Wyeth said it was using the logo because the probiotics being used in its ‘Puraflor’ products appeared on an EFSA ‘safe list’ and it wanted to alert the public to this fact.
But EFSA said no such safe list existed.
An EFSA spokesperson told NutraIngredients.com the scientific assessor was enquiring into the matter, but was not aware of its logo being used in such a way before.
“EFSA's lawyers will be looking into this,” she said, adding: “EFSA's logo is registered according to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) requirements and EFSA has exclusive use of it. Any unauthorised use of the logo does not comply with the legal provisions protecting trademarks and copyright.”
But for the moment, EFSA has taken no action.
A Wyeth Consumer Healthcare Italy spokesperson said the logo was being used to demonstrate that the probiotic strains bore, “no risk of any pathology”.
“EFSA has an official safe list of probiotics that have been proven safe and that is why we employed the logo because our probiotics contain strains that have been determined safe,” she said.
She wouldn’t reveal the supplier of the strains.
She said Wyeth Consumer Healthcare Italy utilised the logo for a Purafor magazine advertising campaign but not on the product packaging itself.
The company could not be contacted today for further comment today.
Wording
The EFSA reference that appeared along with its logo stated:
“Probiotic strains in Puraflor and Puraflor for kids are QPS recognised by EFSA – i.e. as micro-organisms which are safe and assured for use, meeting the conditions required”
Beside the logo four bullet points stated:
1) identification is certain
2) documentation on the strain is available
3) absence of potential pathogens
4) end usage