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.
January 9, 2019
Irish goverment set to subject food supplements to 23% VAT
Over the past 40 years, most food supplements have traditionally carried a 0% VAT rate, however Irish government are set to subject food supplements to the standard 23% tax rate from 1 March 2019. Probiotics, sports nutrition supplements, and Omega 3 fatty acids, for example, are expected to be taxed while other products such as certain folic acid, and select vitamins and minerals will be exempt.
Read more at Revenue, Irish Tax and Customs
Arla Foods Ingredients launches new comfort concept for infant formula
Infant formulas contain significantly more protein than human milk. Since protein is hard to digest, this can lead to gastrointestinal discomfort issues in infants. Arla Foods Ingredients has launched a new optimised comfort concept for infant formula containing alpha-lactalbumin, the most abundant protein in human milk. The new concept also includes whey protein hydrolysates (high-quality proteins already broken down by enzymes), as well as other protein ingredients – all geared toward gastrointestinal comfort in infants.
Read more at Vitafoods Insights
Cargill Q2 results indicate profit drop due to trade disruption
Cargill have reported Q2 results showing a profit drop across the ‘Food Ingredients & Applications’ segment. Key figures:
Operating earnings were $853 million, 10% down from the $948 million earned in last year’s comparative period. This brought first-half earnings to $1.74 billion – 5% down from the prior year.
Net earnings on a US GAAP basis for the quarter were $741 million – 20% decline from $924 million in the year-ago period. For the half-year, net earnings dipped 7% to finish on $1.76 billion.
Second-quarter revenues decreased by 4% to $28 billion, bringing the year-to-date figure to $56.7 billion.
Read the report at Cargill
New drying technique opens the door to new combination cranberry-fibre ingredient
Ingredient manufacturer Taiyo is developing a new drying technique, said to have polyphenol-protecting properties, to differentiate its combination cranberry-fibre ingredient – SunCran Naturelle. The ingredient is a combination of an organic cranberry powder from Fruit D’Or and Taiyo’s Sunfiber, a dietary fibre additive. Powders are conventionally dried using heat, but Fruit d’Or’s juice powder is dried using a technology called INFIDRI – infrared light that forces the water molecules out of the original liquid solution. The wavelength targets the water without exerting energy into the polyphenols, thereby better preserving their antioxidant benefits and improving bioactivity.
