Regulation of the use of pre- and probiotics in the European Union and in other countries of the world

Abstract

It was sixteen years ago that recommendations and guidelines were worked out by the FAO/WHO about pre- and probiotics for professionals, industry and consumers (Pineiro and Ben Embarek, 2006). In the developed countries, conscious nutrition, health preservation and disease prevention are increasingly emphasized. In Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 in the EU has forbidden the use of antibiotics in animal feed as a stimulant for growth. As a result of this decision, the research of health-preserving, disease-preventing products developed rapidly both in the food and feed industries. In order to avoid misuse of prebiotic and probiotic terms, it is necessary to regulate precisely the description of the products. Regulation (EU) 258/97/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council is the first time that the concept of novel foods and  food ingredients was introduced. This is the regulation that for the time deals with the introduction of microorganism as food ingredient into the food chain. Pre- and probiotics are present in the food and feed industry due to their beneficial effects on the body, so the regulation of the two areas in many cases merges. A good example is Regulation (EC) 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council, which provides both food, feed, safety conditions and also human and veterinary aspects. Food safety is an important issue for all countries in the world. Every country have an authority to made regulation within this important area, for example the EFSA in EU, the GRAS qualification in USA, the FOSHU category in Japan and the food safety regulation system in Canada. The ISAPP is an international scientific committee, who make guidelines about the usage of pre- and probiotics. This work provides insight to the EU’s and other countries’ food law regulations.