NZ firm seeks noni juice market in UK

New Zealand company Nature's Products is seeking approval from Britain's food authority to extend the marketing of its noni juice to Europe.

The juice is already sold in Germany by GSE Vertrieb, which last year applied for approval of noni as a "novel food".

Nature's Products has now applied to Britain's Food Standards Agency for approval in this market, too, based on the equivalence of the food to the product already on sale.

In Britain, the assessment of novel foods is carried out by an independent committee of scientists appointed by the Food Standards Agency, the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes.

The Nature's Products application was made under the Novel Foods Regulation (EC) No 258/97, on the grounds that the company is the sole supplier of Cook Islands noni juice to a company that has already had noni juice approved for sale in the European Union.

Noni juice is a valuable export for the Cook Islands, selling for about $10 for 1.5 litres in the islands, but for prices ranging from US$50 ($75) a litre to £150 ($400) a litre in Northern Hemisphere markets.

Noni, also known as "Indian mulberry" and "nonu", is scientifically known as Morinda citrifolia. It originated in Southeast Asia and has been distributed into the Pacific islands, including Tahiti, Rarotonga and Hawaii.

The plant resembles a small evergreen shrub or tree that grows from 3m to 6m. Its fruit is green until maturity, when it turns rapidly to a light yellow and then a translucent white, and smells like blue cheese.

In the United States, unsubstantiated claims for the benefits of Tahitian noni have landed marketers in court.


- NZPA