ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with foods for special medical purposes, infant and follow-on formulae, processed cereal-based foods and other baby foods, foods for weight control and gluten-free diets. The essential compositional requirements and guidance for the minimum and maximum levels of vitamins and minerals and other nutritional substances that may be used in the manufacture of foods for special medical purposes have been defined through specific regulatory measures including Regulation (EU) 2016/128. Infant formulae and follow-on formulae are products designed to satisfy the specific nutritional requirements of healthy infants currently specifically covered by Commission Directive 2006/141/EC, subsequently amended with several Regulations including Regulation (EU) 2016/127. Processed cereal-based foods and other baby foods (weaning foods), specifically intended for infants (children from 4 to 12 months) and young children (between one and three years) as they progress onto a mixed family diet, are currently covered by Commission Directive 2006/125/EC. Foods for weight control are divided into products presented as a replacement for the whole of the daily diet (800–1,200 kcal per total daily ration) and products presented as a replacement for one or more meals of the daily diet (200–400 kcal per meal). Many Regulations, including Regulation (EU) 609/2013, have been adopted to lay down compositional and labelling requirements for foods intended to be used in energy-restricted diets for weight reduction. The Regulation (EU) 2017/1798 has determined a number of requirements with regard to “total diet replacement for weight control products”. Gluten-free foods are necessary for people affected by the celiac disease (CD) that is a permanent autoimmune enteropathy, triggered in susceptible individuals, by the ingestion of gluten, a storage protein fraction present in wheat grain, and of similar proteins of rye and barley. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 828/2014 sets out the conditions under which foods may be labelled as “gluten-free” or “very-low gluten”.
