Sports nutrition in a regulatory limbo

Abstract

The regulatory framework governing sports nutrition products in Europe is changing, with new Regulation 609/2013 on Food for Specific Groups coming into force in July 2016. Currently, sports nutrition products are regulated under the general provisions of Directive 2009/39/EC on Foodstuffs Intended for Particular Nutritional Uses (PARNUTS), the so-called ‘dietetic foods’. An attempt to set out separate provisions for sports nutrition products, such as food composition and labelling criteria, was made by the European Commission in 2004, but at that time a consensus was not agreed and no official activity was developed in this area. In 2011, in light of conflicting rules with more recent legislation, the European Commission agreed to repeal the ‘dietetic foods’ framework, removing the food categories for which no specific provisions exist, such as sports nutrition products. Today, the prospect of regulators bringing in specific legislation for the sports nutrition sector has receded, with Europe's policy makers recognising that sports people are not a vulnerable subgroup of the general population to require additional controls, as reflected in superseding Regulation 609/2013 on Food for Specific Groups. However, as some Member States remain concerned over consumer safety coming from the use of sports nutrition products, the European Commission has been asked to prepare a report addressing the need, if any, for additional specific rules to govern these food products. As we approach what may be a conclusion on a decade-long debate about how to regulate sports nutrition products in Europe, thanks to these regulatory changes, the sector may now face a very different challenge. Initially, the industry was in danger of a legislation that was so restrictive that it could have prevented growth and innovation in the sector. Today, as sports nutrition products have evolved to attend to the needs of the wider active population, the industry is now in danger of a regulatory framework that is so broad that it does not recognise the specific needs of sports people. The Commission Report, due in July 2015, is crucial for settling the legislative framework governing sports nutrition products once and for all, so that concerns from National Authorities and the issues currently experienced by the industry are addressed, and the sector can eventually achieve legal clarity and ensure consumer protection. This article discusses the changing regulatory environment for sports nutrition products in Europe, according to the particular views of the European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance (ESSNA), the trade association representing the interests of the sports nutrition industry in Europe.