Formulation Check

Formulation, composition, recipe – however you describe it, these are the ingredients that bring your product to life. We’re here to help make sure your ingredients list can legally become a reality.

There are different requirements for product formulations between countries, territories, and jurisdictions. So even though your product may be compliant for sale in one market, it may be illegal in another.

Ashbury will check that your product can be legally sold in the intended markets from a compositional perspective; we can work with you right from the start of development or as you look to grow and expand into new territory.

The right recipe

We ensure the product recipe complies with relevant regulations for compositional standards including:

Permissibility of ingredients – Minimum/maximum limits – Nutritional requirements – Novel foods – Functional ingredients

While not included in the standard check, if specifically requested we can check purity criteria, hygiene requirements, packaging, and food safety criteria.

Information we need from you

Your product recipe, product specification and intended target markets of sale. Depending on the complexity of the project, we may require specific ingredient specifications – for example, information on what the labelled ‘flavourings’ are.

In Practice

Monk fruit is a sugar alternative that is widely used in countries such as the US and across multiple product categories. In the EU however, this ‘novel food’ is still undergoing approval so cannot legally be sold here – this presents a significant problem for companies exporting to Europe.

The different approaches to ingredient regulations occur not only between regions but also between countries within these regions.

When our team conduct a Formulation Check they go over each ingredient to ensure it is permissible in the chosen jurisdiction, and within acceptable levels. In the case that we discover a problem – such as the presence of monk fruit in a product – we will notify you and discuss potential next steps. This could be as simple as swapping out one sugar alternative for another or reducing the levels of a vitamins/minerals in the product to satisfy the requirements.