Stop to ‘outlaw’ food supplements because they contain plants “not usable in the supplements themselves”. To describe the phenomenon, recalling “administrations and economic operators” to respect the “rules and behavioral norms to be observed in order to safeguard the health of citizens”, is a circular from the Directorate General for Hygiene, Food Safety and Nutrition of the Ministry of Health. “In particular – reads the document – it refers to the use of extracts / preparations of plants increasingly concentrated or titrated in active ingredients, which are often not usable in the supplements themselves, but which, despite this, were found during the activities of control “of the ministry” and for which a ban on marketing has been imposed “.
The circular – on the theme ‘Indications on the use of plants and their parts in food supplements to guarantee the safety of citizens’ – therefore intends to “recall some principles that must be carefully followed by the actors involved in all the phases that lead to the marketing of supplements. food “. A document, it is emphasized, “follows on from previous communications on the same subject”, and is issued “in order to clarify possible interpretative doubts with respect to the actual application of the relevant legislation”.
The ministerial circular “first of all, reaffirms the responsibility of operators in the food sector (Osa) to guarantee the safety of the food they place on the market. This involves, among the various aspects to be considered – the document reads – the need to choose ingredients that can be used on the basis of current regulations, formulate food supplements consisting of combinations of ingredients that are safe on the basis of available scientific data, monitoring any adverse events of the supplements in order to be able to promptly implement all the precautionary measures necessary to guarantee protection of health”.
After briefly recalling the rules relating to the use of plants, their parts or extracts to formulate supplements, the circular reminds us that “the food supplement, regardless of its composition, must always meet the requirements of the specific legislation as well as all regulatory provisions applicable to the protection of food safety (with reference to chemical, physical and microbiological criteria, for example residues of plant protection products, contaminants, additives, etc.), as well as general provisions relating to the labeling and advertising of products “.
“As for other types of supplements”, food business operators are required “to monitor the safety of products with plants manufactured and placed on the market, on the basis of the evolution of scientific knowledge”, further details the circular. “In this regard, it is required, as a matter of urgency, to communicate to the Ministry of Health (Directorate General Hygiene, Food Safety and Nutrition – Office 4) any new data to its knowledge on collateral or unexpected effects of the plant / plants used in its products, also making known to all the initiatives taken to ensure the protection of citizens’ safety “, warns the dicastery.
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