Slimming foods industry calls for review to total diet replacements requirements

After successfully overturning some potentially problematic EU regulatory developments, TDMR – the European association for manufacturers and distributors of formula diet products – is aligning the industry once again to request an amendment to a recently imposed regulation imposing increased protein requirements.

The recent regulatory development causing a stir in the EU diet food sector is the European Commission’s formal adoption of the Delegated Regulation amending Regulation 2017/1798 on TDRs​.

The 2017 Delegated Act, which included a five year transition period and therefore became formally adopted on October 27th, suggested that TDRs for weight control must contain at least 75g of protein, 11g linoleic acid and 1.4 g alpha-linolenic acid and not contain more than 250 mg of magnesium, for the total daily ration.

The regulation was based on a 2015 EFSA opinion which was considered highly controversial by the industry. These changes would lead to “serious sensory issues”, according to TDMR, who hosted a targeted campaign explaining these concerns to commissioners, member states’ representatives and MEPs.

These efforts led the commission to ask EFSA to review its 2015 scientific opinion on TDRs. And as a result, EFSA’s “Statement on additional scientific evidence in relation to the essential composition of total diet replacement for weight control”, published in April 2021, saw the minimum requirements lowered for ALA and LA and an increase in the maximum…