The 2009 Nutracon conference (www.nutraconference.com) held March 4-5, 2009 and co-located with SupplyExpo/Natural Products Expo West, together engaged more than 53,000 industry members in active business, up from last year’s record-breaking event. Nutracon itself provides relevant insights for innovation based on science and technology, case studies, market intelligence and regulatory constraints to the health and nutrition industry’s senior-level innovators, brand managers, and professionals. Nutracon and co-located events are produced by New Hope Natural Media, a division of Penton Media.

This year’s Nutracon was exceptional in the level of scientific discussion and enthusiasm for issues such as weight management and evolving substantiation for SuperFruits. In the Vitamin & Minerals track, the gap between emerging science and health policy considerations was enunciated. “We are ecstatic about Nutracon 2009 and the response. Content was superb and provocative; the level of participation and interaction was extremely high, said Len Monheit, Supply Portfolio Director with New Hope Natural Media. “The conference environment allowed for some of our brightest minds to debate and get a head start in highly competitive and emerging markets around the world.".

Strategically positioned with the Nutracon conference, and celebrating its 11th year, the NutrAward celebrates innovative, evidence-based health and nutrition ingredient and technology products. The 2009 selected finalists included AHD International with Lura-Lean, DSM with tensVida™, and Gourmetceuticals with PPL-240™. 

The 2009 NutrAward was awarded to DSM Nutritional Products’ (www.dsm-functionalfoodsmarketing.com) tensVida™, formerly TensGuard™ which helps to maintain healthy blood pressure within the healthy range. The award was selected by a panel of industry experts, scientists and nutritionists, plus votes from Nutracon and SupplyExpo attendees. The NutrAward is an annual award associated with Supply Expo and New Hope Natural Media’s Global Supply Portfolio. Voting is based on how well the ingredient or product meets the defined criteria, which includes: Scientific Merit, Efficacy, Market Potential, Safety, Innovation and Ability to Increase Market Credibility.

TensVida is a milk-derived tripeptide which helps to maintain healthy blood pressure within the normal range. Tripeptides occur naturally in dairy products such as aged cheese and cultured milk. Scientific studies show that milk-derived tripeptides with the bioactive amino acid sequence IPP (isoleucine-proline-proline) may maintain healthy blood pressure in people who have blood pressure within the normal range.

"Nutracon is an exceptional annual event dedicated to research, innovation and education,” said Lynda Doyle Director DSM Functional Foods Marketing. “DSM is proud to have a long-standing relationship with New Hope/Nutracon, as we share similar values: research, innovation, outreach and excellence. We are particularly pleased to have tensVida selected as the winner of the 2009 NutrAward for new, innovative, evidence-based health and nutrition ingredient. This helps to highlight DSM's ongoing commitment to research, innovation and science-based product development."

Nutracon (www.nutraconference.com) is the premier education and networking conference for the health and nutrition industry. The conference provides relevant insights for innovation based on science and technology, case studies and market intelligence.  Attendees gain an understanding of the impact of “next generation” ingredients, emerging markets, consumer trend data and regulatory constraints. Nutracon is co-located with SupplyExpo and Natural Products Expo West.

New Hope Natural Media (www.newhope.com) is the leading media resource and information provider for the natural, organic and healthy products industry, with print, in-person/event, and e-business products and services. Penton Media (www.penton.com) is the largest independent business-to-business media company in the U.S., serving more than 6 million business professionals every month.