Polish authorities to streamline food supplement red tape with new notification system
Scheduled in for February, the system looks to aid in fulfilling the obligations of companies that require owners to fill out the necessary notification forms whilst eliminating common mistakes.
“The new system will continue to be used by entrepreneurs marketing foodstuffs qualified as dietary supplements, fortified foods, foods for special medical purposes and infant formulas,” the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate says.
“In the future some infant formulas and all-day diet replacement for weight control will also qualify under this foodstuff.”
The Inspectorate plan to disable the Electronic Notification System on January 30 this year to migrate data from the old service system.
In addition, the operation of the registry and the system is expected to be unavailable from 30 January to 3 February, whilst this operation takes place.
The notification system is expected to make the process of registering a product in Poland, especially if it is for the first time.
Before marketing certain foodstuffs, business owners are obligated to inform the Chief Sanitary Inspector of their intentions.
Poland organisation
The news comes as Poland undergoes a series of actions that look to organise its market of dietary supplements with new guidelines and tightening of governing legislation.
In December last year, Polish authorities agreed to adopt seven further resolutions specifying maximum ingredient levels for use in supplements containing vitamins, minerals, caffeine and white mulberry preparations for adults.
Poland began setting maximum levels of ingredients used in food supplements at the start of 2019, where authorities set limits and conditions of use for isoflavones (soy and others) as well as aloe vera and beta alanine preparations.
The country’s actions mirror recent publications by Ireland and The Netherlands, which has notified the EU of their intentions to set maximum safety levels for vitamins and minerals.
Other corresponding agencies to follow suit include the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and Norway, which amended existing regulations on vitamin and mineral addition to food and supplements.
Supplement advertising tax
In an interview with Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland’s Ministry of Health said it would also introduce legislation that taxes energy drinks and advertising for dietary supplements.
Under the proposed plans, an extra €0.05 (0.20 zloty) would be added to the cost of an energy drink (containing caffeine, guarana or taurine)
Further plans would see a levy of 10% charged for advertising dietary supplements on television and radio.
According to the newspaper, the ministry claims that Poles are taking an excess amount of dietary supplements, and “the promotion of health food is losing out to aggressive advertising of products not recommended in significant qualities in our diet”.
Gazeta Wyborcza also mention that sales of such products amounted to €1.3bn (5.4 bn zloty) last year, with the market precited to grow by 5% each year.
