EU article 13 health claims register

222 EU health claims become law; experts predict “tsunami of cheap innovation”

16-May-2012 - It’s official. Companies have six months – until December – to comply with the controversial European Union article 13, general function health claims register which today won final approval from the European Commission.

Comment

Vitafoods: EU nutra space wriggles into new health claims clothes

15-May-2012 - Vitafoods celebrates its 15th birthday next week. It’ll be my 11th consecutive May visit to Geneva for the jamboree and promises to be one of the most intriguing chapters with the (partial and belated) resolution of years of ambiguity regarding health claims in Europe.

UK to begin consultation on food labelling

14-May-2012 - The UK government today launches fresh talks which could lead to a new universal way to label the nutritional content of food.

Oil quality assurance collaboration could boost production efficiency – Cargill

23-Apr-2012 - Collaborative research, conducted by food processor Cargill and the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS), has led to the refinement of methods to assure consistent oil quality in food products.

Star-K adds non-GMO certification to its kosher and organic audits

17-Apr-2012 - Star-K Kosher Certification has begun providing triple inspections to certify plants and products as non-GMO, organic and kosher, which it says can save companies time and money on individually conducted inspections.

PepsiCo on nutrient profiling: “We are operating in a legal vacuum”

03-Apr-2012 - Three years late and seeking further extensions, nutrient profiles remain the missing link in the European Union’s new health claim regime. Frustrated stakeholders say the time to decide is nigh.

Research casts doubt on benefit of nutritional labelling

02-Apr-2012 - Knowing more about the nutritional value of foods does not equate to increases in healthy eating and reductions in obesity, according to the findings of new research.

DEFRA admits it’s under pressure to slice cheese compositional standards

09-Mar-2012 - The Provision Trade Federation (PTF) says it has little sympathy for the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), which admits that it is under pressure to remove cheese compositional standards from the pending Food Information Regulation (FIR).

Irish MEP: “We have opened a can of worms that EFSA and the Commission would have much preferred remained closed”

08-Mar-2012 - 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 convened parliamentary meeting in Brussels yesterday.

Reformulation drive risks dairy sector damage, Dairy UK warns

27-Feb-2012 - UK trade body Dairy UK has called on the nation’s government to do more to communicate the positive health benefits of dairy products, and warns that the current focus on reformulation risks ‘putting many consumers off eating dairy foods’.

'Percentage less' claims veto shows lack of trust in the industry; FDF to press for regulatory action

13-Feb-2012 - The recent veto of 'percentage less' claims by MEPs is indicative of a lack of trust in the food industry, said the UK trade group, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), which is intent on continuing to push for such amendments to the health claims regulation.

Commission regrets Parliament's blocking of nutrition claims revision

03-Feb-2012 - The European Commission said it strongly regrets the European Parliament’s decision yesterday to veto the ‘percentage less’ claims on foods, claiming its proposal, if backed, would have favoured industry efforts to reformulation.

WHO debates industry’s role in child nutrition plan

27-Jan-2012 - The involvement of the private sector in child nutrition has proved contentious at a recent meeting of the World Health Organisation’s executive board (EB).

Consumer group slams 'contains less' nutrition claims, MEP vote imminent

24-Jan-2012 - European consumers group, BEUC, claims the proposed “now 15% less” nutrition claim on foods, which is set to be debated by MEPs next week, is confusing and misleading for consumers.

Retailer consultation urged for effective nutrition labelling research

19-Jan-2012 - Retailers need to work with manufacturers and regulators to track the impact of systems such as traffic light labelling on consumer purchasing behaviour of food and drink products, stresses a Brussels-based consumer information group as it releases a new report.

EFSA should review ’growing up’ milks before regulations change, says EU infant foods group

12-Jan-2012 - The European Union should put the brakes on any mooted changes to rules governing milks targeting 1-3 year olds until a scientific review can be conducted, according to the EU group that represents infant food makers.

Exclusive interview

Beneo board: “Let us not forget that functional food responds to a clear demand of the consumer”

20-Dec-2011 - In the first part of this exclusive interview, Beneo Group executive board member, Yves Servotte, explains how European Union health claim rules have informed strategic thinking at one of Europe’s biggest and most vocal ingredient vendors.

Comment

Lobbyists, start your engines: Can a new health claims formula be won in the European Parliament?

12-Dec-2011 - Five years ago the European Union nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR) became law. Around the bloc, hopeful EU healthy foods and supplements stakeholders submitted more than 44,000 health claim applications.

Food industry warned against rushing into labelling changes under FIR

12-Dec-2011 - The food industry should not rush into making labelling changes to ensure compliance with the new Regulation on Food Information (FIR) as there is a fundamental lack of clarity on how to implement some of the mandatory declarations, claims a regulatory expert.

EC de-authorises vitamin and muscle claims in final article 13, draft regulation

23-Nov-2011 - The European Commission has drafted the regulation that will bring into European law the final list of approved, article 13, general function health claims – with a specific reference to two approved claims that will not be authorised.