The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has rejected accusations that it is secretive about the studies it assesses to determine the safety of foods, as claimed by a coalition of NGOs in an open letter.
Last week the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said a lack of data meant it could not decide upon the safety of aphrodisiac herbal, yohimbe. But are its methodologies up to scratch for this kind of assessment? asks Italy-based botanicals expert,...
Now that the dust has settled on the health claims submission process we should all be very clear on the rules of engagement. Well kind of, says Nigel Baldwin, chief consultant in Intertek’s European office.
Almost no German consumers know about the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), or understand the role it has in the approval of health claims for functional food products, according to experts.
Leatherhead Food Research nutrition research manager Roberta Re calls for more rigorous science after pouring over the latest serving of article 13.5 opinions from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in this guest article. All were ultimately refused,...
The European probiotic sector is moving forward with research around probiotic strain clusters it is hopeful can win the sector’s first health claim in the European Union.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) fails to adequately manage conflicts of interest – but it does a better job of it than three other agencies just assessed by a European court.
UK start-up Clasado Limited says the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) failed to follow its own prebiotic guidelines in rejecting the firm’s gut health claims.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) says there are no safety concerns in consuming various omega-3 forms at up to 5g per day – much higher than typical recommended upper limits that tend to linger around 1g or 1.5g per day – in the short term at...
Barry Callebaut has received a positive opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for a health claim linking cocoa to improved blood flow in news that has been welcomed by the broader confectionery industry.
The European Food Safety Authority produced 658 scientific opinions, reports, guidance documents and statements ranging from health claim opinions to animal safety assessments to sweeteners and bisphenol A missives.
The soy industry has written to the European Commission highlighting what it sees as serious failings in EFSA’s assessment of its rejected soy protein-cholesterol claim.
British MEP Julie Girling is proposing a ‘middle way’ to the European health claims furore. She wants her fellow European Parliamentarians to back the existing work of EFSA and the European Commission, after which the EP’s newly won power to carry out...
Irish MEP Marian Harkin has become one of the most vocal European parliamentary opponents of the interpretation and application of the EU nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR), and she was not appeased by EC and EFSA statements at a specially...
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has announced new implementing rules on how to manage declarations of interest and independence in its scientific decision making process.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has dismissed industry claims that a newly published scientific opinion that sets nitrogen conversion factors (NCFs) to calculate food protein content risks penalising dairy products vis-à-vis lower quality sources...
Barry Callebaut has submitted an article 13.5 health claim dossier to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) linking cocoa flavanols and healthy blood flow.
Europe’s leading trade group for small to medium-sized healthy food and supplement purveyors has welcomed signals from EFSA that it is more open than ever to stakeholder input over health claim decisions and methodologies.
Frustrated food and drink manufacturers are considering sensory claims in preference to health claims; few of which have been approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
A former Italian government research project has been spun off into a start-up company specialising in naturally extracted olive oil extracts, as competition heats up in the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)-approved cardiovascular benefitting category.
The leading pan-European food supplements trade group has written to the European Commission in an effort to prevent certain negative European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) health claim opinions reaching the lawbooks in their current form.
The European Food Safety Authority has completed the gargantuan task of assessing thousands of general function, article 13 health claims with a controversial soy isoflavone rejection featuring in its last mini-batch of five opinions.
Just days after its soy protein-cholesterol reduction health claim was writ into the European Union register of rejected claims, the soy industry has re-entered the game with a fresh submission it says has learnt hard lessons from last year’s EFSA rebuttal.
European food makers are beginning to utilise positive article 13, general function health claim opinions issued by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), precipitating a flood of potentially meaningless claims, according to one industry observer.
Prospects look brighter for the “Toothfriendly” logo in Europe following positive opinions from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for Toothfriendly International’s claims under article 13.1 of European health claims legislation.
The newly renamed Natural Colors Division was the star performer in Danish ingredients supplier Chr Hansen’s Q3 results, showing 34% organic sales growth for the quarter, compared to 5% for Cultures and Enzymes, and 9% for Health and Nutrition.
The Board of Directors of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) has published an open letter in the British Journal of Nutrition demanding pre-submission meetings with EFSA and a complete claims assessment rethink.
Frustrated Finnish dairy and ingredients firm Valio says the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) rejection of its probiotic claim contradicted or ignored peer reviewed data in its dossier that included 86 studies.
Hong Kong-based Gencor Pacific has failed to convince the European Commission and EU member states to alter the European Food Safety Authority’s rejection of weight management claims for its extract, as the rejections have this month entered the official...
Recently published draft weight management health claims guidance from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will help whey protein industry win claims, a leading supplier has said.
The European Food Safety Authority’s evaluation of Article 13.1 health claims, particularly concerning botanicals and food supplements, contravenes consumer choice and damages small and medium-sized businesses, warns an influential group of MEPs.
The positive EFSA opinions for gum claims under Article 13.1 will compel the sector to further innovate along functional lines, says an expert who argues that gum is the confectionery category 'most likely' to get such regulatory backing.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published its first Comprehensive Food Consumption Database that will provide guidance for further studies on dietary exposure assessments.
A 25-year probiotic research veteran says the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) rejection of a diarrhoea C. difficile-reducing health claim for Danone drinking yoghurt Actimel was flawed because it failed to consider the totality of the evidence in...
An approved EFSA claims that omega-3 form DHA contributes to the visual development of infants risks misleading consumers, due to a committee oversight in approving the relevant health claim, says UK-based breast-feeding advocacy group Baby Milk Action.
In the second part of this special series on global outsourcing trends NutraIngredients explores how the European Union nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR) is impacting activity in the contract research organisation (CRO) sector.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published draft guidance giving more specific risk assessment information regarding the use of nanotechnology in food.
The author of a high-profile study suggesting that a daily Yakult dose could reduce the incidence and severity of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) has hit back at criticism of his paper by EFSA (the European Food Safety Authority).
The European Food Safety Authority health claims panel has defended its controversial rejection of a soy protein-cholesterol lowering submission in July this year by highlighting the fact the industry agreed to its tight definition of soy protein.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) confirmed at its Board Management meeting last week that the resources do not exist to accommodate meetings between its health claims panel and parties before claim submissions are formally made.
The CIAA says EFSA’s immunity/gut health workshop has revealed the lack of clarity that remains in the European Union health claims process and called for pre-submission meetings between applicants and EFSA’s health claims panel.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has repeatedly emphasised that the 2006 EU nutrition and health claims regulation is a learning experience for everyone involved – from its health claims assessment panel to industry stakeholders, to the member...
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has stood by its article 13.5 rejection of a beta-glucan immuntiy health claim after responding to questions from the submitter - German company Leiber.
As all parties would probably admit in these stressful times for the European Union functional food industry, we are still some way away from resolving the core issues that resulted in the adoption of Regulation 1924/2006 – the 2006 nutrition and health...
The whey protein industry is gathering data to submit article 13.5 health claims after the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) last month rejected a slew of generic, article 13.1 protein and whey protein-related dossiers.
Crucial. Claims. Knowledge. With industry still reeling from the latest batch of article 13.1 opinions, NutraIngredients has been busy putting the final touches on its second health claims conference in Brussels – now less than a month away.
