Yogurt brands will be able to leverage a scientifically-backed health claim for the first time thanks to a successful petition lodged by Danone North America.
The UK Government will soon introduce the hotly anticipated Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill created to see stricter enforcement of consumer protection laws related to online marketing of products.
A recent survey has found that efforts to improve health and wellbeing last an average of just 19 days as old habits die hard and temptation, in the form of fatty foods and sweet treats, win out. But why are lifestyle changes so tough to stick to and...
Danone has become the latest manufacturer to release a range of high-protein dairy products in the UK. But can high-protein yogurts - that typically contain thickeners, starches and sweeteners - really be considered ‘healthy’?
The French authorities have pursued the publication of the classification of vitamin D3 as an endocrine disruptor (ED), which will involve adding warning labels to products containing quantities of cholecalciferol above 0.1% by product weight.
From improving sustainability and nutritional value of products to anticipating technological changes, there are plenty of challenges ahead for the early life nutrition sector as it faces its toughest customers yet. FrieslandCampina Ingredients'...
Dirtea Ltd, the mushroom powder supplements brand, has come under scrutiny by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after making claims on its social media platforms that implied their products could prevent, treat, or cure human diseases.
Colostrum BioTec GmbH says more should be done to educate consumers about the virtues of bovine colostrum, the nutrient-rich fluid that’s making waves in the nutraceutical industry.
Alt dairy products – from plant-based beverages to precision fermentation-derived spreads and cheeses – may be here to stay, but with growing consumer expectations comes the need for better flavors, textures and nutritional value.
There are a range of permitted health and nutrition claims available for food, drink and supplement brands to communicate the benefits of their products, but marketers must tread carefully to avoid common pitfalls which lead to fines and reputational...
The French consumer affairs and fraud control watchdog is clamping down on online influencers with fines of up to €300,000 and prison-sentences of up to two years, after discovering the majority do not comply with regulations.
A row has broken about a UK government healthy eating tool for families and children that campaigners say is promoting ultra-processed foods despite their links to cancer, heart disease and early death.
Prioritising study quality over quantity will be key to achieving a health claim through the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in the face of additional complexities following the new Transparency Regulation of 2019.
Despite UK government guidance that no added sugars, including those from processed fruit, should be consumed by children up to the age of two years old, new research from Action on Sugar (based at Queen Mary University of London) has revealed what it...
First Milk will manufacture specialist whey protein powder for Arla Foods Ingredients, enabling it to address the growing consumer trend for protein-enriched foods.
As both the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and Safe Food Advocacy Europe release reports detailing how the food industry conveys information, calls for change emerge.
The wording of approved EU health claims is prescriptive and precise. The intention of the regulation is to protect consumers from unfounded or overblown statements. But it is also to inform. Are health claims doing their job?
Differences in culture, language and enforcement policies between European countries mean consumers are failing to understand health claims on food packets.
By René Floris, NIZO Food Research Division Manager
In his latest column, NIZO Food Research Division Manager and FoodNavigator advisory panel member René Floris explores the role of in-vitro studies in substantiating health benefits of food products.
Legislation governing health claims related to food and beverages in the European Union was introduced to provide consumers with access to reliable information and help manufacturers understand how and what they can communicate. According to a new research...
The latest ruling on health claims from the European Court of Justice is expected to boost the confidence of botanical manufacturers during the ‘on hold’ grey period after a health claim has been submitted to regulators but before approval has been secured.
Interest in wellness and immunity has spiked as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. But the questionable health claims made by some botanical brands has put the sector in the spotlight for some of the wrong reasons. Katia Merten-Lentz, partner at international...
Once again the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has moved to clarify the rules applicable to health claims. Katia Merten-Lentz, partner at international law firm Keller and Heckman weighs in with support from Manon Ombredane, associate at...
The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that a tweet and Instagram post advertising Protein World’s ‘Carb Blocker Capsules’ did not adhere to European nutrition health claims legislation – warning the company that the product name ‘Carb...
Nutrition industry professionals are increasingly dissatisfied with the European Union’s “unhelpful” regulatory framework, with rules governing health claims flagged as a particularly thorny issue, a new survey reveals.
An open letter penned by three leading health and consumer organisations - together with five food companies - calls for the ‘urgent adoption’ of nutrient profiles in the context of the EU health claims framework.
Detailed nutritional fact panels are less likely to influence non-health conscious shoppers than general front-of-pack health claims, a new study suggests.
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have voted to veto four caffeine health claims following a lively debate on energy drinks in a Strasbourg plenary today.
80% of surveyed products don't pass WHO nutrient profile
What’s the difference between a chocolate bar and an apple? Not much if you go by the misuse of health claims on food in Germany and the Netherlands says campaign group FoodWatch, after evaluating over 600 products making prominent claims to be healthy,...
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) says the nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR) could be applied to “commercial communications” intended for professionals but with the goal of indirectly reaching consumers.
The percentage of food and drink launches carrying digestive health claims has fallen from 2.4% in 2009 to 2.2% in 2014 in the EU, says Innova Market Insights.
Five glucose health claims approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) back in 2012 have been officially banned by the European Commission due to concerns over what they would say to consumers about sugar consumption.
The global functional food market is forecast to reach $54bn (€43bn), an increase of 25% compared to the last available data from 2013, says Leatherhead Food Research.
Regulators in Italy’s €1.2bn food supplements market are cracking the harshest whips against health claims abusers in the EU – a firm was recently fined €250,000 – but will the wounds be deep enough to change the market?
Innovative systems-based models of NPD must be adopted by small and large players alike if the nutrition industry is to have success in developing functional foods that are backed by health claims, say researchers.
Planning, wording and relevant science are the keys to fibre health claim success in the EU, researchers have found after scrutinising the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) approach to hydrocolloids.
Organic food brands should not be afraid of using health claims to market their products, as a new study suggests the two concepts are not as incompatible as the industry may fear.
"They are scientists performing a very difficult task, as instructed by EU law makers."
Last week NutraIngredients was one of 10 organisations invited to observe the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) health claims panel in action for a day at its Parma, Italy, base.
From today food and supplement products marketed in the EU’s 27 member states must comply with the article 13, permitted list of health claims or face prosecution for misleading marketing.
A new EU project aims to tackle how consumers interpret health claims and symbols on food products in the hope of developing future guidelines on how such claims can be used to strengthen informed choice, healthy eating and industrial competitiveness.
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.
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...
The European Parliament’s Public Health and Food Safety Committee (ENVI) has today voted to block the proposed veto to the Article 13 health claims register.
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...
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.
