Regulations to implement the provisions of the EU directive on food
supplements in England were laid before the UK parliament this
week. The UK is likely to see the removal of more supplements than
most other Member States.
Finland's National Food Agency is to test the PAH levels in
margarine products, following a Swedish report suggesting that a
sample of Becel pro.activ contained twice the legal level of the
carcinogenic compounds.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland is advising the industry to
remove 10 herbal supplement products from sale, after a survey
found them to contain irradiated components not highlighted in the
product labelling.
The National Association of Health Stores in the UK says it has
been granted leave by the High Court to bring a case against the UK
government and the National Assembly for Wales to overturn the
recent ban on the sale of kava products.
The Food Standards Agency held an open board meeting on 8 May 2003
in Cardiff, Wales - also broadcast live on the Agency's website -
to discuss the recent reports on vitamins and minerals,
phytoestrogens and GM foods.
Members of the health foods industry have voiced the need for
greater global consensus on safety limits for nutrients after last
week's EVM report released by the UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA)
revealed yet another different...
Repercussions of Australia's largest ever medicines recall
involving contract manufacturer Pan Pharmaceuticals, will hit the
natural health industry hard, and could also concern food
manufacturers.
The UK's National Association of Health Stores is hoping to hear
this week that it can start its High Court action against the
Medicines Control Agency and the Food Standards Agency concerning
the ban on the herbal remedy kava-kava.
The Commission recently discussed some of the Member States'
comments on its proposal to regulate fortified foods and adding
vitamins and other nutrients.
"There are no 'good' and 'bad' foods but rather 'good' and 'bad'
diets," said David Byrne, European Commissioner for Health and
Consumer Protection, discussing planned proposals on health...
Proposed new regulations governing the voluntary fortification of
foodstuffs with vitamins and minerals are to be discussed by the UK
Food Standards Agency.
Cognis Nutrition & Health, a nutritional ingredients supplier,
has responded to claims made earlier this week by Dutch rival
Loders Croklaan regarding the infringement of several of its
patents.
Germany's classification of garlic supplements as a medicine and
Italy's draconian laws on sports drinks have incurred the wrath of
the European Commission this week.
The new marketing agreement between Natural and Cognis for Tonalin
CLA has been marred by the filing of a lawsuit against Natural by
Loders Croklaan, which claims its patents have been infringed.
German herbal extract manufacturer Euromed has received Kosher
certification from a US certification agency. The company is one of
the first European companies to gain the accreditation.
Swiss pharmaceuticals company Roche yesterday said its vitamins and
fine chemicals unit, recently sold to DSM, fully complies with new
requirements for vitamin E issued this month by the Netherlands.
The European Commission has published a draft proposal for a
directive on the addition of vitamins, minerals and other
substances to food. The directive, to be discussed at an expert
meeting in March, aims to ease trade of fortified...
The maker of natural supplements Lichtwer Pharma has been warned
against making anti-ageing claims for a supplement designed to
promote healthy skin by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority.
Noting the large numbers of Europeans seeking health-related
information on the Internet, the European Commission has adopted a
communication setting out a number of criteria for health-related
websites. The quality criteria include...
British consumers can tuck in to mince pies and Christmas cake
without worrying about the quality of the dried fruit ingredients,
according to a survey by the UK's Food Standards Agency.
European members of parliament have adopted a resolution for new
legislation on traditional herbal products which will require all
herbal medicines on sale in the European Union to be registered.
The UK's Office of Fair Trading yesterday launched a campaign
urging consumers to 'wise up' to misleading advertisements for
'miracle cure' health, beauty and slimming products. The market for
slimming products...
European food manufacturers will soon have to label the complete
content of all foodstuffs, including alcohol, in an EU measure to
protect consumers, particularly those with allergies. The European
Commission's proposal, part...
The role of food industry bodies in helping to maintain and promote
food safety for the consumer was clearly underlined this week by
the UK Food and Drink Federation. Speaking at the Society of Food
Hygiene Technology's annual...
Consumer organisations across the European Union should expect
better representation on advisory bodies and increased rights to be
consulted, if we are to believe the words of European Commissioner
for Health and Consumer Protection,...
