EP endorses regulation on food for special groups

The European Parliament on Tuesday gave the green light to a new regulation on food for infants and other special groups, which would replace various pieces of current legislation to simplify rules for consumers across Europe. "We need to make sure that EU rules on food for specific groups are fit for purpose and evolve at the same speed as market developments," the EU's health and consumer commissioner Tonio Borg said in response to the Parliament's endorsement. "Today's agreement goes exactly in that direction by maintaining rules to protect vulnerable groups of consumers and by getting rid of outdated rules that no longer serve any purpose," Borg added. The new regulation intends to streamline current rules that are complex and fragmented at the EU level, covering food for infants and children, food for people with specific medical conditions, and food for weight control. The Commission is to continue with adopting detailed rules for the new regulation, which is to apply from the year 2016.