International sports nutrition brand USN has joined the European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance (ESSNA), a trade body focused on sports foods.
This comes shortly before the EU's launch of its Vision for Agriculture and Food (VAF) which is due to be made public on February 19.
The 2024–2029 mandate — containing the EU's VAF, will focus on ensuring the long-term competitiveness of the EU's farming and food sector, as well as its sustainability.
The pair have joined forces to ensure that regulations on sports foods are fair as the direction of European food policy experiences a significant change.
"The need to ensure fit-for-purpose regulations for sports foods in Europe is more urgent than ever"
ESSNA is primarily focused on being a voice for the industry — working with its members to understand their regulatory priorities and helping them to effectively communicate these suggestions to the European Commission.
According to Luca Bucchini, Chair of ESSNA, the USN joins at a critical moment for the industry. "Policy and regulatory developments of crucial significance are currently taking place in Europe," he noted.
"Therefore, the need to ensure fit-for-purpose regulations for sports foods in Europe is more urgent than ever."
"We expect that the European Commission will review the rules on sustainability reporting with the upcoming Omnibus proposal, and there has also been ongoing work in setting maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in both foods and supplement products," he stated.
“Following the launch of ESSNA’s EU Manifesto, we will be working with policy makers across Europe to ensure our members’ and consumers’ needs will be on the top of decision makers’ agenda."
Stacey Chapman, Sales Support Executive at USN, added: “We are proud to be partnering with ESSNA, a key advocate for a strong yet progressive regulatory environment in the sports nutrition sector."
“By combining our efforts, we can ensure the continued delivery of safe and effective nutrition solutions to customers," she concluded.