Fifteen Years of Regulating Nutrition and Health Claims in Europe: The Past, the Present and the Future

Suggestions that a food contains healthy ingredients or that it can provide beneficial effects upon consumption have been regulated in the EU since 2006. This paper describes the analysis of how this nutrition and health claim regulation has resulted in over 300 authorised claims and how the authorisation requirements and processes have affected the use of claims on foods. Five challenges are identified that negatively affect the current legislation dealing with nutrition and health claims: non-reviewed botanical claims (as well as on hold claims for infants and young children), the lack of nutrient profiles and the focus of claims on single ingredients, consumer understanding, research into health effects of nutrition and finally, enforcement. These challenges are shown to influence the goals of the regulation: protecting consumers from false and misleading claims and stimulating the development of a level playing field in the EU, to foster innovation. Tackling these political and scientific substantiation questions for health claims, together with continuously analysing the understanding and usage of claims by consumers and operators will ensure that the NHCR will stay effective, today and in the future.

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Scientific substantiation of health claims in the EU

Proceedings of The Nutrition Society ◽

10.1017/s0029665111003168 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 71 (1) ◽

pp. 120-126 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Albert Flynn

Keyword(s):

Health Claims ◽

Nutrition And Health ◽

Beneficial Effects ◽

Wide Range ◽

New Directions ◽

Scientific Substantiation ◽

Specific Health ◽

Nutrition And Health Claims ◽

The Eu

EU legislation on nutrition and health claims made on foods (Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006) specifies that health claims should be only authorised for use in the Community after a scientific assessment of the highest possible standard is carried out by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). This paper focuses on the scientific substantiation of health claims within the context of the EU Regulation. The evaluation of the substantiation of health claims is carried out by the EFSA Scientific Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA). The EFSA has published extensive guidance to assist applicants in the preparation of applications for authorisations of health claims. This guidance summarises the general principles applied by the NDA Panel in the evaluation of health claims, including the scientific criteria for substantiation, as well as the scientific requirements for the substantiation of specific health claims. To date, the EFSA NDA Panel has concluded that a wide range of health claims has been substantiated. These include claims for many well-established functions of nutrients, as well as beneficial effects of foods and food constituents on a range of body functions. In addition, claims have been substantiated on the role of nutrients in growth and development of children and on the effects of nutrients and food constituents on reduction of risk factors for disease. EFSA evaluations and guidance have made an important contribution to the understanding of the scientific substantiation of health claims which will help to set new directions for research and will guide future innovation.

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Session 4: Challenges facing the food industry in innovating for health Regulatory challenges and opportunities for food innovation

Proceedings of The Nutrition Society ◽

10.1017/s0029665108008860 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 68 (1) ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Nino Binns

Keyword(s):

Health Claims ◽

Primary Role ◽

Nutrition And Health ◽

Challenges And Opportunities ◽

Food Legislation ◽

Nutrient Profiles ◽

Initial List ◽

Nutrition And Health Claims ◽

The Eu

The primary role of the extensive and complex modern food legislation is to protect the consumer. Providing a framework for industry and enabling free trade are secondary aims. In the EU the 2006 Regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods was adopted in December 2006. This Regulation defines detailed lists of permitted claims with precise conditions, requires foods making claims to meet specific nutrient profiles and requires the submission of a dossier for approval of new health claims. Nutrient profiles and an initial list of existing health claims will not be agreed until January 2009 and January 2010 respectively. The uncertainty about profiles and the initial list of claims as well as the prescriptive nature of the Regulation will have a major impact, some negative but some positive, on food innovation. Worldwide legislation on nutrition and health claims continues to develop. The current paper also provides an outline of some other key pieces of European legislation that affect food innovation. However, currently, all this legislation remains in development and up-to-date information can be sought from the reference material provided.

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Consumer understanding of nutrition and health claims: sources of evidence

British Journal Of Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s000711450778697x ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 98 (3) ◽

pp. 474-484 ◽

Cited By ~ 91

Author(s):

Peter D. Leathwood ◽

David P. Richardson ◽

Peter Sträter ◽

Peter M. Todd ◽

Hans C. M. van Trijp

Keyword(s):

Food Choices ◽

Health Claims ◽

Present Review ◽

Scientific Evaluation ◽

Nutrition And Health ◽

Specific Approach ◽

Average Consumer ◽

Beneficial Effects ◽

Stepwise Procedure ◽

Nutrition And Health Claims

Provided that they are scientifically substantiated, nutrition and health (NH) claims linked to food products can help consumers make well-informed food choices. The new European legislation on NH claims made on foods entered into force on 19 January 2007. The law sets out conditions for their use, establishes a system for their scientific evaluation, and will create European lists of authorised claims. An important aspect of this proposed legislation is that it states, in article 5.2, ‘the use of nutrition and health claims shall only be permitted if the average consumer can be expected to understand the beneficial effects expressed in the claim’. The present review examines consumer understanding of NH claims from a consumer science perspective. It focuses on the type of data and information that could be needed to provide evidence that the average consumer adequately understands a particular NH claim. After exploring several different methodologies, it proposes a case-specific approach using a stepwise procedure for assessing consumer understanding of a NH claim.

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Exploring the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006: What is the impact on innovation in the EU food sector?

