Considering the increased public interest regarding the circulation of the non-alcoholic beverage “Prime” in the market of the Republic of Srpska, the republic food inspection has sent five samples of the product “Prime Hydration” for laboratory analysis to assess its health safety and compliance with regulations.
The results of the laboratory analyses revealed that the product’s label, marked in one of the official languages in use in the Republic of Srpska, is not in compliance with the current legal regulations, and not all necessary information is provided compared to the original label.
Furthermore, it was determined that the product “Prime Hydration”, classified as a nutrient-enriched food, is not listed in the Register of Nutrient-Enriched Foods maintained by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of the Republic of Srpska, which is a legal obligation.
Nutrient-enriched food is food to which vitamins, minerals, and certain other substances with specific nutritional or physiological effects, excluding vitamins and minerals, are added. Every entity involved in the food business, before placing food for special dietary purposes, dietary supplements, and nutrient-enriched food on the market in the Republic of Srpska, is obligated to submit an application to the Ministry for the registration of food for special dietary purposes, dietary supplements, and nutrient-enriched food in the Register of Food for Special Dietary Purposes, the Register of Dietary Supplements, and the Register of Nutrient-Enriched Foods.
In light of the above, the food safety inspection is implementing a measure to withdraw the product from the market, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Food, which stipulates that it is prohibited to market nutrient-enriched food that is not registered in the appropriate registry. We hereby urge traders, if they have not been informed about the product recall, not to wait for the arrival of inspectors but to independently remove the product from circulation.
Regarding the assessment of health safety, the analysis has determined that the values of the tested parameters fall within the reference values defined by the current regulations.
We would like to remind you that through inspections of points of sale and during imports, it has been determined that the product “Prime Energy” has not been circulated in the Republic of Srpska. This product had previously been banned in Slovenia and Croatia due to the presence of “L-theanine,” which is not permitted in non-alcoholic beverages.
