Benicia, CA-based InterHealth Nutraceuticals announced that its Meratrim weight-management ingredient was found to be safe in several in vitro and in vivo toxicity tests, one of which was “a sub-chronic repeated-dose 90-day oral toxicity study that was conducted by a third party GLP lab,” says the company. The data will be published in Food and Chemical Toxicology.

Embria Health Sciences of Ankeny, IA, recently finished an online survey of 1,019 adults showing strong brand awareness for EpiCor. Participants answered 19 questions, and 10% of supplements users had heard of EpiCor, 17% of immune health supplements users had heard of the ingredient. Eight percent of the general population were aware of EpiCor. Also of interest, 48% stated that they are most likely to take a supplement everyday for immune health, while only 5% wanted to take a supplement since they were already ill.

Carotech, with U.S. offices in Edison, NJ, changed its name to ExcelVite Inc. The company will market EVNol (formerly Tocomin), EVNol SupraBio (formerly Tocomin SupraBio), EVTene (formerly Caromin), EVRol (formerly Stelessterol) and more.

A new white paper from Nammex is available on wholefoodsmagazine.com/white-papers. The paper presents data suggesting differences between mycelium products made on a grain substrate versus a mushroom or mushroom extract.

Enzymotec, with U.S. offices in Morristown, NJ, announced that its INFAT ingredient received a patent from the Australian Patent and Trademark Office for promoting beneficial gut flora and reducing crying in infants.

Aker BioMarine of Oslo, Norway, made a $500,000 commitment to the new Antarctic Wildlife Research (AWR) Fund. Elisabeth Røkke of Aker BioMarine stated, “There are many sustainability programs out there, but few that include mechanisms for the consumer to get involved in a meaningful way. The AWR addresses that by involving them in opportunities to contribute to the solution.” In addition, Aker BioMarine says a three-year Australian Research Council collaboration project will begin to facilitate critical research on krill biology.
 
Published in WholeFoods Magazine, April 2015