Labeling biotics from regulatory rules to marketing claims

Speaker: Bill BOOKOUT

Summary:

The end goal for the use of functional ingredients such as probiotics, prebiotic, postbiotics, etc is to benefit companion animal well-being. Key to gaining consumer acceptance is the ability to supply truthful and meaningful information, generally by way of package claims. However, this process can be lined with many traps depending upon the regulatory climate. For example, in the US an ingredient may be either a “food” ingredient or a “drug” depending upon the intended use. Understanding the various regulatory structures and enforcement strategies is key to navigating the claims and the appropriate channel to introduce products. Food products are regulated by the FDA and AAFCO guidelines and are used to provide “taste, aroma, or nutritional value”. While supplements are “articles (other than food) intended to affect the structure or any function of the body” and fall under FDA and state “drug” regulations. While these differences may be minor it will dictate how a product must be labeled and the appropriate claims.