Food Safety/Risk Management/Nutrition Security/Foods for specific groups
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Foods for specific groups

 

At national level, food products intended for a special diet were regulated by Royal Decree 2685/1976, of 16 October, approving the Technical and Health Regulations for the Preparation, Distribution and Placing on the Market of specially prepared foods or foods for dietary regimes.

Subsequently, Council Directive 89/398/EEC, of 3 May 1989, on foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses, was approved and incorporated into the Spanish legal system under Royal Decree 1809/1991, amending Royal Decree 2685/1976, of 16 October, updating the definition of food intended for particular nutritional use.

The above Directive and its amendments were codified by Directive 2009/39/EC of the European Parliament and the Council, of 6 May 2009, on foodstuff intended for a particular nutritional use.

This Directive establishes a common definition of “foodstuffs intended for a particular nutritional use”, and the general requirements for labelling, including the requirement that these foods bear an indication in line with the health claim objective.

Commission report, of 27 June 2008, on the implementation of the notification procedure showed that difficulties can arise from the definition of food products intended for particular nutritional uses, which were open to differing interpretations by the national authorities, and it therefore concluded that a revision of the Directive would be required to ensure a more effective and harmonised implementation.

The report indicates that experience has shown that certain regulations adopted pursuant to Directive 2009/39/EC are not suitable for ensuring the operation of the internal market.

Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013, on food intended for infants and young children, food for special medical purposes, and total diet replacement for weight control, was published on 29 June 2013, and is applicable from 20 July 2016.

Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 expressly repeals Directive 2009/39/EC, with effect from 20 July 2016. Consequently, Royal Decree 2685/1976, of 16 October, is tacitly abolished from 16 October, except article 10, which regulates the information on the placing of the market of the products.

Nevertheless, a Royal Decree project is currently underway regulating the food communication procedure for specific groups of the population and repealing Royal Decree 2685/1976.

Special mention is given to the special foods traditionally considered as specific for dietary regimes included in Royal Decree 2685/1976, in particular: yeasts, wheat germ, pollen, royal jelly, unrefined foods (wholegrain cereals and flours, brown sugar, etc.), oils and fats with a high content in essential fatty acids, as, with the incorporation of Directive 89/398/EEC in the internal legal system under Royal Decree 1809/1991, of 13 December, BOE of 25 December, amending the definition of “foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional use”, the above products no longer complied with the definition in the community regulation. Nevertheless, although its inclusion in Royal Decree 2685/1976 was not repealed, from 20 July 2016 with the new Regulation (EU) No 609/2013, these products were beyond the scope of application of the legislation as food for specific groups of the population, and therefore, could not be placed on the market as “food/food products intended for particular nutritional uses”, “dietary foods” or “special diet foods”