Dispatches from Vitafoods Europe
US market is faster, but not lower quality or less ethical than Europe, consultant says
“The entry levels for supplements are pretty comparable. In Europe you send the label to the authorities and and you can put your product on the market and that’s it,” said consultant Joerg Gruenwald, a principal in the firm Analyze & Realize. The regulatory scheme is similar to that in the US in that control is exercised after the fact if necessary.
“It’s not officially controlled. You are responsible for the product. if you do something wrong, the authorities can sue you and they will sue you,” he said.
Gruenwald said the situation is different for herbal drugs, a regulatory category that doesn’t exist in the US. For these products, extensive safety and efficacy dossiers must be submitted pre market. Gruenwald spoke with NutraIngredients-USA at the recent Vitafoods Europe trade show in Geneva, Switzerland.
Responsible companies in the supplement in industry in the US have similar business practices and ethics to those in Europe, he said. There might be more froth on the bottom end of the market in the US simply because there is more of everything, he said.
“There are always black sheep. In Europe we have cases too. They might be more rare, and that might be part of the American mentality, which in more entrepreneurial,” he said.
“The whole market is moving faster in the US than in Europe. Development time for a supplement in Europe might be one or two or three years. In the US I know this can be a matter of months or even weeks,” he said.
