US startup racing to finshline in Asia
San Francisco start-up, JUST, are racing to be the first company to bring cell-based meat to the market. Majority of cell-based meat companies are based in the US or Europe, but interestingly, JUST is looking to launch in Asia sometime this year – reason being because they’ve identified Asia as an up-and-coming hotspot for cellular agriculture. The region has seen several cell and plant-based meat developments, including Shiok Meats and Avant Meats that have developed cultured fish and crustacean alternatives.
Read more at The Spoon
German drug association pressures EU for regulation
Germany’s drug industry association (BPI) is putting pressure on the EU to clarify laws surrounding unapproved health claims for botanical foods and supplements. BPI feels that laws for nutraceuticals and other health consumables are not as strict as for medicine, leading to concerns of product safety and false advertising. The BPI is especially concerned for botanical products, with BPI COO stating: “If federal government is serious about improving labelling and thus increasing consumer protection, then it must finally push the EU to have all botanicals evaluated by EFSA.”
Read more at BPI Newsroom
Amyris and LAVVAN partner up
Amyris, leader in the development and production of sustainable ingredients, has announced its partnership with LAVVAN, and signed a final agreement for cannabinoid development, licensing and commercialisation – containing $300 million of R&D, milestone payments, plus long-term royalties. The agreement between Amyris and LAVVAN, a newly-formed company, intends to bring the first fermentation-derived cannabinoid products to market. “Our partner believes that we are the only company with the capability to globally commercialise CBD and bring cannabinoid products to consumer brands at a scale and consistency that will enable several product categories to achieve success,” says John Melo, Amyris President & CEO.
Read more at Amyris
Peppermint's healing powers
A recent study has investigated peppermint essential oil for its antibacterial and accelerative healing effect in infected wounds. While the findings provide an alternative to synthetic chemical products currently on the market, they are limited due essential oils being sensitive to environment, having poor membrane permeability and high volatility. Nanocarriers could help overcome these barriers. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of peppermint essential oil (PEO) loaded into nanostructured lipid carriers (PEO-NLC) on In-vitro antibacterial activity and In-vivo infected wound healing in mice model. The study found that the PEO-NLC accelerated the healing process of infected wounds by decreasing tissue bacterial count.
Read the full study at ScienceDirect
More CBD status confusion
Regulatory bodies and associations met this week to deliberate classification of CBD as a novel food. In a presentation by European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA), it highlights CBD’s history of use, ruling it out as suitable for novel food status. If CBD is classified to a novel food, products will encounter greater difficulty entering the EU market. The EIHA urges the European Commission to reconsider its classification and to recognise hemp extracts with naturally occurring CBD levels as traditional in food – leaving them on market shelves.
Read the full presentation at EIHA
