EHPM: 13.1 Rejection Transition Period Too Short

BERLINThe six-month transition period given for Article 13.1 claims that will be rejected for use in the EU should be increased to at least 18 months to account for supplement shelf lives, according to European Federation of Associations of Health Product Manufacturers (EHPM) at a conference in Berlin last week.

Six months is too short and impractical for food supplement manufacturers because many products carry a shelf life of up to three years. The short length of time for transition could result in significant costs for supplement manufacturers.

Given the short deadline, companies would have to change their labels, and they will not be able to produce packaging on such short notice and sell through their stock," said EHPM director of European policy Cynthia Rousselot. The result may be a shortage of stock for consumers."

Rousselot added, Given that the enforcement of the regulation will be in the hands of the Member States, we trust that they will take into consideration the shelf life of our products when determining the timeframe for the withdrawal of these from the market."