EC Issues Report on Sports Food Regulations
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 sports food, this type of food
will be exclusively governed by horizontal rules of food law,” states the
report, which seeks to assess the outcome of this change. Noting that the
retail value of this market exceeded €3.07 billion in 2014, the commission
identifies three categories of sports foods: (i) “sports drinks”; (ii)
“(protein-based) muscle strengthening, building and post exercise
recovery products”; and (iii) “energy and performance boosting products
and products for on-going supplementation of sportspeople.”
When classified as foods for normal consumption as opposed to
PARNUTs, these products must comply with a number of horizontal
food laws that govern, among other things, (i) nutrition and health claim
labeling, (ii) the addition of vitamins, minerals and other substances
to so-called “fortified food,” (iii) the provision of food information
consumers, (iv) food supplements, and (v) novel foods. In particular,
the report concludes that, under the new regime, sports foods formally
classified as PARNUTs may need to adjust their labeling, composition or
notification procedures to meet applicable horizontal food laws, which,
in turn, may undergo further consideration by the EC. Some products
will also be reclassified as food supplements or fortified foods under the
new rules.
“The horizontal rules of food law provide the necessary safeguards for
these products in terms of food safety, food composition, consumer
information and legal certainty,” concludes the report. “As a result, not
only all sports food products will be subject to the same legal requirements
but they will have the same level of harmonization as other foods
falling under the horizontal rules of food law. It is expected that, through
the simplification and clarification of the legal framework applicable for
sports food, legal certainty will be enhanced and the current fragmentation
based on the different legal frameworks reduced.”
Issue 608
