Workshop to Address Surviving the EU Claims Regulation

Taking place in Brussels on 24 November, the day-long event will address how food companies can benefit from the claims evaluation process and offset possible challenges.

Oct 6 2011 --- How to successfully tackle the European Union’s (EU) Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation is the topic of next month’s workshop hosted by international food policy experts EAS.

Taking place in Brussels on 24 November, the day-long event will address how food companies can benefit from the claims evaluation process and offset possible challenges, including how to introduce successful claims applications to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the practical day-to-day issues that the regulation unearths for marketing and product development of foods and food supplements.

Titled “Claims: Dealing with the present, planning for the future”, the workshop covers the advantages and pitfalls presently existing for companies, and opportunities and threats to be aware of when the regulation is implemented in its entirety in the near future.

It will include advice on proprietary data protection; the lists of permitted and rejected claims; the do’s and don’ts of compiling dossiers for EFSA evaluation; alternative ways of communicating health benefits to consumers, and how to ensure conformity during the transition periods.

The workshop will also clarify the interplay of the claims regulation with other regulations, for example the newly adopted food labelling regulation, novel foods, the setting of maximum levels for vitamins and minerals in the food supplements and food fortification legislation, the borderline between foodstuffs and medicinal products, and the possibilities and limitations of the mutual recognition legislation.

“The aim of the workshop is to give companies concrete advice on all aspects of how to tackle and implement the claims regulation,” said EAS Regulatory Affairs Manager Stefanie Geiser, who will co-present at the event with international food law and scientific affairs expert Patrick Coppens. “EFSA has finalised its article 13.1 claims assessment process, and the European Commission and EU Member States are now deliberating over what will and will not be included in the final list of claims permitted for use in the EU.”

“The Commission appears confident that it will be able to present a draft for adoption by the end of the year,” she continued, “therefore, with the transition periods running out, this is a crucial time in which businesses must be aware not only of how to apply the general principles of the claims legislation in terms of product composition, but of how the regulation has fundamentally changed the marketing rules for communicating health messages on food products.”