The 26th General Assembly decides to expand the certification scheme to further oral care products.
February 27, 2015
A milestone decision recognizing the need to endorse oral care products – e.g. toothbrushes, tooth paste – according to clearly specified, measurable criteria – has been adopted by the 26th General Assembly of Toothfriendly International held last week in Basel, Switzerland.
The General Assembly of Toothfriendly International is a two-day event where registered delegates – a unique combination of business leaders, scientists and dental NGOs – discuss and vote on various agenda issues. This year, the Assembly made a consensus decision to expand the existing certification scheme to new product groups.
Dr. Albert Bär, Executive Director of Toothfriendly International, states:
Our brand promise is to make healthy choices easy choices, and this is something that we have successfully been doing with non-cariogenic confectionery products for more than thirty years. But now it is time to focus on other pillars of caries prevention – oral care products and dental services – in order to increase the scope and impact of our association.
The Toothfriendly quality seal is still one of the most wide-spread certification schemes for confectionery products worldwide but its growth has slowed down in the recent years due to economic downturn and the increasing complexity of national food regulation.
The consensus vote of the General Assembly places expansion firmly on the association’s agenda. An independent scientific expert group is called to meet in June 2015 to define the inclusion criteria for new products and services.
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