European Union

UK’s ‘Brexit Bonfire’: Experts explore potential implications of Retained EU Law Bill

05-Oct-2022 By Stephen Daniells

Health claims, novel foods, labelling, GMOs… the recently introduced Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill could have far reaching implications for the food and nutrition industries in the UK.

Inflationary pressures have created a 'perfect storm' for the supplements industry

23-Aug-2022 By Nicola Gordon-Seymour

Economic pressures have thrown the supplements industry a curveball with inflation fuelling “a perfect storm” as lower productivity and increased prices spill into the global supply chain. This has created a domino effect all the way to consumers, says...

Bovine ingredient safe to be added to infant formula EFSA says

12-May-2022 By Liza Laws

A novel food application for a whey protein to be used safely in infant formula has secured a positive opinion.

AIDP to distribute highly bioavailable minerals derived from fungus

26-Jan-2022 By Hank Schultz

California-based ingredient supplier AIDP has concluded a deal to distribute minerals derived from fungus. The production approach is said to improve bioavailability.

NIU’s Global Round-up: Bayer Consumer Health opens 1st R&D center in China, Baze expands in Europe, and more

14-Oct-2019 By Stephen Daniells

What's happened this week around the Nutra-Verse? Stay on top of things with our weekly round-up of key news from across the globe.

Nutraveris launches AI platforms to speed European market entry for US firms

07-Oct-2019 By Hank Schultz

French consulting firm Nutraveris has launched two AI platforms aimed at helping American firms streamline entry into the markets of EU member countries.

Polaris announces DHA-rich algal oil now approved for EU sale

24-Sep-2019 By Will Chu

Polaris is now permitted to sell its concentrated, purified algal omega-3 oil throughout Europe as the French firm receives official authorisation.

Not authorised: Majority of online traders are selling non-compliant supplements, finds European Commission investigation

26-Feb-2018 By Tim Cutcliffe

Over two-thirds of websites investigated by EU Member State authorities are selling non-authorised novel foods and food supplements, says a new report published today by the European Commission.

Algalif’s astaxanthin awarded non-GMO status

26-Jan-2018 By Will Chu

Icelandic astaxanthin producer Algalif has received non-GMO accreditation for its Astalíf 5% and 10% oleoresin products, microalgae-based antioxidants suitable for softgel capsule formulations.

ESSNA debuts kitemark for ‘responsible’ sports nutrition players as public campaign launches

02-Oct-2017 By Nathan Gray

The European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance (ESSNA) has launched a dedicated kitemark that it says will help the public identify products from responsible ESSNA members alongside a wider public education campaign.

Novel fungi antioxidant l-ergothioneine is safe: EFSA

21-Nov-2016 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has said l-ergothioneine is safe for use in food and supplements in a novel food evaluation that settles EU member state fears it may increase the risk of diabetes mellitus and inflammatory diseases like Crohn's...

Probiotic supplements on rise in global €40bn market

10-Nov-2016 By Shane Starling

Latest data from Euromonitor International shows the global probiotics market is worth about €40bn, yoghurt continues to be the dominant mode of delivery although probiotic supplements are growing fastest.

Cargill pairs with start-up to make spirulina from malt waste

28-Oct-2016 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

Cargill has partnered with a French start-up to turn waste water and CO2 from one of its malt production plants into spirulina production ‘fuel’.

Commission stands firm on tax crackdown following US threat of retaliation

02-Sep-2016 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

The European Commission is standing firm on its EU-wide investigation into member state tax schemes, despite a threat of retaliation from the US government.

Industry reaction: What #Brexit means for UK & EU nutrition sectors

24-Jun-2016 By Shane STARLING

For the first time the European Union has lost a member after the British people yesterday voted to leave the bloc which began life as the European Economic Community in 1951.

'When the price is low you should be suspicious.'

Action needed to curb boswellia adulteration: QC analyst

15-Jun-2016 By Shane Starling from Paris

Boswellia serrata adulteration remains a major problem in the EU and elsewhere and responsible players need to do more to identify fraudulent material and actors, an expert has said.

dispatches from vitafoods 2016

IPA 'rebirth' sees probiotic membership surge

16-May-2016 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

The International Probiotics Association (IPA) has seen a membership swell this year as old faces return and new faces come on board.

Organic is the future norm for plant-based supplements: Nordic producer

04-May-2016 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

Organic will be the norm not the niche for plant-based food supplements in the future, says one Finnish-Norwegian producer of organic-certified plant extracts. 

