Foods for Special Medical Purposes (FSMPs) are food products specially formulated for patients with particular diseases, conditions or disorders and are defined under Regulation (EU) 609/2013 (1) . Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/128 sets out the specific labelling and compositional requirements for these products including the requirement to notify the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) when placing these products on the Irish market (2) . In December 2018, the FSAI launched a new online system to receive notification of FSMPs. The aims of this study are to (1) explore the range of FSMPs notified to the FSAI since December 2018 and (2) gain insight into the variability of such products.Data was extracted from the FSAI Notifications System using MySQL8.0 and exported to Microsoft Excel. Product data collected included product name and manufacturer, FSMP classification, product intention and compositional information. FSMPs were categorised by product intention e.g. Disease Related Malnutrition, Phenylketonuria. The same approach was used to categorise the reasons for re-notification of FSMPs. The frequency distribution for categorical variables was explored and numerical summaries (e.g., mean kcal/100g) were calculated.There were 475 FSMPs notified between December 2018 and December 2020: They were categorised as 'nutritionally complete with standard nutrient formulation' (n153), 'nutritionally complete with nutrient adapted formulation' (n59), and 'nutritionally incomplete with standard or nutrient-adapted formulation' (n263), as per the Delegated Regulation (2) . In terms of their use, n82 products are for infants (0-12 months), n435 products are intended for individuals over the age of 1 year and n42 products can be used by all age groups. All FSMP products were notified by n17 food businesses. FSMPs were organised into n16 categories based on the intended patient cohort. The largest category is FSMPs for disease related malnutrition (n212). In terms of nutritional composition, the average energy content for this category of FSMPs is 241 kcal/100 g (range 40-508kcal/100g). Of the total notifications received, n373 were re-notifications of FSMPs to inform the FSAI of product changes e.g. recipe or label change. The majority were re-notified with changes made in line with recent legislative updates (n299). Other reasons included product reformulation (n22) and changes in manufacturing address (n9).This study gives an insight into the wide range of FSMP products notified to the FSAI. Products developed for disease related malnutrition made up nearly 50% of all FSMPs notified. Examination of FSMPs as a product group is important to the FSAI for official control purposes and to support information requests from EU Member States. Further analysis of this data will involve assessment of product compliance in line with relevant legislation with a view to protecting consumers and for developing supports to assist food businesses to comply.
Nutrition and health claims on food is legislated for under Commission Regulation (EC) 1924/2006 (1) and Statutory Instrument No. 11 of 2014 (2) . These pieces of legislation ensure that any claim made on a food product label is clear, accurate and substantiated, allowing consumers to make informed decisions. A recent systematic review has shown that claims on food labels influence purchasing intentions of European consumers (3) . In an Irish context, recent research investigating consumer attitudes towards nutrition and health claims is lacking. The aim of this study was to explore the attitudes of a representative sample of Irish consumers in relation to the use of nutrition and health claims. This work fits within a larger compliance building project being carried out by The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) and Environmental Health Service (EHS) with respect to Commission Regulation (EC) 1924/2006.The FSAI contracted Amárach Research, a market research and data specialist company, to undertake a quantitative omnibus survey in order to better understand consumer attitudes towards nutrition and health claims. An omnibus survey of n1000 participants was undertaken according to quotas set by Amárach for gender, age, social class and geographical region to achieve a nationally representative sample. The survey comprised of 5 close-ended questions which was completed online by participants.The survey revealed 78% of consumers trust the claims made on food labels. The participants also showed a high level of awareness of the presence of claims on food labelling with 97% self-reporting that they could identify nutrition and health claims, and 86% actively seeking out products which advertise claims. The data indicated that consumers were more heavily influenced by health claims compared to nutrition claims with 78% of participants stating that health claims influence purchases. However, this research showed that consumer knowledge was lacking in discerning true from untrue claims, as 83% incorrectly identified an unauthorised claim to be true. The unauthorised claim which consumers identified to be true was 'biotin is necessary for healthy teeth, bones, hair and skin', while 17% correctly identified the authorised claim 'biotin contributes to the maintenance of normal hair' to be true.The findings of the omnibus survey provide an updated insight into consumer attitudes towards nutrition and health claims. Consumers cannot be expected to know or keep up to date with authorised or newly authorised claims and can easily be misled by untrue claims. The high level of trust in food labels reported by consumers makes it imperative to help food businesses comply with nutrition and health claims labeling legislation. The ongoing FSAI & EHS compliance building programme aims to improve food businesses compliance with Commission Regulation 1924/2006 while also protecting consumers.
Poor diet is responsible for a quarter of European non-communicable disease (NCD)-related deaths. The reformulation of sugar, salt, and saturated fat in processed packaged foods offers an opportunity to reduce consumption of nutrients of concern and also support a reduction in energy intake. To date, there have been no publications measuring progress in food reformulation by compiling published evidence for a food category. The aim of this scoping review was to identify, characterize and summarise the findings of studies analysing the reformulation of processed yogurt and breakfast cereals. The review answered the research question: “What is the impact of food reformulation on the nutrient quality of yogurt and breakfast cereals available in the retail environment?” The research protocol was defined based on PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Five databases were searched in May 2022. Thirteen studies, published between 2010 and 2021 and completed across seven countries were eligible for inclusion. There were sufficient eligible studies to identify trends in sodium, salt, and sugar reduction in breakfast cereals. However, there was minimal or no reduction in energy, which may bring into question the use of food reformulation as part of an overall health strategy for obesity reduction.
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