Regulatory issues related to functional foods and natural health products in Canada: possible implications for manufacturers of conjugated linoleic acid.
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The Canadian Food and Drugs Act and Regulations, through its definitions of food and drug, currently restricts health-related claims for foods, food ingredients, and natural health products (NHPs). Over the past few decades, scientific research has led to a large body of information that demonstrates the benefits for health of many food and NHP ingredients. Health Canada recognized the constraints of the current regulatory environment and started to develop regulations related to the allowance of health claims for functional foods and NHPs, including those foods and NHPs that would contain conjugated linoleic acid isomers. Health Canada has 3 initiatives under way in the area of health claims for foods: 1) to adopt the generic health claims of the United States within a Canadian context, 2) to develop scientific standards of evidence and a guidance document for supporting the validity of product-specific claims, and 3) to develop an overall regulatory framework for functional foods. In 2000, Health Canada announced approval for the use of 5 generic diet-related health claims: sodium and hypertension, calcium and osteoporosis, saturated and trans fat and cholesterol and coronary artery disease, fruits and vegetables and cancer, and sugar alcohols and dental caries. Under a separate initiative, Natural Health Products Regulations were published in the Canada Gazette Part II on June 18, 2003. The NHP Regulations came into force on January 1, 2004, with a transition period ranging from 2 y (for site licensing) to 6 y (for product licensing, for products already issued a drug identification number). (+info)
The basis for setting the upper range of adequate intake for regulation of macronutrient intakes, especially amino acids.
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The comparison of actual intakes of essential amino acids to the dietary reference intakes indicates that amino acid supply is likely not a public health concern in industrialized countries. This fact does not preclude the interest in specific amino acid intake in some physiological or pathological situations in targeted subgroups of the population. Thus, the addition of amino acids to some food vehicles to create functional foods will be regulated by public authorities in different ways according to the regulatory contexts specific to each country. The main issues to be considered are, however, the same: safety of the product and justification of the health claim accompanying the product's promotion. In addition to classical scientific data, the use of Monte Carlo simulations can be a useful tool to support the choice of the food vehicle and the amounts added to this food, and to demonstrate both safety and possible efficacy of the functional food in the targeted population. (+info)
Barriers to buying healthy foods for people with diabetes: evidence of environmental disparities.
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OBJECTIVES: A community coalition compared the availability and cost of diabetes-healthy foods in a racial/ethnic minority neighborhood in East Harlem, with those in the adjacent, largely White and affluent Upper East Side in New York City. METHODS: We documented which of 173 East Harlem and 152 Upper East Side grocery stores stocked 5 recommended foods. RESULTS: Overall, 18% of East Harlem stores stocked recommended foods, compared with 58% of stores in the Upper East Side (P <.0001). Only 9% of East Harlem bodegas (neighborhood stores) carried all items (vs 48% of Upper East Side bodegas), though East Harlem had more bodegas. East Harlem residents were more likely than Upper East Side residents (50% vs 24%) to have stores on their block that did not stock recommended foods and less likely (26% vs 30%) to have stores on their block that stocked recommended foods. CONCLUSIONS: A greater effort needs to be made to make available stores that carry diabetes-healthy foods. (+info)
Interactions between medicines and functional foods or dietary supplements.
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Recently, the demand for supplements has steadily been increasing with the diffusion of alternative and supplemental medicines throughout the world. Therefore, the supplements have frequently been taken with many drugs. Here, we have introduced the pharmacokinetic and pharmacological interactions between them. (+info)
Enumeration and diversity of campylobacters and bacteriophages isolated during the rearing cycles of free-range and organic chickens.
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Campylobacters and Campylobacter-specific bacteriophages were isolated and enumerated during the rearing cycle of free-range (56 days) and organic chickens (73 days) at 3-day intervals from hatching until slaughter. In both flocks Campylobacter jejuni was the initial colonizer but Campylobacter coli was detected more frequently from 5 weeks of age. The diversity of the Campylobacter isolates was examined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of SmaI-digested genomic DNA and antimicrobial resistance typing. Bacteriophages were isolated from 51% (19 of 37 birds) of Campylobacter-positive organic birds (log10 2.5 to log10 5.7 PFU/g of cecal contents). The bacteriophages were all typical group III Campylobacter bacteriophages in terms of genomic size but could be characterized in terms of their host range and placed into five different groups. In contrast to the organic birds, anti-Campylobacter activity (bacteriocin-like) was observed in 26% (10 of 38 birds) of Campylobacter-positive free-range birds, and only one bacteriophage was isolated. Appearance of either bacteriophages or anti-Campylobacter activity was associated with changes in the levels of colonization and the predominant genotypes and species isolated. The frequency and potential influence of naturally occurring bacteriophages and/or inhibitory substances on the diversity and fluctuations of populations of campylobacters have not previously been reported in either free-range or organic chickens. (+info)
Market and product assessment of probiotic/prebiotic-containing functional foods and supplements manufactured in South Africa.
