The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) recent backing of folate’s (vitamin B9) ability to reduce the risk of spinal birth defects is a good thing for infant health and the vitamin industry – but is it actually a prohibited disease claim in disguise?...
‘Absolutely insane’ that Red Bull can trademark the word ‘Red’: brewery
Redwell Brewing says Red Bull’s UK trademark for the word ‘Red’ is ‘absolutely insane’ after the Austrian energy drinks giant sent the craft brewer a stern letter warning of trademark infringement.
An Australian specialist has expressed serious concerns about efforts being made by industry bodies to increase the mandated gluten threshold for Australasia’s gluten–free (GF) standard.
A polymer used in as pill coating and approved in pharma applications has been found to be safe in food supplements by the EU’s central science agency after a request from the European Commission.
The UK advertising watchdog has issued guidance to companies making weight loss claims telling them to anally follow the EU nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR) or face prosecution.
China has issued fines totalling RMB 669m ($110m, €82m) to six companies, including Mead Johnson Nutrition, Danone Dumex, and Fonterra, following an investigation into price fixing and suspected anti-monopoly law violations by infant formula manufacturers...
With Fonterra’s contamination crisis unlikely to die down soon, the fall-out in China is likely to have more of a lingering impact on New Zealand’s continuing trade with the country than it will on Fonterra, say industry experts.
A French firm has won a rare EFSA approval for an artichoke extract-based herbal formulation the EU’s central science agency has confirmed can reduce cholesterol.
The EU’s chief science agency has turned down a hangover health claim for a prickly pear extract before even evaluating the science behind it because it said the claim was too vague.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has reiterated its position that follow-on milks are unnecessary for 6-24 month old infants and said they are nutritionally dubious.
The government is planning a public education campaign to help consumers understand the new hybrid front-of-pack (FoP) nutrition labelling scheme the Department of Health (DH) recently launched to stem rising obesity levels.
Less than one in five World Health Organisation (WHO) Member States have passed legislation reflecting the recommendations of the International Code of Marketing for Breast-milk Substitutes – the guidelines that support restrictions on the marketing of...
Non-fermented carbohydrates can deliver tooth health benefits but there is not enough data to show cranberry can benefit urinary tract infections, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has found in a new series of health claim opinions.
EFSA: "Increasing maternal folate status contributes to the reduction of the risk of NTD.”
Europe’s head science agency has joined other international authorities in backing B vitamin folate’s ability to reduce neural tube defects (NTDs) like spina bifida and hydrocephalus in early-stage foetuses.
EU nations could better regulate botanical products and maximum permitted levels (MPLs) for nutrients in food supplements and functional foods than the European Union, a UK government report has suggested.
New Zealand’s legitimate infant formula exporters are gearing up for the introduction of a brand register that the country’s Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is expected to introduce next month for formula products exported to China.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is looking for a new chief after executive director Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle resigned to work in the French public service.
The UK advertising watchdog has roasted its second green coffee firm in a month for making unjustified weight loss, antioxidant, colonic health and other claims.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has released a consultation paper about the qualifying criteria for dietary fibre nutrition content claims.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) has backed key principles of the EU health claims regulation – and closed potential loopholes, according to a leading UK lawyer.
Coca-Cola says it is confident it will prevail in a deceptive marketing lawsuit filed more than four years ago alleging it misled consumers by promoting Vitaminwater as a healthy ‘nutrient-enhanced water beverage’.
Chinese herbal products have been found to contain arsenic at potentially dangerous levels by Swedish authorities although no adverse events have been reported.
Herbal products that do not possess EU medicinal registrations should be removed from market by the end of the year, says the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
A herbal product making diabetes claims in the UK has drawn the attention of the medicines regulator there, but the policing of herbal supplement products needs further examination, says the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH).
More than 70 stakeholders attended a botanicals workshop in the European Parliament’s Brussels offices last week as the heat increases to resolve regulatory ambiguity across the EU for herbal products - especially that ambiguity's impact on SMEs.
Fonterra has been “contacted” by Chinese authorities investigating high infant formula pricing and suspected anti-monopoly law violation by manufacturers, including Nestlé and Danone, in the country.
In a time of regional regulatory change affecting more than 100 countries, the International Association of Dietary Supplement Associations (IADSA) has emphasised the importance of global guideline setting organisation, Codex Alimentarius, which turns...
UK group Consumers for Health Choice (CHC) says meetings with “5-6” Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) last week shows widespread concern over mooted changes that would restrict high-dose food supplements across the EU.
UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have slammed Danone for misleadingly claiming that they gave their backing to a Turkish marketing campaign for Aptamil and other infant formula products.
Clasado has had its Bimuno prebiotic formulation rejected by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) which said fresh data analysis provided by the UK-Maltese firm did not show gastro-intestinal benefits.
The European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance (ESSNA) says there is no need for separate sports products regulation as general food law is sufficient, ahead of a European Commission report on the matter due within two years.
German supplier Gelita says general food law can be a place for skin health and beauty claims after the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) rejected its peptide-based skin health claim.
The increasingly vocal International Probiotics Association (IPA) has sent a series of formal questions to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) about evidential requirements for probiotics.
The Italian Ministry of Health has cut the maximum allowed level of melatonin in nutritional supplements from 5mg per day to 1mg per day - citing EFSA health claims approvals and the fact that 2mg doses are approved for medical uses as reasons for the...
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) is asking views on a novel foods application for an omega-3 rich plant oil product for dairy, bakery and supplement applications.
Unilever has applied to UK authorities for EU novel foods approval for its cholesterol-lowering phytosterol esters in liquid vegetable fats used in home cooking and baking.
Chia oil can safely enter EU markets for the first time as long as potential allergenic effects are labelled, the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has concluded in a draft EU novel foods opinion.
Three heart health claims for omega-3 forms EPA and DHA have entered EU law books after years of debate among member states about over-consumption hazards.
Two ingredients – fructose and alpha-cyclodextrin – can now carry claims that they lead to a lower blood glucose rise, as the European Union adopts its latest batch of article 13 health claims.
A public body that advises the UK National Health Service (NHS) has revised its position that heart attack patients can benefit from omega-3 consumption to prevent further attacks, in a move labeled “misguided” by the omega-3 sector.
Prunes sold across the European Union can claim they contribute to “normal bowel function”, making the fruits the first whole fruit to win a claim under the EU’s new food marketing rules.
The European Parliament has passed legislation banning the use of images of babies on packs of infant and follow-on formula in an attempt to prevent the idealisation of breast milk substitutes over breast milk.
The European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance (ESSNA) has welcomed today’s European Parliament vote that means sports nutrition products will move to general food law as existing special foods regulations are overhauled after years of debate.
An industry group that includes Danone and Dupont-Danisco as members has written to the European Commission to reinstate the use of the EU-banned term ‘probiotic’ on products across the bloc.
