You can get e-magazine links on WhatsApp. Click here TOP NEWS Nutra call for informative and transparent labels Saturday, 27 August, 2022, 14 : 00 PM [IST] Dr Madhavi BLR Nutraceuticals are functional foods and high valued products of the health care sector. In addition to their nutritional value as food, they have medicinal properties as well. The nutraceutical market value as per Grand View Research for 2021 was at US$454 billion and proposed to grow at 9% CAGR in a decade. A variety of products like cereals, bakery dairy products and snacks, energy/ sportdrinks, fortified juices, vitamins supplements, mineral supplements, herbals, enzyme products, fatty acids and amino acids, protein enrichments, are all nutraceuticals. All of them are accessible from various outlets like specialty stores, department stores, super markets, door to door sales and online modes of purchase. Nutraceuticals are being consumed based on whims and fancies of individuals with very little scientific supervision or monitoring under medical guidance. Health emergencies have been reported for weight loss products, sexual enhancement and body building products, energy drinks, supplemental amino acids. Nutraceutical pharmaceutical interactions may affect the therapy. Chemotherapy patients usually take nutritional supplements of various types –mineral, herbal and one study reported positive effect of Zinc in reducing acute myeloid leukemia while the use of Echinacea hampered the therapy with ctyarabine. Drug herb / drug food interactions are reported with nutraceuticals. E.g., Fish oils and omega-3 fatty acid supplements vs. anticoagulant drugs like Warfarin may lead to increased bleeding. Health and Safety concern: On a general note since nutraceuticals are functional foods, the label on the product should not make any claims for prevention, treatment or diagnosis of ailments/diseases. The label must bear words like Health Supplement, Not for Medicinal Use and the claims that the product is supposed to provide. Any suggestion that the product claims to treat or cure a disease will bring it under the purview of drug regulations as applicable to that country. FSSAI has provided a list of ingredients which are not supposed to be used in nutraceuticals since their safety of use has not been established. Adulteration is another cause for concern in nutraceuticals. E.g., herbal supplements adulterated with impotency drug ingredients, weight loss dietary supplements adulterated with drug ingredients, protein products adulterated with Melanine and derivatives, to name a few. It is very evident that to meet the market demand of nutraceuticals, their manufacturing has to be on such large scales. Accordingly the supply chain management has to gear up. The raw material and processing controls is the major concern which may lead to the presence of unwanted components which are not indicated in the label. Call for clean labels The concept of Clean label (which was initiated for food and consumer products) is towards ensuring consumer safety by provision of information which tells about ingredients that may be harmful or adversely affect the health, and if the said product has such ingredients. Presence of preservatives/ stabilisers/ colours, which may have chemicals (pesticide contaminants, heavy metals, plasticisers, carcinogens, genotoxic materials) / microbial contaminants, is not desirable in products. If the product is ‘clean’ so will be the label. Thus by looking at a label the consumer may choose to purchase or not. There is no official or legal mention of ‘clean label’ concept by USFDA or any other regulatory body.“Clean Label" concept may be viewed from various perspectives. A clean label may indicate that a product is processed minimally, with no additives or preservatives, and is natural and healthy. The clean label suggests a transparency about ingredients in the product. There is no omission of chemical processing aids and artificial ingredients or replacement by catchy trade names, or product names that cannot be recognised by lay persons, simple understandable/recognisable nomenclature employed in the label.From the purview of the manufacturer, the clean label does not intend to project composition which may be perceived by consumers as undesirable/not safe and thus avoid mentioning the same but highlight aspects like no added colour/flavour.Such a label may not necessarily mean that the product is free from additives. The clarity about a clean label vs. label transparency is still ambiguous. Nevertheless, whatever be the objective of a clean label it is imperative that the regulatory norms for labelling are fulfilled as per the concerned regulatory body. Demand for Clean Labels in Nutraceuticals: Nutraceuticals are quite diverse in nature with an even more diverse pool of ingredients being used for manufacturing. Processing too is quite different product wise. In a measure to promote product quality and consumer awareness USFDA has updated the label format for nutritional information on food products. The updated label highlights calories and serving size in larger font. Percentage daily values of information have to be provided for certain ingredients. In the light of such an upgradation in foods, nutraceuticals which are functional foods definitely call for labels which are informative and transparent. One example of clean label requirement is in Cannabidiol (CBD) products. CBD is a very popular ingredient in nutraceuticals products for body builders, athletes and vegetarian consumers. The critical feature is the absence of THC – tetrahydrocannabinol which is addictive and a neuroactive chemical.   A Clean label of THC-free would definitely invite the consumers. Another case would be products with herbal materials. They would highlight the ‘organic’ source which curtails the use of harmful synthetic pesticides or fertilisers. “BPA (Bisphenol A) free” could be one more incentive for clean label in nutraceuticals that are manufactured and stored well with no BPA being leached into the product. Antioxidant and protein richness in the concerned products could be assessed by clean labels based on the minimal processing and additives being employed. ‘Allergen free’ is another desirable clean label. Firms like Clean Label Project, Clean Label Alliance provide support towards migrating to clean labelling measures. Clean labels will facilitate better consumer trust and help to increase the market value for the nutraceutical in terms of consumer safety. Measures for clean labelling have to be employed by nutraceutical manufacturers. For example, instead of high GI sugars or artificial sweeteners the use of sweeteners like monk fruit or stevia may be adopted. Vegetarian capsules (Pullulan/, HPMC) have come into market as against gelatin capsule shells. Fragrance and flavour industry has gone towards Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality (AI &VR) driven modes towards clean labelling. Manufacturers need to go towards revamping the formulation strategy. Apart from formulation strategy, new processing and packaging technologies too could be adopted toward clean labelling.  Freeze drying, spray drying, aqueous based processes, green synthesis, are some ways that are known to be material friendly and not destroy delicate foods. Coming to packaging active packaging technologies like antimicrobial packaging, antioxidant releasing systems, ethylene and oxygen scavengers, carbon dioxide releasers may be employed for product stability and preservation. Nutrivigilance going hand in hand with clean labelling  technology could make the nutraceutical market more lucrative and safer. Demand for Clean labels in nutraceuticals is a greater necessity owing to the health claim/ nutrition claim/structure or function claims they propose. This strategy of addressing the formulation/processing/packaging may thus be extended to larger number of nutraceuticals product categories to facilitate clean labelling. (The author is faculty of pharmacy from Acharya & BM Reddy College of Pharmacy, Bengaluru. She can be reached at madhaviblr@gmail.com)   This page allows you to send the current page to your friend. 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