Bioiberica Marks Commitment to Global Animal Health Market
As Bioiberica commemorates its 25th anniversary, the company kicked off its year-long anniversary celebrations at International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) January 30–February 1. Looking to the future of animal nutrition and wider world of life sciences, sustainability is top of the agenda for the company, including reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30% before 2030 and achieving climate neutrality by 2050. These initiatives will be supported by the company’s circular economy model and ability to monitor (and adjust) its sustainability KPIs.
Blueshift’s FlavorWeaving Approach Drives Market Growth
Blueshift Nutrition entered 2024 earning industry recognition. KeHE awarded its TRENDfinder "Golden Ticket" to Blueshift, which was one of only two supplement brands to receive the honor. In January, delicious living magazine announced its 2024 awards, and Blueshift scored seven (the most of any supplement brand). The company also reported that, with an average customer rating of 4.8/5.0 stars from close to 2,000 reviews, Blueshift products have earned consumer acclaim. The brand also shared the news that it has rapidly increased its retail distribution, working with national and regional broker partnerships to more than double its store count in under three months.
Blueshift credits its success in part to the flavor formulation approach for its Superblends. The company says its proprietary FlavorWeaving technique "elevates the complexity and interest of each drink by incorporating the natural flavor notes of botanicals, fruits, berries, and active ingredients without resorting to added sugar or artificial flavors or sweeteners." Blueshift will be showcasing itsSuperblends at Natural Products Expo West, booth 4781.
Paal Gisholt, Founder and CEO of Blueshift, explains, "When we sought to create a line of supplement drinks with off-the-charts effectiveness, we were warned that making these formulas actually taste good would be impossible. But when you think about the beverages adults love most – coffee, red wine, IPA beer – they aren’t loved for being sweet. Their complex, interesting flavor profiles include hints of bitterness, earthiness, acidity, and aromatics that work together to delight the palate. So instead of using artificial flavors or sweeteners to mask the particular notes of plant ingredients, we use those flavors as a source of interest and complexity. In a process that is part art and part science, we've identified just the right flavors to complement each active ingredient. The response has been phenomenal – and we do it all without adding any sugar.”
CRN Relaunches Vitamin D & Me! Website
The CRN Foundation relaunched its Vitamin D & Me! website as an educational site for consumers to learn about the broad importance of vitamin D in health and wellness. The content transitions from its original purpose of offering a source of information on vitamin D in relationship to COVID-19 and immune health. For the past three years, the Vitamin D & Me! platform has allowed people to access the latest research, interviews, and educational content on vitamin D and COVID-19. The site summarized more than 100 studies, clinical trials and meta-analyses examining the relationship between vitamin and COVID-19.
CHPA’s Dr. Jay Sirois & Supplement Manufacturers Jointly Publish Paper on Safety Considerations
The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) shared the news that its Vice President of Regulatory & Scientific Affairs Jay Sirois, Ph.D., and several CHPA manufacturers co-authored Safety Considerations for Dietary Supplement Manufacturers in the United States, which has been published in the Journal of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology. “As the use of dietary supplements continues to increase in the United States, manufacturers should understand the importance of implementing a robust approach to establishing safety for all supplement ingredients, components, and finished products," said Dr. Sirois. "This peer-reviewed publication provides a comprehensive overview of safety assessment principles to consider when supporting the safety of dietary ingredients or supplements. Our paper reviews ingredient safety principles throughout the cycle of a finished dietary supplement product – from the evaluation of dietary ingredients to the manufacturing process and the monitoring of adverse events.
“Manufacturers of dietary supplements are responsible for ensuring that they have evidence supporting the safety of their products, and must follow regulatory requirements for manufacturing, packaging, labeling, and regularly monitor adverse events. This paper provides a helpful overview of safety assessment parameters companies can employ, in order to better ensure that safe products – backed by responsible science – are provided to consumers.”
