Stratum Nutrition Partners with Gee Lawson Limited to Distribute Natural Eggshell Membrane in UK

February 22 2012 – Stratum Nutrition announced the publication of a safety manuscript for the egg-derived, joint health ingredient, NEM. The manuscript, submitted by manufacturer and joint venture partner ESM Technologies, “Safety evaluation of a natural eggshell membrane-derived product” has been published online ahead of print in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology. This research evaluated NEM’s safety via multiple in vitro and in vivo toxicological studies.

 

Stratum Nutrition, a Novus International business empowering product innovation with specialty and functional ingredients, has partnered exclusively with Gee Lawson Limited to distribute its joint health ingredient, NEM in UK and other selected areas.

 

“Gee Lawson is a renowned company in the field of Health Food Supplements “, says Michael Faber, Stratum’s World Area Manager for Europe and Asia, “and we are confident that this partnership, will allow the expansion of NEM into UK.” Gee Lawson is a supplier and distributor of active ingredients mainly to the Health Food Supplement and Food & Beverage industries.

They endeavor to be a solutions provider offering technical support, while having the capability to formulate and the network to offer finished products. Gee Lawson product portfolio covers Wellbeing, Joint Care, Heart Care, Energy, Sport Nutrition and Weight Management. “I have confidence that NEM will fit well in our portfolio, offering a new natural alternative to our clients in the strong Joint Health market in the UK” says Jonathan Shorts, Managing Director of Gee Lawson Limited. “I look forward to working with Stratum Nutrition in developing products to further such health concerns.”

 

The NEM (Natural Eggshell Membrane) safety and toxicology studies were conducted by a variety of independent research labs. NEM was evaluated for cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and oral toxicity (both single acute dose and 90-day repeated-dose) at doses up to fifty times the clinically tested human equivalent dose. This safety evaluation formed the basis for an independent expert panel to deem NEM Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS), a designation required by food companies in the United States with the results now being published. NEM did not show any signs of toxicity in any of the areas that were evaluated.

 

These results demonstrate that NEM is extremely safe for human consumption at the standard daily dose of 500mg per day. “Although a food-based product such as eggshell membrane would be expected to be inherently safe, we wanted to demonstrate that elevated levels of NEM could be consumed with complete confidence.” says Kevin J. Ruff, Ph.D., MBA, ESM Technologies’ Director of Scientific & Regulatory Affairs.

 

NEM contains naturally occurring glycosaminoglycans and proteins essential for maintaining healthy joint and connective tissues. Previous published clinical research on NEM showed an improvement in joint comfort and flexibility in just 7 to 10 days with only 500mg per day. Dr. Ruff states, “It is therefore important to demonstrate to the public the safety of this product for use in either dietary supplements or food products that are expected to be consumed on a continuing basis.” The Allowable Daily Intake (ADI) for NEM is up to 14 grams per day for food use and intake.