Across the Nutra-verse: Probiota Americas announces new dates, Glanbia's global supplement survey, and more

30-Mar-2020 - Last updated on 30-Mar-2020 at 13:21 GMT

A lot has happened in the global nutrition industry over the past seven days, the majority of which is linked to the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Stay on top of things with our weekly round-up of key news from across the nutra-verse.

Global

Worldwide supplement survey highlights key consumer trends

A global survey of dietary supplement users from Glanbia Nutritionals found that consumers need more education on heart health ingredients, there is a desire for specific benefits such as mental health, and there are regional differences among supplement consumers.

Top line data collected from the US, the UK, and China, Glanbia Nutritionals’ 2019 Global Dietary Supplement Survey showed that general health is the top category across all regions, but that heart health and healthy aging were numbers two and three in the US, while the UK-based respondents listed joint health and mental health as second and third, respectively.

For more on this, please click HERE.

USA

IPA World Congress + Probiota Americas 2020 postponed until November

The IPA World Congress + Probiota Americas has been postponed until November 16-18, 2020 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel, Washington DC.

The event was originally scheduled for May 27-29, but has been postponed in light of the ongoing novel Coronavirus (COVID19) public health emergency.

IPA World Congress + Probiota Americas is the leading annual event for the prebiotic, probiotic and the microbiota-focused food and pharma industries in the Americas. The event is hosted by NutraIngredients-USA, a leading publication for William Reed Business Media, and is run in association with the International Probiotics Association.

George Paraskevakos, IPA’s Executive Director, commented: “Given the ongoing fluid situation, this is an important decision for the health and safety of the probiotics and prebiotics community. The IPA World Congress + Probiota Americas is a key fixture in the annual calendar, and by postponing until November we are confident that it will be able to showcase the best information for the probiotic, prebiotic, and microbiome-related industries.

“Until then, IPA will continue to be the Global Voice of Probiotics® during these challenging times and wish our members and industry friend’s good health.”

For more on this, please click HERE.

Europe

Italian authorities crack down on e-retailer coronavirus claims

Italy’s Competition and Market Authority (AGCM) has ordered an online retailer to stop using preventive claims against the coronavirus to sell supplement, cosmetic and detergent products.

AGCM stated that it had started an investigation into the activities of the Naples-based website ‘carlitashop,’ and its related Instagram pages, ‘carlitashop_online’ and ‘theCarlitadolce.’

Both pages promote its ‘Supplement Antivirale Manuka,’ that uses the hashtag ‘#coronavirus’ as well as statements describing the product’s antiviral capabilities and efficacy in tackling the COVID-19 virus.

“The adoption of an emergency measure was deemed essential in order to stop the spread of an extremely serious practice, such as to make the intervention of the Authority indifferent,” the AGCM says.

“The Authority considers the methods used to promote these products are deceptive and aggressive, as the site takes advantage of consumers’ ability to assess the situation due to the ever-changing increase in the number of subjects infected by COVID-19.”

For more on this story, please click HERE.