Danone: Characterisation may be least concern for probiotic health claims

A Danone official has said the resolution of characterisation issues may not be enough to win positive opinions for a batch of probiotic health claims just resubmitted to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Speaking ahead of his presentation at a Probiotics Summit in Brussels to tomorrow, the company’s general food law counsel, Pierre-Hubert Cuijpers, said the resubmitted dossiers would benefit from the time they have had to learn the process.

But whether that was enough to win a first positive health claim from EFSA’s health claims panel was another matter altogether.

“I am not sure it is just characterisation that is the main problem with these dossiers. Now they will have to address the rest of the issues. We will see.”

He said the company stayed a supporter of the European Union nutrition and health regulation (NHCR) and had removed product claims to remain in compliance with it and would continue to do so.

The company remained uncertain when it would resubmit its own claims that it has twice submitted and removed from the system before any opinions were issued by EFSA.