The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint about the “About Us” section of its website for Appy Food & Drinks, which contained a claim that all of the advertiser’s juice drinks were “100% natural” despite containing calcium lactate and glucose-fructose syrup. Appy Foods asserted that calcium lactate is a salt obtained through a natural fermentation process and occurs naturally in dairy products, and glucose-fructose syrup is obtained through hydrolysis of cornstarch, also a natural process. The watchdog agency reviewed Appy’s production processes and found that Appy did not provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the calcium lactate production process was “natural,” and further that the glucose-fructose syrup was produced by the addition of an enzyme isomerase to the cornstarch, a “non-traditional” treatment falling outside the definition of “natural” in the Food Standards Agency guidelines. Because the Appy juice drinks were not “single foods,” the ASA decided that the…
Category Archives Europe
Members of the European Parliament have backed by a 559 to 31 vote, with 26 abstentions, a non-binding resolution asking the EU to “further harmonize the safety requirements for food contact materials [FCMs], which are largely used in everyday life in the form of food packaging, kitchen utensils and tableware.” According to a news release, “Only four out of listed 17 food contact materials are currently covered by specific safety measures foreseen in existing EU framework legislation: plastics, ceramics, regenerated cellulose and ‘active and intelligent’ materials.” In particular, the report on the implementation of the Food Contact Materials Regulation ((EC) No 1935/2004) calls on the Commission to consider identifying bisphenol A (BPA) as one of the substances classified as a substance of very high concern (SVHC) under REACH regulations. It also asks the European Commission to prohibit the use of bisphenol S (BPS) in FCMs “as a substitute for Bisphenol…
The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld two complaints alleging that advertisements touting Kellogg Co.’s Special K® products as “full of goodness” and “nutritious” violated broadcast (BCAP) and non-broadcast (CAP) advertising codes for food, food supplements and associated health claims. The complaints targeted a TV ad for Special K® porridge that included supported health claim related to vitamin B2, as well as website claims regarding the product’s “unique Nutri K™ recipe.” According to ASA, the agency “shared Kellogg’s view that the claim ‘full of goodness’ was a reference to a general, non-specific health benefit of the product and as such, we agreed that Kellogg was required to accompany it with a specific authorized health claim.” But because the authorized vitamin B2 claim did not immediately follow the general health claim, ASA found the ad in breach of BCAP Code Rule 13.4.3. The watchdog also felt that the website advertisement…
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has released a searchable database of botanicals that contain naturally occurring substances of potential concern to human health. The compendium is intended for use as a safety assessment tool for food and dietary supplement manufacturers. The compendium will reportedly be expanded to include non-European botanical species and is expected to be finalized in early 2017. See EFSA News Release, July 5, 2016. Issue 610
Responding to a request from the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel for Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM Panel) has published a statement on the presences of microplastics and nanoplastics in food, particularly seafood. According to the CONTAM panel, microplastics range in size from 0.1 to 5,000 μm and are either manufactured to that size (primary microplastics) or fragmented (secondary microplastics). Nanoplastics, which range in size from approximately 1 to 100 nm (0.001–0.1 μm), “originate from engineered material or can be produced during fragmentation of microplastic debris.” After reviewing the scientific literature, the panel concludes that more work is needed to develop and standardize analytical methods for microplastics and nanoplastics “in order to assess their presence, identity and to quantify their amount in food.” As the statement notes, “Occurrence data are limited. In contrast to microplastics no methods or occurrence data in…
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a new working group “to evaluate new scientific evidence on the potential effects of bisphenol A (BPA) on the immune system.” Prompted by a Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment report on new studies “describing pre- and perinatal effects of BPA on the immune system,” EFSA’s Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavorings and Processing Aids plans to issue a scientific statement on BPA and immunotoxicity at its September 13-15, 2016, plenary meeting. See EFSA News Release, June 20, 2016. Issue 609
Following June 11, 2016, riots and arrests in Marseille related to a Euro 2016 match between England and Russia, France has reportedly restricted the sale of alcohol in cities hosting the next games in the soccer tournament. Under the measures, public areas and shops in Lille and Lens could not sell alcohol before or during the matches, while bars and cafes were told not to sell drinks in containers that could be used as missiles thrown from terraces. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazenueve told reporters, “I have asked for all necessary measures to be taken to prohibit the sale, consumption and transport of alcoholic drinks in sensitive areas on match days and the day before, and on days when fan zones are open.” An executive from the Football Supporters Federation, which supports England and Wales teams and fans, told the BBC that the ban would not work, arguing that “the…
The European Commission (EC) has published a report finding that foods intended for sportspeople do not require special provisions under the regulation on food for specific groups (FSG Regulation), which will replace the framework on foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses (PARNUTs) on July 20, 2016. Based on the results of an external study commissioned by the EC Directorate General for Health and Food Safety, the report explains that the FSG Regulation covers foods targeting vulnerable population groups— such as food for infants and young children, food for special medical purposes, and total diet replacement for weight control—but does not extend to sports foods intended for either (i) sportspeople who practice sport more than once a week, or (ii) lifestyle users who practice sport less than once a week or not at all. “Thus, since a categorization as foodstuff intended for particular nutritional uses will no longer be available to…
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) has issued a scientific opinion assessing the human health risks of free and esterified 3- and 2-monochloropropane-1, 2-diol (MCPD) and glycidyl esters (GE) in food. According to CONTAM, which considered 7,175 occurrence data, “esters of 3- and 2-MCPD and glycidyl esters were found at the highest levels in palm oil/fat, but most vegetable oil/fats contain substantial quantities.” The panel warned that these substances—which form when refining vegetable oils at high temperatures—pose potential health concerns “for average consumers of these foods in all young age groups, and for high consumers in all age groups.” “There is sufficient evidence that glycidol is genotoxic and carcinogenic, therefore the CONTAM Panel did not set a safe level for GE,” said CONTAM Chair Helles Knutsen in a May 3, 2016, press release. “The exposure to GE of babies consuming solely infant…
The EU General Court has confirmed a European Commission decision finding that German company Dextro Energy's health claims for its glucose supplements are contrary to the messages of national and international authorities on the health risks associated with sugar consumption. The commission decided the issue in January 2015 despite advice from the European Food Safety Authority suggesting that the consumption of glucose could be linked to normal energy-yielding metabolism. "Even if those health claims were to be authorised only subject to specific conditions of use and/or were accompanied by additional messages or warnings, the Commission considered that the message nevertheless remained confusing for consumers, with the result that the claims in question should not be authorised," stated a March 16, 2016, press release from the General Court summarizing the opinion. Issue 598
