CPHI 2022: Titanium dioxide ban spurs innovation in clean-label ingredients and formats

04 Nov 2022 --- Creating clean-label ingredients for nutrition and nutraceutical products and introducing new or rethinking traditional formats for those products were key themes at the Convention on Pharmaceutical Ingredients (CPHI) in Frankfurt, Germany, this week. 

We spoke with leading suppliers and producers in the nutritional and nutraceutical industries about what is driving these innovations and how the industry is responding to these demands.

A major factor affecting renewed emphasis on clean ingredients is the ban on titanium dioxide (TiO2) that was implemented in August of this year. The ban was issued by the European Commission (EC) following a report given by the European Food Safety Authority, which found that TiO2 was not safe as a food additive or for use in food products.

The move by the EC reemphasized the need for clean-label ingredients and spurred innovations that not only affected ingredients, but also formats and the way the industry creates color in products.

A salty alternative
Lonza Capsules and Health Ingredients won an “Excellence in Pharma” award from CPHI for regulatory procedures and compliance earlier this week. Julien Lamps, the company’s associate director of global product management, explains that the award highlights the company’s TiO2-free, white gelatin capsule under the brand name Capsugel. 

“This is an excellent solution in the current frame of going around the TiO2 ban,” Lampstells NutritionInsight. “Thanks to our innovation power, we have developed solutions to go around this ban and find a new way of solving the issue while still getting the same opacity and whiteness that TiO2 was providing.”ACG is working on capsules with liquid and pellet capacities to further the field of personalized nutrition.

He further elaborates that the TiO2-free capsules are made from a crystallized salt solution which is incorporated into the gelatin-based capsule. According to Lamps, the new solution gives the same look and color but without the nanoparticle risk of its predecessor. 

“They are salts that are completely soluble and not touched by the nanoparticle legislation at all,” says Lamps. Moreover, the company’s new solution can be integrated into Lonza’s new Capsugel technology for supplement, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical use. 

Lamps states the new product uses a built-in functionality that “is made to target the delivery of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) to the lower part of the small intestine.”

Keeping colors au naturel
Some in the industry have further found impetus in the ban to increase their clean-label claim abilities across multiple products. Anil Andrade, the vice president of sales and business development at ACG’s capsule division, tells NutritionInsight that the ban has inspired numerous improvements.

“There is a huge focus on finding ways to replace TiO2, and in the nutritional space, there is now even more focus on going toward clean-label and using natural colors to enhance the visibility of the brand,” says Andrade.

Andrade explains that new demands in the nutraceutical space are changing the ways companies think about capsules and capsule technology. 

“We are also looking at offering certain unique dosage forms, whether it’s liquid in capsules or a combination of pellets and liquids, to help create niche offerings to our branded customers for their consumers, helping them enter into a different space in personalized nutrition,” he continues. 

“We see these types of innovations taking a lot more of our attention and our focus going forward.”

Fast-melting and TiO2-freeLonza picked up an “Excellence In Pharma” award at CPHI for its TiO2-free, white Capsugel product.
Nutrition innovator ADM, known for its plant-based and its pre-, pro- and postbiotic microbiome solutions, among others, wanted to showcase “the full capabilities” of the company at this year’s CPHI, according to its director of marketing and head of EMEAI, Marie-Bénédicte Charpentier.

“We have recently launched the PearlEdge white color to replace the TiO2 that is no longer allowed in food,” she tells NutritionInsight. “And that can be applied to some of the dietary supplements.”

Charpentier also notes that the company’s micronized color solutions can be incorporated into tablets and give them a bright and shiny appearance. She adds that the company also recently acquired Deerland, which significantly expanded the company’s portfolio in the biotic space – a space the company says it has enhanced with interesting offerings and formats.

“We can now cover a lot of different health areas, like digestive health, immunity function, women’s health, skin health, mental health and healthy living with different types of specialized strains,” she details. 

She further adds that postbiotics work well with gummies and chewing gums. To innovate the more traditional biotics, the company created its FastMelt Sticks probiotic powders. The product dissolves quickly in the mouth and comes in flavors like melon and peach.

“The FastMelt powder is quite innovative,” Charpentier concludes. “It can be used in the mouth with a wonderful taste and without any water, so it is extremely convenient.”

By William Bradford Nichols