Frutarom Switzerland Ltd.’s Health Business Unit announced its expansion into the omega-3 market with a line of high-quality and deodorized DHA and EPA marine-sourced omega-3 ingredients designed for a variety of food and beverage applications and dietary supplements.

New York-based Kyowa Hakko USA hired Jacqueline Sherrer as nutritional sales manager for the Southwest region.

Cargill, Minneapolis, invested more than $13.8 million to expand its cocoa liquor capabilities in its plants in Rouen, France, and Berlin. The France expansion will focus on enhancing and expanding the Fine Flavor range of cocoa liquors, while the German investment will increase the facility’s capacity in order to help it respond to additional demand for cocoa liquor.

New York-based private equity firm GenNx360 Capital Partners invested in Novel Ingredient Services, West Caldwell, N.J. This investment enables Novel Ingredient Services to expand its services and capabilities within the natural products industry as well as related food and beverage markets, it says. Novel Ingredient Service’s Advantra Z Inc. division, formerly Nutratech Inc., is included in the transaction, but other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

St. Louis-based SensoryEffects acquired Anderson Custom Processing’s manufacturing facility in Sleepy Eye, Minn. The facility includes two spray dryers along with other blending equipment and technology. The company plans to integrate this facility into its SensoryEffects Powder Systems business. In other news, Sensory Effects Flavor Systems achieved Safe Quality Food (SQF) Code 7.1, Level 3 Certification by the Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI) for its Bridgeton, Mo., facility. SQF Code 7.1 Level 3 is the most stringent and highest level of certification awarded by the SQFI, the company says.

FutureCeuticals Inc., Momence, Ill., announced the results of two new studies examining its elevATP and Dermaval ingredients. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study with 20 healthy subjects, researchers administered 150 mg of elevATP, a proprietary blend of plant-derived trace minerals with a polyphenol-rich apple extract, to resting subjects who had fasted for 12-16 hours. The results showed an increase in blood levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), with average levels measuring 40 percent over the baseline level, suggesting that supplementation with this natural ingredient can increase intracellular levels of ATP. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover clinical study in which 20 healthy subjects received a single serving of 50 mg of FutureCeuticals’ Dermaval ingredient, the results showed a statistically significant inhibition of Human Neutrophil Elastase (HNE) activity during a two-hour period following ingestion. HNE is an enzyme that contributes to the degradation of elastin, a key structural protein responsible for the elasticity of the skin and other connective tissue. These results suggest that the all-natural combination of fruit and vegetable concentrates could have a potential direct effect on skin health and aging, it says.

Hilmar Cheese Co. Inc., parent company of Hilmar Ingredients, announced that its new headquarters and innovation center in Hilmar, Calif., was awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification.

Lincoln, R.I.-based Autocrat LLC acquired Coffee Extracts & Ingredients, a supplier of Fair Trade, organic and Rainforest Alliance coffees.

Terry Laboratories, Melbourne, Fla., appointed Jim Gambino III general manager.

Evanston, Ill.-based Glanbia Nutritionals opened its new food-grade Next Generation Grain processing facility in Sioux Falls, S.D. The 63,000-square-foot facility is designed to produce Glanbia’s MeadowPure flaxseed ingredients as well as chia, quinoa and other ancient grain ingredient solutions. The fully enclosed site also offers closed-loop processing to eliminate any foreign material or contaminants from entering the facility or process, is Safe Quality Food 2000 certified, and is impenetrable to pests and rodents, the company says.

Gum Technology Corp., Tucson, Ariz., announced that it will be acquired by Penford Corp., a Centennial, Colo.-based supplier of modified specialty starches. Gum Technology will continue to offer its range of gums and synergistic stabilizer blends branded under the Coyote brand, but now it will be able to offer a catalog of gums and starches within its GumPlete line of stabilizers.

Kemin, Des Moines, Iowa, announced the publication of a clinical study in Therapeutic Advances in Urology about how its AssuriTea ingredient can improve lower urinary tract symptoms in men. The 12-week study by Aaron Katz, M.D., chairman of urology at Winthrop University Hospital, concluded that daily use of 1,000 mg of AssuriTea, a patent-pending polyphenol blend of select catechins and theaflavins, improved lower urinary tract symptoms, decreased post-void residual volume, increased the average urinary flow rate, improved quality of life, and moderated inflammation. In addition, no gastrointestinal distress or other undesirable side effects commonly associated with some other ingredients were reported.

 Fona International, Geneva, Ill., promoted Katie Christ to food safety systems specialist.