NOPE and the sunshine vitamin

Our team had a hectic Sunday and Monday at Natural Organic Products Europe (NOPE) at ExCel in London. It was good to see so many familiar faces and participate in a panel discussion with industry experts and health practitioners, chaired by Jim Manson of Natural Products News.

The theme that Jim centred on was what the sector might look like, especially in terms of supplements, in 2020. Find out more in our article about the show.

The reality is that the noose of EU and national regulation around the neck of the natural products sector is really starting to make its presence known. The shelf space devoted to supplements in stores, as evidenced by food supplement exhibitors at NOPE, is shrinking year on year. There are some supplements that are more researched than others – vitamin D being a good case in point. However, if the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) gets its way and maintains the dietary reference intakes of vitamin D as per its proposal in its draft opinion, we will be in trouble. Read more and find out what you can do about it.

If you want to know about phthalates in fries, USDA approval of ‘Frankenfungi’, more good news on sat fats and GM cotton being inferior to the traditional type – plus more – catch up with our weekly news.

In health, naturally

Rob Verkerk, PhD

Founder, executive & scientific director