To infinity and… that’s it! NASA denies developing nutricosmetic drink

05-Jun-2012 - Last updated on 06-Jun-2012 at 15:02 GMT

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has refuted claims it developed a wrinkle-reducing fruit drink after it was reported that the AS10 beverage was developed in line with the space agency.

It was reported in many media outlets that NASA developed the AS10 fruit drink to protect astronauts from radiation, and that a new study from the University of Utah showed that the nutritional supplement displayed nutricosmetic value.

According to these reports, researchers found that after four months of drinking two shots of the fruit drink a day, the UV spots on the participants’ faces were reduced by 30 percent, and wrinkles by 17 percent.

However, NASA has since dismissed these reports, stating that the AS10 drink is ‘not a NASA food product.’

Joint research

The space agency was involved in joint research to develop the active ingredients that are used in the drink, but for the purpose of a gel capsule for astronauts to take for long duration space flight.

It states it has not used any material or food substance described in the various news stories, nor is it conducting any research related to the claims made in the news stories.

Reports also quoted a university scientist, Dr Aaron Barson, however the University of Utah has since stated that whilst Barson was connected with it from 1988 to 2002 as a volunteer/adjunct clinical assistant professor, he now has no affiliation with the institution.

Despite the media reports however, CosmeticsDesign.com USA was unable to locate any reference to any University of Utah research study published online.

On top of that, according to the AmeriSciences UK Master Distributor’s website, the AS10 antioxidant drink and multivitamin civilian supplement combination is based on joint research with NASA, but has not been developed as a nutricosmetic by the space agency.

AmeriSciences states that its Houston-based operation has been involved in joint research with NASA / Johnson Space Center (JSC) to develop nutritional supplements for the astronauts to meet the needs of long-duration space flight as well as conditioning here on Earth, with no mention of anti-aging benefits.

Misreported

“Civilian formulas based in part on joint research between AmeriSciences and NASA/JSC are available,” states the site, but in an exclusive interview with our sister site BeverageDaily.com, David Wilson, AmeriSciences UK Master Distributor, said he was “extremely frustrated” by media misreporting on this.

Wilson explained that neither the University of Utah nor NASA was involved in Aaron Barson’s study.

“NASA didn’t develop the AS10 drink itself,” Wilson told Ben Bouckley of BeverageDaily.com. “But they were involved in joint research to develop the active ingredients in the drink.”