EHCA Seeks Reassessment of 13.1 Claims Reg

BRUSSELSThe European Health Claims Alliance (EHCA) launched a second joint letter on the Article 13.1 health claims regulation, urging Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament, to reconsider the evaluation process for those claims. Publication of the second joint letter follows a vote earlier this week by the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee on the objection to the list of permitted health claims; while the vote failed, 22 of the 59 committee members were in favor of the objection.

The letter, which raises the same concerns as voiced by the Members of the European Parliament, has already received over 300 signatures from individual companies across 21 Member States since its launch in mid-February and is still gathering more. It aims to demonstrate to the European Parliament the serious and unjustified impact that the current implementation of Article 13.1 of the EUs Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation will have on the sector across Europe.

Last fall, EHCA commissioned an economic impact assessment report on the EUs Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation, which reported a 25-percent drop in the market for substances other than vitamins and minerals.

The consequence of the way in which the regulation is being implemented could be damaging to consumers and to the sector, with a potential decrease in retail sales of over one billion euros and a commensurate loss of jobs," said Patrice Michelang, EHCA spokesperson. The regulations terms of reference have explicit instructions, however these provisions for a more proportionate application of the Regulations Article 13.1 has been consistently ignored, despite the fact that the European Parliament itself fought to have it included during the negotiations when this regulation was adopted."

He continued, In our letter we call on the European Parliament to ask the European Commission to re-consider claims that have been given unfavorable opinions; to give clear instructions to re-evaluate the claims the way that was originally intended by the regulation, and to avoid unjustly devastating a sector because of an inappropriate approach."