Proposal for a Regulation on the Addition of Vitamins and Minerals and of Other Substances to Food

Abstract:

Review of COM 671 European Commission proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the addition of vitamins and minerals and of certain other substances to food.

SUMMARY

In this Proposal, the Commission recommends a Regulation to harmonise divergent national rules on the voluntary addition of vitamins and minerals (and certain other substances) to foods.

The reviewers varied in their views on the significance of the issues covered and the extent to which the science base was well established. Two reviewers did not find the Proposal controversial and felt that the document was balanced and the conclusions reasonable. Others were more critical of the principle underlying the voluntary fortification of food and were concerned about whether the Regulation would be effective with regard to the selection of foods that should not be allowed to be fortified. While there was a Ref: E4/2004strong case to be made for the regulation of the market for fortified foods, there was also need to ensure that any new Regulation was well aligned with the currently proposed Regulation on Health Claims.

Reviewers generally wanted more scientific detail, for example relating to measurement and calculation of nutrient intakes, labelling and exemplification of the ‘certain other substances’, so that the measures could be better focused. They also thought it particularly important for the Commission to do more to support research to measure food intakes in the EU and to evaluate the impact of intakes on health and well-being.