Friday, December 18, 2009

INDUSTRY NEWS: Court confirms decision in favor of Neptune - Aker BioMarine not ready to enter EU market

Laval, Québec, CANADA - December 18th, 2009 - By a judgment on December 16, 2009, the district court of Frankfurt, Germany, again ruled in favor of Neptune Technologies Bioressources Inc. ("Neptune") and decided that Aker BioMarine ("Aker") is not allowed to distribute and advertise the product "Superba Krill Oil" without prior authorization or notification of its status of Novel Food. This decision, rendered in response to Aker's appeal, confirmed the court order of November 17, 2009, which caused Aker to immediately stop its marketing activity at the trade exhibition "Food Ingredients Europe 2009". During the court hearing of December 16, 2009, Aker's admitted that the Novel Food notification procedure for Superba Krill Oil was not completed. It stated that a final opinion from the Finnish Food and Safety Authority EVIRA had not been issued and that they cannot predict when the opinion will be available. These facts appear to contradict a press release from December 10, 2009, in which Aker claimed that Superba Krill Oil is now approved as Novel Food in the European Union and that, consequently, the product can be sold within the European Union. "We will always welcome competition in the krill oil market, but only from companies that respect of our intellectual property and follow the guidelines established to protect the consumers" stated Henri Harland, President CEO of Neptune.

Source: Neptune Technologies Bioressources Inc.

No comments:

Post a Comment