Concerns abound that the approach of the European Food Safety Authority towards health claims may stifle innovation and science, none more so than for prebiotics, says a leading researcher.
Dispatches from the NI Health Claims 2010 conference
Europe's leading trade groups are set for a meeting with the European Commission to discuss their concerns over the health claims assessment, and EFSA's reluctance to engage in dialogue.
More than six months after receiving a positive health claim opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) linking its tomato extract to blood circulation benefits, UK biotech firm Provexis has been handed final claim wording by the European...
Dispatches from the NI Health Claims 2010 conference
European Union health claims handed negative opinions by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) may be able to resubmit data under an article of the nutrition and health claims regulation, according to a European Commission official.
Dispatches from the NI Health Claims 2010 conference
Making claims based on non-conclusive but still substantial science is a "possible avenue" since denying a 'maybe' claim may challenge free speech rights, says a UK lawyer.
UK TV ads promoting a heart health measurement service on the website for Unilever’s plant sterol, cholesterol-lowering pro.activ range, have been backed by Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Dispatches from the NI Health Claims 2010 conference
US attorney Jonathan Emord draws parallels between his experiences in the US challenging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the current health claims situation in Europe on the basis of free speech.
The affirmation that the omega-3 DHA can benefit cognitive and eye health offers hope to previously rejected claims. And it's business as usual regarding the overall health claims process, despite ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, said a European...
With ‘healthy’ populations identified as the ideal for the European Food Safety Authority’s health claims, NutraIngredients asks Yakult – what exactly is healthy?
Danone is calling for a clear health claims regulatory timetable to be implemented over the next few weeks because the current lack of clarity is “restricting the competitiveness of businesses”, reports our sister publication Food Manufacture.
Producing randomized clinical trials is never an inexpensive endeavour, but increasingly stringent criteria mean companies are facing tough choices on whether to pursuer innovation, says DSM Nutritional Products.
Leatherhead Food Research chief executive, Dr Paul Berryman, tells Shane Starling that despite a swathe of European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) health claim rejections, the positive opinions that have come in offer much hope to industry.
For a fruit that has had more science conducted on it than most, it is surprising to some that France remains the only country to have approved a long-standing cranberry health claim.
The Irish Health Trade Association (IHTA) claims the scientific approach taken by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in its assessment of health claims for nutrients is seriously flawed.
India is developing guidelines that may mean probiotic strains will have to be backed by clinical trials conducted on Indian populations if they are to gain market approval.
As the European Union health claims climate evolves, companies are learning just what is required to demonstrate the benefits of healthy foods and supplements.
Probiotics should be considered as living drugs rather than “simple good bacteria” in order to become effective treatment options for IBS, according to Joseph Haddad, medical director of Institut Rosell-Lallemand.
UK-based omega-3 supplements brand, Equazen, says it will amend its marketing materials after negative health claim opinions regarding its products were written into the European Union legislature in October.
As a raft of non-positive opinions on probiotics floats down the health claims river, questions have been asked of the efficacy of the beneficial bacteria. Two experts discuss where we stand and how to get the good ship Probiotic back on course.
The Sudzucker-owned Beneo Group established the Beneo Institute in late 2009 to give “new oxygen to a squeezed industry”, as Executive Board member, Yves Servotte, puts it, to a functional foods industry facing unprecedented regulatory and scientific...
Cognis has reported a 6.8 per cent decline in nutritional and health product revenue for the first 9 months of 2009 as the European market weakens and supplement sales slump.
Iodine and iron have both been shown to benefit children’s development by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) scientists under article 14 of the European Union nutrition and health claims regulation.
Naturex president and chief executive officer, Jacques Dikansky, tells Shane Starling why in August the French botanicals giant bought Spanish supplier, Natraceutical Group, to double its size for the third time since 2002.
Leading probiotics supplier, Chr Hansen, has inked a deal with Australian start-up, Probiomics, that will see it distribute a strain initial trials indicate has immunity benefits.