Alkemist Labs Protects COAs Against Counterfeits
HealthLOQ announced that Alkemist Labs is the first analytical testing laboratory serving the natural products industry to fully protect their certificates of analysis (COAs) against counterfeits and unauthorized tampering using HealthLOQ’s document protection software. Alkemist Labs has protected the entirety of their almost 300,000 historical COAs from would-be bad actors, while protecting client confidentiality. Original, authentic documents are processed through an irreversible one-way encryption within the Alkemist Labs server environment, resulting in a "digital fingerprint" of the document. This digital fingerprint is then stored on an unalterable blockchain ledger and is perpetually available for comparison against the digital fingerprint of any purported authentic documents that have been processed by the same encryption algorithm.
MegaFood Joins "1% for the Planet"
MegaFood has joined 
Mananalu Water Partners World Surf League
The brand will be the exclusive canned water onsite at the World Surf League's North American events including the US Open of Surfing, WSL Finals, the Lexus Pipe Pro, and more. Mananalu will also be an Official Partner of WSL PURE, the league's 501C3, which runs an annual grant program to support global credible non-profit organizations focused on improving the health of global ocean ecosystems. Founded by ocean activist and actor Jason Momoa, Mananalu also partners with rePurpose Global to remove one water bottle's worth of plastic from ocean-bound waste for every bottle purchased. So far, the equivalent of 15 million bottles have been saved from entering the ocean. Mananalu's core flavors Pure, Tahitian Lime, and Lilikoi Passion are available on Amazon ($19.98/12 pack). Mananalu is made with no sweeteners, calories, or bubbles, offering just a hint of natural flavor essence with electrolytes added for taste. The water is bottled in infinitely recyclable aluminum with each bottle made up of at least 60% recycled aluminum. Mananalu is also responsibly and locally sourced, Climate Neutral, Plastic Negative, and 1% For The Planet.
Wild Idea Buffalo Becomes Regenerative Organic Certified
Wild Idea Buffalo Company has achieved Regenerative Organic Certified Silver, making it the first bison company and the first commercial meat company is in the U.S. to be certified under this program. For more than 25 years, Wild Idea has taken a strong stance on protecting the grasslands from conversion. The company shared that it has even rehabilitated degraded land by planting native grasses that provide cover for ground-nesting birds.
Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge Winners
The Seeding The Future Foundation and Institute of Food Technologists announced the Seeding The Future Grand Prize and Growth Grant winners for the Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge, which awards a total of $1 million annually for innovations that can transform food systems to be more equitable and lead to safe, nutritious and trusted food using sustainable practices. This year’s winning innovations include nutrient-dense porridges for schools in Zambia, solar cooling hubs for smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, an innovative approach to addressing food insecurity in Indonesia, novel nutritious and affordable composite flours for school feeding programs in Uganda, and a regenerative agriculture model helping farmers in India transition away from chemical-based farming approaches. Out of the more than 900 submissions from 78 countries this year, three Growth Grant winners (each receiving $100,000) and two Seeding The Future Grand Prize winners (each receiving $250,000) were selected. Growth Grants are awarded to organizations that have created food system innovations that are doable, have projected economic feasibility at scale and high-impact potential to improve the lives and health of people and the environment.
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Naandi Foundation, Association 3535, Kopernik, and Nurture Posterity International were among the winners.
dsm-firmenich Defends Patent for DHA Oils
Dsm-firmenich announced its victory before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), by defending a patent from an invalidation action recently levied by Mara Renewables Corporation. The USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) rejected Mara Renewables’ request for inter partes review (IPR) and cancellation of U.S. Patent No. 10,392,578. This patent protects certain dsm-firmenich innovations in providing nutritional lipids rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) omega-3 derived from an algal source. The PTAB concluded that there was no reasonable likelihood that petitioner Mara Renewables would prevail in invalidating a claim of the challenged patent. dsm-firmenich maintains its exclusive rights in the U.S. to certain microbial lipid compositions having, inter alia, DHA triglyceride fractions of 40 wt.% and higher.