'Health' claims made on food labels often leave consumers confused
or unclear about the properties of the products, Britain's Food
Standards Agency reports, following research commissioned by the
agency, in the wake...
The UK Government's Department of Health is to reform its social
welfare food scheme, which targets mothers and children in
low-income families, by adding a broader range of foods such as
fruit and vegetables and cereal-based...
The TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue, an organisation of European
and US consumer groups, has criticised American and European
governments for backing business interests over consumer concerns
in their trade policies.
David Byrne, the European Commissioner responsible for Health and
Consumer Protection, yesterday issued a message of support to the
Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD), a forum of US and EU
organisations, ahead of its forthcoming...
Dietary supplements containing the herb ephedra are associated with
more reports of death, heart attack, hypertension, stroke, and
seizure than all other dietary supplements combined, according to
Dr Sidney Wolfe, director of Public...
The European Parliament this week rejected a Commission proposal to
extend pharmaceutical powers to cover food supplements. The
proposal was part of a series of amendments to the
'all-encompassing' and outdated 1965 medicines...
The UK's Advertising Standards Authority has upheld two complaints
against a leading British tea company for making misleading claims
about the health benefits of tea. The incident highlights the
problematic area of advertising...
Canada's Federal Court last week fined four leading vitamin
companies C$3.875 million (€2.5m) for their role in a price-fixing
conspiracy. Degussa, Lonza and Nepera and Reilly Industries of the
United States were all charged...
Lonza Ltd and Lonza Inc, both subsidiaries of Swiss chemicals
company Lonza Group, have filed a series of patent infringement
lawsuits against supplement companies Carnitech, Barrington,
Stauber and Axel Chemical in the US.
The US Food and Drug Administration said yesterday it had ordered
the seizure of hundreds of bottles of a dietary supplement that the
agency said falsely claimed to treat autism.
Cognis Nutrition and Health and Kemin Foods have finally reached an
agreement in court over the marketing and promotional issues for
lutein and lutein esters products.Specific terms of the agreement
are to remain confidential between...
The UK's Food Standards Agency is advising people not to eat
calabash chalk, a traditional remedy for morning sickness, because
samples tested have revealed high levels of lead. The Agency is
also taking immediate action to remove...
Results from a European Commission report on the use and labelling
of food irradiation finds that 42 per cent of certain dietary
supplements in the UK have been illegally treated with the
technology.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition last week sent a letter to
Senator Durbin and other legislators recommending several actions
be taken to protect the safety and reliability of
ephedra-containing dietary supplements.
Britain's Food Standards Agency said this week that its Committee
on Toxicity is consulting on a draft report that looks at the
implications of dietary phytoestrogens - chemicals naturally
produced by some edible plants, notably...
US supplement manufacturer Weider Nutrition is the fourth company
to join the USP Dietary Supplement Verification Program. Weider
will initially submit its Schiff brand of Move Free joint care
products for the DSVP certification process.
The National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA), a US-based trade
body, is the latest industry organistion to issue a statement
following this week's Senate hearing on ephedra in Washington. The
group reacted to Senator Durbin's...
US trade body the Council for Responsible Nutrition said this week
that its Omega-3 Working Group has ratified a voluntary monograph
intended to raise the bar for the quality of long chain Omega-3 EPA
and DHA products marketed in...
The Ephedra Education Council (EEC) has responded to yesterday's
news that as many as one third of the US population now suffers
from obesity with a statement promoting the safety and efficacy of
the dietary supplement ephedra.
The weight-loss services provider Weight Watchers International is
suing Florida-based supplement company USA Prescriptions for
placing unauthorised pop-up ads for diet drugs on the
WeightWatchers website.
Speaking at the annual CRN conference yesterday, president John
Cordaro called upon the dietary supplement industry to promote
growth "by restoring consumer confidence in using dietary
supplements."
The US Food and Drug Administration announced this week that it has
issued a 'cyber letter' to the operator of an Internet website that
was selling Yellow Jackets, an herbal product, as an alternative to
illicit street drugs.
Following the FTC's recent report on false claims made by weight
loss products, the Strategic Research Institute in New York is
holding a forum for weight loss marketers to learn about the latest
findings, investigations, guidelines...
