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Special edition: Battling malnutrition

Time for mandatory folic acid fortification to go truly global?

Food fortification with neural tube defect (NTD)-reducing folic acid is mandatory in 75 nations, but concerns over cancer and other health issues mean Europe lags far behind  – a situation...

UK herbal players have told ministers that the EU Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive 'is not suitable for practitioner-prescribed herbal products'.

UK herbal players unite as government buckles under EU pressure

An special interest group made up of leading players in the UK herbal industry has come together to request an urgent meeting with UK ministers amid reports that the government...

Fresh, locally-sourced fruit, veg and legumes must be provided to Europe's poorest, says EPHA

EPHA calls for healthier foods in EU Most Deprived Fund

Fresh, locally-sourced fruit, vegetables and legumes must replace foods high in fat and sugar in the EU’s fund for Most Deprived, says the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA).

EU lawmakers have altered an 'error' in regulations that would have meant most supplements in Europe risked being taken off the shelves.

Industry body welcomes EU ‘correction’ on silicon dioxide and silicate in supplements

Updated EU regulations on the limits for silicon dioxide and silicate in food supplements have been welcomed by Food Supplements Europe after the members of the trade body spotted an...

Dispatches from VitaFoods Europe 2013

EFSA sets standard for study rigor, consultant says

Differing regulatory environments can play havoc with a company's research plans, say consultant Joerg Gruenwald, PhD.  But recent, sometimes bitter, experience with the European Food Safety Authority has shed some...

News in brief

Omega 3 squid oil processor gets Australian approval

Pharma Marine, a Norwegian company sourcing omega 3 oils from squid, has announced approval of its Calamarine product by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Could tax breaks for healthy food sales work better than food taxes?

Incentivising the sale of healthy foods at the supermarket checkout could be more effective than food taxation for improving food choices, suggests a letter published in the BMJ.

Health groups urge action on nutrient profiling

A group of European health organisations has urged European Commission president José Manuel Barroso to issue a proposal on nutrient profiling as part of a wider EU goal to reduce...

Live from Vitafoods Europe 2013

Cranberry EU medical devices winner: ‘We will never focus on food supplements’

The Dutch start-up Medical Brands is finding success with cranberry products that have won UTI and vaginal treatment claims via the EU medical devices directive.

Live from Vitafoods Europe 2013

Global healthcare systems are failing; nutrition policy needs to change now, says leading academic

Nations and populations are in peril of being swamped by the cost of their healthcare systems unless a severe nutrition policy rethink can occur, says a leading academic.

Yakult ordered to pull Olympics-themed advert in UK over health claims breach

The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has slapped a ban on the broadcast of a Yakult TV advert, ruling that the ad implied there was a health advantage to drinking...

Live from Vitafoods Europe 2013

Cranberry veteran gathers forces against EU medical device products

With cranberry health claims rejected in the European Union, some players have ventured down the medical devices route where therapeutic claims are possible that would never succeed under the EU’s...

Guest article

EU health claims evolution: A submission rethink

Now that the dust has settled on the health claims submission process we should all be very clear on the rules of engagement. Well kind of, says Nigel Baldwin, chief...

Proposed Prop 65 changes ‘could be helpful’, says AHPA legal counsel

The proposed changes by California Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. to the state’s controversial Prop 65 law ‘could be helpful to companies that need to deal with this law’, says AHPA's...

CRN submits comments to FDA on ‘chemically altered’ definition for NDIs

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) has submitted comments to the FDA via international law firm Steptoe & Johnson, LLP, to address when an ingredient is chemically altered such that...

More arrested for smuggling infant formula than drugs - Hong Kong Customs

More people have been arrested for attempting to smuggle infant formula out of Hong Kong since 1 March 2013 than were detained at the border for trafficking drugs throughout the...

Former EFSA boffin backs ‘traditional use’ for EU herbals

A former EFSA Scientific Committee chairman says the European Union’s stalled assessment of botanical extract claims, safety and use needs a multilateral rethink before any progress can be made.

Consultant: ‘No need to fear EU novel foods laws’

The EU’s long-winded novel foods rules have long been viewed as an innovation-crimping legal structure, but a stream-lining of the process means companies should not fear it, a consultant says....

‘Still failing to protect children’: New report slams UK advertising standards

The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) are still failing when it comes to protecting children from the online marketing of junk food, according to a new report from the Children’s...

‘Our goal is global pussyfication’: Branson-backed energy drink earns ASA rap

The UK Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has upheld 156 consumer complaints relating to an energy drink called ‘Pussy Natural Energy’, but the brand insists protestors simply twisted the meaning of...

Could the WTO overturn EU health claim laws?

Aggrieved companies and  trade groups have already mounted legal actions against the EU’s strict health claim laws – they are in process – but the regulation’s workings could face fresh...

Belgium, France and Italy unite on positive botanicals list

Belgian, French and Italian authorities have agreed a preliminary list of botanical substances for use in foods and supplements, after a meeting in Rome yesterday.

SPECIAL EDITION: RIDING THE HEALTH CLAIMS WAVE

Room to grow: Bakery sector fiber health claims

The bakery industry may prefer nutrition content to genuine health claims - a state-of-affairs that reflects the relative few claim-backed nutrients available to breads, cereals, bars and other baked products...

'EFSA regime is going to beget increased diseases,' says attorney Jonathan Emord
SPECIAL EDITION: RIDING THE HEALTH CLAIMS WAVE

EFSA health claims to spark ‘nutrition dark age’, says attorney

Europe is set to sink into a progressive nutrition dark age under the heavy hand of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) regime, says a leading food law attorney.

Add selenium to required infant formula nutrient list, FDA urges

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed the addition of selenium to the list of required nutrients for infant formula products, and the establishment of minimum and maximum...