Naturex adds chokeberry to botanicals range

07-Apr-2016 By Shane Starling

Naturex has added a proprietary aronia extract to its library after inking a licensing deal with Polish food supplements and OTC player Adamed Consumer Healthcare SA.

French supplement player buys Swiss probiotics firm

11-Mar-2016 By Shane Starling

France-based PiLeJe Group has paid an undisclosed sum for 30-year-old Swiss probiotics company Phytolis – its fourth European probiotic purchase in recent years.

FARE: "It is just shockingly absurd!"

EU court answers the ‘burning question’: Yes, the claims regulation can be applied to B2B

11-Mar-2016 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

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.

EFSA uncorks EU market for DSM’s synthetic trans-resveratrol

18-Jan-2016 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has said synthetic trans-resveratrol is safe for use in supplements following a novel food application from multinational DSM.

IPA chief: "Regulators are starting to turn the corner on probiotics"

16-Oct-2015 By Stephen Daniells

A new-look International Probiotics Association is creating dialogue with key regulators around the world, and the regulators are starting to turn the corner on how they regulate the friendly bugs, says the association’s executive director.

Open book: The future of probiotic marketing in Europe

01-Oct-2015 By Shane Starling in Brussels

‘Openness’ and ‘better dialogue’ between industry, scientists and regulators were themes of the day as the newly minted European chapter of the International Probiotics Association (IPA-Europe) launched itself with a mini-congress in Brussels yesterday.

ESSNA: Specific sports food laws would ‘hurt rather than help’ in Europe

15-Sep-2015 By Shane STARLING

Europe’s peak sports nutrition trade group has affirmed broad support for better and more relevant sports food, drink and supplement regulation across Europe, but emphasised not all parties agree on how to get there.

Chondroitin needs pharma-style control: Review

10-Jul-2015 By Shane STARLING

Joint health nutrient chondroitin varies greatly in safety and efficacy depending on its source and therefore needs greater regulation and standardisation, Canadian and Spanish researchers have said.

US web retailer pumps EU distribution as gym community swells

09-Apr-2015 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

US site Bodybuilding.com has opened its first UK distribution centre to better cater to its customer base in Europe - part of a community that includes 25 million unique visitors to its websites each month.

Sports drinks aren’t enough to boost performance - salt may help: Research

05-Mar-2015 By Niamh Michail

Salt supplementation may improve exercise performance according to Spanish researchers – but health claims for sodium are still not authorised.

Yakult at Probiota 2015: “We want to be clear that before we invest we need to have some dialogue with EFSA...”

6 years of hurt: Probiotic heavyweights debate the EU’s health claim blockade

17-Feb-2015 By Shane STARLING

Yakult and leading academics expressed frustration at what they see as unfair and opaque scientific requirements around probiotic health claims in the European Union – but how much is industry to blame and could social media be a data-sharing saviour?

Insider: The three groups reached accord “surprisingly quickly”

3 into 1: Euro probiotics sector unites as sector sales drop 8%

02-Feb-2015 By Shane STARLING

Europe’s three biggest probiotic groups have united behind a new European chapter of the International Probiotics Association (IPA) to deal with the “critical” 6-year regulatory imbroglio that has seen an EU-wide sales slide in the health claim-less sector.

Media investment means US probiotic growth outpacing EU

13-Jan-2015 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

US probiotic market growth has been bolstered by big media investment, something yet to be seen in the EU, according to the Swedish firm Probi which just secured its largest transatlantic order to date.

Probiotics giant debuts soft gel with 2-year shelf life

13-Oct-2014 By Lynda Searby

Danish probiotics player Chr Hansen has launched a patent-pending soft gel that can deliver live probiotics with a two-year shelf life and matched it with a probiotic-omega-3 supplement targeting pregnant women.

DuPont hopes win on Swiss probiotic claim will help unlock EFSA process

03-Jun-2014 By Hank Schultz and Shane Starling

DuPont has won official approval for probiotic-based gut health claims based on its strains in Switzerland after working with a local retailer.  The company hopes the latest victory will help unlock the process of approving probiotic health claims for...

DuPont wins rare European probiotic gut health claims

02-Jun-2014 By Shane STARLING

DuPont-Danisco has won official approval for probiotic-based gut health claims based on its strains in Switzerland after working with a local retailer.

Global probiotics business is booming, while Europe focuses on blends and 'piggybacking'

19-May-2014 By Nathan Gray

Strong growth in the Americas and Asia is helping the probiotics industry to strong success, while the European market recovers from regulatory challenges by focusing on blends and 'piggybacking claims', say probiotics business experts.

