Weekly Roundup: GC Rieber unveils “ultra-high” omega 3 concentrates, immunity NPD booms

18 Sep 2020 --- This week in nutrition news, GC Rieber launched customizable EPA and DHA omega 3 concentrates. Meanwhile, vitamin-rich lollipops and powders with immunity-boosting positionings hit the market as the colder months draw near. Nestlé offered a cash tender to purchase outstanding shares of Aimmune Therapeutics, while Highlander Partners purchased Hilo Nutrition, focused on the sports nutrition sector. In research strides, Aker BioMarine found that its krill oil can help triathletes sustain “optimal training and race day preparation.”

In brief: Launches and releases
GC Rieber Oils produced a new line of ultra high omega 3 concentrates. The new Platinum line joins the VivoMega family of omega 3 concentrates. It contains a range of new EPA and DHA concentrated fish oils containing up to 850 mg per g total omega 3 content. The EPA range containing the new flagship EPA product, VivoMega 8000 TG, has 800 mg per g EPA minimum. GC Rieber sees this as a move to give customers and consumers the opportunity to choose higher dosages and also opens up co-formulation opportunities. 

Momeez Choice expanded its portfolio of organic throat- and stomach-soothing remedy pops with the launch of Immuniteez, an organic immune support pop. Arriving in time for the cold and flu season, the health and safety of children returning to school are “top-of-mind for parents now more than ever.” Immuniteez elderberry pops are made with vitamins C, D, zinc and selenium. They are made in a “worry-free” flat shape and on a stick versus a round ball, which may present a potential choking hazard. 

Nouri’s Inner Immune has a hint of orange taste.Nouri’s latest innovation, Inner Immune, delivers immune support encouraging consumers to take a proactive approach to their health. Inner Immune combines daily vitamins and minerals with prebiotics, probiotics and an immunobiotic. In addition, the product includes L-Glutamine, Beta Glucan and Colostrum IgG Power. Using plant substitutes for sugar, Inner Immune is free of sugar and calories. It arrives to e-commerce and US Whole Foods retailers in a powder format that can be dissolved into water, smoothies or other beverages. 

In brief: Business news
Together with its wholly-owned subsidiary, SPN Merger Sub, Nestlé commenced a cash tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Aimmune Therapeutics for US$34.50 per share. The board also recommends that its stockholders accept the offer and tender their shares of Aimmune common stock pursuant to the offer, which will expire on October 9. The acquisition was first announced in August.

US-based private equity firm Highlander Partners acquired Hilo Nutrition. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Hilo Nutrition’s nutrition and wellness portfolio focuses on sports nutrition and performance through its confectionary products and performance gummies. Highlander Partners states it plans to accelerate the growth of Hilo by targeting a larger but more focused audience, strengthening its direct-to-consumer business and “aggressively expanding” distribution. The equity firm further expects the “rapid growth in the performance nutrition category” to continue in the foreseeable future.

Supply chain management solutions provider Batory Foods and BioHarvest Sciences (BHSC), a biofarming technology company, signed an exclusive agreement to enter the nutraceuticals and edible CBD market. Batory Foods’ decision to partner with BHSC is a “major vote of confidence” in the scientifically proven advantages of BHSC’s biofarming technology. The agreement also aims to solidify Batory Foods’ capabilities to offer hemp-based CBD with a THC content of less than 0.3 percent. 

Immuniteez is an organic immune support pop that uses honey, elderberry and essential nutrients.Eevia Health entered a new distributorship agreement with its long-term customer, Natural Functional Ingredients, for the territories of France and Belgium. With quality, safety and sustainability being major priorities for both companies, Natural Functional Ingredients works together with manufacturers to ensure the origin, traceability and purity of its materials. Both Eevia Health and Natural hold the ISO 22 000 certificates. 

In brief: Research and studies
Consuming krill oil before endurance competitions may increase levels of circulating choline and its metabolites in triathletes. Krill oil producer Aker BioMarine partnered with the Oslo University Hospital to test krill oil supplementation on serum levels of choline and its metabolites. The studies were conducted on 47 triathletes competing in the Norseman Xtreme triathlon and the Oslo triathlon. The results show that serum choline was reduced by between 15 and 34 percent on average from pre-race to race finish in both races, but significantly higher concentrations of choline (9.4 percent on average) were observed in the krill oil compared to the placebo group. Aker BioMarine notes that krill oil should be included as part of an overall nutritional strategy for “optimal training and race day preparation.” 

Pairing vitamin E blend TheraPrimE Palm Tocotrienols with AstaZine Natural Astaxanthin, a Haematococcus pluvialis-extracted carotenoid, showed cognitive improvements in subjects with age-related memory decline. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study supported by BGG World had 44 subjects over 12 weeks use 50 mg of TheraPrimE Palm Tocotrienols and 9 mg of AstaZine Natural Astaxanthin. “Previous research has established the synergistic antioxidant performance of a Tocotrienol + Astaxanthin blend, and it would be of great interest to investigate in future studies if this outcome is due to an ameliorated absorption of astaxanthin or perhaps to increased antioxidant activity due to the addition of tocotrienols,” notes lead author Dr. Takahiro Sekikawa.

Time-restricted feeding can improve health without altering the body’s core clock. Published in Nature, a multi-university study identified a number of key changes in the genetic activity of muscles, as well as the content of muscle fats and proteins, which could explain the positive impact of time-restricted feeding. The researchers discovered that time-restricted feeding changed the rhythmic concentration of metabolites in blood and muscle and influenced the rhythmic expression of genes expressed by muscle, particularly those responsible for transporting amino acids. “These insights could help develop new therapies to improve the lives of people who live with obesity,” says Professor Juleen Zierath from Karolinska Institutet and CBMR at the University of Copenhagen.

Higher intakes of seaweed and mushroom fiber may help reduce the risk of depression. Moreover, the source of dietary fiber may be play a role in beneficial impact of mitigating depression symptoms. A study published in Nutrients investigated the dietary fiber intake of a population of 2,960 Korean adults, agesd 19 to 64 years. The researchers found that out of six fiber subtypes – crude, cereal, vegetable, fruit, seaweed and mushroom – seaweed and mushroom fiber intake was inversely associated with depressive symptoms. Moreover, seaweed fiber intake was significantly inversely associated with clinical depression diagnosed by a physician. 

 By Anni Schleicher