A major European supplement brand was accused of selling anabolic steroids by the Irish Medicines Board (IMB). The IMB were removing the manufacturers supplements from retailers’ shelves causing them considerable distress and concern from customers. Alimentarius were asked to review the available evidence on the compound in question and prepare a positional statement. In addition to providing extensive human safety data Alimentarius clearly demonstrated that the compound in dispute was not an anabolic steroid. The IMB concurred with the position statement of Alimentarius and our clients products were quickly returned to the retailers, minimising commercial damage and restoring consumer confidence in the brand.
Month: September 2011
HMRC 2011
Alimentarius were approached by a major European supplement brand with product listings in all the major UK supermarkets. They asked Alimentarius to review the tax status of a range of functional food products that were sold throughout the EU. We provided a series of strategic changes that resulted in the core product range legitimately being moved from the standard rate of VAT to being zero rated for tax in several EU member states. This made the products more competitive in the European market and also increased their profitability both for our clients and retailers.
HMRC 2009
Alimentarius asked to review the UK tax status of the product range produced by a major European functional food brand sold in the UK. After detailed consultation with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), Alimentarius suggested a serious of strategic changes for our clients products. These were inexpensive to implement and allowed several of the brands core products to legitimately be moved from VAT at the standard rate to a zero VAT rating. This made the products more competitive and resulted in better margins for retailers, resulting in a considerable increase in sales.
Ministero Della Salute 2009
A major European supplement brand wanted to sell its’ supplement range into the Italian market. These included energy drinks, recovery drinks, energy bars, protein bars, protein powders and ergogenic aids. The process required registration of each product with the Italian authorities (Ministero Della Salute) and the provision of a scientific dossier to support each product. Alimentarius assembled all the scientific dossiers required for the registration process and the products were successfully registered without the need for any supplemental data. This saved the clients a substantial amount of time and money, allowing the products to be launched at the most commercially beneficial time of the year. Our clients brand went on to establish itself as a leading sport supplement brand in the Italian market.
Hellenic Food Authority 2008
A major European sports supplement brand wanted to extend the sale of its’ products into Greece. The supplements included energy bars, protein bars, protein drinks, energy drinks, fat loss products, multivitamins, minerals and herbs. This required registration of each product with the Hellenic Food Authority (EFET) and the provision of a scientific dossier for each product. Alimentarius were provided just a few weeks to assemble all the scientific evidence needed for the registration process. We were able to meet this deadline because of our experience in product registration and extensive nutritional research library. All the products were successfully registered with the Hellenic Food Authority without the need for any additional data and our client went on to establish itself as the leading sport supplement brand in the Greek market.
Food Standards Australia 2011
A global supplement brand wanted to import its’ products into Australia. They contacted a regulatory expert specializing in Australian food law, who advised that several of the supplements would need to undergo re-labeling and/or reformulation. Alimentarius liaised with Australian regulatory experts and quickly identified several routes that allowed the supplements to legally enter the Australian market without reformulation or re-labeling. Alimentarius were able to save their clients a substantial amount of time and the costs of reformulation; accelerating successful entry of the products into the Australian market.
Press Association
A journalist for a major sports magazine published a negative review about an energy bar. The bar manufacturer complained to the UK Press Association, who requested the magazine provide evidence to support the opinions expressed by the journalist in the review. The author was unable to provide evidence to support the comments in the review and the magazine contacted Alimentarius for assistance. Although we had no involvement in the publication of the original review we were able to provide scientific substantiation for the journalists opinions. This was sufficient to satisfy both the Press Association and the bar manufacturer and avert legal action against the magazine.
Committee of Advertising Practice
A major functional food brand wished to increase the marketing claims on an existing weight management product. They approached Alimentarius to get an opinion on additional claims that could be used on the product. After reviewing the proprietary data on the product Alimentarius prepared a detailed scientific dossier for the company and submitted it to the UKs’ Committee for Advertising Practice (CAP) for evaluation. They agreed the data provided by Alimentarius adequately supported a variety of claims relating to weight control, including the headline claim ‘increases fat burning’ which CAP considered this a breakthrough claim. The utilisation of the new claims on pack and in marketing increased consume appeal and translated to a dramatic increase in product sales. The claim substantiation dossier prepared by Alimentarius was used by our client to obtain product listings with major high street retailers including Boots.
Trading Standards Institute 2004
Our client, a major European brand made a number of on pack health claims for its range of fat loss, weight management and sports supplements. The claims included ‘increasing muscle size, increasing lean body mass, increasing muscle strength, increasing muscle power and reducing body fat. Claims on product packaging fall under the regulatory control of the Trading Standards Institute (TSI) and they challenged if there was scientific evidence to support the claims. Alimentarius provided scientific substantiation for the claims on each product, ensuring they could remain on sale without re-labeling or regulatory action.
Advertising Standards Authority 2005
A complaint was sent to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) questioning if several health claims in a clients marketing copy could be substantiated. The health claims had been prepared by Alimentarius and were supported with high quality, placebo controlled, research trials on humans. The supporting scientific data was sent to the ASA, who agreed that there was sufficient evidence to substantiate the effects claimed on the product. This made it unnecessary for our client (and its retailers) to change the product claims in magazines, catalogues, or websites.