of CognatiQ “significantly improved” cognitive performance and one-hour post-ingestion, positively impacting working memory.
