USA/ Europe
Aker bullish over krill sector’s potential vs the rest of the omega-3 category
Norway’s Aker Biomarine is predicting the krill oil subset of the omega-3s realm to outperform the sector as a whole in 2020.
The Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED), of which Aker is a member, reported recently that the overall omega-3 market grew by a modest 2.3% in 2018, and is dominated by common refined oils, the vast majority of which come from the anchovy fishery in Peru and Chile. Those oils accounted for 40,754 metric tons in 2019.
Krill, on the other hand, is a minor player, at 859 tons of volume in the same time frame. But by value the ingredient makes up a larger share of the market, and it’s a share that is expected to grow, Matts Johansen, Aker’s CEO, told NutraIngredients-USA.
“I think 2019 is going to be the best year we’ve had from a growth standpoint,” Johansen told NutraIngredients-USA. “We think the growth of krill is actually starting to accelerate.”
The potential growth is coming from different areas, said Johansen, including developments in the pharmaceutical category, better economies of scale, and increased resources for education and marketing.
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Europe
UK politicians urged to act on folic acid fortification
Leading British nutrition experts are urging the country’s politicians to introduce mandatory fortification of flour and grains with folic acid to help prevent children being born with Neural Tube Defects (NTD). The UK is expecting a final decision soon after a 12-week public consultation.
Sir Nicholas Wald, Professor at St George’s, University of London and University College London, said: “Britain’s past failure to fortify flour and grains with folic acid is a missed public health opportunity. It is like having a vaccine for polio and not using it.
“It is more than a disappointment that UK funded research published nearly 30 years ago has not been fully used in the UK to improve the health and well-being of its citizens who paid for the research.”
Currently, 84 countries fortify industrially milled wheat flour, maize products and/or rice with folic acid, according to data from the Food Fortification Initiative (FFI). A meta-analysis published in 2010 showed an overall 46% reduction in neural tube defects such as spina bifida and anencephaly in countries where wheat flour was fortified with this B vitamin.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has listed the prevention of neural tube defects through flour fortification amongst its list of 10 great health achievements in the US.
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Asia
Musashi enters India’s sports nutrition market after favorable regulatory change
Australian firm Vitaco recently launched its sports nutrition brand Musashi in India. The country’s sports nutrition market is expected to double in size over the next five years.
“The market is worth about USD$200m in sports nutrition, and is the fastest growing market in the world, about 14% to 15% growth and we expect the next five years of the Indian sports nutrition market will double in size,” Vitaco’s CEO Craig Kearney told NutraIngredients-Asia.
He added that the Indian government was increasing its focus on sports success, which also provided good opportunities for sports nutrition firms.
In its home markets of Australia and New Zealand, Vitaco reportedly has a 30% share of the sports nutrition market.
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