The European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance (ESSNA) has issued its response to a European Commission proposal for a regulation on a single market for digital services, the Digital Services Act (DSA). The trade body representing European sports nutrition brands notes that stricter rules are required so that consumers can trust the products they buy online.
Dr Adam Carey, Chair of ESSNA said “The importance of detecting and tackling serious risks in relation to food or feed is acknowledged in EU food legislation, yet current provisions do not adequately protect consumers online.
“Especially when it comes to food supplements and sports nutrition, the safety of consumers and the urgency in removing illegal products from the markets is paramount. Sports nutrition consumers should have the right to know if a product they have purchased is not compliant and they should be able to purchase goods online with the same level of confidence, information and protection they have offline. The DSA is an important step in the right direction, but there is much scope for improvement.
“The DSA foresees the temporary suspension of companies providing manifestly illegal content. That’s not enough. Such companies should be permanently excluded from e-commerce. For eight years now, ESSNA has been running a targeted award-winning campaign to improve consumer safety and reduce unfair competition by addressing the issue of non-compliant sports nutrition products, particularly online.
“Since 2013, we have tackled over 500 cases of non-compliance and we have cultivated excellent relations with EU and national enforcement officials, who now regularly seek our intelligence and advice on a range of issues. But our formal power is limited, and provisions should be in place to ensure online platforms are more transparent and accountable for the products and information provided online.”
ESSNA notes that… ‘The majority of sports nutrition companies comply with legislation. But it is not infrequent to encounter cases of repeat offenders who persevere in selling harmful products online, or products making unsubstantiated claims about their benefits, in spite of multiple requests to stop such practices. This harms the reputation of the sector as a whole.’
