Imaginary allergies?
In a German study of 419 hospital patients earlier this year who reported being allergic to some food, no Immunoglobulin E (IgE) response was found in nearly 50 per cent of the participants. IgE is the predominant antibody associated with an allergic response.

— from a paper published in the journal Deutschesärzteblatt International

What recession?
In the 12 weeks ending October 4, 2008, natural- and organic-product growth rates from natural retailers were more than triple those of conventional, with an aggregate sales growth of 10 per cent for natural retailers, while conventional-food retailers experienced growth of 3.2 per cent during this same time period.

— data from SPINS, the information and service provider for the natural-products industry

Regulation as strategy
"Regulation was once an area that was delegated down to a small room in the basement where people worked hard and long on an unglamorous task of getting products or ingredients 'approved,' 'licensed.' This is no longer the case. Regulation now lies at the heart of major decisions on the very future of companies, their investment in R&D and their future marketing strategies."

— Simon Pettman, European Advisory Board, HIE Daily News, Paris