Amendments to Regulation EC 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims.
Amendments have been made with regard to the list of permitted claims. Lower energy, fat, saturated fat, salt/sodium and sugars contents are promoted to make products healthier to eat. The reduction claim is subject to a reduction of 30%, or 25% for salt. These may be difficult to do satisfactorily, while more modest reductions may be achievable. But the claim “now contains X% less…” should only be used when new recipes are applied to standard products and should be limited in time. A claim of reduced sugars should be permitted only when the energy content of the food does not increase due to substitution by fat. A claim that salt has not been added should be limited to foods low in sodium. A claim may be used for one year after the reformulation of the product.
Full details from Sara Murray, tel: 01224-285159 (Tuesday to Thursday, 9 a.m.to 3.15 p.m.) or www.food.gov.uk
A booklet: Guidance to compliance with Regulation (EC) 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods, Version 2, November 2011, is now available.

Temperature control of cheeses.
The Specialist Cheesemakers Association (SCA) has produced the SCA Guidance on temperature control of cheese – review of UK and EU legislation.
Tel: 0207-253-2114

Bally Bleat ice cream.
Ice cream specialist Mullins of N.Ireland makes goats milk ice cream, Bally Bleat, the first to target the mainstream market. Mullins has signed with UK-based Bellfield and Bally Bleat will become available in selected stores of a UK supermarket chain.

Provision Trade Federation 125th  Anniversary Yearbook
This carries a report on the increased popularity of speciality cheeses in the UK – one avenue being explored is evidently spreadable goats cheese.

Date marking.
The Specialist Cheesemakers Association Newsletter (December 2011) reports on the publication of the DEFRA/FSA date marking guidance, “Guidance on the application of date marks to food” to help decide whether to apply a “use by” or a “best before” date to  produce. “Use by” is only for highly perishable foods that are likely to constitute a danger to health after a short period. (Information from Diana Axby 0n 0207-2532114, diana.axby@provtrade.co.uk.
Dairy Industries International, October 2011 issue, mentions the removal of “sell by” dates and suggests that bar codes can help.

The National Control Plan.
A report to the EC on progress in 2010 towards implementation of the UK National Control Plan satisfies the requirements of regulation (EC) No 882/2004. the report is at http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/ncpreport2010.pdf
It deals with compliance with the regulations by food industries etc.

British cheese composition V. the EU Food Information Regulation.
The EU Food Information regulation (FIR) EU No.1169/2011, will take effect from 13/12/14, replacing national laws within member states, though some aspects regarding nutrition labelling will not come into force till 13.12.16. However the trade body Dairy UK says that the FIR will remove all compositional standards for certain cheeses. The UK Food Labelling Regulations of 1996 provide maximum water content percentages for several named cheeses e.g. Cheddar, Blue Stilton etc, also a maximum for the fat content. Dairy UK is taking up its concerns with DEFRA, whose spokesman said that they would be “listening to concerns”.
“Food Solutions” has plenty to say about the FIR, which amends and repeals older items of legislation. Go to the Food Solutions website and follow the links: training - management advice – advice sheet 157.
e-mail: bob@food-solutions.org

Addition of vitamins and minerals to foods.
The FSA placed on the website food.gov.uk of 1.12.11 the Draft Commission Regulation establishing implementing rules for Article 8 of Regulation (EC) 1925/2006 on the addition of vitamins and minerals and certain other substances to foods.
The addition of substances to the annexes to Directive 2002/46/EC on food supplements, Reg(EC) 1925/2006 on fortified foods and Reg.(EC) No 953/2009 on foods for particular nutritional uses (known as “parnuts”);
Regulation (EU) No. 1161/2011 amends the list of minerals permitted in food supplements, fortified foods and parnuts.
References give effect in national law to EU amendments concerning vitamins and minerals:
in food supplements, Directive 2002/46/EC; in fortified foods, Regulation EC 1925/2006 and in parnuts, Regulation EC953/2009.

 Labelling issues.
There was confusion over labelling at a recent Brussels conference. Producers should not rush into making changes until there is industry-wide agreement. It was pointed out that allergen declarations are not fully understood – how they should be listed. It is not known if voluntary labels e.g.”contains nuts” are legal. There is confusion over the minimum font size allowed and an issue over ingredient and country of origin labelling.
 
Chill temperatures.
A recent EU proposal that chilled foods should be kept at 2 degrees C has been vehemently opposed by the British Retail Consortium, on the grounds that ir is neither possible, without vast expenditure, nor necessary.

Consultation on draft Food Hygiene (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2012.
Comments are required by 21/2/12. Information from Claire Moni, FSA Scotland, 01224-285158, www.food.gov.uk/Scotland.
Also from FSA Scotland is a lengthy document on the subject of food additives, flavourings and enzymes, an update. Information from:
E.Stewart.Herd@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk telephone and website as above.

The use of raw milk in Australia and New Zealand. Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is reviewing their current regulations with regard to the use or prohibition of raw milk in cheese manufacture. The current exemption that allows raw goat milk will be reviewed separately. (Nutra Ingredients)

Milk is better than water to drink if you are dehydrated. An experiment carried out with children on exercise bikes showed that when they were dehydrated their body fluids recovered better in those who drank skimmed milk than in those who drank water. (NutraIngredients)

When dieting and exercising daily in order to lose weight, an experiment involving 90 women showed that a high protein, high dairy diet helped to lose more fat and put on more muscle weight, compared to a diet low in dairy, (Journal of Nutrition.)

The texture of dairy products was found to have more effect on the feeling of fullness after eating than the flavour or the method of consumption (e.g. spoon or straw). (Journal “Appetite”).

