Swiss botanicals player Frutarom is pushing hard into botanical medicines and supplements markets in the EU, with pharma-grade extracts produced at its recently acquired Slovenian facility.
Eight years after the EU nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR) came into force the question of how to win a health claim is still not satisfactorily answered in the eyes of many food operators.
On September 1 a Hamburg court will on the case brought by FoodWatch against Unilever over marketing for its cholesterol-lowering margarine Becel pro.activ.
Competition remains fierce in cholesterol-lowering niche
Sales and profits were up in Q2 at Raisio, with CEO of the €500m Finnish agro-food player Matti Rihko content its re-housing of key brand Benecol was paying off.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has lost its right to keep the names of contributing expert commentators a secret – a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling that could be applied retrospectively.
“We see opportunities for scientifically justified nutritional products…”
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued guidance on how firms can compile “well-structured dossiers” for medical foods that may be permitted in the EU’s 28 nations as momentum to update archaic laws grows.
The Scottish seaweed industry seems set to boom as the country's government prepares an expansion policy and company Mara Seaweed seeks over €700,000 to take its condiments global.
BASF says the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) failed to fulfil its health claim assessment remit after the Parma-based agency last month rejected its CLA-weight management appeal.
Symbolic information on a food label can change the perception of a product – even when consumers are aware that this perception is false, write researchers.
Dutch nutrition firm DSM has applied for an EU health claim on DHA and “improved memory function” – but is it likely to succeed and what would it bring to the nutrition landscape if it did?
A harmonised system of graded nutrition and health claims depending on the product and consumer impact would be ‘preferable’ to current global disparity, say researchers behind an international review of 28 different legislations.
Food giant Unilever appeared in a Hamburg court today to defend use of expert statements that its plant sterol-based Becel pro.activ did not have any side effects such as bloodstream plaque levels in healthy people.
“The comments received do not require any change to the conclusions of the NDA Panel.”
EFSA is standing by a CLA-weight loss health claim rejection despite an appeal that accused it of failing to evaluate submitted efficacy data from joint applicants BASF and Stepan Lipid Nutrition.
We must tackle the taboo around folic acid supplementation if we are to tackle the rising rate of neural tube defects in Ireland, says public health body.
Indiana firm Vesta Ingredients has won EU novel foods approval for its vitamin K2 form as it has been determined to be equivalent to a form already on-market and proven to be safe.
A group has been formed to fund clinical research and promote the health benefits of oleocanthal – a polyphenol found in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).
Research, focus and regulatory cunning will be needed if the nutraceutical industry is to tap into the relatively unexplored area of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), says the consultancy firm behind a new dedicated clinical trial platform.
Consumers who are seeking to limit their exposure to gluten have another line of defense in a new product released by DSM. Called Tolerase G, the enzyme can serve to break down residual gluten in a meal before it can cause a reaction, the company said.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a 29-page health claims guidance to clarify its health claims scientific criteria and is calling for stakeholder input until September 11.
Teddington Homeopathy mislead parents of children with autism with claims that the condition could be cured with nutritional supplements, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has said.
A European Commission report has concluded the EU food supplements market remains fragmented but member state actions in areas like botanicals and maximum levels for some vitamins and minerals were worthy of replication, especially as internet trading...
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has approved three children’s health claims for immune health and energy-yielding metabolism but rejected a fourth infant claim for the reduction of gastrointestinal discomfort.
The use of potentially performance enhancing ketones at the Tour de France cycling race has raised questions about their efficacy, legality and scale of usage.
France has proposed new legal daily limits for carnitine, creatine, lycopene and caffeine in supplements – the latter of which was half that defined as safe by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is reviewing a health claim application for creatine and muscle function in the elderly following an application from German chemical company AlzChem AG.
Multi-level marketer Le-Vel Brands has been penalised by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for the social media marketing of one of its promoter-come-customers.
Mondelez has been backed by the Birmingham City Council (BCC) over slow energy claims made for its BelVita breakfast biscuits after they were challenged in the UK.
Urgent action is needed to amend the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulations (NHCR) to allow food and drink (F&D) manufacturers to make better use of them, a legal expert has claimed.
EFSA has rejected a German health claim submission that a table salt replacer could significantly lower blood pressure even though a clinical trial showed significant results.
The European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) voted to scrap nutrient profiles last month – contrary to what media and industry understood at the time.
“Our aim with this cooperation is to get food products made with ‘algility’ microalgae into consumers’ hands faster.”
French supplier Roquette has inked a deal with a food and beverage innovator it met at the SIAL food industry trade show last year to develop products for its nascent chlorella microalgae offerings.Fellow French firm Algama won an award for innovation...
Edible algae could help tackle iodine insufficiency in the UK, but very few manufacturers are bragging about this nutrient content on pack, research finds.
Xavier Prats Monne is to become the new general director of the European Commission’s health and food safety unit, DG SANTE, a position he takes on after the resignation of Paola Testori Coggi.
A greater understanding of how nutrition and immunity are intrinsically linked, and how different biomarkers reflect states of illness and good health is vital to nutrition and public health research.
The EU’s ban on prebiotics and probiotics as marketing tools has cost the market €500m and will cost a further €1bn by 2020 according to Euromonitor International data – and that’s just drinking yoghurt. Other formats have also been hit.
Adding in ingredients like vitamin C to make legal immune health claims may sell products short term, but this sucks the blood from more challenging ingredients like probiotics and botanicals, says a marketing expert.
Presenteeism - or showing up for work despite being ill - is on the rise. Could this be an opportunity for immunity-boosting supplements, or is it a trend to fight against?
The European Parliament’s Legal Affairs committee has voted to reject amendments to the EU Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation, which would have seen nutrient profiles abandoned.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has rejected a joint plea from the UK Health Food Manufacturers' Association (HFMA) and the Dutch NPN for the permitted health claims list regulation to be annulled.
Marks & Spencer’s move to fortify its entire bakery range with vitamin D is a good public health move given the population is deficient, says the nutrition and innovation head at Leatherhead Food Research.
Finnish food-agriculture giant Raisio has launched its cholesterol-lowering, plant stanol-based Benecol brand in China in a powder form via mostly medical channels in its big coastal cities.
Key European Parliament committee votes could push the European Commission to “eliminate” nutrient profiles from the 2006 nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR).
Israeli supplier Enzymotec has secured European Union novel foods approval for its K-Real krill form in an expanded selection of food and drink categories.
The NDA panel will feature 10 new faces for the health claims panel’s next three years as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) announced changes today.