Provexis chief executive officer, Stephen Moon tells Shane Starling why becoming the first company to achieve an article 13.5 proprietary health claim has been such a boon to his company.
US researchers have successfully transferred gut bacteria from obese humans to germ-free mice, a breakthrough that will allow a more detailed study of the link between gut microflora and obesity.
Ka-CHING! Hear that? No it’s not the sound of overflowing cash registers as consumers throw endless wads of euros at scientifically-backed, healthy foods in greater numbers than ever before.
Three of Europe’s largest food supplement and healthy product trade groups have issued a 17-page paper that lays out its many concerns with the scientific approach being taken by EFSA in regard to health claims.
NutraIngredients asked its readers for their views on whether the EU health claims regulation is stifling innovation in Europe. And we received a lot of responses...
The European Union health claims regulation is a good idea being badly implemented according the Peter van Doorn, the chairman of leading trade group, EHPM. The economic fall-out may lead to the regulation being dragged before the courts, he argues, in...
DSM has said that it intends to look for new partners in China for its nutritional products and anti-infectives, after its contracts with North China Pharmaceutical Group Corporation (NCPC) were suspended.
There’s gold to be found in them health claims mountains, but prospectors from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) must be happy with the little chunks that add up to a lot, and stop searching for nuggets the size of your fist.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has confirmed that the omega-3 fatty acids, DHA and ALA, can benefit eye and cognitive development in babies.
Pooling nutrient information is becoming an important and time efficient way for companies seeking scientific data about nutrients – especially those seeking to back health claims under the European Union’s tough claims system.
A new partnership with chemical group Solvay will enable the distribution of a low dosage prebiotic food ingredient with multiple food and drink applications within Europe, the Middle East and Africa, claims Tate & Lyle.
In the final part of our series on healthy chocolate, NutraIngredients scans the regulatory landscape to see how the movement towards healthy cocoa offerings is being affected by the rules in some of the lands they are proliferating in.
Two of the three article 14 cholesterol-lowering health claim opinions relating to plant sterols and stanols have been written into the European Union legislature – along with 19 other claims.
Genetic typing, internationally recognised naming protocols and evidence of consistency in the final product have been highlighted by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) as critical factors for probiotic health claim submissions.
Chr. Hansen is remarketing its probiotics to underline their scientific backing as the industry reels from EFSA’s mass rejection of probiotic dossiers.
There is not enough evidence to support the claim that probiotics can remedy or prevent bacterial vaginosis (BV), according to a new study conducted jointly by scientists in the United Arab Emirates, Belgium and Italy.
Pan-European better nutrition advocate, the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH), says the European Union health claims system is going way beyond its remit to protect consumer interests and curtailing freedom of speech.
An international consortium of concerned lipid scientists says the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)-recommended omega-3 dietary reference values (DRVs) are seriously flawed and should be amended before they see the light of day in the European Union...
The European Commission has set itself the goal of processing the 94 generic article 13.1 health claim opinions issued by EFSA recently by the end of January, meaning claim rulings could be enforceable at retail level by July, 2010.
The voluntary UK advertising watchdog has told Danone to cease broadcasting TV adverts that stated its one-shot probiotic drinking yoghurt, Actimel, could boost the immune system of children.
Immune health from gut health is not too obscure for consumers, but work needs to be done on identifying the mechanisms involved, said the conclusions from a two-day meeting in Toulouse.
Global energy drinks leader, Red Bull, says the recent rejection of taurine-based energy health claims by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) won’t have any bearing on its own claim-making.
The green-lipped mussel extract market will benefit from the negative joint health claim opinion delivered by the European Food safety Authority (EFSA) last week because it has highlighted one-size-fits-all problems in the market, according to a leading...
Three University of Reading scientists wrote to the European Commission in July expressing concern about EFSA’s approach to evaluating probiotic article 13.1 dossiers.
The group of international scientists that last week petitioned the European Commission to amend a mooted omega-3 labelling regulation they believe would confuse consumers, have vowed to continue their fight in the European Parliament, after the EC backed...
