October 4, 2021

Sweegen Expands Sugar Reduction Portfolio With High-Intensity Sweetener Brazzein

Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., Oct. 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sweegen is expanding its extensive sweetener portfolio in early 2022 with the zero-calorie, high-intensity sweetener brazzein. The product was developed in collaboration with long-term innovation partner Conagen, which has scaled it to commercial production. Brazzein is a small, heat-stable protein, 500 to 2,000 times sweeter than regular sugar, making it very attractive to food and beverage manufacturers seeking excellent value in a sweetener.

As a sweetener, brazzein promises little to no bitter aftertaste and helps to reduce sweet linger, reducing taste modulation challenges in the natural sweetener space. Brazzein is stable in a wide range of pH and retains its qualities after pasteurization. It is also readily soluble, making it ideal for sugar reduction across a spectrum of food and beverage applications.

“Introducing a high-purity brazzein to Sweegen’s portfolio of natural sweeteners is one more creative solution for helping brands make low-calorie better-for-you products,” said Sweegen’s SVP, Head of Global Innovation, Shari Mahon. “Brands can look forward to exploring the synergistic benefits of combining brazzein and stevia for reducing sugar in food and beverages in a cost-effective way.”

As a sweet protein, brazzein has great promise to fit into consumer diets, such as Keto, diabetes, or low-to-no carbohydrate lifestyles. Health-conscious consumers are also turning away from artificial sweeteners and accepting nature-based sweeteners, such as stevia and allulose.

Brazzein’s extraordinary qualities stand out among high-intensity sweeteners, but the quest to scale and commercialize it has proven difficult until now. Found sparingly in nature, brazzein derives from the West African climbing plant’s fruit, oubli. To scale brazzein sustainably, Conagen produces it by a proprietary precision fermentation process, a technology producing clean, nature-based ingredients.

“Brazzein is the first product generated from our new peptide platform, which fits well into our existing world-scale, precision fermentation infrastructure,” said Conagen’s Vice President of Innovation, Casey Lippmeier, Ph.D. “Peptides and small proteins like brazzein can be very difficult to make economically. However, now that we have successfully scaled this peptide, we expect more sustainable, novel peptide ingredients will rapidly follow.”

About Sweegen

Sweegen provides sweet taste solutions for food and beverage manufacturers around the world.

We are on a mission to reduce the sugar and artificial sweeteners in our global diet. Partnering with customers, we create delicious zero-sugar products that consumers love. With the best next-generation stevia sweeteners in our portfolio, such as Signature Bestevia® Rebs B, D, E, I, M, and N, along with our deep knowledge of flavor modulators and texturants, Sweegen delivers market-leading solutions that customers want, and consumers prefer. Be well. Choose well.

For more information, please contact info@sweegen.com and visit Sweegen’s website, www.sweegen.com.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, among other statements, statements regarding the future prospects for Reb M stevia leaf sweetener. These statements are based on current expectations but are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are beyond the control of Sweegen, Inc.

Relevant risks and uncertainties include those referenced in the historic filings of Sweegen, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements, and therefore should be carefully considered. Sweegen, Inc. assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements due to new information or future events or developments.

Attachments

Ana Arakelian
Sweegen
+1.949.709.0583
ana.arakelian@sweegen.com

October 4, 2021

New Research in Kosovo Highlights Connection Between Children’s Poor Vision and Learning and Development

Study underscores link between uncorrected poor vision and children’s potential

DALLAS, Oct. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — A new study, a collaboration of the Vision Impact Institute, EdGuard Institute, and ESSILOR’s Vision for Life™ social impact fund, offers new insight into the correlation between uncorrected poor vision and children’s functional, learning, and behavioral capacities.

The study, the first of its kind conducted in Kosovo’s schools, suggests that one in three children reported difficulties seeing the board in their classroom. Findings also show that children with poor vision have a higher risk of developing incapacitating symptoms than children with good vision. These children:

Often report headaches and eye disorders (tired, itching, burning eyes), and modify their physical behavior when learning: squinting, getting closer to the book, resting on their wrist, or sitting in the first desk.
Have their learning capacity (reading, writing, doing homework) affected more often than children with good vision, and encounter more difficulties playing sports.
Feel uncomfortable when playing with others, and frustrated when poor eyesight hinders completion of homework.

“This research is an important collaborative effort, because it not only addresses the issues that children with poor vision experience when learning, but also addresses the psychosocial impact that affects how children learn to interact with their peers and their environment,” says Eva Lazuka-Nicoulaud, Director, Europe and Africa.

“The baseline findings show the need to develop a sustainable roadmap and introduce policies to ensure every child has access to universal eye care services,” says Kristan Gross, Global Executive Director. “All stakeholders, parents, teachers, and eye care professionals have a role to play in creating a foundation for a healthy and productive future for children.”

About the Vision Impact Institute
The Vision Impact Institute’s mission is to raise awareness of the importance of vision correction and protection to make good vision a global priority. Its Advisory Board is comprised of four independent international experts: Pr. Clare Gilbert (United Kingdom), Mr. Allyala Nandakumar (United States), Dr. Serge Resnikoff (Switzerland), and Dr. Wang Wei (China).

