Pursuing health through nutraceuticals but halal consumers beware

Interest in nutraceuticals such as dietary supplements are increasing but many products are not acceptable for the halal consumer and not all companies that have some products halal-certified solely manufacture halal

The last time you felt a cold coming on, did you pop a pill? Maybe vitamin C, D3, or a garlic supplement? Increasingly, people across the globe are questioning conventional pharmaceuticals and are opting for nutraceuticals, which are supplementary consumables in the form of vitamins, mineral and herbal supplements, functional foods and beverages, probiotics and topical applications for skin care.

The nutraceutical market deserves attention as interest in modifying and maintaining physiological function is a health trend and strategy thought to ameliorate major health problems. These include obesity, cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune maladies, arthritis, osteoporosis, cancer, and diabetes.

MARKET SIZE

Consumer interest in nutraceuticals is propelling revenues. Nutraceuticals is a multibillion dollar industry with estimates pointing to a market of at least $200 billion. One research company puts its size at $200 billion in 2016, to reach around $285 billion by 2021. Another sized the industry at $230 billion in 2016.

While the North American market holds the majority share of revenues currently, about more than a fourth of the total global market share, the Asia Pacific region is accelerating rapidly with an expected CAGR of 7.33 percent through 2022. Japan is impressively climbing toward 7.76 percent and China at 7.15 percent. India is also capturing interest with its vast population and centuries-old appreciation for ayurvedic protocols.

The global halal nutraceuticals industry is relatively new and its market sizing is still nascent. One market research company estimates the global halal nutraceuticals and vaccines market at $39.265 billion in 2016, projecting its growth at a CAGR of 7.7 percent to reach $82.207 billion by 2026.

The main interest will be in halal-certified calcium, fish oil, protein powder and other dietary supplements. Regionally, Asia Pacific, excluding Japan, is on the fastest track thanks to a growing (Muslim) population, demand for halal-certified products and government support for the development of these markets. The Middle East and Africa are also touting the second highest anticipated performance for with a CAGR of 8.5 percent from 2016 to 2026.

RESEARCH DETERMINING BENEFITS

With a positive market outlook, revenues are being pumped back into research for further product development.

For the consumer, however, interpreting results of scientific research can be confusing.

To illustrate, a breaking study explored a lifestyle program combining low glycemic protein shakes and targeted nutraceuticals that improved weight loss and reduced cardio-metabolic risk factors versus a low glycemic diet alone in subjects with cardiovascular risk factors. Yet, there are conflicting reports citing bad science in other studies.

In another example, for decades vitamin D supplements have been promoted for patients with osteoporosis and other bone problems. Yet, an opinion piece by three U.S.-based physicians, published in the February 2016 issue of the Journal of American Medical Association Internal Medicine, wrote of “a cautionary tale of vitamin [D] supplements” associated with the risk of falls and fractures. The Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health cites that vitamin D deficiency is a global problem that may have implications for multiple sclerosis, type-1 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Research on vitamin D supplementation are ongoing and the VITAL Study is one such large-scale research, involving over 25,000 people in the U.S. taking vitamin D or Omega-3 oil supplements to determine the effect, if any, on development of cancer, heart disease and stroke.

Still other research is ongoing, including in the relatively nascent, and evolving, field of nutrigenetics, which studies if individuals have varying responses to nutrients based on their unique DNA. The field has the potential to impact dietary supplementation.

As the nutraceuticals market evolves given its growth outlook, it would also be welcomed if the revenue generation could be directed to more research and development that scientifically differentiates results in trials using halal versus non-halal products. Thus making the case for the benefits of halal.

HEALTHY HALAL CONSUMER

Many nutraceutical products are not acceptable for the halal-sensitive consumer because they use non-halal gelatin and stearates, alcoholic extracts, and porcine enzymes.

Halal consumers should be reminded that not all companies that have some products halal-certified are solely manufacturing halal and unless labels indicate a halal certification symbol, it is best advised to directly contact companies for assurance and enquire with the halal certifier as a measure of due diligence.

Unless there is halal certification, most people don’t know if products are halal because they cannot trace the source, verify process, qualify the cleanliness of the packaging from contaminants, nor know if something is tainted because legislation does not require every ingredient to be listed on the label.

Yet while many famous brands in big box retail stores are not halal, several halal-certified brands, large and small, are finding promise each year in market penetration.

Global

Among global brands, those with some halal offerings is Nestle Nutrition, a division of Nestle that reported nearly $10.7 billion in 2016 sales. Some Boost® products are among Nestle’s halal-certified offerings.  

Another is U.S.-based Abbott Nutrition, which carries branded halal-certified products like Ensure®. Abbott Nutrition is a division of Abbott that earned $7 billion in net sales last year.

United States

The United States is the world’s biggest nutraceuticals market. Apart from Abbott, there are small U.S.-headquartered companies that are halal-certified and post their certificates online. These include Madina Vitamins, NoorVitamins, Salaam Nutritionals, and Nutrition Enhancement.

Other companies may have halal certification for export purposes, but do not post their certificates. Pharmavite LLC manufactures the Nature Made® brand that uses porcine derived gelatin in their products. Yet, the company also manufactures halal-certified products for their export retail markets in the Middle East and Iran.

There may be those like Solgar® that posts a tab for kosher on its site, but no mention is searchable for the term “halal.”

Asia

In Malaysia, CCM was the first pharmaceutical company to obtain the ‘Halal Malaysia’ certification for its range of supplements in 1999 and has since gone on to develop its halal range.

Incontech Pte. Ltd. has offices in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, China and Japan, and has some halal-certified products in their PrincipleNutrition™ and SlimSpa™ brands that indicate scientists and researchers work for them directly.

In Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, Pharmanex, a brand of U.S.-headquartered Nu Skin Enterprise, sells halal-certified supplements.

CAVEAT FOR CONSUMERS

If only optimal health, attractiveness, happiness and wellbeing could be had in a pill, let consumers keep the reality in mind.

Much more research is needed to verify if favorable laboratory results can be extrapolated reliably for humans, and to know what protocols are best.

Potentially, some mice may be long-lived due to consumption of antioxidants and antibiotics that suppress tumor growth seen in their species, but that may not be a parallel assumption for all consumers.

In many countries, health claims are forbidden in the nutraceutical category as compared to pharmaceuticals that have had to satisfy regulators through many human trials. In fact, there are instances of consumers doing themselves harm with inappropriate use of some nutraceuticals; therefore, consultation with qualified experts is advised, and only use products that have had standardized manufacturing protocols applied.

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