Newly elected SNE President Udo Herz to drive the future voice of specialised nutrition industry across Europe

SNE, the association representing the specialised nutrition industry in Europe, is pleased to announce the election of a new President and two new Members of the Operating Board following its recent Summer General assembly.

Professor Udo Herz, Global Healthcare Nutrition Director within Danone-Nutrition (Germany) has been elected to replace Roger Clarke, Chairman of the British Specialist Nutrition Association Ltd (BSNA - UK) as President of SNE for a three year mandate. Roger Clarke has been involved for the past thirteen years and for the last four as President.

Udo Herz has been an active member of the SNE Operating Board for several years, and has most recently supported the association in the transition from PARNUTs [1] to FSG[2] legislation.

Former President Roger Clarke explains: “Udo Herz has been an invaluable member of the Operating Board and is now in an excellent position to continue to drive the association forward for the next three years. He will build upon the work undertaken during the review of the EU specialised nutrition rules, and strengthen SNE’s presence and visibility in Brussels while promoting the importance of the European specialised nutrition industry. I am confident that Udo has the experience and energy required to drive this ambition”.

New President of SNE Udo Herz comments: “I am delighted to take on this new role within SNE, and look forward to working closely with the new Operating Board. Our association has a critical role to play in the European level policy debate impacting these very specific products, which approximately 90% of European consumers will consume at some stage in their lives.”

Two new members have also been elected to the Operating Board: Magali Bocquet, Secretary General of the French association Syndicat Français de la Nutrition Spécialisée and Monique Mellema, Senior Regulatory manager EU Food safety, import/export & compliance, Mead Johnson Nutrition, the Infant and Child Nutrition division of Reckitt Benckiser.

In parallel with these leadership changes, SNE remains very much involved in the follow-up activities related to the repeal of the PARNUTs Directive/ implementation of the FSG Regulation as not all measures have yet been finalised at EU level to ensure the completion of an appropriate EU regulatory framework for the specialised nutrition sector.

SNE looks forward to the finalisation of this work, taking into account the specificities of the specialised nutrition to ensure a high-level of consumer protection and a guarantee of stable rules for the sector which is critical in stimulating sector innovation.

Notes to the editor:

Specialised Nutrition Europe (SNE) is the trade association representing the interests of the specialised nutrition industry across the European Union. SNE members are the national associations of 18 Member States and their members are the companies producing tailor made dietary solutions for populations with very specific nutritional needs including infants and young children, patients under medical supervision, sportspeople, overweight and obese consumers, and those suffering from coeliac disease.

For more information on SNE, please see here.

A full list of Operating Board members can be found below:

• Udo Herz (Germany) (SNE President)
• Roberto Baldoli (Italy) (SNE Vice-President)
• Magali Bocquet (France)
• Fernando Carvalho (Portugal)
• Roger Clarke (UK)
• Estrella Bengio (Spain)
• Monique Mellema (The Netherlands)
• Norbert Pahne (Germany)

Biography Udo Herz

Udo Herz holds a PhD in Molecular Biology & Immunology at the Eberhard-Karls-University Tübingen. He has held a variety of positions as research scientist and professor in Clinical Chemistry, Allergy & Immunology, at and since 2011, he is Professor of “Immunology and Laboratory Medicine” at the Medical School of the Philipps, University Marburg, Germany.

In 2003, Udo joined the industry (Mead Johnson Nutrition) and worked for 9 years asDirector Regional R&D, and member of the Operating Board Europe.

In 2014, Udo joined Danone-Nutricia and is currently the Global Science Director, Health Care Nutrition, based in Amsterdam.

With more than 25 years’ experience as leader in R&D, product development and market access, Udo has an in-depth understanding of industry’s challenges and needs, and is well equipped to lead SNE strategy for the three coming years.

Udo was nominated by the German Trade association Diätverband e.V.

You can contact Udo Herz, SNE President at udo.herz@danone.com.