A report authored by UK public health lobby group Action on Sugar has called on the UK government to curb energy drink consumption among young people – listing a ban on sales to under 16s as one policy option.
Latest research has suggested that on balance, coffee and tea intake may lower the incidence of metabolic disorders and exert a protective effect on health.
UK retailer Marks and Spencer has filed a health claim for a particular carbohydrate to protein ratio it says helps overweight individuals lose weight.
legal uncertainty and B2B marketing rethink on the horizon?
The Court of Justice of the EU has confirmed that commercial communications addressed solely to health professionals must respect the nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR) like any other marketing addressed to consumers.
There is barely a food or beverage category that has not been invaded by coconut in some shape or form, says Euromonitor International contributing analyst, Simone Baroke. But is the world justified in going loco for coco?
When consumers use beauty-from-within products they expect to see the effects in the mirror, and sometimes quickly, but this is actually more of an opportunity than a challenge, say experts.
Researchers in Ireland have concluded via a long term trial that supplementation with three carotenoids—lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin—can improve the visual performance of subjects who had normal vision to start.
The German arm of consumer group Foodwatch has called on Monster Energy to voluntarily stop using health claims on its drinks following clear recent political calls for change.
So-called multivitamin and mineral pregnancy supplements are “an unnecessary expense” for most expectant mothers, according to a review of current UK guidance for pregnancy supplementation. Yet industry has called the statements dangerously misleading.
In 2015 a total of 177 experts of UK nationality contributed to the work of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), leaving some to question what an impending Brexit will mean for this talent pool.
Publicly listed UK start-up Optibiotix has €4m+ in the bank and is pushing forward on a series of microbiome-focused nutrition projects that include a joint research initiative with weight management giant, SlimFast.
One health claim application for a prebiotic fibre and a further two for the plant resin Chios mastiha have been withdrawn from the European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) agenda.
The European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance (ESSNA) has called for a distinction to be made between the two blocked caffeine claims referring to endurance and a further two referring to alertness and concentration.
The Dutch supplements industry is celebrating a court ruling that sleep aid melatonin cannot be classed as a medicine if its dosage is above a certain threshold.
Industry has lamented yesterday’s European Parliament plenary vote to block four caffeine claims, which otherwise seemed set to pass into EU law books after years of delay.
Development of an in vitro model that mimics the gastrointestinal tract is one of the ways in which Biofortis and Triskelion hope to help further research into the relationship between the gut microbiome and immune health, under a new partnership.
Comprehensive compendium given new searchable format
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) botanical interactive database will be fully up and running by early 2017, something one expert called a “great result”.
The European Commission has started the first phase of its investigation into the need for nutrient profiles, with a report expected in spring 2017. Yet with the caffeine claim fiasco ongoing, it’s never been clearer how necessary the profiles are.
Italy could ban high-dose vitamin and mineral supplements after a nutrition committee recommended vitamin B12 (cobalamin) above 500 micrograms (ug) was medicinal.
Swedish-Japanese astaxanthin specialist AstaReal is working with its UK brand partners to push awareness of the carotenoid’s skin health benefits – even in the absence of approved health claims.
All you need to know about Britain's Brussels blow
By Annie-Rose Harrison-Dunn from a southern European expat bunker
Confused about all this talk about Brexit in that far-away rainy country of crumpets and Beatles? Not quite sure who Nigel Farage is? (Lucky you.) Well we’re here to guide you through it. Disclaimer: I am British and voted Remain.
Low levels of selenium have been linked with an increased risk of developing liver cancer, according to a study, which blamed western diets and lifestyles for the deficiency.
In 2012 Frutarom appointed a new chief of its health and nutrition division, with the Swiss-Israeli flavours and ingredients house making no secret of its ambition to expand its supplements and functional foods footprint.
The European Commission has mused three different solutions to the botanical extracts situation that has seen about 2000 claims stuck on hold. Yet real movement will not be seen in the immediate future, a DG SANTE head has said.
