Garrigues and Biópolis join forces to develop the functional food industry
Catering to the needs arising from the EU regulatory framework affecting the food industry
The law firm Garrigues, through its Biotechnology Department, and Biópolis have signed an agreement this morning with the aim of offering integral advisory services to the food industry, in order to provide solutions to the issues raised by the complex legislation recently rolled out, particularly in the field of functional foods (food with nutritional properties).
The law firm Garrigues, through its Biotechnology Department, and Biópolis have signed an agreement this morning with the aim of offering integral advisory services to the food industry, in order to provide solutions to the issues raised by the complex legislation recently rolled out, particularly in the field of functional foods (food with nutritional properties).
The last decade has seen significant changes in this industry, in which biotechnology has a key role to play, obliging companies to devote ever-greater efforts to R&D and to align themselves with the current EU regulatory framework.
The most far-reaching change took place recently with the approval of Regulation 1924/2006, of December 20, 2006, on nutrition and health claims made on foods. This new state of affairs poses new and significant challenges to the food industry, which now finds itself obliged to back its claims scientifically and to seek the relevant authorization to make such health claims.
This new regulatory framework, which brings the sector one step closer to the pharmaceutical industry, calls for joint technical, scientific and legal advisory services in an industry enjoying something of a boom, services that Garrigues and Biópolis are able to provide. Functional foods are currently the main driving force behind the food industry, with annual growth of 15%. In the words of Garrigues partner, Dulce Miranda, "We are in no doubt that this integral collaboration agreement will serve as an enormously useful tool for the industry in Spain and Europe in light of the new legal framework in place, particularly in a field that has traditionally lacked comprehensive regulation, and one which is all set to undergo manifold changes in the years to come".
For his part, Biópolis manager Ignacio González stated, "individually, we felt we were lacking something, but pooling our resources enables us to offer the food industry what we term Integral Food Consulting, a service that will help the food industry lessen the uncertainty and confusion caused by these new EU regulations ".