International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition ◽

10.1080/09637486.2016.1212818 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 68 (1) ◽

pp. 10-17 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Sukhada Khedkar ◽

Stefanie Bröring ◽

Stefano Ciliberti

Keyword(s):

Health Claims ◽

Food Sector ◽

Nutrition And Health ◽

The Impact ◽

Nutrition And Health Claims ◽

The Eu

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(Ab)use of Health Claims in Websites: The Case of Italian Bottled Waters

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16173077 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (17) ◽

pp. 3077 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Giulia Lorenzoni ◽

Clara Minto ◽

Matteo Temporin ◽

Elisa Fuscà ◽

Anna Bolzon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Annual Report ◽

Mineral Waters ◽

Health Claims ◽

Nutrition And Health ◽

Misleading Information ◽

Beneficial Effects ◽

Therapeutic Properties ◽

Website Content ◽

Nutrition And Health Claims

The massive use of web marketing makes the monitoring of nutrition and health claims used in advertising campaigns much more difficult. The present study aimed at reviewing the website content for bottled waters produced in Italy to assess (i) if nutrition and health claims are reported, (ii) what types of nutrition and health claims are reported most frequently, and (iii) if the nutrition and health claims could be considered appropriate according to the current regulation in the field. A review of the website content of the 253 bottled waters produced in Italy and reported in the annual report of Bevitalia 2016–2017 was conducted. For each brand, indications related to the preventive, curative or therapeutic properties of the water reported were examined. Bottled waters that included potentially misleading information apparently not consistent with the European Directive on the exploitation and marketing of natural mineral waters were identified. Forty bottled waters with uncertain website content were identified. The information reported in the websites referred most often to beneficial effects for urinary tract and cardiovascular systems. Present results highlight, using the bottled water case study, that website content sometimes happens to deliver misleading information to consumers, also thanks to uncertain regulation in this sensitive field.

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Prevalence and Credibility of Nutrition and Health Claims: Policy Implications from a Case Study of Mongolian Food Labels

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17207456 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (20) ◽

pp. 7456

Author(s):

Nyamragchaa Chimedtseren ◽

Bridget Kelly ◽

Anne-Therese McMahon ◽

Heather Yeatman

Keyword(s):

Claim Data ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Health Claims ◽

Accurate Information ◽

The European Union ◽

Nutrition And Health ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Nutrition Claims ◽

Nutrition And Health Claims ◽

The Eu

Nutrition and health claims should be truthful and not misleading. We aimed to determine the use of nutrition and health claims in packaged foods sold in Mongolia and examine their credibility. A cross-sectional study examined the label information of 1723 products sold in marketplaces in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The claim data were analysed descriptively. In the absence of national regulations, the credibility of the nutrition claims was examined by using the Codex Alimentarius guidelines, while the credibility of the health claims was assessed by using the European Union (EU) Regulations (EC) No 1924/2006. Nutritional quality of products bearing claims was determined by nutrient profiling. Approximately 10% (n = 175) of products carried at least one health claim and 9% (n = 149) carried nutrition claims. The credibility of nutrition and health claims was very low. One-third of nutrition claims (33.7%, n = 97) were deemed credible, by having complete and accurate information on the content of the claimed nutrient/s. Only a few claims would be permitted in the EU countries by complying with the EU regulations. Approximately half of the products with nutrition claims and 40% of products with health claims were classified as less healthy products. The majority of nutrition and health claims on food products sold in Mongolia were judged as non-credible, and many of these claims were on unhealthy products. Rigorous and clear regulations are needed to prevent negative impacts of claims on food choices and consumption, and nutrition transition in Mongolia.

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Nutrition and health claims in Europe: oils & fats related claims, regulatory and labeling challenges

OCL ◽

10.1051/ocl/2019041 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 26 ◽

pp. 48 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Luca Bucchini

Keyword(s):

Fatty Acids ◽

New Technologies ◽

Health Claims ◽

The Novel ◽

The European Union ◽

Omega 3 ◽

Nutrition And Health ◽

Novel Food ◽

Nutrition And Health Claims ◽

The Eu

In the European Union, fats and oils in foods are regulated by laws mainly set at the Union level. EU rules on nutrition and health claims are particularly relevant for some fatty acids. Contrary to structure-function claims in the US, in the EU, such claims have to be authorized before use; in the case of omega-3, along with a nutrition claim, a remarkable number of health claims have been authorised based on the essentiality of such fatty acids. Claims related to environmental, social or ethical concerns are not regulated in detail at the EU level. While claims are voluntary information, mandatory rules on labelling also apply to fatty acids, and sometimes create challenges for food businesses. Another piece of legislation, the novel food regulation, is important for new sources of oils and fats. Its scope includes determining the novel food status of foods, and, if required, submitting an application in order to obtain authorisation. Several sources of fatty acids have been authorized as novel foods. Benefits of a novel food application include legal certainty and protection of data, while costs and particularly the length of the process are the main barriers. An assessment of novel food status should also concern new technologies, such as new delivery mechanisms. While several provisions of EU law concern oils and fats, a 2019 regulation not only imposes a 2 g limit (per 100 g of fat) for trans fats not naturally occurring in animal fats, but also creates an obligation to transfer information in the supply chain.

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