EFSA Uncertainties Have Chilling Effect On New Food Supplement Introductions

Thanks to widespread uncertainty about European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) health claims rules, new product introductions have dropped off in the European food supplements sector and food manufacturers are making more general health claims about their products. Innova Market Insights counted 384 new supplement introductions in West Europe between January and June of this year, compared to 405 in the same period last year. Of the top five supplement categories, the leader for new supplements was weight management with 99 new products, followed by immune health (91) and digestive/liver health (86). Functional foods innovation in Europe, as measured by new product introductions, fell from2,1889 new products in the first half of 2009 to 1,960 new products with an "active health" positioning in the same period of 2010.