One of the most fiercely debated and amended pieces of European Union food law history is playing out before our eyes, and its effects are beginning to be felt.
Finnish group Raisio has won a hard-to-come-by approval for its Benecol cholesterol lowering plant stanol ester ingredients in China, as it continues its push to develop new markets.
A drinking straw innovator, a leading probiotics supplier and the world’s biggest aseptic beverage packager have teamed up to deliver a probiotic drink that has attracted the interest of the world’s biggest beverage companies. Shane Starling met with...
In response to a recent BMJ editorial claiming that only drugs are effective for weight loss, members of the global food and supplements industries have defended the efficacy of their products, calling the article the “latest misinformed campaign”.
Finnish dairy and ingredients supplier, Valio, will submit data it believes may alter the negative opinion for a probiotic-related, gastro-intestinal health claim delivered by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently.
Canadian probiotics supplier, Lallemand, has responded to the growing wealth and interest in healthy foods in China by formalising an existing probiotics-based partnership with a Chinese nutrition company.
Chr Hansen has launched two new probiotic cultures which it says allow manufacturers of low-fat yoghurt to add the healthy bacteria to their products while also maintaining a thick, creamy texture.
France has not been the fastest uptaker of European Union food supplement laws, but market liberalisation is underway, says French food supplements association (Synadiet) president, Alban Maggiar. If only EFSA would stop being so "Soviet-like"...
With concern about the severity of EFSA’s health claim rulings raging, industry is asking if the regime may be stifling innovation and restricting the market. Shane Starling reports.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has deemed lutein safe for use in infant formula in doses up to 250-300mg/l and 500mg/l in follow-on formula.
The global economic crisis will yield rich pickings for food firms with a strong capital structure. So believes Frutarom, which has reported another quarter of impressive growth figures on the back of its most recent acquisitions splurge.
The level of science required to back health claims under Europe’s new regulations is high, and negative opinions are likely, but there is no need to panic, says Indena’s Christian Artaria. Yet.
Modifying our gut bacteria with probiotics and prebiotics may be a new weapon in the fight against obesity. Three experts active in this field discuss the current state of play, and what the future may hold for weight management with probiotics and prebiotics.
UK-based Leatherhead Food International (LFI) is seeking commercial interest for a research project that will explore the potential of probiotics to deliver oral health benefits.
At HIE in Paris, NutraIngredients gained an exclusive interview with EFSA's chief health claim assessor, Professor Albert Flynn. EFSA has copped a lot of flak for its gold standard scientific approach, but Professor Flynn said his agency would not...
The World Health Organization’s food supplements regulation guideline body, Codex, has broadened its definition of what can be considered worthy scientific evidence to back health claims.
Chr Hansen has reported a year of strong growth in 2007/8, putting it in a strong position to expand in the life sciences arena, and in particular health and nutrition.
A daily supplement of B vitamins may reduce the risk of breast cancer and other invasive cancers in women over the age of 65, according to a new study from the US.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will not moderate its ‘gold standard’ approach to health claims and should not be criticised for doing so, according to the chair of its claims assessment panel.
Benecol has joined its main competitor, Unilever-owned plant sterol-based, functional food range, Flora pro.activ, in having a cholesterol-lowering health claim approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
Raisio, the Finnish plant stanol supplier and maker of the Benecol cholesterol-lowering consumer brand, reports third quarter profits of €7.6m, a 100 per cent increase on Q3 in 2007.
Danish-based supplier and supplements maker, New Nordic, has been rapped over bone health and arterial claims it has been making for vitamin K2 food supplements in the UK.
The probiotic straw is a concept that has been a long time coming but one which may be about to move from its current niche status into the mainstream, according to Swedish probiotics supplier, BioGaia.
The latest batch of European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) opinions has surfaced with the assessor giving the thumbs up to three claims revolving around calcium, vitamin D and bone health.
The UK’s Advertising Standards Agency has upheld complaints against two ‘misleading and inaccurate’ adverts for Nestle’s Maggi Noodles and GlaxoSmithKline’s Horlicks which made unsubstantiated health claims.
In the final part of our gut health series, NutraIngredients.com reviews the science behind the ‘friendly bacteria’ and the prebiotics fibres that ‘fuel’ them.
A new business partnership is providing beverage manufacturers with potential to market probiotic drinks without the need for chilling or tight shelf-life restrictions.
In the second part of a series on gut health, NutraIngredients examines the way products in this category are regulated – and what types of health claims they can make.
One of the first functional foods was a digestive health product – Yakult – a probiotic drink a Japanese scientist began selling in his home country in the 1930s.
The European Food Safety Authority’s hard line stance on health claims is bewildering some, resigning others, but steeling most to meet its ‘gold standard’ scientific demands.
Martek Biosciences Corporation is disappointed but not devastated by the European Food Safety Authority’s rejection of its article 14 DHA/ARA infant nutrition health claim.
The European Food Safety Authority recently turned in its first health claim verdicts, rejecting eight of nine. European food regulations expert Lorène Courrège explains why EFSA’s tough health claim approach may stifle product innovation.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has rejected a Martek Biosciences Corporation health claim submission relating infant brain and eye development with DHA (omega-3) and ARA (omega-6) consumption.
Imperfect as they may be, the European Union’s regulatory efforts in the food area have attracted the attention of regulators around the world, some of whom view what is being done in the bloc as a legislative template.
Europe’s health claim assessment process kicked off with the rejection of almost 90 per cent of the first bunch. But industry must accept its shortcomings if credibility is to be the winner.
The European Food Safety Authority has kicked off the eagerly awaited health claim assessment process with a slew of claim rejections signalling a hard line methodology that may see thousands of claims submissions binned.
The International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplement Associations (IADSA) is keeping up pressure on changing how health clams are substantiated by Codex.
Pan-European health and nutrition claims moved a step closer to reality after 2870 claims were delivered to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for assessment by January, 2010.
The European Commission has culled its gargantuan nutrition
and health claims list from more than 40,000 to 1500 as the
health claims process moves closer to fruition in January, 2010.
A seminar attended by key government and industry figures in Singapore has highlighted claim issues in south east Asia and given insights into managing the legislative change occurring in the region.
Italians and women are the most interested western Europeans
in digestive health claims while Dutch are the least, according to
new consumer research funded by French fibre specialist Syral.
"Subtle language differences" may confound regulators in
the midst of translating thousands of health claims ahead of a
pan-European 2010 approval deadline, according to various industry
sources.
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued a detailed 81-page
document advising companies on how to negotiate the various
European Commission processes involved in health claims submission,
approval and application.
