Real-time monitoring and upcycled solutions star in traceable ingredients

11 Nov 2020 --- To meet consumers’ call for greater transparency while sustaining engagement, nutritional companies including Arjuna Naturals, IFF Health Unit and Lycored are piloting new strategies that aim to overcome supply chain complexities.

Alongside these initiatives, manufacturers are increasingly focused on the upcycling potential of discarded waste materials for a more streamlined supply chain, which can be further processed for added-value health supplements.

“Traceability is a hot topic for the supplement industry to ensure the safety of the supply, government regulations and brand protection demands from customers,” Dr. Benny Antony, joint managing director at Arjuna Natural, tells NutritionInsight.

“In the simplest of terms, it can indicate the ability of the brand to trace each ingredient to the original source with certainty. However, supply chains are complex and for supplements with multiple ingredients, it can turn out to be even more complex.”

Echoing this, “Transparency Triumphs” was recently crowned Innova Market Insights’ Top Trend for 2021, expecting to steer nutritional NPD. The market researcher notes that six in ten global consumers are interested in learning more about where foods come from.

“In the real world, the degree and extent of traceability is to be determined based on the nature of the product, the usage, legal and consumer expectations and risk assessments,” notes Dr. Antony. 

“Nevertheless, each ingredient should be traced to the source and documentations maintained thereof,” he adds.

Upcycling for zero waste supplements
Industry’s efforts to reduce or eliminate waste from supply and production chains is one element under scrutiny by consumers attuned to transparency platforms.

Industry’s efforts to reduce or eliminate waste from supply and production chains is one element under scrutiny by consumers attuned to transparency platforms. IFF Health Unit – a division of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF) – launched Organic SoyLife Complex soy isoflavones, which are sustainably produced with zero waste using carefully selected, non-GMO organic soybeans grown for traditional food production.

Used for a variety of food and health applications – from traditional supplements to functional food and beverage options – SoyLife helps support women’s health during menopause and helps maintain a youthful skin.

“SoyLife Complex is an ingredient produced simply from the soy germ that sits at the heart of the soybean,” says Dr. Laetitia Petrussa, product manager at IFF Health Unit. 

“Since soy germs are not utilized in the soy-milk production process, upcycling them decreases food waste and results in a value-added product that is naturally abundant in valuable micronutrients and fiber.

In other moves to reduce waste, US-based DolCas Biotech recently revealed a zero-waste goal for its entire portfolio of branded nutraceutical ingredients, focusing on upcycling typically discarded – yet highly valuable – raw materials. 

The company’s TruOliv polyphenol extract is composed of olive leaves and whole fruit, including the skin and flesh.

Meanwhile, Bergacyn liver support complex gets its polyphenols and fiber from upcycled bergamot juice and pulp. The supplement is certified organic by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and by the EU.

Ensuring full supply chain visibility
Consumers invariably look at traceability with respect to the ability of the brand to substantiate its claims (natural, pesticide free, organic etc), as well as assure consumers of the safety and reliability of the product, Dr. Antony remarks.

“A traceable product can also be recalled, in case there is a reason to do so and this degree of ‘safety net’ gives consumers a peace of mind.”

Consumers invariably look to traceability to verify brand claims. Arjuna Naturals is the manufacturer of the turmeric extract BCM-95, also known as Curcugreen. The company notes that the sheer volume of its product coupled supply chain complexities among small and marginal turmeric cultivators “should have been complex enough to challenge sustainability and traceability of the product.”

“However, at Arjuna Naturals, this has never been a problem,” says Dr. Antony. “With a manufacturing history of close to two decades on this product alone, Arjuna Natural has established long standing relationships with supply chain players, which includes small and medium farmers, market operators and other sources.”

Engaging consumers through transparency platforms
Carotenoid-based wellness product developer Lycored takes its traceability efforts further by directly engaging with consumers to demonstrate their agricultural practices in real time. This came alongside the expansion of the company’s tomato-based lycopene production to meet “unprecedented demand” this year.

“We’re completely open about how we plant, grow and harvest our tomatoes. One example of that is our Lycored livestream initiative, which we’ve run for the last few years,” says Zev Ziegler, head of global brand & marketing in Lycored’s Health segment.

“It offers real-time transparency by allowing audiences to tune in to our farm in Israel via an ‘earthcam.’”

Ziegler adds that his company’s holistic, vertically integrated agriculture and production system starts with the seeds of Lycored’s own breed of tomato. 

“We oversee it carefully at every stage, from our innovative farming techniques to the solvent-free extraction process that gives us the powerful phytonutrients in our wellness products.”

All of Lycored’s naturally sourced products are marketed as non-GMO, vegan, kosher (often Orthodox Union kosher), halal and allergen-free. Ziegler adds that Lycored also ensures minimal exposure to toxins by maintaining strict controls on the way we wash tomatoes and remove their skins.

Tech-driven transparency
Technology plays a significant role in ensuring product traceability and transparency, with brands adopting and pairing new packaging technologies such as invisible barcodes and near-field communication devices to meet this end. 

This can help companies establish creative, meaningful product storytelling, as Innova Market Insights’ previously pegged Top Trend “Storytelling: Winning with Words” is still expected to drive branding innovation this year in the F&B sector.

A recent example of tech-boosted transparency in action in the nutrition industry is FrieslandCampina’s Organic Friso Prestige Bio. The milk formula’s packaging offers on-pack traceability features, including a QR code to follow the supply chain. 

By Benjamin Ferrer