The Vision Impact Institute is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which receives support from the Vision for Life Fund from Essilor, the world leader in ophthalmic optics. The Vision Impact Institute hosts a unique database of research and advocacy tools at visionimpactinstitute.org .

Contact:

Kristan Gross
Global Executive Director
kristan.gross@visionimpactinstitute.org

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/832635/Vision_Impact_Institute_Logo.jpg

October 4, 2021

Biden Lifts Abortion Referral Ban on Family Planning Clinics

The Biden administration on Monday reversed a ban on abortion referrals by family planning clinics, lifting a Trump-era restriction as political and legal battles over abortion grow sharper from Texas to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Department of Health and Human Services said its new regulation will restore the federal family planning program to the way it ran under the Obama administration, when clinics were able to refer women seeking abortions to a provider.

Groups representing the clinics said they hope the Biden administration action will lead hundreds of service providers that left in protest over Trump’s policies to return, helping to stabilize a longstanding program that has been shaken by the coronavirus pandemic on top of ideological battles.

Known as Title X, the taxpayer-funded program makes available more than $250 million a year to clinics to provide birth control and basic health care services mainly to low-income women. Under former President Donald Trump, clinics were barred from referring patients for abortions, prompting a mass exit by service providers affiliated with Planned Parenthood, as well as several states and other independent organizations.

Women’s groups labeled the Trump policy a “gag rule,” and medical organizations called it a violation of the clinician-patient relationship. But religious and social conservatives praised the policy for imposing a strict separation between family planning services and abortion. Under federal law, clinics could not use federal money to pay for abortions.

In 2018, the family planning clinics served about 3.9 million clients, but HHS estimates that number fell by nearly 40% after the Trump policy. The upheaval may have led to more than 180,000 unintended pregnancies, the agency said.

Biden campaigned on a promise to overturn the restrictions on family planning clinics, but abortion was not a central issue in the 2020 presidential race. It may become one in the 2022 midterm elections to determine who controls Congress.

U.S. Supreme Court

Restrictive state laws in Texas, Mississippi and elsewhere have prompted a mobilization by abortion rights supporters, who fear a conservative-leaning Supreme Court will overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationally. Hundreds of abortion-themed protests were held around the country Saturday, including one that brought thousands of abortion rights supporters to the steps of the court.

The Supreme Court has allowed the Texas law to take effect but has not ruled on the substantive legal questions behind that statute, which bans most abortions in the state. The justices will hear arguments December 1 on the Mississippi law, which bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Source: Voice of America

October 4, 2021

Officials Seek Cause of Oil Spill off US’s California Coast

Officials investigating one of California’s biggest oil spills were trying to determine whether the undersea pipeline that spewed 572,807 liters (126,000 gallons) of heavy crude into the Pacific Ocean had been damaged by a ship’s anchor.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are the two busiest container ports in the United States, according to their websites. Together, they see more than 100 cargo ships a day, and those ships pass through and anchor in the area where the pipeline runs.

“We’re looking into if it could have been an anchor from a ship, but that’s in the assessment phase right now,” said Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Jeannie Shaye.

Meanwhile, residents of Huntington Beach, California, said authorities were slow to react to the large oil spill off the coast.

The spill, which has sullied the beaches and poses a threat to wildlife, is believed to come from a leak in an underwater pipeline.

Residents said that they noticed oil and the smell of petroleum Friday evening, but that there was no response until Saturday afternoon. They said it wasn’t until Saturday night that Amplify Energy Corp., the oil company that owns the pipeline, shut it down.

In a press release Monday, Amplify Energy said that it spotted the oil spill Saturday and immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard and initiated its oil spill response. The company shut down the pipeline and sent a remotely operated vehicle to help find the source.

Garry Brown, president of the environmental group Orange County Coastkeeper and a Huntington Beach resident, said, “By the time (the oil) comes to the beach, it’s done tremendous damage. Our frustration is, it could have been averted if there was a quick response.”

More than 572,000 liters of crude have reportedly leaked, some of it washing up in coastal Orange County. Several beaches in the area are closed and could remain so for weeks or months, according to Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr.

In response to the spill, crews led by the U.S. Coast Guard have deployed skimmers and booms to try to contain the damage. Of particular concern is the Talbert Marsh, a 10-hectare wetland.

U.S. Representative Michelle Steel, a Republican representing the affected area, has asked President Joe Biden to declare the spill a disaster so that federal money can be allocated toward the cleanup.

“This is a really serious disaster,” she told CNN.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki responded to a reporter’s question Monday about the spill.

“We’re working collaboratively with state and local partners to address efforts to find the leak, contain the spill and assess impact, and address potential causes,” she said.

Amplify Energy operates the pipeline and three offshore oil platforms, all installed in the early 1980s. The 16-inch pipeline carries crude oil to a storage facility in Long Beach.

Beta Operating Company, the Amplify subsidiary that operates the field, has been cited 125 times for safety and environmental violations since 1980, according to a database from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the federal agency that regulates the offshore oil and gas industry, The Associated Press reported.

Source: Voice of America