OptiMSM Claims In Canada: Health & Wellness Industry News Roundup

Bergstrom Nutrition joint health product OptiMSM gets more health claims from Health Canada; AHPA provides slack fill guidance; GOED At 10 Years; and more news in brief.

Canada Health Bergstrom's OptiMSM claims

Bergstrom Nutrition Inc. receives additional health claim approvals from Health Canada's Natural and Non-prescription Health Products Directorate for its joint health ingredient OptiMSM, the only branded methylsulfonylmethane manufactured in North America. The Vancouver, Wash., firm on Nov. 10 said the health claims allow formulas containing OptiMSM and marketed in Canada to address expanded health needs on labels:

• “Helps to reduce joint stiffness associated with osteoarthritis. Helps to temporarily improve joint function in osteoarthritis”
• “Helps to maintain skin health. Helps to reduce fine lines and wrinkles.”
• “Helps to temporarily reduce muscle pain and discomfort immediately after exercise.”
• “Supports antioxidant capacity after exercise. Reduces cell membrane damage after exercise. Reduces exercise-induced oxidative stress.”

AHPA's slack fill guidance

The American Herbal Products Association publishes slack-fill guidance to help herbal and other supplement firms inform consumers and comply with relevant federal requirements, the association announced Nov. 2. Lawsuits are growing in California that allege supplement, food and personal care companies are deceiving consumers with slack fill, defined as the difference between the capacity of a container and the volume of product inside. AHPA's guidance discusses when slack fill is misleading, how much empty space is too much and functional slack fill exceptions. Class action defense lawyers have advised the OTC drug, food and consumer products industry about the threat of litigation from slack fill, suggesting companies that package products with extra space document their reasons for doing so. (Also see "Documenting Slack Fill Reasons Can Fill In Blanks During Litigation" - HBW Insight, 2 Jul, 2015.)

GOED At 10 Years

The Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s marks its 10^th anniversary noting that the US and Canada have not set daily recommended intake levels for eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic fatty acids. GOED, founded in 2006 with 10 members as a spin-off of a Council for Responsible Nutrition omega-3 working group and currently representing more than 200 companies, said another area of focus is challenges making omega-3 science and safety known worldwide. In the trade group's Nov. 14 release, Executive Director Adam Ismail said 3,000 "human clinical trials have yielded positive results and establish the importance of EPA and DHA omega-3s for improving public health."

GOED also announced its board officers: Chairman Tom Feeley, vice president-planning and operations at Royal DSM NV, succeeding Leslie Van der Meulen, BioProcess Algae LLC general manager, who will serve on the board as past-chair; Carilyn Anderson, Carlson Labs Inc. president, continues as secretary and treasurer.

Nutritional High expands

Nutritional High International Inc., a developer and marketer of hemp- and marijuana-infused products including edibles and oil extracts for nutritional, medical and recreational use, agrees to acquire 40% interest in Toronto-based marijuana health clinic Aura Health Corp. and its Delaware subsidiary, Green Global Properties Inc. Ontario-based NHI also will make a short-term loan of $120,000, bearing 12% interest per annum, to Aura Health. “As we help Aura Health to develop its clinic business, we believe Aura will become an important partner in distribution of Nutritional High product in various key medical marijuana markets including Nevada and Florida, where additional clinics are planned,” NHI CEO Jim Frazier says.

Reliv preps Fit3 for launch

[Reliv International Inc.] announces its Fit3 product line and nutritional program are “being tested by a group of distributors, with a launch planned for early 2017.” In its third-quarter earnings release on Nov. 11, the Chesterfield, Mo., firm, which markets the LunaRich soy supplement line, said sales declined 11.5% to $10.8m. Net income in the period reached $134,000, compared to a net loss of $289,000 in the year-ago period.

BiPro whey protein endorsers

BiPro USA signs professional triathletes Kirsten Kasper and Taylor Spivey to endorse the brand's whey protein isolate products, the Eden Prairie, Minn., division of Agropur Inc. said Nov. 8. BiPro also is the official protein supplement of Miami FC, which competes in the North American Soccer League, and has signed a deal with professional pole vaulter Kaitlin Petrillose.