Intake of dairy foods at least once daily is linked to better mental performance, including increased reasoning, memory and organisation, according to a study of 1,000 people in USA. This may be due to the intake of vitamin D, phosphorus and magnesium. Dairy consumption has declined over the last 20 years, which has been harmful, but the exact reasons are not known. (International Dairy Journal)

Selling goat meat. Marnie Dobson of Chestnut meats has found that goat meat is a hard sell and must be regarded as a niche product to be sold to the people who want it.

The new Food Information Regulation came into being in September. It brings together food labelling and nutrition rules. It was agreed on 30th September. Details from: Morag Pyper, tel: 01224-285127 or e-mail morag.pyper@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

Dutch row over milk claims. Prof. Walter Willett wrote a milk research paper in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. A press release claimed that he had said that drinking three glasses of milk a day could reduce the risk of cardio-vascular disease by 18%. Sadly, this is not true.

International goat Association papers on goats milk.
http://t.co/ZOL9RiM.http://t.co/Tt/NoHo
http://t.co/riS3X5J0.http://t.cokb6uaza4

Comments required on draft list of permitted Article 13.1 Health Claims for Regulation EC 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims.
Send to Kathleen.guinee@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk by 17.10.11.
See her e-mail of 30.9.11

The Veterinary Residues Committee held a meeting on 30/9/11. Information from Lauren Lindsay on tel: 01224-285146, or see the VMD and VRC websites.

Ban on sales of raw milk (cow, sheep and goat) in Ireland before the end of this year. The Irish Department of health & children is to publish a bill imminently. Raw milk used as an ingredient in other dairy products will not be banned. There is a “Campaign for Raw Milk Ireland”. Farmers and their families can continue to drink raw milk. (Nutra Ingredients, 6/10/11)

Ice-cream conference in Germany. INTER-ICE are to hold a conference from 6-8/12/11 in Cologne. It is organised by the Central College of German Confectionary Industry, and will be a platform for the latest research in the ice-cream industry, involving delegates world-wide,.
http://www.zds-solingen.de/en/seminarsconferences/inter-ice-2011/

Food Solutions, September 2011, came onto our screens on 10/10/11 and brings the grim news that while meat inspections are currently the only ones charged for, this may be changed by the Commission and all food inspections charged for. Food solutions is against this – Member states should pay, not individual food businesses.
A new traceability regulation came in on 19/9/11 – EU931/2011 it requires that from 1/7/12 extra information must be provided on products of animal origin. Contact ;
bob@food-solutions.org

Extract from cockerels’ combs good for our joints.  A Spanish firm, Bioiberica, has applied to be allowed to add extract from cockerels’ combs to dairy products. The extract is rich (60% - 80%) in sodium hyaluronate (SH) which helps to lubricate and cushion joints. The UK Advisory Committee on novel Foods and Processes claims that there are no significant safety concerns. The firm plans to add SH to milks, yoghurts, fromage frais etc, Novel food ingredients have to be assessed in the EU before use. The claim that this will maintain joint health will have to be approved under relevant EU legislation. Products containing SH would have to be clearly labelled as such, and SH could not be added to vegetarian products.

Whey protein supplements may reduce body weight in obese and overweight adults without restricting energy intakes or habitual diets, according to an American study.
56 grams or whey protein per day for six months caused a 2% reduction in body weight compared to a group consuming an equal amount of calories from carbohydrates. Whey protein reduces the level of the hormone ghrelin which serves as a hunger signal. Supplementary dietary protein may reduce the risk of unhealthy weight gain without restricting energy consumption.

IDF World Dairy Summit, Parma, Italy, October 2011.
This was mentioned in the Previous “Selling Products” of  July 21st. Now there are further details of three contained conferences highlighting the importance of dairy
Nutrition. On October 19th the subject will be “Sustainable Public Health and Dairy Nutrition Economics”, giving greater awareness of the nutritional benefits of dairy products which can improve nutritional status and reduce healthcare costs.
On 16th & 17th October the theme will be “Dairy Products, a Healthy Choice” giving the positive nutritional aspects and healthy aspects of specific nutrients in dairy foods and how to address the age-related nutritional needs for dairy products.
On 18th October there will be a marketing conference, conveying the benefits of dairy products to consumers. Also a Dairy Science and Technology conference “Novel Technologies for Sustainable Dairy Products”
Also on 19th October there will be an IDF/FAO conference on “The Global Environmental Footprint of Dairy Products” It is a challenge to increase production while keeping the environmental imprint to a minimum. The IDF Carbon Footprint Methodology will be discussed Also the FAO report on new developments to monitor environmental sustainability of the livestock sector.
As before, the programme: http://www.wds2011.com/ProgramPage.php?ID=484
To register for the conference: http://www.wds2011.com

The Provision of Food Information to Consumers Regulation (FIR)
As stated before, the draft goes to the EU Council this autumn – information from:
bob@foodsolutions.org

The London Dairy Exchange is apparently launching soon and e-mailed its particulars: Tel: +442021378602   Mob: +447766153922
E-mail: noel.anderson@tide.com  Website:     www.thelondondairyexchange.com
“An independent global online trading business exchange dedicated to the dairy industry and industry’s commercial partners world wide and much more”
Members only – and free lifetime membership is currently offered prelaunch via the website

EU Regulation 619/2011 on the low-level presence of unauthorised GMO’s in feed consignments from 3rd countries came into force on 15/7/11
Information from Simon Craig on 01224-285-151   www.food.gov.uk

Goat meat. Daily Mail Online on 18th august reported an increase in demand for goat meat – “healthier and cheaper than other meats”. There was a recipe for goat stuffed chicken and a picture of a (somewhat mismarked) Boer goat.

Milk is good! Nutraingredients reports a German government agency as finding that
 cows milk is better for infants that manufactured infant feeds. So wouldn’t we say that goats milk must be even better??