EU article 13 health claim compliance D Day: December 14, 2012

25-May-2012 - The controversial European Union article 13 health claim list has this morning been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, giving companies until December 14 to get their claim-making in order.

EFSA recommends expanding sterol-stanol cholesterol claim

23-May-2012 - The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has concluded that plant stanols and sterols can more powerfully reduce cholesterol reduction after assessing fresh data submitted by category leaders, Raisio and Unilever.

EFSA health claim opinion

EFSA rejects Merck glucosamine-joint health claim

21-May-2012 - Glucosamine does not help maintain normal joint cartilage, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has found after assessing a proprietary article 13.5 dossier submitted by drug giant, Merck Consumer Healthcare.

EU article 13 health claims register

222 EU health claims become law; experts predict “tsunami of cheap innovation”

16-May-2012 - It’s official. Companies have six months – until December – to comply with the controversial European Union article 13, general function health claims register which today won final approval from the European Commission.

Comment

Vitafoods: EU nutra space wriggles into new health claims clothes

15-May-2012 - Vitafoods celebrates its 15th birthday next week. It’ll be my 11th consecutive May visit to Geneva for the jamboree and promises to be one of the most intriguing chapters with the (partial and belated) resolution of years of ambiguity regarding health claims in Europe.

Regulations biggest BRIC nutraceutical growth barrier: Survey

04-May-2012 - Nutraceutical market development is being crimped by draconian food regulations say 65% of food industry executive, according to a poll conducted by the organisers of Vitafoods Europe.

Rejected cranberry wins EU medical UTI claim

02-May-2012 - €3 million and seven years of research and development work have paid off for Medical Brands which has won the right to make medical urinary tract infection (UTI) claims in the EU and beyond with its cranberry partner, Decas Botanical Synergies (DBS).

Analyst warns that GSK’s ‘strategic masterstroke’ with Ribena Plus could backfire

19-Apr-2012 - Despite shrewd use of an EU ‘immunity support’ health claim, GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK’s) new Ribena Plus risks consumer confusion and cannibalisation of regular product sales, a beverage industry expert has warned.

Chr Hansen shares jump 9% on strong H1 profits

19-Apr-2012 - First half EBIT profits for 2011-12 surged 19% to €83m at Chr Hansen as it shrugged off the effects of severe fluctuations in the price of red colorant carmine, and ongoing probiotic health claim uncertainty in Europe – its biggest yet most stagnant market.

Dutch group wins 25,000+ anti-EU health claims signatures

19-Apr-2012 - A petition against the EU nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR) has won the signatures of more than 25,000 irate, mostly Dutch and British consumers, and will be presented to the European Parliament this month.

“Health claims regulation must be destroyed”, says author of new book

18-Apr-2012 - The author of a new 452-page book that decimates the European Union nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR) for crippling commercial free speech and consumer choice, says the regulation should be taken to European courts by the end of July this year.

Nutrient profiling back on EU agenda, says policy expert

16-Apr-2012 - The European Commission’s work to create a nutrient profiling system to restrict claims on certain foods will once again come up for discussion in 2013 when the Commission presents its second proposal on the issue, says a leading policy expert.

British Specialist Nutrition Association welcomes EU health claims list

06-Apr-2012 - The British Specialist Nutrition Association (BSNA) says the 222-claim strong, European Union general function health claims list that is set to enter law books as early as next month, is a just reward for the investment made by the food industry across the bloc.

Food manufacturers ditch health claims for nutrition

05-Apr-2012 - Many food and drink manufacturers are set to abandon health claims approval under new EU legislation and go, instead, for nutrition claims, for which the approvals hurdle is much lower, according to experts.

PepsiCo on nutrient profiling: “We are operating in a legal vacuum”

03-Apr-2012 - Three years late and seeking further extensions, nutrient profiles remain the missing link in the European Union’s new health claim regime. Frustrated stakeholders say the time to decide is nigh.

Croda debuts “non-separated” omega-3 emulsion for kids

02-Apr-2012 - Croda Health Care is debuting a ‘no-separation’ omega-3 emulsion it is targeting at children in the form of syrups and sachets.

Dispatches from IFT Wellness 2012

Could EU claims crackdown provide US plaintiffs’ attorneys with ammo for new wave of class actions?

30-Mar-2012 - The EU crackdown on health claims is unlikely to impact on US regulators, but it could provide ammunition to opportunistic plaintiffs’ attorneys this side of the Atlantic, experts have warned.

BioBind banned from making slimming claims in UK

30-Mar-2012 - UK firm Direct Healthcare has been rapped by the advertising watchdog over slimming claims for itsBioBIND product that contained cactus extract, chitosan and psyllium husk.

Time for a dose of nutrient profiling pragmatism, say stakeholders

29-Mar-2012 - Frustration at the inability of European Union lawmakers to decide on nutrient profiling rules made unusual bedfellows of health NGOs and Big Food representatives, who have agreed the EU would be better to borrow a model already in use than pursue its cripplingly convoluted calculations.

Uncertainty continues on health claims wording

29-Mar-2012 - Manufacturers are still not sure how much flexibility they have in wording health claims because guidance from the European Commission (EC) is not yet available.

Dispatches from the 6th Nutrition & Lifestyle conference in Brussels

6-year EU obesity platform nears completion: But has it worked?

28-Mar-2012 - A 6-year project tackling obesity and other diet and physical activity-related health issues across the European Union has spawned 300 individual positive actions by government, commercial and other actors – and is not set to wind up until next year.

Dispatches from the 6th Nutrition & Lifestyle conference in Brussels

Tough? Not tough enough, says UK watchdog on EU health claim rules

27-Mar-2012 - Industry has become accustomed to feeling annoyed and hamstrung by the European Union nutrition and health claims regulation, but UK consumer watchdog Which? told a conference today that the rules should be even more closely enforced to help baffled consumers.

EFSA weight management guidance: “Useful for novices”, says EU consultant

27-Mar-2012 - A leading European research and health claims consultancy has panned just-published weight management health claim guidance from the European Food Safety Authority for failing to provide detail on how to progress trial design in a sector that has struggled to win claims.

Scandinavian CROs merge; eye health claim success

27-Mar-2012 - The key to submitting a successful health claims dossier under the EU Heath and Nutrition Claims Regulation (NHCR) lies in focusing on one single risk factor, and is the main reason why probiotic claim applications have been knocked back, advises Essi Sarkkinen, COO, clinical research, with newly formed contract research organisation (CRO) Foodfiles AB.