Danish Food and Veterinary Administration, 11 August 2004
The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration has rejected an application from Nordic Kellogg's A/S to market twelve new breakfast products and six bars enriched with various vitamins and minerals. The application has been rejected because the company wishes to add iron, calcium, vitamin B6 and folic acid in amounts that are too high.
The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration bases its decision on a scientific risk assessment produced by the Danish Institute for Food and Veterinary Research (DFVF).
The Danish maximum levels are based on the 'Upper Safe Limits' for the intake of vitamins and minerals determined by the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Food.
If the maximum levels are exceeded, the total intake from enriched food, non-enriched food and dietary supplements can reach a level that exceeds the upper safe limits, and may consequently represent a potential health risk. The DFVF bases its calculations on large-scale surveys of the diet of Danes and their intake of dietary supplements.
These surveys show that around half of the adult population and 70% of children in the ages 4-10 years regularly consume dietary supplements – typically a multivitamin mineral tablet.
Kellogg's has also applied for permission to enrich the relevant products with other nutrients which would not comprise any health risk, and these have been approved by the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration.
The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration emphasises that the breakfast products already on the market in Denmark do not have a nutrient content that represents a health risk.