July 12, 2007 - Ajinomoto Co., Inc. (Ajinomoto; President and CEO: Norio Yamaguchi; Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan) today announced plans to market a new dietary supplement, Capsiate Natura, in the United States. Capsiate Natura is a dietary supplement with a purified extract of CH-19 Sweet, a unique non-pungent chili pepper, that is selectively bred to contain high levels of capsiate*.
Capsiate Natura has been available in Japan since September 2006. In the U.S., the dietary supplement is being marketed after Ajinomoto's successful completion of the Food and Drug Administration's New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) notification process.
Capsiate Natura will be initially available on a limited basis only through healthcare professionals in the New York Tri-State area. More information may be obtained on the product's website, www.capsiatenatura.com.
Under Ajinomoto's medium- to long-term management plan for the period from fiscal 2005 to fiscal 2010, the Company has defined the health and nutrition business as its next pillar of growth, with a fiscal 2010 target of \200 billion in consolidated net sales. Capsiate Natura will play a key role as a product with capsiate, a unique natural ingredient with a variety of potentials for food and other applications globally.
| Overview of Test Marketing of Capsiate Natura |
| 1. |
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Product Overview |
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| (1) |
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Product name: |
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Capsiate Natura |
| (2) |
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Product type: |
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90-capsule bottle |
| (3) |
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Form: |
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Vegetarian softgel capsule |
| (4) |
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Features: |
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| 1) |
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The key ingredient is capsiate, a new natural ingredient extracted from a unique, non-pungent variety of chili pepper, CH-19 Sweet. |
| 2) |
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Capsiate has about 1/1000 the pungency of capsaicin. |
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| (5) |
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Directions for use: |
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Take 3 softgels once a day with water. |
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| 2. |
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Launch date: |
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July 16, 2007 |
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Launch region: |
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New York Tri-State area, U.S.A.
(New York City and the surrounding areas of New York state, New Jersey and Connecticut)
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| 4. |
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Sales channels: |
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Clinics (Health care professionals) |
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Sales methods: |
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Direct sales to clinics by Ajinomoto sales representatives and web sales to healthcare professionals through the product website.
Product website: www.capsiatenatura.com
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| 6. |
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Price: |
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Not set (clinics set their own prices) |
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Sales company: |
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Ajinomoto U.S.A., Inc. (President: Shinichi Suzuki, Head office: NJ, U.S.A.) |
【For reference】
1. What is a New Dietary Ingredient?
A "new dietary ingredient" (NDI) is a dietary ingredient that was not marketed in the United States before October 15, 1994. The Food and Drug Act requires dietary supplement companies to submit a premarket safety notification to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for certain new dietary ingredients (specifically, any new dietary ingredient that has not been present in the food supply as an article used for food in a form in which the food has not been chemically altered).
(Source: Excerpted from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website)
2. Are capsinoids in Capsiate Natura an NDI?
Yes. NDI notification of Capsiate Natura with capsinoids was properly filed to the FDA on February 21, 2007. Ajinomoto received the official letter dated May 17, 2007 from the FDA.
3. What is the new natural ingredient capsiate?
The chemical structure of capsiate, the key ingredient of Capsiate Natura, is similar to that of capsaicin, the component of hot chili peppers that gives them their pungent flavor, but capsiate has just 1/1000 ** its pungency compared to capsaisin. It is a trace component contained in CH-19 Sweet, a new non-pungent variety of chili pepper. Approximately 100 grams can be extracted from one ton of the fruit.
CH-19 Sweet is grown at an Ajinomoto-managed farm in Thailand, and Ajinomoto controls the entire process from raising seedlings to harvesting. Capsiate Natura is a dietary supplement with 1mg of capsiate per softgel.
| * |
Capsiate, one of the capsinoids, is often used as a popular name for capsinoids because it is the major part of capsinoids extracted from CH-19 Sweet peppers. |
| ** |
Comparison of pungency threshold (the lowest noticeable concentration) is from Ajinomoto's own research. |
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Cultivation of CH-19 Sweet,
the non-pungent pepper, used as a raw
ingredient for Capsiate Natura. |
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