Last June 15th was published, nearly a year late, the expected Report of the Commission on food intended for sportspeople. This report is published in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on food intended for infants and young children, food for special medical purposes, and total diet replacement for weight control.

Article 13 of the above mentioned Regulation established that the Commission shall, after consulting the Authority, present to the European Parliament and to the Council a report on the necessity, if any, of provisions for food intended for sportspeople. Such a report may, if necessary, be accompanied by an appropriate legislative proposal.

The report concludes, as foreseen in Regulation 609/2013, that from 20th of July 2016 food intended for sportspeople cease to be classified as foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses and they will be considered as food for normal consumption, governed by the relevant horizontal rules of food law . The Commission also concludes that there is no need for specific legislation for sports food.

The report notes that from 20th of July 2016, the evolution of sports food will include, among others, the following:

• Information on sports foods must be provided in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, on the provision of food information.
• Information provided concerning nutrition and health claims shall comply voluntarily Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006, considering that in sports foods could only be used the nutrition and health claims authorized under that Regulation which are intended for sportspeople and are supported by specific scientific evidence for this target group and not for the general population.
• Food for sportspeople will be considered under horizontal rules of food law, either as a food supplement (when it meets the definition of Real Decreto 1487/2009) or as fortified food (under Regulation (EC) No 1925/2006), so the compositional criteria provided within the aforementioned regulations will be applied.
• It will depend on the decision of Member States if a new notification will be required in the case of sports foods previously classified as foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses.

Our Regulatory services can support every company who needs to review the legal adequacy of the composition and labeling of these products and ensure the correct adaptation to the new situation.

Source: European Commission/Food