Costa Mesa, CA-based Alkemist Labs has a new program intended to educate the industry about successful product testing. The company has addressed how to select a testing lab, why products fail tests, how phytochemical reference standards support GMP compliance and more. The company is distributing information in its monthly Lab Notes newsletter; those interested can sign up to receive it at Alkemist.com.

AstaReal Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Fuji Chemical Industries Co., Ltd. of Japan, celebrated the one-year anniversary of its natural algae astaxanthin production facility in Moses Lake, WA, in May. Several local elected representatives were present. The plant cultivates algae fully indoors in a controlled photobioreactor system.

Denali BioTechnologies of Homer, AK, announced that its trademarked Femillea (from boreal yarrow), SureBet (from high-latitude birch bark) and Akanax (from Alaska ginseng) all received certificates of registration. The company also has new filings for its ProVitis lingonberry and EmpaCyan high-anthocyanin Arctic crowberry. 

Parabel of Melbourne won the Future Ingredients Showcase Award 2015 during the 9th Annual American Food Technology & Innovation Summit in Chicago. The company was honored for its Lentein protein, which is said to contain more essential amino acids than soy or pea protein. Parabel extracts plant protein from aqua-farmed water lentils.

InterHealth Nutraceuticals, Inc. of Benicia, CA, has acquired Next Pharmaceuticals of Salinas, CA, which makes branded raw materials such as Relora, Sytrinol, Seditol and Nexrutine. In other news, the company announced that its Super CitriMax Garcinia cambogia is now LabDoor certified. The firm tested this ingredient for the active component HCA and for heavy metals.

Kennesaw, GA-based Deerland Enzymes redesigned DeerlandEnzymes.com. The new site is said to offer better functionality, more content and a YourBlend Formulator and Educator tool.

A research team headed by Bergstrom Nutrition of Vancouver, WA, published data in Clinical Pharmacology & Biopharmaceutics suggesting that MSM supplements boost levels of MSM in the blood. They conclude, “The pattern of increase varies somewhat from subject to subject, although all individuals experience an increase of approximately 1-3 mM after 2-4 weeks of supplementation.” The study involved 20 healthy men who took 3 g of MSM daily for a month.

Published in WholeFoods Magazine, July 2015 (online 6/11/2015)