29 January, 2018

Notification of food supplements. How is it done?

If you are a business responsible for the production, processing, packaging, storage, distribution, importation and/or sale of food supplements, the first thing you need to know about notifying food supplements is whether you need to be entered in the General Food Safety Registry of Food Businesses and Foodstuffs (RGSEAA).

According to the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, both food establishments and food businesses that do not possess an establishment on Spanish territory. In our post on the Food Safety Registry we explained which businesses have to be registered. Once we know whether or not we need to be entered in the Food Safety Registry, we can start the procedure for notifying the launch on the market of our company’s food supplements.

First it must be made clear that in Europe and in Spain food supplements are not registered but notified. It is registered when authorization or registration in a body or list is requested. Instead, notification, as required by Law, is an announcement of placing food supplements on the market.

Many people are confused and speak of registering food supplements instead of notifying them. This is why we wrote a specific post about the registration of food supplements.

IS IT MANDATORY?

It is mandatory to file for it, but this does not constitute the approval of the competent authorities on selling the products in Spain. Once the food supplements notification is presented to the pertinent public administration, the operator can start selling the product. However, it the authorities detect any irregularity inherent to the product or its labelling, they will contact the operator to ask them for a rectification or even to stop the sale of the food supplement. Selling a food supplement without notifying it may entail financial sanctions starting from 5000.-€.

WHEN IS A FOOD SUPPLEMENT NOTIFIED?

Notifying food supplements must be done before or simultaneously to the first time the product is launched on the Spanish market. Also whenever any relevant modification is made to the product’s labelling or composition and even when the product ceases to be sold on the market.

WHO PRESENTS IT?

It will be the manufacturer or the person responsible for selling the food supplement who presents the notification.

WHERE IS IT PRESENTED?

If the company belongs to another European Union state and has no registered address in Spain, or if the company selling the products imported from third countries is Spanish, it shall present the notification to AECOSAN. The rest of communications will be addressed to the competent authorities of the autonomous region in which the company in question has its registered address. As well as the form, it will be necessary to pay the corresponding administrative fee. In the case of AECOSAN, the fee is 125.63€. In the event of having to notify the food supplement in the Autonomous Region, this fee depends on each Autonomous Region. At the end of the services page on our website we include a set of interactive maps where we list the fees in each country and in each Autonomous Region. Equally, and on the basis of the mutual recognition principle, it will be necessary to present a certificate accrediting that the product is already being sold in another European Union country.

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU AT LEGALEGO NUTRITION?

At LegaleGo Nutrition we know the effort and cost that goes into launching a food supplement on the market. This is why, to ensure that your product’s notification is accepted by the pertinent authorities and that you don’t waste energy, time and money in vain, please do not hesitate to engage the collaboration of a consultancy specializing in this type of procedure.  We will address any query you may have in this regard without any obligation whatsoever.

To do this we first analyze the product and look at how we can sell it in Spain or in any European country you require. We will then proceed to present the notification in Spain in the quickest and most economical way for our clients, seeking to ensure that they pay as few fees as possible.