The European Commission has started the first phase of its investigation into the need for nutrient profiles, which it hopes will settle the issue once and for all.
Japanese ingredient supplier Taiyo has announced the results of a peer-reviewed pilot study that explores the effect its Sunfiber ingredient has on blunting postprandial blood glucose spikes among glucose intolerant subjects.
It is EFSA and the EU nutrition health claims regulation (NHCR) that is today the biggest barrier to European innovation in nutrition and Brexit, whatever else it may do, can remove some of those innovation brakes.
The European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance (ESSNA) will build links with remaining EU member states in the wake of the UK’s shock decision to leave the bloc, but its London HQ is in jeopardy.
Palatinose (isomaltulose) may offer a viable alternative to sugar as new research suggests this low glycaemic carbohydrate is more effective in reducing insulin secretion and lowering blood glucose fluctuations.
For the first time the European Union has lost a member after the British people yesterday voted to leave the bloc which began life as the European Economic Community in 1951.
A European Union legal expert says last week’s UK Court of Appeal verdict that demanded the medicines regulator there re-examine the status of glucosamine, especially high-dose glucosamine, could provoke change in the sector across the EU.
Casual protein users need to be educated on the true health benefits of protein supplements to avoid them being used to compensate for unhealthy habits, Swiss researchers have said.
An ideal bone health formulation would include the right amounts of certain minerals and vitamins. And the form of those substances is critical—or maybe not.
Sticking to a high-fibre diet has been shown to instruct the immune system to tolerate foods like peanuts that can set off serious allergies, research has shown.
SPECIAL EDITION: ANTIOXIDANTS, POLYPHENOLS & CAROTENOIDS
European regulatory restraints have killed off antioxidant health claims as lawyers advise firms to play it safe despite leniency in some EU member states. We round up the legal status of the term, and the impact this has had on the market.
Special Edition: Antioxidants, polyphenols and carotenoids
Healthy ageing and the insights garnered from micronutrient studies could help drive demand for products that reduce inflammation and ease oxidative stress on the body, according to industry experts.
The European Commission’s report on sports nutrition is a welcome ‘milestone’ which puts an end to more than a decade of regulatory uncertainty, the European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance (ESSNA) has said.
Supplement and app companies are preying on the public’s fears about dementia and making claims they cannot back up, according to a scathing report from UK consumer watchdog Which?.
Start-up Nowrish has launched the first fasting supplement - a mix of vitamins, minerals and herbs formulated to support the body’s cleansing, immune, digestive and energy production systems during periods of fasting like Ramadan, but without making any...
The Czech Republic has banned melatonin as a food supplement ingredient as part of a decree laying out prohibitions and restrictions for over 100 substances.
For the second time in 13 months Juice Garden has been pulled up by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for making unauthorised health claims.
The European Parliament’s Environment and Public Health Committee (ENVI) has adopted a last-minute motion that could see four controversial caffeine claims vetoed in a move the energy drink sector warns could result in yet more years of "legal uncertainty”.
Boswellia serrata adulteration remains a major problem in the EU and elsewhere and responsible players need to do more to identify fraudulent material and actors, an expert has said.
The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has warned a Facebook user not to repost claims that a Multi-Maca supplement could up sperm count for men and enhance fertility for women.
A fruit by-product could potentially enrich the nutrient content of popular foods as an international project looks to investigate its effect on taste and colour.
Global sales of energy drinks hit €38.2 billion last year and will be worth €53.4bn in 2020 according to Euromonitor International, even as regulatory winds blow ill beneath the sector's wings.
A European Parliament motion to veto the Commission’s approval of four caffeine health claims could prove the final stumbling block on their long road to EU law books.
After retiring last February as head of the European Commission’s DG SANTE food legislation unit, Basil Mathioudakis is spreading the world globally about the merits of the EU’s food and nutrition regulation as a consultant to industry and governments.