Irish MEP Marian Harkin has become one of the most vocal European parliamentary opponents of the interpretation and application of the EU nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR), and she was not appeased by EC and EFSA statements at a specially convened parliamentary meeting in Brussels yesterday.

Sight and Life began 25 years ago as a vitamin A-delivering emergency response to the Ethiopian famines of the mid-1980s.

Ten years ago the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) was established to fight rampant malnutrition in the developing world via micronutrient fortification programmes. But for a long time, it struggled to effect change in the face of logistical, financial and educational challenges.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) should discount probiotic studies that have passed peer-review and been published in even the most prestigious nutrition science journals, because the peer-review process itself “is overrated”, says a leading consultant.

Mapping the microbiome and the increasing sophistication of gene sequencing and analysis have in just a few years completely changed the research landscape for microbiota, and looks set to answer many to-date unresolved ‘mechanism of action’ questions.

Today the European Commission meets to decide whether or not to send the controversial European Union health claims register to the European Parliament – now is no time to abort the process says European ingredients giant, Beneo.

Changes to dietary patterns could help to slash the risk of type 2 diabetes by around 50 percent, according to the winner of this year’s Alpro Foundation award.

Intra-regional finesse is a necessity not a luxury when it comes to doing business in the many markets of the Asia-Pacific, as leading suppliers Chr Hansen and Danisco relayed at the recent Vitafoods Asia trade show in Hong Kong.

A growing middle class with rising disposable income is fuelling a rapid increase in demand for dairy ingredients in China and Southeast Asia, and North American dairy cooperative Agropur is finding opportunities in some specific market sectors.

Campaigns against vitamin D deficiency have gained prominence in the western world but the dietary issue is just as relevant in Asia, according to supplier DSM, even if sunlight hours are greater than most regions.