Dispatches from Vitafoods Europe 2014

Nutrition Capital Network takes venture to Vitafoods Geneva

09-May-2014 By Shane STARLING

Nutrition Capital Network (NCN) chief Grant Ferrier took his capital-connecting nutrition venture to Vitafoods in Geneva this week.

Special edition: Sports Nutrition

Ban yohimbe just like ephedra, says EU sports nutrition sector

24-Apr-2014 By Dr Adam Carey

EFSA last year concluded the safety profile of herbal stimulant yohimbe is inconclusive. Ban it anyway, says the chair of the European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance (ESSNA) in this guest article.

Meso-zeaxanthin safety & QC debated

Neither illegal, unnatural nor unsafe, says meso-zeaxanthin defender

16-Apr-2014 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

Meso-zeaxanthin (MZ) proponent says a French government report on the fraudulent use of meso-zeaxanthin in eye health supplements casts unnecessary doubt on a safe and viable compound. 

Probiota 2014: Chairman calls for industry to 'step up' in fight for probiotics

06-Feb-2014 By Nathan Gray

Probiotic and preboiotic industry players must do more to get consumers on their side in the fight with regulators in the US and EU, and should also be doing more to help save lives in Africa, according to Professor Gregor Reid.

Live from Probiota 2014

IPA calls for fresh global alliance in probiotics

05-Feb-2014 By Shane Starling in Amsterdam

The founder of the International Probiotics Association (IPA) has called on the Global Alliance for Probiotics (GAP) to work with it to develop the science and dossiers that can win health claims in Europe and elsewhere.

Live from Probiota 2014

Data eater: EU probiotic yoghurt market to drop 4.5% by 2018; supplements on the up

04-Feb-2014 By Shane Starling in Amsterdam

The market for probiotic yoghurt in 20 key European Union markets will fall 4.5% in the five years between now and 2018, but the overall sector trend remains positive, Euromonitor International analyst Ewa Hudson told a packed Probiota congress in Amsterdam...

Global probiotic market to add 50% to €33bn by 2018: Analyst

22-Jan-2014 By Shane STARLING

The term ‘probiotic’ may be banned in the European Union – along with its cousin ‘prebiotic’ – but sales remain steady, and the global picture is buoyant, says leading analyst, Euromonitor International.

Dutch and Spanish team to take heart health fruit extract to the Americas

17-Jan-2014 By Shane Starling

Two European firms have joined to take a citrus fruit extract into American markets backed by as yet unpublished science showing blood circulation benefits.

FDA issues 'softly worded' draft guidance on acrylamide

15-Nov-2013 By Maggie Hennessy

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a draft guidance for the food industry to help growers, manufacturers and operators work toward reducing levels of acrylamide in certain foods.

Special edition: Botanicals. Editor's blog

Has EFSA sparked a light in Europe’s dark botanical tunnel?

07-Nov-2013 By Shane STARLING

The botanicals industry was pleasantly surprised recently when the EU’s central science agency backed an isolated health claim for a bowel-benefitting herbal blend – but is EFSA really changing its botanicals approach before the EC has told it to?

Special edition: Botanicals

EU's ongoing botanicals battle: ‘Consumers need more information’

07-Nov-2013 By Chris Whitehouse

The European Union botanicals sector has been in limbo since 2010 when 2078 botanical health claim applications were placed on hold as the European Commission bowed to pressure to reconsider the scientific criteria for their validation. With no end to...

UK, Denmark, Spain follow US and warn consumers off OxyElite Pro

22-Oct-2013 By Shane STARLING

British, Danish and Spanish authorities have warned people not to consume OxyElite Pro, following a similar US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning issued to manufacturer USPLabs after a Hawaiian outbreak of hepatitis linked to the pre-workout supplement.

Industry concerned about data abuse as EFSA fans transparency wings

03-Oct-2013 By Shane Starling at EFSA in Parma, Italy

As the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) welcomed a broad range of stakeholders to its Italian HQ today to debate data and process transparency, the food industry asked at what point openness brakes innovation and competitive advantage?

Nutraceutix's probiotic delivery technology now patented in more than 30 countries

11-Sep-2013 By Hank Schultz

Nutraceutix, based in Redmond, WA, has added to the list of patents for its probiotic delivery system with patents in the 24 countries in the European Patent Convention.  This means the technology, called “Delivery System for a Biological Component” in...

Piracy blights fragile global botanicals sector

23-Aug-2013 By Shane STARLING

The global botanical medicines and supplements sector is a fragile one, and one whose fragility is being amplified by a small number of – let’s not beat about the sea buckthorn bush – dodgy players.