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Industry digest: R&D at the forefront

Article-Industry digest: R&D at the forefront

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Every week we collect the latest trends and research across the health and nutrition space, helping you catch up on current industry news and highlights.

Bottle full of sunshine

Vitamin D has overtaken Vitamin C as the UK’s top single supplement, according to Mintel. According to research, Vitamin D is used by 33% of Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements (VMS) users, up by 7% from 2017. Usage has ticked upwards across all age groups, but 35-54-year-olds are the main drivers, with usage rising from 22% in 2017 to 35% in 2018 among this group. Britain’s top five single vitamin supplements are Vitamin D (33%), Vitamin C (27%), Vitamin B complex (15%), Vitamin A (12%) and Vitamin E (10%). Over the past year, six in ten (59%) Brits have taken VMS, and the market is estimated to reach £442 million in 2018, a rise of 6% from 2013. The sector forecast to grow 8% to reach £477 million in 2023.
Read more at Mintel

Nuritas and Pharmavite join forces

Nuritas and Pharmavite have entered a ‘discovery and option’ agreement to transform the dietary supplements industry with targeted bioactive peptides. “Consumers are increasingly seeking natural products but with the highest possible levels of scientific evidence to support their efficacy,” says Neil Foster, head of strategic partnerships at Nuritas. Nuritas will deploy its proven technology platform, which combines artificial intelligence and DNA analysis to predict, unlock, and validate bioactive peptide ingredients. Pharmavite will use its quality, science-based capabilities and applications expertise to formulate the discovered bioactive peptides into consumer dose forms and validate the efficacy of these new discoveries within clinical trials.
Read more at Nuritas

Nestlé’s new baby

Nestlé has opened its first Research and Development Centre in Ireland, at its existing manufacturing facility in Limerick. The centre marks the completion of a three-year building programme with a capital investment of €27million. The new R&D centre will focus on scientific research to support innovations in the development of milk-based maternal and infant nutrition products for the global market. “With this new centre, we will increase the pace of our innovation capacity by enabling our scientists to explore innovative nutritional solutions for the crucial first 1,000 days of life,” said Thomas Hauser, head of global product and technology development for Nestlé.
Read more at Nestlé

Review declares sweeteners as safe

Over the last five years, the potential impact of low and no calorie sweeteners (LNCS) on the microbiome has been a subject of debate. A new review, Assessing the in-vivo data on low/no-calorie sweeteners and the gut microbiota, published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, is the basis of the following summary of the science on this issue. The review concluded: “Safety has been well-documented over decades for acesulfame K, aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, and steviol glycosides, indicating that these low or no-calorie sweeteners as a group, or individually, do not pose any safety concerns at their currently approved levels.”
Read the review at Calorie Control Council

Hilton Hotels go even greener

Hilton Hotels announced its first vegan suite inside the Bankside location, London. The suite features cruelty-free amenities such as non-goose down pillows, pineapple ‘leather’ furniture, cruelty-free toiletry products, vegan mini bar and snacks, as well as an extensive vegan room service menu.
Read more at VegNews