Science and Innovation: Natural Health Products See Strength in Numbers
Natural health products are among the fastest growing product categories in Canada, worth an estimated $2.5 billion per year. In B.C. alone, the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands identified 92 firms or organizations that offer products, technology or services to the functional food and natural health product (FFNHP) sector.
Nutri-Net Canada is a national initiative working to bring together industry and trade associations, research institutions, and government organizations to establish a strategic plan that will help the sector address common challenges and accelerate growth. The initiative received $721,000 in federal funding from the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Science and Innovation Broker Program under the Agricultural Policy Framework (APF).
 Maggie Neilson is the General Manager of SISU in Burnaby. SISU has been producing vitamins and health supplements for 28 years, and their products are carried by retailers from coast to coast. When Nutri-Net invited industry, research and government representatives to discuss a national sector strategy, Neilson was at the table.
"There is a lot of diversity in our sector, and Nutri-Net brings us together," Neilson says. "There's a lot of value just in creating the awareness of what is out there, and knowing the depth of resources available to developing companies."
Led by the Canadian Health Food Association (CHFA) on behalf of an industry steering committee, Nutri-Net Canada has held a series of workshops and conferences across the country. Regional workshops have been particularly effective in bringing regional organizations closer together and sharing information about the science and research developments that have been happening in different areas.
"The more we're on the same page and the more our messages support each other across the sector, the deeper we'll penetrate with consumers," says Neilson. "The bottom line is that there's a cohesive message being communicated to consumers to support the mandate of self-care."
Through the Health Claims Symposium in November 2007, Nutri-Net also took important first steps in advancing the conversation about regulations and what it takes to make evidence-based health claims. As a result of these discussions, the industry has been able to engage qualified consultants to help them address regulatory concerns at a scientific level.
Natural health products include supplements which, in many cases, are made from traditional or specialty crops, seafood and aquaculture. Functional foods are similar in appearance to, or are conventional foods, that have benefits and can help to reduce the risk of chronic disease. Scientific validity is one of the keys to moving this sector forward on issues such as regulation and product quality assurance - issues that resonate with consumers at home and abroad.
Nutri-Net Canada's national sector strategy will be presented for the first time in Quebec City in February 2008. The strategy, supported by the activities leading up to it, will put in place linkages between the research community and for-profit companies active in commercializing these products, and will lay a solid foundation for building a profitable and sustainable Canadian functional foods and natural health products industry.
For more information about AAFC's Science and Innovation Broker Program, please visit www.agr.gc.ca.
|
