Beyond The Headlines: Goli Nutrition launches synbiotic supplement, Beech-Nut reveals veggie and probiotic-infused biscuits

24 Mar 2023 --- This week in nutrition news, Goli Nutrition launched what it hailed as the “world’s first” pre-, post- and probiotic gummy. Also, Beech-Nut revealed its new range of veggie and probiotic biscuits for toddlers. Meanwhile, Kansas Protein Foods - ADM Nutrition presented a sustainable range of textured soy vegetable protein sausage.

In brief: Nutrition news
Goli Nutrition launched what it hailed as the “world’s first,” all-inclusive, pre-, pro- and postbiotic gummy.Goli Nutrition’s new product, “World’s First 3-in-1 Pre+Post+Probiotics Gummy,” which combines pre-, pro- and postbiotics in a single gummy. The company states that the product is formulated with prebiotic xylooligosaccharides, the probiotic strain Bacillus Subtilis DE11 and the postbiotic Lactobacillus paracasei MCC1849. Moreover, Goli Nutrition stated that the prebiotics provide fuel for the probiotics and the innovative postbiotics. Goli said that the synbiotic offering will help maintain a healthy gut microbiome, aid in digestion and support immune health.

Beech-Nut Nutrition Company launched Dino Biscuits with Hidden Veggies and Dino Biscuits with prebiotics designed for toddlers aged 12 months and above. The company said the biscuits are made with fruits, veggies and whole grains and have no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Each 5 oz resealable bag contains herbivore dinosaur shapes, like Triceratops, Stegosaurus and Brachiosaurus. Dino Biscuits with Hidden Veggies contain pumpkin, butternut squash and carrots, while Dino Biscuits with Prebiotics are baked with fruit and yogurt. Both varieties are Non-GMO.

Kansas Protein Foods – ADM Nutrition, a manufacturer of sustainable textured soy protein products, launched Imagic Plant-Based Sausage Products. The flavored ready-to-eat textured vegetable protein is made from soy flour and has been formulated to resemble cooked sausage crumbles in flavor, aroma, texture and color. According to the company, the structure of the product enables it to hydrate and retain moisture during rigorous processing and cooking.

Natural Balance and Canidae, two premium pet food brands, announced their merger, combining their complementary offerings to drive innovation and growth. The combined company will offer Canidae’s Pure, Goodness and All Life Stages brands, along with Natural Balance’s Limited Ingredient and Original Ultra product lines. L Catterton, the majority shareholder of Canidae, and Nexus Capital Management, the majority shareholder of Natural Balance, said they are each contributing growth capital to support the integration and strategic long-term expansion of the combined company.

In brief: Business newsNatural Balance and Canidae merged with the intention of driving innovation in the pet food space.
Kerry opened its Southern Europe Innovation Center in Barcelona, Spain, combining its existing office with a new customer suite and applications labs to serve Spain, Portugal, Italy and France. According to the company, the center will work closely with customers in the region to provide solutions for retail manufacturing and foodservice across F&B categories. Kerry’s technology centers in Vigo and Granada, France’s Grasse and Italy’s Mozzo will support the new facility. Kerry states that the opening of the new center brings its investments in Iberia to more than €200 million (US$214.7 million) in the last four years. Juan Soto, VP and general manager for Kerry South Europe, said the investment would allow the company to respond to customer needs at pace and allow for the delivery of sustainable nutrition to consumers.

Arzeda has announced a collaboration with Takeda to deploy AI-based protein design to optimize protein biologics. The partnership will enable Takeda to utilize Arzeda’s Intelligent Protein Design Technology to accelerate the optimization of proteins incorporated into therapeutic products. The collaboration will apply computational design and machine learning algorithms to improve therapeutic proteins in Takeda’s research pipeline. Arzeda stated that its platform aims to address significant challenges associated with drug development that could lead to transformative therapies for patients. 

The DIC Corporation has partnered with biotech start-up Debut to jointly produce and sell polyphenols for use in the cosmetics and nutrition industries. Polyphenols are naturally occurring organic compounds that are commonly found in plants and extracted for use as natural extracts in consumer products. Debut states that its proprietary biomanufacturing technology allows the stable production of active ingredients with high levels of purity and concentration, overcoming challenges to commercialization due to low yields and cost considerations. The partnership will enable the selective and stable production of what the companies say are many rare and naturally-derived organic compounds. DIC and Debut plan to break ground on the construction of a biomanufacturing facility in the US this year and will use  DIC’s distribution network to launch global sales for use in the cosmetics space in 2024.

Researchers found that reducing salt intake could have significant impacts for patients with hypertension.Nexira has reported a turnover of €224.3 million (US$241 million) for the 2021/22 financial year, up from €134 million (IS$144 million) in 2020/21, with the acquisition of Unipektin Ingredients AG boosting consolidated total sales reported at 66%. The company states that the results were driven by “organic growth, recent acquisitions and strategic partnerships,” which allowed for the production of novel natural ingredients and patented active agents derived from the acquisition of intellectual property. The company further said it has been focusing on diversification to position itself higher in new growth markets for the past 15 years.

In brief: Scientific studies
A clinical trial published in the Journal of Internal Medicine found that moderate salt restriction had health benefits for patients with primary aldosteronism. Primary aldosteronism occurs when the adrenal glands produce too much aldosterone, which studies have shown increases the risk of cardiovascular disease when combined with high dietary salt intake. The main treatment for primary aldosteronism is mineralocorticoid antagonists, but experts note that these do not completely normalize the elevated cardiovascular risk. The team of researchers investigated whether salt restriction would benefit patients and found that moderate salt restriction, combined with a dedicated smartphone app for motivation, reduced blood pressure and depressive symptoms without any adverse effects. The study’s findings could help improve care for patients with primary aldosteronism and subgroups of patients with hypertension.

A new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, suggests that girls born to mothers with obesity or high amounts of body fat may be at higher risk of gaining excess body fat themselves. The study found that girls had similar BMI and fat mass to their mothers, while no such association was found between boys and their mothers or either girls or boys and their fathers. The researchers measured body fat and muscle in 240 children and their parents in early childhood to determine whether the BMI and amount of body fat and muscle in the children were related to that of their parents.

By William Bradford Nichols