IDACE Supports European Parliament Committee Vote on Specialised Foods

Mar 1 2012 --- IDACE, the association representing the EU specialised nutrition industry, has welcomed the unanimous vote of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee on the revision of the EU dietetic foods framework (also known as PARNUTs).

Roger Clarke, Member of the IDACE Operational Board, comments: “Although we regret that several specialised nutrition categories have not retained their current specific legislative rules which would give vulnerable consumers the highest level of protection they need, we do welcome the vote in the European Parliament, which gives a clear signal to the European Commission and Council that the initial Commission proposal went too far in its simplification and harmonisation efforts.”

 

The vote affects a number of specialised nutrition products as well as issues common to the whole specialised nutrition industry:

 

•         IDACE welcomes provisions that MEPs have adopted to retain low-calorie and very-low-calorie diets in the revised Regulation. IDACE also welcomes the retention of the current categories for Foods for Special Medical Purposes, and the inclusion of low birth weight infants within this category.

 

•         IDACE appreciates calls for the European Commission to assess both Milk Based Drinks for Young Children and sports foods at a later stage, based on scientific assessments from the European Food Safety Authority. Although it would be more consistent to continue to regulate these products under specialised legislation until the scientific reports are published, IDACE welcomes MEPs recognition that further consideration is required for these categories. IDACE now calls upon the Member States to ensure an adequate transition period in order to accommodate the products which are currently on the market.

 

•         IDACE appreciates that gluten-free definitions of the current Regulation have been retained in the revised Regulation, which is a better solution than the initial proposal from the European Parliament to place the gluten-free Regulation 41/2009 in the Food Information to Consumers Regulation. However, IDACE still calls for further clarification on the necessary distinction between normal foodstuffs containing low gluten and specialised food products designed for coeliac patients. 

 

•         IDACE welcomes provisions that MEPs have adopted to safeguard the ability of manufacturers to communicate important information and recommendations for use to healthcare professionals- a necessity to ensure that physicians and caregivers can properly inform consumers and patients on the correct use of these products.
 

Roger Clarke continues: “We now call upon the Member States to take these provisions into account, in particular as relates to communication with healthcare professionals and the specific food categories, and ensure a first-reading agreement in the course of 2012. We also call upon the Council to ensure sufficient transition periods by taking into account the shelf life of products, in order to allow national authorities to transpose the new rules and to avoid food wastage.