Weekly Roundup: Givaudan aims to become a B Corp, UK gov plans to reduce disparities in children’s health

17 Jul 2020 --- This week in nutrition news, Givaudan set plans in motion to become a certified B Corporation. The UK government will investigate improving health outcomes of children under the age of two and a half, keeping socioeconomic factors in mind. The Dutch Office for Risk Assessment and Research (BuRO) declared food supplements with black cohosh extracts unsuitable for vulnerable patient groups and in neighboring Germany, the Supreme Court ruled that dosage is not a deciding factor when classifying supplements. Research endeavors showed that American River Nutrition’s annatto tocotrienol can support liver function in patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), while a US-based study suggested that eating fish can protect elderly women’s brains from air pollution.

In brief: Business news
Givaudan announced its ambition to become a certified B Corp – a for-profit company that uses the power of business to build a more inclusive and environmentally and economically sustainable economy. “We are starting this journey when businesses are re-examining their role in building an inclusive and equitable society. The B Corp movement is an excellent example of what can be achieved when businesses come together for the greater good,” says Gilles Andrier, the company’s CEO.

Spain-based biotechnology company Biosearch Life revealed its turnover stood at €14.3 million (US$16.3 million) in the first half of 2020. This makes for a growth of 8 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. The company identified its botanical extracts, probiotics and lipids business units as the main drivers of growth. The probiotics business registered an increase of 47 percent, standing at €3.2 million (US$3.7 million), driven mainly by the Women’s Health segment. Meanwhile, the lipid business continued its “positive trend,” with an increase in sales of 5 percent, reaching €5.4 million (US$6.1 million).

Supplements with black cohosh extracts is not suitable for a number of patient groups, warns the Dutch BuRO (Credit: Pixaby).In brief: Launches and releases
Clean label nutrition company Orgain launched two new offerings to its Clean Nutrition portfolio to support “inner health and outer glow.” Collagen Zero Protein Powder has zero sugar and offers functional benefits for hair and skin, as well as joint and muscle health. Collagen Zero packs 20 g of Type I and III collagen peptides and is offered in Chocolate and Vanilla. Meanwhile, Simple Organic Plant Protein Powder is made from nuts and seeds, including organic almonds, peanuts, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds and golden peas. Each flavor – Peanut Butter, Chocolate, and Vanilla – delivers 20 g of protein in every serving. 

Also tapping into the collagen protein powder space, Ajinomoto Health and Nutrition launched Indigo Marine Collagen. With 10 g of marine collagen per serving, the new protein powder supports healthy aging and “revitalizes” skin, hair, nails and bones. Ajinomoto affirms it sources its marine collagen from the North Atlantic Ocean, where Indigo’s wild-caught fish are from deep water schools of fish in their natural habitats – protected from direct exposure to harmful antibiotics and hormones.

In brief: Rulings and approvals 
The German Supreme Court ruled that drugs are classified not according to their physiological effect or recommended dosage, but rather “an overall consideration of the product characteristics.” This should also take into account the possible risks of the use. The ruling was promoted by an Austrian plaintiff to distribute their 100 mg ginkgo biloba extract supplements in Germany, which had previously been rejected by the Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety. The basis of the rejection, being the dosage of the supplements, has now been reconsidered.  

An independent advisory body to the Dutch Food Safety Authority, the Dutch BuRO deemed that supplements containing black cohosh are not recommended to specific consumer groups. These include pregnant or breastfeeding women, children, patients with a history of liver disease, patients who are or have been treated for breast cancer or other hormone-dependent tumors and people who are hypersensitive to the black cohosh active ingredients. Dosages up to 40 mg per day are deemed as generally safe. However, they are not applicable to the aforementioned risk groups considering their side effects, including chest or stomach pains, diarrhea, nausea and even bleeding and liver disease.

The UK parliament plans to review how to improve health outcomes of children up to age 2.5 (Credit: gov.uk). The House Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year 2021 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Related Agencies bill. The legislation funds agencies and programs within the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Farm Credit Administration, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the FDA. The FDA is to receive a total of US$3.2 billion in discretionary funding in the bill, an increase of US$40.8 million above the 2020 enacted level. Within this total, the Committee provides targeted increases for medical product and food safety activities, including funding to develop a framework for regulating CBD products. It also pursues new initiatives to advance new influenza vaccine manufacturing technologies as well as support for a new, crosscutting activity enhancing food and medical product safety.  

In brief: Regulation and recommendations
MP Andrea Leadsom, Early Years Health Adviser to the UK Parliament, is to lead a review commissioned by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to improve the health outcomes of babies and young children. The review aims to show how to reduce disparities in low birth weight, social and emotional development in early years and reduce impacts of vulnerability and adverse childhood experiences in the first 1,000 days of life. The review is part of the government’s commitment to leveling up the country and helping every child reach their full potential. Andrea Leadsom is expected to submit her findings and policy recommendations from the first phase of the Review into Early Years Health in January 2021.

Concerned about the different legal regulation of nutrients used in food additives and pesticides, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is holding a public consultation to reach out to industry and research experts to harmonize nutrient risk assessments. The aim is to set Health-Based Guidance Values (HBGVs), a threshold value to indicate how much of a substance, including nutrients, is safe for human and animal consumption. The public consultation on the draft allows scientific experts, organizations with interest in the food chain, and members of the public to send EFSA their views on the Scientific Committee’s proposal, which is running until September 15.

Omega 3s found in baked and broiled fish could counteract the effects of air pollution on the brain.In brief: Research and studies
Further research pointing to the link between improved liver health and tocotrienol has come to the fore in a recent study conducted at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Pakistan, published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine. In the 24-week study of 71 NAFLD patients, American River Nutrition’s annatto-derived tocotrienol ingredient DeltaGold was administered at 300 mg twice daily, which led to decreased biochemical levels and metabolic factors associated with fatty liver and improved steatosis. The study authors noted that “delta-tocotrienol might be considered a therapeutic option in managing patients with NAFLD.” 

Older women who eat more than one to two servings a week of baked or broiled fish or shellfish could be consuming enough omega 3 fatty acids to counteract the effects of air pollution on the brain. These are the latest results of a study published in Neurology, which highlighted that women with the highest levels of omega 3 fatty acids in the blood also had greater volumes of the hippocampus. The study involved 1,315 women with an average age of 70 who did not have dementia at the start of the study. The women completed questionnaires about diet, physical activity, and medical history. A limitation of the study was that most participants were older white women, so the results cannot be generalized to others. Also, researchers were only able to examine exposures to later-life air pollution, not early or mid-life exposures, so future studies should look at exposures to air pollution across a person’s lifespan.

By Anni Schleicher