Originally published February 21 2006
Fear of animal diseases promotes the use of vegetarian ingredients by food companies
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Public reaction against BSE in cattle and avian influenza has caused food companies like DSM Nutritional Products to formulate products with vegetarian ingredients to put consumer fears to rest.
Scares such as BSE in cattle and avian 'flu in poultry have prompted consumers and marketers to cast about for supplements containing no animal derivatives, and that means ingredient companies are having to reconsider the carriers they use or develop synthetic variants or seek out vegetarian sources for many of their products.
Lukas Christian, global product manager for beta-carotene at DSM Nutritional Products, told NutraIngredients.com that he believes the demand for non-animal ingredients stems not so much from growing numbers of traditional vegetarians, but from people who are concerned about diseases in certain animal species.
DSM yesterday announced the launch of its new non-animal synthetic beta-carotene BetaTab 20% S, which joins CaroCare 7.5% percent beta carotene (from the Blakeslea trispora microorganism), All-Q coenzyme Q10, Optisharp zeaxanthin, lutein, vitamin A and vitamin E in the company's non-animal portfolio.
Other companies that have made inroads into the market include Kemin Health, with its FloraGLO Lutein 5% VG Granules, and Cognis Nutrition & Health with Xangold 10% microencapsulated lutein ester beadlets.
For example in Asia consumers are not concerned about fish gelatin but in Europe there has been some discussion over allergens in fish.
Part of the motivation behind this is fluctuating shrimp supply from Asia, but the fact that it is allergen-free, vegetarian and kosher is a unique selling point.
"We have totally proven that there is no link between gelatin and BSE,"Oliver Wols of gelatine specialist The Gelita Group told NutraIngredients.com.
Wols explained that even if pathogens did find there way into the raw materials -- and there are rigorous checks, including tests on the live animals, to prevent that from happening -- the production process would kill off 10,000 more pathogens that could possibly be in it.
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