Korea focus: Top-selling brands and regulator’s ingredient re-evaluation recapped
Probiotic R&D opportunities: Duolac singles out infant, ageing, oral, liver health potential
Duolac, the probiotic brand of South Korean company Cell Biotech, is exploring the benefits of probiotics across different life stages, from infant health all the way to ageing issues.
The probiotic brand was first founded in South Korea in 2002 and its products are available in over 40 countries.
While the domestic audience is its largest market, the brand has also made a name for itself in Denmark and Singapore, which it ventured into in 2012 and 2015 respectively. The two countries are now its second and third largest markets.
Korean chart toppers: Korea Ginseng Corp retains number one sales spot, Yakult drops out of top five
Korea Ginseng Corp (KGC) continues to top the country’s health functional foods sales chart, while Korea Yakult has been pushed out of the top five, according to new data from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS).
Korea Ginseng Corp, which took the top spot for health functional food sales, had grown from strength to strength, as sales was up eight per cent to KRW$530bn (US$ 440m).
Korea Yakult, which was in the fourth place in 2019, was pushed out of the top five charts by ODM/OEM firm KolmarBNH and capsule manufacturer Suheung, which took the fourth and fifth place respectively.
Intake of mulberry extract lowers blood glucose and insulin levels – Korean RCT
The intake of Mulberry (Mori ramulus) extract after a high fat and sucrose diet has shown to reduce post-meal blood glucose, according to a RCT conducted in South Korea.
In particular, oxyresveratrol of mulberry twig extract and its glycoside mulberroside have been shown to control post-meal blood glucose levels.
Findings were published in Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy.
Co-enzyme Q10, squalene safety: South Korea to re-evaluate nine ingredients’ use in health functional foods
South Korea is re-evaluating the safety and functionality of co-enzyme Q10, squalene, and seven other ingredients’ use in health functional foods (HFFs) this year.
The other seven functional ingredients are conjugated linoleic acid, N-acetylglucosamine, oat fiber, inulin/chicory extract, chitosan/chito-oligosaccharide, xylo-oligosaccharide, and L-carnitine tartrate.
These ingredients were selected for re-evaluation because they have been approved for use in HFFs a decade ago and new information on their safety and functionality has since sprung up.
Krill oil test failures: US-made products under fire in South Korea for alleged adulteration
A total of 22 imported krill oil products – mostly from the United States – have failed the latest round of inspection by the South Korean authorities for mixing different oils in the products.
The inspection was carried out in response to public petition received in June and July last year, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) said.
It found out that 22 out of the 55 products tested contained a mixture of oils and fats instead of pure krill oil. These 22 products were sold under the claim that they were 100 per cent krill oil.