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OBJECTIVES: Probiotic and prebiotic products manufactured in South Africa were identified and health and content claims stated on the labels were evaluated according to available scientific evidence, the proposed South African regulations in the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act (Act No. 54 of 1972, www.doh.gov.za), and microbial assessment. RESULTS: The range of products identified included probiotic- and/or prebiotic-containing supplements (capsules), food items fortified with probiotics and/or prebiotics, and fermented food containing probiotics, e.g. dairy products. Most of the health-related claims on the labels of the identified products do not comply with proposed South African regulations. However, results also indicate that the proposed South African regulations should be reconsidered to include an additional 5 claims, for which scientifically sound evidence is available. The claims regarding probiotic strains, viable cell numbers, prebiotic type and concentration stated on the labels of the products are mostly in line with the proposed South African regulations. The actual viable cell content of 3 out of 5 probiotic supplements readily available on the South African market did not comply with the content claim stated on the label. However, this problem did not seem to affect the inhibitory activity of the probiotic strains against indicator strains isolated from faeces of patients diagnosed with AIDS. To validate this finding in vivo assessments should be implemented before considering the need to include a wider range of prescribed viable cell numbers in the proposed South African regulations. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed South African regulations regarding probiotic- and prebiotic-containing products should be revised based on the results of this research, and the manufacturers of these products should be held responsible for providing the consumer with scientifically sound and legally correct information. (+info)
Fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter isolates from conventional and antibiotic-free chicken products.
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The use of fluoroquinolones (FQs) in poultry production is an important issue in public health today. In February 2002, two prominent U.S. poultry companies pledged to stop using FQs for flock-wide treatment. One year later, we began a survey of Campylobacter isolates on chicken products from these two companies and from two producers claiming total abstention from antibiotic use. Using both standard isolation methods and new methods modified to enhance detection of FQ-resistant Campylobacter, we compared rates of FQ-resistant Campylobacter among these products. Four major findings were drawn from this study: a) antibiotic-free brands were not more likely to be contaminated with Campylobacter; b) a high percentage of products from the two conventional brands were contaminated with FQ-resistant Campylobacter (43 and 96%); c) these conventional brands had significantly higher odds of carrying resistant strains compared with antibiotic-free products; and d) supplementing media with FQs increased the sensitivity of detecting FQ-resistant strains among mixed populations of Campylobacter, thus reducing a bias toward underestimating the prevalence of FQ-resistant Campylobacter on samples. These results suggest that FQ resistance may persist in the commercial poultry environment in the absence of FQ-selective pressure and that these strains contaminate a larger proportion of foods than reported previously. (+info)
Reparative properties of a commercial fish protein hydrolysate preparation.
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BACKGROUND: A partially hydrolysed and dried product of pacific whiting fish is currently marketed as a health food supplement to support "intestinal health". However, there has been only limited scientific study regarding its true biological activity. AIMS: We therefore tested its efficacy in a variety of models of epithelial injury and repair. METHODS: Effects on proliferation were determined using [(3)H] thymidine incorporation into epithelial rat intestinal RIE-1 and human colonic HT29 cells. Effects on restitution (cell migration) were analysed using wounded HT29 monolayers and its ability to influence gastric injury analysed using a rat indomethacin restraint model. Partial characterisation of bioactive agents was performed using mass spectroscopy, high pressure liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography. RESULTS: Both cell proliferation and cell migration were increased by about threefold when added at 1 mg/ml (p<0.01). Gastric injury was reduced by 59% when gavaged at 25 mg/ml (p<0.05), results similar to using the potent cytoprotective agent epidermal growth factor at 12.5 mug/ml. The vast majority of biological activity was soluble in ethanol, with glutamine in its single, di-, and tripeptide forms probably accounting for approximately 40% of the total bioactivity seen. Fatty acid constituents may also have contributed to cell migratory activity. CONCLUSIONS: Fish protein hydrolysate possesses biological activity when analysed in a variety of models of injury and repair and could provide a novel inexpensive approach for the prevention and treatment of the injurious effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and other ulcerative conditions of the bowel. Further studies appear justified. (+info)