Food
meyer.science GmbH meyer.science GmbH assists you on all issues relating to food and foodstuffs. We offer support throughout the processes of product development, verification of marketability and product labeling up to the legally compliant enhancement of your advertising texts for a successful marketing of your product.
Product development
At the stage of product development it is essential as a first step to classify the product correctly. Based on the product recipe we clarify definition issues: is the product to be classified as food or as a medicinal product?
In addition to selecting the appropriate product category, we also provide comprehensive advice on regulatory, scientific and legal requirements.
We also provide advice in questions concerning novel food. So far numerous novel food applications have been submitted wihtout any necessity. It is advisable to contact us prior to the submission of an application especially where pure chemical substances, plant extracts, microorganisms and alternative production processes are involved, in order to clarify whether your substance has to be classified as a novel food in the first place from a legal point of view.
Some ingredients of foods naturally contain substances that may pose potential health risks (e.g. quinolizidine alkaloids in lupines, tetrahydrocannabinol in hemp-based foods or methyleugenol in lemongrass). We can support you in the development of your formulations so that no health risks for consumers arise when consuming these foods.
Where your product is to be sold as a food, we offer advice in selecting the correct classification of your product into one of the following categories:
- Fortified foods
- Food supplements
- Foods for specific groups (food intended for infants and young children, foods for special medical purposes (FSMP), and total diet replacement for weight control)
In case you are a distributor of a "food for specific groups" we provide information about the law on dietary foods on basis of EU Regulation No. 609/2013 and the associated delegated Regulations (FSMP [Reg. 2016/128], infant formulae and follow-on formulae [Reg. 2016/127] & processed cereal-based foods [still pending and not expected before 2021]).
In particular, we will advise you whether your product is to be classified as FSMP and support you in making decisions regarding the necessity of a comprehensive dossier for FSMP based on the interpretation of the regulatory requirements. This is because for most products no complete dossiers analogous to the EFSA requirements are necessary, but rather an internal evaluation in accordance with the EU Commission Notice on the classification of foods for special medical purposes (2017/C 401/01) in combination with the proof of efficacy of the FMSP.
In order to arrive at an appropriate solution for complex legal matters, we cooperate closely with the law firm meyer.rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH where legal issues arise.
Labeling
We draw up the labelling required by law for food products on the basis of the information you provide and check finished mock-ups for compliance with the relevant regulations. We also clarify your queries concerning nutrient reference quantities for specific population groups, “clean labelling” and other voluntary information about foods.
We also assist you with regard to any issues related to the EU Regulation on the Provision of Food Information to Consumers (Reg. No. 1169/2011).
Health claims
meyer.science GmbH advises you about the possibilities of using health claims. A detailed explanation of our advisory services in this field can be found under the section “Health Claims” on this website.
Nutrients
We also support you with the approval of new sources of nutrients to be used in food supplements or fortified foods starting with advice on the design of the clinical study, continuing with the preparation of the dossier and ending with the submission of the dossier to the EU Commission/EFSA.
Food additives, flavourings and enzymes
We classify ingredients as being food additives subjected to labelling requirements or as processing agents. We will also assist you with our experience in preparing dossiers to facilitate the formal approval process for technical additives.
We also support you in view of the labelling of flavourings and enzymes in accordance with legal requirements and, if necessary, perform a safety assessment based on our expertise.
