Category: European Food Safety Authority
-
Danone Withdraws Requests That EFSA Approve Health Claims for Yogurt Products
Danone has reportedly decided not to pursue its applications to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to approve beneficial health claims for two of its yogurt products, Actimel® and Activia®. According to a news source, the company took the action because of changes to European regulation of health claims. Previously, each member state’s regulatory authority…
-
EFSA Reevaluates Scientific Opinion for Three Food Colorings
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published safety reassessments of three food additives, Brilliant Black (E 151), Brown HT (E 155) and Brown FK (E 154). For Brilliant Black, which first gained approval in 1984, EFSA has confirmed the existing acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 5 milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight (mg/kg bw). According…
-
EFSA Establishes Acceptable Daily Intake for Steviol Glycosides
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources has assessed “the safety of steviol glycosides, sweeteners extracted from plant leaves, and established an Acceptable Daily Intake [ADI] for their safe use.” According to EFSA, toxicological testing showed that the substances, such as stevioside and rebaudioside, “are not genotoxic, nor carcinogenic,…
-
EPA Publishes Action Plan to Address BPA Concerns
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently published an action plan to address concerns over bisphenol A (BPA), which has purportedly “caused reproductive and developmental effects in animal studies and may also affect the endocrine system.” Intended to strengthen the agency’s chemical management program, the plan focuses on the plasticizer’s environmental impact and proposes (i) adding BPA…
-
EFSA Issues Opinion on Hundreds of “General Function” Health Claims
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently published a second series of opinions on a list of “general function” health claims for foods. EFSA’s Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies assessed the scientific data submitted to substantiate more than 400 hundred health claims; its opinions are forwarded to the European Commission and member states,…
-
EFSA Creates Task Force to Evaluate Non-Plastic Food Contact Materials
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has created a scientific cooperation (ESCO)working group “to collect and analyze information on the safety of substances” used in non-plastic food contact materials. Citing concern that certain substances, such as inks and adhesives, are migrating into foods, EFSA initiated the working group to “identify strengths and weaknesses in different…
-
EFSA Rejects Infant Formula Ingredient’s Immunity Claim
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued its opinion that the Immunofortis® in Danone Baby Nutrition’s infant formula does not, as the company claims, “naturally strengthen the baby’s immune system.” According to EFSA, the scientific evidence the company submitted (i) “had considerable limitations,” (ii) “was inconsistent,” and (iii) “was not convincing.” It concluded that…
-
EU Ramps Up Regulation of Functional Food Health Claims
The European Commission (EC) has reportedly entered the second phase of a crackdown on functional food health claims advertising a product’s purported health benefits. EC regulations currently require the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to draw up a “positive list” of permitted health claims by 2010, but the commission is now discussing further restrictions on…