News Briefs

O.BERK announced a new service, the Custom Label Shop, on its Web site (www.OBERK.com) and its ecommerce site (www.BottleStore.com), which allow customers to design and order custom printed labels, hang-tags and, in the near future, bags. ... Integrated Biomolecule Corp./IBC Labs formed a new Pharmaceutical Analysis Group to provide testing and related services for pharmaceutical and dietary supplements in a cGMP (good manufacturing practice) environment. ... Spirulina was recognized in the September/October issue of AARP as one of five foods that can add years to your life. The ingredient contains antioxidants, protein and essential fatty acids, and readers were advised to try one tablespoon a day mixed into food or taken as capsules. ... Ajinomoto USA Inc. paired with Ampac Flexibles to launch its Amino Vital® Jel in the United States using a custom designed 140-ml QuadPAK™ sidegusset, standup pouch with a resealable closure. ... The public relations firm ABI (www.abipr.com) announced a new Search Engine Optimization (SEO) service designed exclusively for business-tobusiness companies seeking to generate more business opportunities through the Internet. ... The Council for Responsible Nutrition announced its 2007 annual symposium on dietary supplements, The Conference, will be held at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz., Oct. 3 to Oct. 6, 2007. ... A new study on the temperature sensor market, conducted by Flow Research, finds the total market was $620 million in 2005, that sales should increase to $760 million by 2010, that technology is moving away from contact temperature measurement to non-contact measurement, and that a broader shift is moving away from thermocouples toward RTDs and thermistors. ... Nature’s Answer acquired the Frog International Inc. line of superfoods, marketed under the brand name Greens Today®. ... A new judge has been assigned in the lawsuit filed by Glykon Technologies Group LLC against Renaissance Herbs Inc. and its president, Alex S. Moffett. The complaint, filed in 2005, alleges fraud, breach of contract and misappropriation of intellectual property rights. ... Kirin Brewery Co. Ltd. and Yakult Honsha Co. Ltd. jointly established Kirin Yakult NextStage Co. Ltd. to develop functional foods, with the launch of its first product—BBcube for intestinal health— set for October 2006. ... The Malta Antioxidants Valorization 2006 conference will take place Oct. 27, 2006, in Malta, in parallel with the 3rd International Conference on Polyphenols Applications in Nutrition and Health (www.isanh.com/ polyphenols). ... Tradeshow Week recently included Natural Products Expo West/SupplyExpo, produced by New Hope Natural Media, a division of Penton Media, as one of the top 50 fastest growing trade shows in North America. ... EuroPharma and New Chapter signed an agreement appointing New Chapter as the exclusive distributor of Vectomega® for the health food/natural product retail channel. ... Canagra Technologies opened a 2,500- square-foot manufacturing and toll processing facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to process its pomegranate extracts and provide contract services in the areas of extraction, fractionation, freeze drying, tray drying and toll processing. ... Aristo Health will be branding its nutritional bars with the MEG-3® logo, indicating the presence of the omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)/eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) ingredient from Ocean Nutrition Canada Ltd.