European Commission nutrition chief to address industry

Mathioudakis’s participation will interest an industry whose concerns in areas such as health claims and maximum permitted levels (MPLs) has never been higher as regulatory deadlines approach. A question and answer session will allow industry to voice some of those concerns.

Murmurings from the EC of late have indicated high-dose food supplements may be a necessary sacrifice to ensure EU-wide regulatory harmony, and many will seek clarity on the EC’s position on this contentious issue, along with the direction of the nutrition and health claims regulation.

Mathioudakis, from the EC’s Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection, will be joined by Simon Pettman, the director of international food and nutrition policy at Belgian consultancy, EAS.

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Of Mathioudakis’s participation, Pettman, who will chair the event, observed:“His experience lies in his unrivalled understanding of EU food law, and with the recent health claims regulation very much at the top of every manufacturer’s agenda, now is a unique time to hear from one of the world’s leading experts on the matter.”​

Others taking part in the panel are Peter Van Doorn, chairman of the European Federation of Associations of Health Products Manufacturers (EHPM), and Eduardo Escobedo from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

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EHPM has done a lot of work in the area of MPLs and worked closely with other trade groups such as the European Responsible Nutrition Alliance (ERNA) and the Confederation of the food and drink industries of the EU (CIAA) in submitting more than 700 health claims to EU process.

Escobedo has worked with ingredients pioneers from developing nations to assist them in bringing their wares to EU markets via the tough Novel Foods