IFT New Products In Brief

Wellmune enters fruit chews: Immune health firm Biothera provides its Wellmune WGP ingredient for citrus and pom-blueberry fruit chews in the Dr. Sears Family Essentials line of supplements and snacks. At the Institute of Food Technologists Food Expo July 18 in Chicago, Biothera Communications VP David Walsh said the Eagan, Minn.-based firm continues seeking food, beverage and supplement applications for Wellmune, a gluco polysaccharide derived from a proprietary yeast strain. "If it's in a product, it has to be in a product that's consumed on a regular - if not daily - basis, so you can continue to prime these [immune] cells so you get the immune benefits," Walsh said in an interview. Biothera received a letter of "no objection" from FDA regarding Wellmune's generally recognized as safe status. Walsh added Wellmune's "pipeline is full" of forthcoming applications and results of recent studies on the ingredient's efficacy are expected this year