New Consumer Research into Food Nutrition & Health Claims Set to be Revealed at Vitafoods Conference

The health claim regulations and an ever-tightening regulatory environment across Europe have made it tough for companies in the food and drink industry to know exactly how they can and can’t communicate their messages to the market.

12 May 2010 --- Brand new research amongst consumers on reactions to foods with nutrition and health claims is set to be revealed at the Vitafoods Conference next week. Professor Wim Verbeke from the University of Ghent will be giving a presentation detailing the very latest results of the study at the Nutrition & Health Claims workshop on Thursday 20 May at the Geneva Palexpo.

The health claim regulations and an ever-tightening regulatory environment across Europe have made it tough for companies in the food and drink industry to know exactly how they can and can’t communicate their messages to the market. Which is why the results of the consumer research, set to be unveiled at the conference workshop, will prove invaluable for manufacturers looking to evaluate exactly how best to position their products prior to launch.
 
Chairing the workshop will be Paul Berryman, the CEO of Leatherhead Food Research, who will give delegates an overview of the developments in the implementation of the regulation on nutrition and health claims. He will be joined by a programme of experts including lawyer Sebastian Romero Melchor from Food Law Consultants, who will examine legal action against EFSA, Caroline Taylor from MHRA, who will provide a regulatory view of the health claims and Jamie Barnard from Unilever, who will delve into claims in advertising.
 
Petra Tiersch, Regulatory Affairs Manager at DSM, will give an industry perspective on the impact of the health claims whilst Roberta Re from Leatherhead will give delegates advice on how to design a clinical study in nutrition. There are just a few places left at the workshop so prospective delegates are encouraged to book sooner rather than later to avoid disappointment.
 
Also taking place on Thursday 20 May and addressing the issue of EU health claims regulations will be the ever-popular Discussion Forum. Led by Simon Pettman from EAS, the discussion forum will bring together leading experts in marketing and regulation to provide a unique insight into what action is being taken to make the claims regulation more workable, whether the claims will make it through the system, how much investment is it worth putting into a claims application and what alternative marketing methods are possible.
 
Simon Pettman commented: “The EU health claims regulation already ranks as the most influential food legislation ever developed in Europe. And it is only just beginning to be implemented in the market. No other piece of legislation will have had such a profound influence on the way in which food products across the whole sector are developed and brought to market. To debate the topic at Vitafoods, we have brought together a broad cross section of industry experts with marketing, ingredients, regulation and finished product backgrounds, so attendees can be sure of leaving with a rounded perspective on the issue. “
 
The Discussion Forum [taking place in Hall 1, Room B] and Nutrition & Health Claims regulations workshop [taking place in Hall 1, Room K] offer the opportunity for marketing experts to immerse themselves in the regulatory issues that their companies are facing. Since a large audience is expected at the Discussion Forum, participants are being offered the opportunity to send their questions for the panellists in advance.